That's quite a mouthful for identifying an action figure. I suppose Hasbro didn't have the rights to just "Budo" and had to add the Samurai Warrior to still be able to identify the character.
In his original ARAH version, he just had a funky samurai helmet and a hook on his belt to hang his sword. This new version is full-on samurai warrior. Armored plates on the arms, protective skirt and robe/jacket and an impressive samurai helmet with huge antlers to top off his uniform.The figure looks incredible. Hasbro did an amazing job with all of the attention to detail on his gear. He looks very much like a traditional samurai warrior. So how does that make him as an action figure?
Skip the action.
His legs are barely movable, even with the fancy new feet. There's just no range of motion to put him in any sort of action pose. His arms have limited articulation due to the upper arm guards. And the helmet doesn't too well, either!
But how useful is he in this state in a modern combat unit? Not very. There is only so much he can do with all this gear on.
I don't think he would be ready for combat against a horde of BATs.
While reading various reviews of him across the web, I noticed that his skin tone was darker than the standard Caucasian soldier. He seemed to be much closer in skin tones to the newest version of Flint.
So I bought an extra Ultimate Flint and Budo and did the head swap. Not bad.
The camera really picked up the distinct differences between the skin tones, but in hand, they aren't very noticeable. At least not to my old blurry eyes. A quick vest switch and he's altered enough to change his role from Budo Samurai Warrior to Budo Combat Specialist.
I removed the vest and cut up to the waist sash on the sides of the skirt armour to allow for a bit of give. Sadly the plastic used in the armour add ons is stiffer than usual so it reverts back to it's molded shape.
ReplyDeleteI'd love a Hasbro made warriors of history line, like the sadly defunct Ages of action line from Unimax. But with better hip movement.