S.H.FiguArts Dragonball Z figures!!!

[IAmIronMan]

https://twitter.com/BluefinBrands/status/1385398528931885067

It's real!

 

[budafett]

https://twitter.com/BluefinBrands/status/1385398528931885067

It's real!

Nice! I'll grab this I always regretted I sold my first release.

 

[Another-Fan]

Dodoria looks so awesome. Hoping for more reveals of new characters.

 

[FSLAR]

Jeeze what happened with this line? Premium bandai and other nonsense. I tried getting back in, but it looks like the re-releases and price scalping got so out of hand. SDCC SSJ Goku is nearing 3k? At this point I've actually given up on the line since I don't see myself being able to collect everything, the issues I saw and always had, and my shift to statues. I've been unloading my figuarts (And other figures), so it's a shame. Worst of all since I actually got some of the recent ones and never even opened...

But I have to admit the complaints on quality control are pretty jaw dropping. DB Figuarts were always relatively fine qc wise compared to others (Sailor Moon) right??

 

[Runnen]

Jeeze what happened with this line? Premium bandai and other nonsense. I tried getting back in, but it looks like the re-releases and price scalping got so out of hand. SDCC SSJ Goku is nearing 3k? At this point I've actually given up on the line since I don't see myself being able to collect everything, the issues I saw and always had, and my shift to statues. I've been unloading my figuarts (And other figures), so it's a shame. Worst of all since I actually got some of the recent ones and never even opened...

But I have to admit the complaints on quality control are pretty jaw dropping. DB Figuarts were always relatively fine qc wise compared to others (Sailor Moon) right??

Scalping has gotten out of hand on EVERY line and even outside of figures, and has only worsened with the health crisis as more people are shopping online and more people need money due to economies crashing, so that's not something that's the responsability of Tamashii, and in fact that's the reason why they're putting more stuff on pre-orders at P.Bandai so that collectors have a shot at getting the figures without having to pay scalper prices on eBay.

As for quality control, I've collected this line since its beginning and have basically every figure they've released and I've only seen less than a handful of figures with widely-known quality issues, such as Jiren's broken arm peg. I've read a few posts about Bardock's wrist pegs but had no issues with both of mine, and I know my Yamcha had a broken neck peg but I didn't see that happen to many others...

While those are more expensive figures than NECA for instance, you can read thousands of horror stories of NECA collectors getting figures with legs or arms broken straight out of the box, joints having to be heated up before moving anything or else it breaks, Tamashii has almost never dropped the ball on that aspect of things.

And finally this line is moving into more "uncharted" territories by releasing characters that have been acclaimed by fans such as the Ginyu Force or recently Dodoria, even though they won't be seeing much re-use on those sculpts so it's nice to see something other than endless variants of Goku or Vegeta and it's something that most companies out there don't do too much these days (I mostly see repaints and exclusive accessories but few unique molds).

Nothing's perfect but I don't really get the complaints about how this line is going down the crapper.

 

[BurningRage]

I wish the Naruto line would?ve went as deep as this line but DBZ is still the biggest anime export in the west. Kids half my age are into it still.

 

[SupernaturalAddict]

He fits! Cannot believe I've been waiting nearly 5 years to answer this conundrum. Had a pretty fair idea that he would squash in there okay, just based on various side by side comparisons with SDCC Vegeta I'd seen. Admittedly, it took a lot of finesse and I probably could have posed him better to appear more comfortable in there, but I can finally say "mission accomplished".

 

[FSLAR]

He fits! Cannot believe I've been waiting nearly 5 years to answer this conundrum. Had a pretty fair idea that he would squash in there okay, just based on various side by side comparisons with SDCC Vegeta I'd seen. Admittedly, it took a lot of finesse and I probably could have posed him better to appear more comfortable in there, but I can finally say "mission accomplished".

Oh wow, nice! I'd always wondered about those non figuarts extras and I remember I think deano or someone else suggested this.

PS did you see my pm?

 

[Bardoon]

Scalping has gotten out of hand on EVERY line and even outside of figures, and has only worsened with the health crisis as more people are shopping online and more people need money due to economies crashing, so that's not something that's the responsability of Tamashii, and in fact that's the reason why they're putting more stuff on pre-orders at P.Bandai so that collectors have a shot at getting the figures without having to pay scalper prices on eBay.

