Bandai Big Hero 6 Baymax Armor-Up

Big Hero 6 is a 2014 American 3D computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. 
Inspired by the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, the film tells the story of a young robotics prodigy named Hiro Hamada, who forms a superhero team to combat a masked villain.
Bandai is producing the toys for the movie, ranging from 4 inch figures which will feature all the 6 members plus the villain of the film to plush toys and a variety of role play and mask offerings.
Baymax is clearly the main character in the movie and he boasts 4 different one-off figures.
There is the 10 inch projection/SFX Baymax, the 10 inch posed version with limited articulation, a deluxe flying version that comes with a 4.5 inch Hiro Hamada toy and an Armor Up Baymax.
I decided to get my hands on the Armor Up version basically because I could get two figures in one, the 6 inch white nursebot form and the armored up Baymax.

I like the packaging. It is meant to attract kids.
It's big, full of graphics and firm and you can see all the contents nicely laid in front of you.
The figure and armor parts are placed securely in a plastic tray.

There are 20 pieces of armor which are used to armor up Baymax.
It is easy to put the pieces on and was pretty fun to do so.
My only gripe is that they could have gone with a more metallic paint.



In the movie, Baymax in his white nursebot form is pear shaped.
However when he is armored up, his shape is totally opposite with broader shoulders and a smaller hip.
So how do you do a toy, where the body shape is different before and after putting the armor on?
Bandai came up with a simple yet ingenious solution.
By turning around the front and back of the figure and extending the shoulders, you basically get two different shapes!

White nursebot form

Ready to armor up!

I kinda like the sculpting of Baymax in its nursebot form.
Because of the armor up features, it can't be perfectly movie accurate but I think it works here.
Anyway I feel that most will display him in its armored up form.

Ok..lets armor him up.
First the leg armor. That will add around 2 inches in height.

Next will be the tight armor...

Body armor next...

Arm armor going up next...

Up with the shoulder armor...

The armor gloves...

His wings...

And finally his helmet.
Baymax in full body armor and ready for the fight!

Overall a fun toy to have.
I have always liked such 3D computer-animated movies and I am glad that I have a figure that represents the movie.
Even though it is a toy made for kids to play with, I think it displays well too.
In Singapore, the price point is a bit on the high side, so I recommend getting it on Amazon with free global shipping.

Bandai Godzilla

Godzilla is a giant monster or daikaiju originating from a series of tokusatu films of the same name from Japan. He first appeared in Ishiro Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon.
I do not really follow Godzilla but I know the 1998 Roland Emmerich version of him was almost a total disaster. I have not seen the 2014 Gareth Edwards's Godzilla but I am hearing pretty good reviews, hence the reason why I picked up this Bandai Godzilla.

The packaging is pretty simple.
It shows the figure nicely and the colors on the front are pretty eye catching.
The back of the packaging shows you the other toys from this series but it is all in black and white.
I wonder the reason for it...to cut cost?
Well it does not matter to me much.

This little Godzilla stands around 2 inches.
Of course, I wanted a bigger Godzilla but Bandai's larger offerings either had too much action features that compromise the aesthetics or were simply too expensive for a character I don't really follow.
Even though this little fellow is small in size but the details are pretty decent.
The painting is also quite good and relatively clean.
Articulation is simple. There is articulation only in the arms and legs.

There are zero accessories.

Overall a decent figure to have.
Decent sculpt, painting, articulation and price (at least for toys these days).
Pity it's a little small.

King Kong Bandai S.H. Monsterarts

King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a colossal gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933.
The character has become one of the world's most famous movie icons.
The character was conceived and created by US filmmaker Merian C. Cooper.

Peter Jackson's version of King Kong was the version that I am most familiar with.
The initial toys for the movie were done by Playmates Toys and they were made for mass market consumption hence the sculpting is not something to talk about.
Thankfully, we have gotten better versions by Mezco and Bandai S.H Monsterarts.
Both companies came out with very strong sculpting but Mezco loses out in articulation and accessories.
However Mezco version is much much bigger and dwarfs Bandai's King Kong.

King Kong was a toy that I did not have to have. However, I saw this guy at a toy sale and the price was pretty decent. Also he was at a good size coming in around 6" so he does not take up too much real estate which is becoming scarce as my collection grows.

I like the packaging. It has everything a good packaging should have.
The design is nice.
The color is good.
We have nice pictures on the front and back.
The figure can be seen clearly in the window and most importantly the figure is secured and protected in the plastic tray and can easily be taken out without damaging the box.

The sculpting for King Kong is good especially how they did the details for the fur. We are given 3 interchangeable faces depicting different moods and expression.It adds another level of playability and displayability to the overall figure.

Bandai version has the best articulation and with the extra faces and hands, we can now pose King Kong in very dynamic poses. I am really impressed with the articulation.

We also have a fair amount of accessories.
On top of the interchangeable faces, we also get 4 pairs of hands plus one that is holding Ann Darrow played by Naomi Watts.
If you really want to nit pick, there are not much details on Naomi (given the size)....come on that's really pushing it.

Overall, I like this figure.
Initially, I did not think much of it but after getting it I think it is a good figure. Of course the price helped too.

King Kong being angry

King Kong being playful

King Kong not being amused

Kong with his girl ( i love this pose)