BANDAI official Ultraman toy information site

Hello everyone.
I'm Nno, in charge of planning and development Ultraman toys!

It's finally here, Friday, October 9th!!
"It glows! It sounds! Special Aircraft No. 1 Sevenger!"



Pre-orders will begin today at 2pm on PREMIUM BANDAI!


Our Sevenger is so popular that it is no exaggeration to say he is the "face of Ultraman Z."
This product also received such a great response that it became a trending topic on Twitter when it was first announced! (Thank you!)

Since we've received that much enthusiasm and expectations, we feel we have to respond to that... so we've packed this Sevenger with every spec we could think of, within the realm of feasibility!

As a result, it is not possible to fully introduce all the elements on the reservation page alone, so I will follow up on them in this blog.

This blog will be updated as development progresses, but for now we will be covering the overall overview in a two-part series titled "Basic Information," today and next week.
In this first part, we will introduce three topics: "Basic specifications," "Modeling," and "Materials"!!


■ Part 1: Basic specifications

First, let's start with basic information such as size and Contents.
I've lined it up with a few other products so you can get a sense of the size.



Sevenger 's total height is approximately 158mm, matching the scale of "DX SC-3 / Special Airborne Armor Unit-3."



Coincidentally, it's the perfect size to line up alongside the "Ultra Action Figures."



Now I want to get the "Z Original" to recreate the fighting scene from episode 1... (glancing at the person in charge)
If you line them up side by side, Sevenger is slightly larger, but in fact, Sevenger is actually taller than Z in the setting. (Sevenger: 55m, Z: 52m)

This is what it looks like when you line up the previously released soft vinyl figure and Sevenger together.



This product has a taller, life-sized form that is closer to the proportions in the movie.
The exquisitely deformed soft vinyl figures are also incredibly cute... they look like a parent and child...


The product Contents are as shown in the image.



In addition to Sevenger itself,
①Interchangeable eye parts to recreate different facial expressions


②Interchangeable wrist for recreating the impressive "Kabuki Attack" scene from episode 3


③ Battery pack parts that can be attached to the back (blue/red)


The above three optional parts are included.
By rearranging these parts, it should be possible to recreate most of the states that have appeared in the movie so far.

A side note about the eye part in ①…
In fact, when we first started development, we were planning on including three faces: a normal face, an angry face, and a down face.
When the overall design was nearing completion, I was watching with glee the broadcast of "Z" (episode 14), which could be considered my weekly reward...


『Sevenger has been retired!! …But more importantly,his face has changed!! (((screams)))』


I frantically went to the design department and asked them to force the fourth eye part, the "sleep face," into the mold.


The eyes of the sleep face are covered, so you cannot see them glowing, but this is the first product in history that can recreate the appearance of a warrior who has left the front lines and is now housed in a museum!
Even if you take away the "lights and sounds!" element that is the hallmark of the product, I believe we have created a product with plenty of play value.


■ Part 2: Modeling

Next, we will focus on the attention to detail in the design.
This product was created under the supervision of Tsuburaya Productions' modeling team, LSS, and is designed to be as close to the real thing as possible, from the overall silhouette to the finest details.


I especially want you to pay attention to this part!!



The slits at the top of Sevenger 's pupils are properly open!

The gap is actually about 1mm...

Because the gaps created by molding a mold are extremely tiny, I had almost given up at the start of development, thinking "There's no way we'll be able to reproduce this design...", but with the help of our design staff, who worked enthusiastically on the design, we were able to recreate it!

The pupil parts also feature a swirl pattern for the eyes.



The key point is that it has molding on the back to match the actual suit.

In addition, the circular part of the chest is divided into small parts to recreate the structure where the "surface is covered with clear parts."



By using "die-cast" for the copper-colored parts, the texture and weight of metal is literally expressed.
We pursued a great appearance using a three-layer structure consisting of a silver main body, copper-colored die-cast parts, and clear cover parts!

And one more to top it off.
It may be difficult to tell from the current product page, but the actual product will have a mold process called embossing applied to the surface of the parts, which will recreate the matte texture of an actual suit!


■ Part 3: Materials

As mentioned earlier, die-casting is used, but we have also paid particular attention to the materials used for this product in order to improve reproducibility.

These are some somewhat technical terms, but the main body is made from ABS, with highly transparent PC used for the clear parts and PVC for the fine (thin) parts, and the various materials are used to reproduce the figure.
Additionally, die-casting is used for the chest and toes, providing stability and texture when standing.

Regarding die-casting, we are likely to receive comments such as "I wish it was used for the whole body!" However, in the case of Sevenger, which is thinner and more humanoid than box-shaped robots like King Joe, if die-casting were used all over the body, the two legs would not be able to support the weight, and the movable joints would become worn out or there would be a risk of it falling over.
For this reason, we decided to take a more stable approach this time by using die-cast only in key areas.

There are three places that use die-casting, but because it has batteries inside, it feels quite heavy compared to its appearance, so you can look forward to it!

Now, the thing I want to tell you most about in terms of materials is the "soft cover parts" used to cover all of the joints throughout the body!



Sevenger 's joints are bellows-like in shape, and we were concerned that if we tried to incorporate the joint structure commonly found in action figures, it would significantly ruin the appearance.


(This is a rough image, but the original bellows shape may be almost completely lost in the image above.)

How should this problem be solved? This was a source of worry even for the development team, and the option of "omitting all joints (i.e. making them unable to move)" was even on the table until the very end.
While looking at the design of Sevenger once again, the designer suddenly came up with the idea of taking inspiration from an air pump (the yellow thing you use to pump air into balloons or swim rings).
Indeed, the shape of the joints is very similar to that of Sevenger...

...Wait a minute.

​If we could take advantage of this bellows shape and recreate its shape using the same soft material as that pump, we could create something that could move flexibly like an accordion...
This way, not only can the appearance be perfectly reproduced, but the joint parts themselves, which are unavoidable with an action figure, can even be hidden...!?

Could this be a major come-from-behind victory?

...That's why we used a type of soft material called PE and incorporated "seamless joints" that combine appearance reproduction with mobility.
When you remove the cover parts, you'll find movable joints as shown below (the joints are made from wear-resistant POM), allowing you to pose the figure just like in the movie.



As a result... it turned out to be an "Ultra C" specification that was only possible because of Sevenger 's design!
*The sample photographed in this article is a prototype in which even the cover parts have a fixed shape.
Therefore, although there are many photos of the product in an upright position, the actual product will have approximately 20 points on its body.

So, first of all, we have given you details about the basic specs, design, and materials.
However, Sevenger 's charm doesn't end there!

​In the next update on Friday, October 16th, we will introduce the "light emission," "sound," and "gimmicks."​
Stay tuned!