As for quality control, I've collected this line since its beginning and have basically every figure they've released and I've only seen less than a handful of figures with widely-known quality issues, such as Jiren's broken arm peg. I've read a few posts about Bardock's wrist pegs but had no issues with both of mine, and I know my Yamcha had a broken neck peg but I didn't see that happen to many others...

While those are more expensive figures than NECA for instance, you can read thousands of horror stories of NECA collectors getting figures with legs or arms broken straight out of the box, joints having to be heated up before moving anything or else it breaks, Tamashii has almost never dropped the ball on that aspect of things.

And finally this line is moving into more "uncharted" territories by releasing characters that have been acclaimed by fans such as the Ginyu Force or recently Dodoria, even though they won't be seeing much re-use on those sculpts so it's nice to see something other than endless variants of Goku or Vegeta and it's something that most companies out there don't do too much these days (I mostly see repaints and exclusive accessories but few unique molds).

Nothing's perfect but I don't really get the complaints about how this line is going down the crapper.

Great comments.

FSLAR, I feel your pain and I'm sorry, but coming in late or midway of any line and trying to get "everything" is always going to be a struggle. I was trying to be a completist with this line for a little while, but as I collect other lines (Hot Toys, other Figuarts, etc.)...I just realized it was best to focus on my favorite "front line" characters and villains like Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Frieza, etc. I sold Satan, Roshi, Yamcha, Tien, Bulma, etc. because I just learned not to care about them in collectible form...and I have zero interest in pursuing all the exclusives even the original SDCC SSJ Goku. As the line has moved toward the "2.0 models", you can try to get some of those and focus on those character versions.

I cosign with Runnen that I haven't faced any QC issues and Tamashii's QC is still miles above many other companies (i.e. Medicom, Hasbro, NECA, etc.). But a lot of companies have been expanding to factories OUTSIDE of China (for political, business, etc. reasons)...like Vietnam. So there is certainly a learning curve with some of the "newer" factories.

Tamashii has been pursuing the P-Bandai model for YEARS, there was a hiccup for a few years for whatever-reasons as the P-Bandai USA website has been around for YEARS, but it was inevitable that they wanted it and I think Bandai's purchase of Bluefin (their distributor) sealed the deal. I agree that what was going on with Bluefin before was "optimal" for most collectors but everyone has to remember that toy companies are a BUSINESS and they want MONEY FIRST. Tamashii isn't like Hasbro where they can re-use the same molds/tooling over-and-over like Hasbro does with Marvel Legends, Star Wars, and GI Joe...the cost of every Tamashii figure is significant because they're not using the same equipment over-and-over like some other companies.

That's a reason why I believe that Tamashii abandons licenses quicker than other companies. It's a lot of money on them to make that extra-small Bowser, or those Naruto ninjas...and if the return on their investment doesn't meet or exceed expectations, there's a great reluctance on their part to proceed with the risk of continuing the line than some other companies.

Figuarts is a mid-to-high end line. It is NOT getting cheaper...both for the customers...and for Bandai. Action figures in general aren't getting cheaper...

 

[FSLAR]

The main thing was I didn't know how far this line would go. Also I missed out on the ones I really loved like Majin Vegeta and exclusives, well not worth it unless there's something unique like SDCC 2015 Goku with the belt and exclusive face. I've also moved more to statues, so I'll be keeping the Figuarts Zero EX (though I may sell my og FiguartsZero Vegeta cause of reasons). Only other thing is poseable figures don't do much for me anymore so it isn't just these.

I haven't really had QC issues with this line from Tamashii but the Sailor Moon and Marvel ones....that is another story, and one that I hate. But I just noticed a lot of people HERE and elsewhere had QC issues recently. P-Bandai is annoying however because it's more a pain these days, but also the fiasco with getting the last few exclusives. You're probably right on licenses but it gets weird, I don't think the Marvel ones were high money makers after a while yet they're still doing them? FAr out no less, I dunno. Yet Mario somehow wasn't that big a money maker, though they were messing up rather badly on that front.

Again, I moved to statues. First 4 Figures in particular since I finally have the funds and resources plus found a reliable seller.

 

[Angelo2113]

Spoiler

Great comments.

