S.I.C Vol.46 Masked Rider I & Cyclone Review

I finally got my hands on this set this Wednesday after being sold out all over the place the first week it was stocked. I will probably do a video review of this later when I find a better location to film one. Right now I will do my traditional written review.

This is technically the first SIC to feature THE FIRST’s Ichigo since the previous one were from the Movie Realization line, a spin-off of SIC. I was a bit worried about this set when it first came out. First off, my favourite Japanese Toy Review Site, who reviews almost every SIC the first day or week it comes out didn’t review this set. So I got the feeling this set might be a bit below par seeing how that guy gets EVERYTHING! Then I had to search for some reviews only to see many negative comments about it; mainly regarding its lack of poseability. It is also scuplted by Takayuki Takeya. If you’ve been reading my reviews or if you’ve seen my video review, I blast Takeya for ruining Kamen Rider X. One review I read said Ichigo for this set uses X’s body. But this is NOT TRUE. This is a completely new body!

Well despite all of that I decided to get it just because I’ve skipped Liner Form and Climax Form until they become really cheap. Let me just say this before I continue, this set is Great.

SIC has been on a roll recently. Ever since September, SIC have been releasing a set almost once a month, sadly they are mostly Den-o except for this one. And there’s no stopping, Climax and Urataros was just released at the end of March. Kintaros and Gaoh are coming at the end of May and Henshin Ninja Arashi will be coming out during the summer.

So this is the annual bike set of 2009 and it’s pretty good. At first when scans came out of this set I was disappointed they were going to do THE FIRST again but it actually turned out a lot better than I expected.

One thing I love about Bike Sets is that they don’t have a billion twisty wires! They just have a plastic casing that holds all the pieces in place. I don’t know why they don’t do that more often.

A re-enactment of one of my favourite kicks from the original movie. Note: I just realized I posed him on the wrong side.

All the pieces included in the set.

3 pairs of hands: Fist, Open and Grip for the bike

2 scarves: Normal and Action

2 waists: Normal and one sitting on the bike which increases flexbility for the legs

2 heads: Helmet and Hongo Takeshi! Which looks like a Geisha!

It’s sad and stupid that they didn’t include a hand that allows Ichigo to do his signature pose. I don’t get it, it’s not that hard to make one (they made one for the original Ichigo). It’s just one open hand but they always give you the sorta semi-opened hand. Which is similar but doesn’t give the same effect.

The figure still has great poseability. The shoulder isn’t as good as THE NEXT’s but can move to about 80 degress upwards.

A human head is included which is rare for SICs. The only other human head is from Vol. 15 which is Ichimonji’s head but looks nothing like him. This one is a bit more realistic but still has long ways to go. The custom heads I got is better than this one. Nevertheless it is still a nice addition to set which lacks in accessories.

One great thing about this set is that you can always lend the bike to other figure in your collection, like THE NEXT.

 1971 vs. 2005!

A comparsion between SIC Vol.14 and SIC Vol.46

Review

Design: The bike is nice. It’s a nice fusion of the original Cyclone from the series and THE FIRST’s Cyclone from the movie. If you remember from the movie, the bike its a bit more sleek and contains a lot more sharp pointed edges and it’s also painted bright white with red markings. It also doesn’t have the six giant exhaust at the back. But this SIC mixes the old Cyclone here with a mustier paint job, it’s rounder and the inclusion of the six exhaust pipes. And it also removes all the shameless ads the bike had in the movie. It also includes the same storage compartment located at the back of the seat to store Ichigo’s helmet, which was a feature in the original SIC Cyclone. 

The figure is great. It’s a bit more movie-accurate compared to the MR one. Though it’s a bit shorter and bulkier it’s still awesome. I have to say I like this Ichigo the most out of all them and there’s been a lot of them. There’s something about the face, that make it stand out a bit more compared to THE FIRST and THE NEXT.

Well you be the judge:

From Left to Right: Vol.7 (2008 Classic), MR THE FIRST, Vol.46, MR THE NEXT, Vol.14 (the one with Cyclone).

Playibility: Though not as good as MR THE NEXT. It is still good. It is only lacking that shoulder joint but everything is fine. I am glad they added the additional waist which allows Ichigo to actually sit on the seat and hold the bike at the same time. Something the original one couldn’t do. But as you can see from the top picture, the extra waist doesn’t have the belt buckle. Which means you have to change the buckles when you switch his waits. Everything in this set also fits in pretty well like the hands, the head and the scarves.

 Ball joints are still used for the hands but not for the head. Which is another plus for this set. Ball neck joints are a pain especially when the figures have antennas because you don’t want to rip or damange those damn antennas.

Speaking of antennas this set doesn’t include extra ones. Which still puzzles me. They aren’t too hard to make but if you lose one, break one, your figure will have lost all value. It’s hard to replace them, unless you make them out of paper clips, like my MR THE FIRST (perhaps you can see in that picture above). The Bike itself doesn’t have any loose parts and has a bike stand that actually works!

Durability: The recent SIC figures (since Agito) have had strong joints everywhere. It’s pretty incredible since durability was a big issue for the majority of the old SICs.

Value: Bike sets have yet to go through price inflation. If you check the Tamshii website 7,140 Yen is what all the bike sets cost since the beginning. However Double Packs are the ones that keep going up, with the recent Den-o Climax Form and Urataros costing as much as a Bike set even though that’s a regular double pack without too many extra stuff  (compared to Zeronos and Deneb, which costs 7,140 it had 2 forms and 2 figures). So the price is good however there’s isn’t too much stuff in this set and the bike doesn’t have a gimmick like Agito’s or Faiz’s.

Overall: 98% It’s definitely a Masterpiece and a must have for all SIC fans. It’s a great companion piece for the original SIC Cyclone and definitely a better version of MR THE FIRST (which sucks big time) but of course doesn’t come with Nigo. Maybe that’s what is missing, a Nigo Figure…hmm.