Hi all, here's a short review on the Gx-55 Tobikage with Houraioh.
Box
Trays
Tobikage
Compared to the Gx-54 Tobikage, this one is more stylized and has a lot more articulation (not to mention height).
Weapons:
Battle-Shot Blade
Battle-Shot Blade can be equipped on Tobikage's back by swapping out the plug.
I didn't bother with attaching the Scabbard to Tobikage's hand, it just feels too big to fit into the fists and I was worried it might ruin the fists.
Makibishi Launcher
Sword
Rifle (now has an attachment to extend it for Thunder Arrow Gun mode).
Thunder Arrow Gun
Wrist-mounted chain launcher
Houraioh (literal translation means "Phoenix Thunderhawk")
Weapons:
Ichimonji Ken and Ichimonji Giri
In the Anime, the Ichimonji Ken combine to form a cross-shaped weapon called the Juumonji Ken
A seperate fist for holding the Juumonji Ken is included.
Apart from the bladed weapons, Houraioh also shoots beam shuriken from its shoulders.
Transforming into Kuuma ("Sky Demon") Houraioh.
The clip is optional, I don't really recommend clipping it on as it doesn't really add much to keeping Tobikage locked in.
This peg add-on is required for the Gx-55 Tobikage to lock into the Kuuma Houraioh, the Gx-54 Tobikage does not require this peg but rather a different default peg in the back.
Combine!
Comparison:
Gx-55 Tobikage (left) Gx-54 Tobikage (right)
The "Ninja Robots" Team so far:
The Good-Tobikage stands 5.5 Inches tall, weighs roughly 68 Grams (Gx-54 is roughly 26 Grams)
-Houraioh stands 7 Inches tall, weighs roughly 280 Grams (Kurojishi is roughly 410 Grams)
-Good design here on the legs so they don't impede articulation
-Diecast parts on the Houraioh include parts of the chest, the Phoenix claws, the feet. For Tobikage I think it's only on the feet(?)
-Gotta love the crazy poseability of the Tobikage!
-Ratchet joints in the knees and in the rotating hip joints for the Houraioh.
The Bad-Again, like Gx-54, no display base
-attaching the "Phoenix tails" is a bit tricky.
Keep close attention to the L and R symbols on the pegs:
Attach the inner tail first
I found it easier to just plug in the parts while the mini-wing is posed like this, of course I had to later rotate the whole arm to get it back into the proper position as the Phoenix tails will now get in the way of the mini-wings.
Warning![/color]
Be mindful of this area, as the "mini-wings" tend to get "locked" into the claws. One might accidentally break them if they tried to spread the arms apart.
Better to just leave the mini-wings at a 45 degree angle to keep them away from the claws.
-I found it really odd that the Makibishi launcher's had to be attached as a seperate accessory when it was "built-in" on the smaller Gx-54 Tobikage thighs.
-I don't know if Bandai was cutting corners but the undersides of the Juumonji Ken and the Ichimonji Ken are unpainted
-Swapping out the fists and equipping the blades into the fists is somewhat difficult.
-Transformation is a bit of a cheat, the fists need to be removed to properly form the Phoenix claws in Kuuma mode.
The UglyWell, no real complaints with this one, but some of the joints on the Houraioh are still a bit too tight for comfort, but they're not as bad as the Gx-54 Kurojishi.
Overall, not a bad figure, I do feel that the Gx-54 Tobikage is the more properly-scaled figure to put into Kuuma Houraioh though, so that is something to consider if you're going to get only the Houraioh and skip the Kurojishi.
Gold
keeping the site active as a place to dump info for easier backtracking. 