FSLAR, I feel your pain and I'm sorry, but coming in late or midway of any line and trying to get "everything" is always going to be a struggle. I was trying to be a completist with this line for a little while, but as I collect other lines (Hot Toys, other Figuarts, etc.)...I just realized it was best to focus on my favorite "front line" characters and villains like Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Frieza, etc. I sold Satan, Roshi, Yamcha, Tien, Bulma, etc. because I just learned not to care about them in collectible form...and I have zero interest in pursuing all the exclusives even the original SDCC SSJ Goku. As the line has moved toward the "2.0 models", you can try to get some of those and focus on those character versions.

I cosign with Runnen that I haven't faced any QC issues and Tamashii's QC is still miles above many other companies (i.e. Medicom, Hasbro, NECA, etc.). But a lot of companies have been expanding to factories OUTSIDE of China (for political, business, etc. reasons)...like Vietnam. So there is certainly a learning curve with some of the "newer" factories.

Tamashii has been pursuing the P-Bandai model for YEARS, there was a hiccup for a few years for whatever-reasons as the P-Bandai USA website has been around for YEARS, but it was inevitable that they wanted it and I think Bandai's purchase of Bluefin (their distributor) sealed the deal. I agree that what was going on with Bluefin before was "optimal" for most collectors but everyone has to remember that toy companies are a BUSINESS and they want MONEY FIRST. Tamashii isn't like Hasbro where they can re-use the same molds/tooling over-and-over like Hasbro does with Marvel Legends, Star Wars, and GI Joe...the cost of every Tamashii figure is significant because they're not using the same equipment over-and-over like some other companies.

That's a reason why I believe that Tamashii abandons licenses quicker than other companies. It's a lot of money on them to make that extra-small Bowser, or those Naruto ninjas...and if the return on their investment doesn't meet or exceed expectations, there's a great reluctance on their part to proceed with the risk of continuing the line than some other companies.

Figuarts is a mid-to-high end line. It is NOT getting cheaper...both for the customers...and for Bandai. Action figures in general aren't getting cheaper...

Excellent and spot on post, Bardoon.

Money comes first for Bandai. Tamashii Nations is not afraid to put a line on hiatus or drop a license completely if it's underperforming.

Street Fighter is one of the most recent lines that Tamashii has lost the license too. They had competition straight out the gate with Storm and they're doing extremely well with their Street Fighter line. (Not to mention that Bandai owns Bluefin/Bandai Namco Collectibles which distributes Storm Collectibles so it's not a complete loss.)

Edited: Marvel is, surprisingly, selling decently well.

 

[Bardoon]

The main thing was I didn't know how far this line would go. Also I missed out on the ones I really loved like Majin Vegeta and exclusives, well not worth it unless there's something unique like SDCC 2015 Goku with the belt and exclusive face. I've also moved more to statues, so I'll be keeping the Figuarts Zero EX (though I may sell my og FiguartsZero Vegeta cause of reasons). Only other thing is poseable figures don't do much for me anymore so it isn't just these.

I haven't really had QC issues with this line from Tamashii but the Sailor Moon and Marvel ones....that is another story, and one that I hate. But I just noticed a lot of people HERE and elsewhere had QC issues recently. P-Bandai is annoying however because it's more a pain these days, but also the fiasco with getting the last few exclusives. You're probably right on licenses but it gets weird, I don't think the Marvel ones were high money makers after a while yet they're still doing them? FAr out no less, I dunno. Yet Mario somehow wasn't that big a money maker, though they were messing up rather badly on that front.

Again, I moved to statues. First 4 Figures in particular since I finally have the funds and resources plus found a reliable seller.

What fiasco with the last few exclusives? You mean the whole shipping delay because the container ship got caught in a storm? Or the first "roll out" with the UI Sign Goku and Androids 17 & 18? AT least Bandai recognized the "failure" and ended up opening up pre-orders again...I feel like everyone who wanted the figures and was paying attention to them, was able to get them.

Marvel does VERY well. But the Marvel license is reportedly VERY expensive (Hasbro's ML team has commented "lightly" on this) so some of those figures are going to be pricier than others. I think MCU movies obviously have sky-rocketed Marvel's popularity in Asia as MANY import companies are doing MCU products...from figures, to statue/figurines, to prop replicas, etc. etc. Star Wars is huge too, more so the original trilogy and the Mandalorian. You see Figuarts has targeted this market with the recent Marvel and Star Wars showings.

