oooooooohhhh yeah...
Anyway.... getting my mind back off of asian chicks and back on action figures:
Ultramen compared: Dimension Studios Stealth ver kit, Threezero Stealth ver figure and Sentinel figure.
IMG_2199 by kraggy2011, on Flickr
What is interesting is that when I first saw pics of the Threezero one I assumed that it was identical to the previous Sentinel one and that the Dimension one was a kit created from same sculpt but each is in fact a unique sculpt and nothing appears to be re-cast or made from same tooling/files. All the similarities in construction and hand poses etc all seem to be perhaps just uses of the same reference material and/or specific requirements by license owner. Maybe. Whatever the case, each has unique sculpt and proportions/features.
The first Ultraman figure by Sentinel (mine is used and prob a factory reject so a little scuffed and I cant find his accessories for comparison etc but will do for general comparison) has the best overall proportions IMHO, with a better sized head and also is constructed with metal parts. The paint however is not amazing since the red parts are not metallic and look plastic-y. They did do a second release with better paint but I do not own that one yet. The Threezero meanwhile is sleeker, slimmer and has some soft pvc areas to hide joint and improve poseability. It also has very nice paint and weathering though some reviews online point out QC issues (luckily mine seems fine). The Dimension Studios version has more Anime/Manga like proportions and more jagged angles, much more exaggerated in appearance overall. Obviously it is an unpainted kit so no paint apps to speak of and so doesn't look metallic in any way but it somehow works (prepainted kit and diecast figure versions are of course available though).
Biggest sculpt differences can be seen in the shoulder pads and chest plates as well as the forearms.
IMG_2200 by kraggy2011, on Flickr
IMG_2201 by kraggy2011, on Flickr
IMG_2202 by kraggy2011, on Flickr
Ideally, I would love the Sentinel sculpt with Threezero paint aps, but since that never happened I think the ultimate Ultraman figure may well be the Sentinel limiter release I do not have which has nice metallic colours. Shame it ain't cheap!
As for other differences, the original Sentinel release includes (but not pictured): 4 pairs of hands (fists, splayed fingers, semi pointing and relaxed) plus the 2 blue energy blades for the gauntlets as well as a mini tool to open panels/remove batteries. The Threezero stealth one meanwhile has similar hands (4 pairs: fists, splayed fingers, semi pointing and relaxed), red energy blades (not pictured), swap out gauntlet light cover parts (not pictured), a battery removal tool (again not pictured) and of course the alternate un-helmeted head that other brands lack.
The Dimension Studios brand version kit has again the same selection of hand poses in 4 pairs (fists, splayed fingers, semi pointing and relaxed), the two energy blades (in purple), 2 sweeping energy blade effects, a gauntlet blast effect, panel/battery removal tool and a few spare pieces of the small parts you may lose. No idea what the two double ring parts are for but they are there.
IMG_2203 by kraggy2011, on Flickr
All in all the Sentinel brand figure has the fewest accessories while the Dimension brand kit has the most but I think Threezero wins for the extra swap out head.
As for the two versions of Seven I have, one is the finished figure with diecast parts in metallic red and silver while the kit is sold un-assembled in unpainted plastic.
IMG_2204 by kraggy2011, on Flickr
Both appear to be exactly the same sculpt (well, they are the same brand) so to differentiate them a bit I used the alternate swap out parts on the calves since they have little plugs on them (not sure what for but hey it alters the look a bit).
Both the finished figure and the kit share the same weapon loadout (two rifles plus the back mount to hold them, two swords with scabbards and articulated arms to mount them on and the two massive cannon things) plus the same swap out hip covers with sword mounting points but do actually differ beyond that:
The finished figure has 5 pairs of hands: fists, splayed fingers, sword sheath posing hands, big cannon gripping hands and some "trigger finger" gun holding hands. Meanwhile, the kit version has 8 pairs: fists, splayed fingers, sword sheath posing hands, sword gripping hands, big cannon gripping hands, "trigger finger" gun holding hands, slightly different "trigger finger" hands, relaxed hands and semi pointing hands. The kit also has the swap out parts for the calves I mentioned along with a few spares from the re-use of kit parts from the Ultraman kit. There is also the decal sheet with the kit but that doesn't really count as the finished figure has them pre-applied.
IMG_2208 by kraggy2011, on Flickr
Finally some individual pics of each figure:
Sentinel:
IMG_2209 by kraggy2011, on Flickr
Threezero:
IMG_2210 by kraggy2011, on Flickr
Dimension:
IMG_2211 by kraggy2011, on Flickr
IMG_2212 by kraggy2011, on Flickr
IMG_2213 by kraggy2011, on Flickr
