Woodelix Rider Machine Part 1

V-Jet
Starting up a new shokugan review series that's a bit different than those that I did in the past. ^^ Not only is it not a character-type set like the Gundam SEED Heroine series (fans of cutesy Gundam girls are closing this page and flipping over to another tab on Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome when they read that line perhaps XD), it has nothing to do with giant robots in general as well. ^^ As a matter of fact, it's the only Kamen Rider specific shokugan set in my collection so far. ^^

And as compared to the previous two reviews, it's definitely more recent in terms of release date as well - although it's a 2012 release. ^^;


Woodelix Rider Machine
Production company: Bandai Candy Toy
Release date: Late July 2012
Price: All five types, 294 Yen each (inclusive of tax)
Official link

Going by the designated numbers given to them on the official site, the five types are Cyclone (サイクロン号, belongs to Kamen Rider 1), V-Jet (Vジェット, Kamen Rider Super-1), Battle Hopper (バトルホッパー, Kamen Rider Black), HardBoilder (ハードボイルダー, Kamen Rider W), and Machine Massigler (マシンマッシグラー, Kamen Rider Fourze).


Front view of the box.


Side views of the box.



The five types, coupled with screen shots of the bikes with their riders from their respective TV series are shown on the right box side.


Top and bottom views of the box.


A small image indicating the size of the figure. ^^


Introduction of series' design of the back of the box.


Shown on a wooden desk with a small potted plant on the left and a tablet on the right, the "suggestion" image is supposed to invoke a sense of high class for this shokugan set I believe. ^^


A clearer view of the five types.
Despite the wooden look of the five figures, and the box back picture showing them placed on top of a wooden desk, they are actually made of plastic. ^^ I can just imagine the disappointment a lot of people are going to have, if they are expecting the series to be about small wooden figures of Rider Machines. ^^;

It's perhaps that disappointment that kept this shokugan series to have just a single set released so far. ^^;

To be honest, it would be fantastic if the figures were made of wood, since we rarely see such products from any company. Then again, if the figures were in fact made of wood, the price won't be just 294 Yen (inclusive of tax) for each of them I suppose, and it's not environmental-friendly as well. Instead, the figures are just produced in a style called "grainic molding" which gives them a distinctive, wooden feel. The small emblem of the alphabet "g" as seen on the box cover is referring to that production style. With different shades of brown used as the molded colors on each figure to reflect the color separation on the actual Rider Machines, they do look like mini models assembled using different wooden parts. ^^

As with many other shokugan/gashapon set, there's no indication of any sort on the specific type you're getting just by looking at the generic boxes. It really felt like some kind of lucky draw when I was opening up the first box for this review. ^^ Was it going to be Cyclone? or Machine Massigler? Of course now I do know which one it was, since I'm already done with taking pictures of the figure and posting them up here. ^^

Going with the idea of this being a lucky draw, I suppose Cyclone is the jackpot then. ^^ Apart from being the box cover figure, it's the very first Rider Machine - a classic. ^^ I wonder how many more boxes I need to open before I hit that figure.

Maybe it's the next one. ^^


Box open.


Almost like Banpresto's SQ Figure Saber Fate/Zero Ver, the content is packed within a sheet of bubble wrap for protection.



Two of the three items from the content: the bike itself, and a nameplate.


Last but not least, a piece of candy is also included. ^^
Introducing the simple gimmicks of the bike before showing off more images of it:


The front end of the bike can swivel from side to side.


The wheels do spin.


The handles are made of soft plastic, allowing them to be bent easily.


The kickstand can be hinged downward to support the bike.


With the kickstand lowered, V-Jet can be shown in an upright position.
More images of this shokugan figure:










Closeups on the details:












Bottom view:




The details are really well done for this figure. It's especially amazing considering the different colors represent different molded parts assembled to form the completed figure. On other gashapons, they would be touched up using paints instead. Besides the colors, the sculpt details are very nice too. The front folk, the tiny pipes beneath the bike, the small lights in front are some of the delicate details I really like.

The name plate:



The emblem of "grainic molding" can be seen on the name plate.
Comparison between the figure and other objects to have a better idea of its small size:



Fits in the palm of my hand nicely. ^^





With Dream Tomica No. 146 Batmobile.



With Garo Kiwami Damashii Garo
Given the design of V-Jet, this figure is actually the heftiest of the five. ^^

Will be opening another box from this shokugan set in the future, but not so soon. ^^