I don't know what it is...but outside of Dragon Ball Z, Maybe the Sailor Moon line, the Saint Seiya Myth Cloth series, and the Kamen Riders...I suppose other Japanese licenses like Naruto just don't perform as well to Tamashii's liking. At least Tamashii "tries" with some stuff...like Street Fighter, Mario, TMNT, etc. The problem is that when they "botch" a figure, it can be detrimental to the whole line, like the small Bowser.

 

[FSLAR]

What fiasco with the last few exclusives? You mean the whole shipping delay because the container ship got caught in a storm? Or the first "roll out" with the UI Sign Goku and Androids 17 & 18? AT least Bandai recognized the "failure" and ended up opening up pre-orders again...I feel like everyone who wanted the figures and was paying attention to them, was able to get them.

Marvel does VERY well. But the Marvel license is reportedly VERY expensive (Hasbro's ML team has commented "lightly" on this) so some of those figures are going to be pricier than others. I think MCU movies obviously have sky-rocketed Marvel's popularity in Asia as MANY import companies are doing MCU products...from figures, to statue/figurines, to prop replicas, etc. etc. Star Wars is huge too, more so the original trilogy and the Mandalorian. You see Figuarts has targeted this market with the recent Marvel and Star Wars showings.

I don't know what it is...but outside of Dragon Ball Z, Maybe the Sailor Moon line, the Saint Seiya Myth Cloth series, and the Kamen Riders...I suppose other Japanese licenses like Naruto just don't perform as well to Tamashii's liking. At least Tamashii "tries" with some stuff...like Street Fighter, Mario, TMNT, etc. The problem is that when they "botch" a figure, it can be detrimental to the whole line, like the small Bowser.

Generally the fact that it was so hard to actually get and order one. Shipping doesn't matter to me.

Marvel's license I get, I knew as much. Figured it was part of why Marvel Hot Toys were rising in price compared to their other licenses. With how huge the last movies were, it makes sense as well.

I think you're right about the licenses, though it is strange in some ways. I think when they started Mario, they were close to the 30th anniversary so you'd think that'd help, and there were no other good Mario figures on the market. On the flip side, even the Nendoroid Marios didn't do that well. Mario merch sells pretty well for Nintendo but I guess since these aren't aimed for kids, that may be why? Sailor Moon's performance seems to vary I hear since I've seen them last in stores (Barnes and Nobles especially where back in the day you would get huge discounts on anything in their stores) for ages compared to Dragon Ball.

 

[Bardoon]

Hope you all that need him were able to get a SSJ3 Goku 2.0 Reissue today. He's pre-sold out at a lot of vendors like BBTS.

Keep an eye on eKnightmedia, ToyDojo, and maybe even Amazon if you missed out already.

 

[Snake Plissken]

 

[FSLAR]

Sideshow seems to have gotten in pre orders for SSJ3 Goku.

 

[Snake Plissken]

 

[IAmIronMan]

https://www.tamashiinations.com/product_detail/shf_db//
SSJ4 Goku announced for Goku day!

May 11th pre order, out in October, worldwide release so probably not a p-bandai exclusive.

 

[Luisenigma1]

https://www.tamashiinations.com/product_detail/shf_db//
SSJ4 Goku announced for Goku day!

May 11th pre order, out in October, worldwide release so probably not a p-bandai exclusive.

Nope it's a regular release. I definitely will be getting it on that day. He looks amazing those new joints and added articulation will make this one look awesome. Now I hope they do Baby Vegeta, SSJ4 Vegeta and Gogeta.

 

[Bardoon]

SSJ4 Goku looks AMAZING! Long overdue since Tamashii's "bad habit" days of showing prototypes. They've shown TWO SSJ4 Goku protos before.

Love the design, another epitome of 90's-ness. I wish the colors were golden blonde hair and fur but "it-is-what-it-is".

I think we'll definitely see SSJ4 Vegeta, Gogeta, GT Kid Goku. Beyond that I think we'll continue to get some GT characters here-and-there. I'd like an adult GT Goku as I've always liked his GT outfit (aside from the pink wristbands which is an odd color choice).