BANDAI official Ultraman toy information site

Hello everyone, this is Nno, in charge of planning and development Ultraman toys.

Today's blog is Monster Festival!
We would like to introduce you to "Kaiju Kikou," a new series that focuses on monsters from previous series works.



I'm sure many people were surprised by this sudden release, so let me start by explaining the background and intention behind the project.

Until now, PREMIUM BANDAI has focused on the "ULTRA REPLICA" series.
We have always had the vision of seeing if we could shine the spotlight on elements other than heroes and transformation items in our merchandising efforts.

Among them, we decided to feature the "monsters" that are the focus of attention in the latest work "Blazer" and develop high-end monster figures for adult fans! This was the starting point of the idea for "Kaiju Kikou".


The most important concept that Kaiju Kikou wants to emphasize is that it is "the most playable monster figure."​


When it comes to easy-to-collect monster figures, nothing beats soft vinyl figures.
There are already high-end figures such as SHfiguarts that focus on high quality sculpting and movement.

In the midst of all this, the goal of this "Kaiju Kikou" is
"Not only is it a well-made figure, but the characteristics and personality of the monster motif are faithfully reproduced as a toy gimmick, making it into a toy that people can play with."​

Fortunately, the "ULTRA REPLICA" series has been running for over five years, and as it has developed a wide range of products, we have accumulated know-how about various gimmicks.
If we can harness all of this experience and feed it back into this new series, perhaps we can create a monster figure with the gimmick value of a role-NARIKIRI item? That's what we're aiming for.


Now, gracing the debut lineup of "Kaiju Kiko" is Special Air Unit No. 3 from "Ultraman Z", "SC-3 / Special Airborne Armor Unit-3"!


Looking back on King Joe SC,

- Transforms into 3 modes: robot, separate, and tank
- Includes a Pedanium Hammer deployment gimmick
・The head lights up
This character truly embodies the concept of "Kaiju Kiko" mentioned earlier.

In addition, if you consider the DX version toys that were released at the time of the broadcast,
・Only the sound gimmick was used, and the "light emission" element could not be reproduced.
・There were no lines from pilots like Yoko and Haruki
So, there are still some relatively easy to understand power-up points remaining.

Taking all these factors into consideration, we decided to select "SC-3 / Special Airborne Armor Unit-3" as our first item as it is the easiest to understand!
(Actually, I was the one who developed the DX version, so it's easy to understand the good points of both and areas that can be improved.)


Taking this information into consideration, today we will introduce the product specifications, focusing on the main topics of "Kaiju Kikou SC-3 / Special Airborne Armor Unit-3."

Completely new design

I just mentioned the DX version, so I'll just say it again: all parts of this "Kaiju Kiko" have been newly designed and rebuilt from scratch. (No parts are reused from the DX version.)

The DX version at that time was designed for children, so it was made to be fairly sturdy and robust from the standpoint of durability and safety.
This "Kaiju Kiko" version is designed entirely for adults, so all parts have been newly sculpted, even down to the smallest detail, to ensure that the robot mode's shape is as close to the image in the movie as possible.

Thanks to this, it also comes with features not found in the DX version, such as the movable elbows of the Pedanium Launcher and a ball joint mechanism in the ankles!

Additionally, elements that were also present in the DX version, such as the three-mode transformation and the Pedanium Hammer deployment gimmick, are all recreated!

In terms of design, we paid particular attention to the appearance, such as eliminating hollow areas, while also allowing for ample play in each mode.

Illumination gimmick

And! The biggest attraction of all is the addition of a "light-up gimmick" that wasn't included in the DX version.

The head unit (head fighter) is packed with electrical mechanisms,
In robot mode, it has a gorgeous design with three illuminated areas: the forehead, eyes, and chest.

In particular, by equipping the forehead with three LEDs, the "relay illumination" that is so impressively depicted in the movie is perfectly reproduced!
The light flows beautifully from right to left in time with the sound!


Audio gimmick

What's more, we have significantly improved the audio specifications, an element that we were unable to fully introduce on the product order page due to the details being too detailed.

One improvement from the DX version is the inclusion of lines from the pilot, Nakashima Yoko, and the protagonist, Natsukawa Haruki, who boarded the ship to rescue Yoko in the final episode!

It has a similar image to the previously released "Lights up! Sounds! Special Air Unit No. 1 Sevenger," and you can have fun playing with it by playing piloting lines that correspond to the sequences in the movie.
In addition, the system AI voices and attack and drive sounds in each mode are all recorded exactly as they were used in the film!

The first recording of the "D4" firing sound, and even the ambient sounds and alarm buzzer sounds in the cockpit for the more enthusiastic listeners...
With a total of over 50 different sounds (probably more in the end), we will be enhancing the "fun" element from an audio perspective as well.


Since this is the first development report, I've written it quickly, but what do you think?

We plan to continue providing more specific details about the specifications, so we hope you'll look forward to them!

Reserve your products here!

notice
Today is also the deadline for pre-orders for another monster figure, "Mega Light Heroes Mefilas (SHIN ULTRAMAN)"!

Not only is the main gimmick of the eyes glowing, but the sculpting and paintwork are also very well done.



The clear parts around the face have great detail, making it look incredibly beautiful when illuminated!

It's fun to combine it with the rest of the series lineup, and it also looks great on its own, so why not have one Mefilas for each person in your room?

That's all for today's update. Thank you for reading to the end!