ROCKMAN (4-INCH-NEL)
| Title: | Rockman |
| Manufacturer: | Sentinel (SEN-TI-NEL) |
| Toy Line: | 4 Inch-Nel Collectible Action Figure |
| Release Date: | JP: 2016/08/31 |
| Series of Origin: |
JP: Rockman EN: Mega Man |
| Made in: | China |
| Method of purchase: (for review) |
Pre-order via Amazon JP |
| Written By: | HF |
| Publish Date: | 2016/09/21 |
| Last Updated: | 2016/09/21 |
This action figure was pre-ordered via Amazon JP back in late April 2016 alongside the Rockman EXE action figure from the same toy line, with both having arrived on its official release date in August 31st 2016.
After taking it out of the box, I was a little surprised by how much smaller it was compared to other similar-type figures such as those from the Revoltech-line(which does decent bulky figures such as mecha). Though the more I played with it, the more I got impressed by how flexible the figure was especially for recreating all sorts of natural poses and maybe more importantly, recreating many of the poses found in official artwork and games.
Overview
This 4 Inch-Nel version of Rockman uses the body proportions found on the official design and artwork from the Rockman 4~7 games, with a less super-deformed doughy physical appearance (Rockman 1-3, Smash Bros. WiiU/3DS) but not going full-bodied proportions like with 8. I personally like this physical appearance the most as it makes his defining features such as his large head/face, arms, and body very easy to recognize yet not to the point of seeming too surreal. The figure is painted with a eye-catching cobalt blue and light blue, including some black on the 3 vent holes on the back of the head (blatantly shown in 8's animated opening) and some red for the inner ear parts of the helmet, and the lens of the Rockbuster and bottom of the feet. Much like the EXE figure, the Rockman figure features a very consistent texture, and is very minimal gimmick-wise especially when compared to the D-Arts versions (which included visual bits such as Buster attack effects).
Each section (torso, arms, legs, head, etc.) of the main figure consist of multiple parts, each held together with their own set of joints which can be seen where pivot joints are present. This Rockman figure consists more of individual parts without relying too much on the metallic pivot joints however, which I felt adds to the natural visual appeal. The body itself consists of 3 parts, allowing strecthing and arching in any direction for more natural and dynamic poses.
The head and neck consists of several joints as well, and consists mainly of the main head and the swappable face plate (see Accessories section for more details). The ear segments on the helmet looked fine, but felt like they were intended to be removed due to the space it had between it and the main head, which was a little disappointing detail-wise. The helmet itself clearly consisted of 2 parts, with the connecting point a little obvious for my taste especially if there was no practical reason to have it that way (such as removing it when placing a new face plate, which this figure didn't need). The back of the head includes a flap section which moves when the head is tilted back, allowing extra flexibility when posing without being too obvious (a very nice touch).
The shoulders and arms consist of a combination of pivot and ball-socket joints, allowing additional stretching and rotation in each segment which felt very natural when posing or even just for casual play. Though the extra parts may seem obvious especially when compared to the plain seamless look of the original design, I didn't feel that it took too much from the visual aspect especially when the alternative would be to use the highly obvious metallic pivot joint (which may even hamper the visual appearance further, all things considered).
The legs also consist of multiple segments; with pivot joints in the knees and lower leg (for the flap which tucks in when bent at an 180-degree angle). Due to Rockman's massive legs, the back plate of the legs actually tuck inward when bent back enough, giving it a much greater degree of freedom and natural posing potential. One thing I had some trouble when posing it is that the joint connecting the hip and upper leg needs to be rotated into position and not just moved into place like with a ball-socket joint. Though to be fair, this helps give the figure better posing potential by minimizing the number of 'flexible' joints, especially for the legs (and on the other hand, this is where the Revoltech series of snap-in joints are at an advantage). The foot-leg joint actually consists of a pair of ball-socket joints, allowing both turning and stretching; this is something I found helpful when posing the figure, especially on an uneven surface.
But overall, the figure itself is very flexible for posing; Rockman's basic design consists of large flat feet which gives it an ideal foundation for standing. This allows him to be put in all sorts of poses easily (such as having its body leaning forward, arched back, and so forth).
Though the Rockman figure can stand up perfectly in all sorts of poses, its flexibility is best when limited to holding up its own mass. Its joints are not meant for snapping into place (like Revoltechs), meaning moderate load on its limbs would cause it to lose its pose. For this, I tried this by using a Nendoroid head as an attempt to hold it up, but it turned out to be just too much for Rockman's tiny joints. Though in the end, I did managed to find some way of carrying the head (which didn't quite last long either):
Accessories
Including the parts already attached to the main figure straight out of the box, the included accessories consist of two face plates (happy, angry expressions), a Rockbuster that can be fitted on either arm, and a pair of closed fists and open hands. The hands parts and Rockbuster each come with a small plastic piece that goes into their joint socket, which is handy during storage by preventing dust and grit from building up inside them.
Face playes can be swapped by simply tugging below the chin of the current face, sliding it off, and then doing the steps in reverse with the new faceplate. Unlike the EXE figure, no additional removal of parts are needed to complete this procedure. Though convenient, I have had a few cases when the face plate didn't fit tightly in place, causing it to fall off on occasion to reveal a rather distrubing faceless Rockman:
The Rockbuster features a rotating hinge where it connected to the arm, allowing the yellow markings to be shown/hidden as needed (a simple and neat little detail). The inside of the Rockbuster isn't left out details-wise, and is painted red. As mentioned above, the Rockbuster isn't restricted to the left arm (thankfully!), and can be fitted on either arm easily by swapping out the arm part with it (which also means if a second Rockbuster is available, the Double Rockbuster from Super Adventure could even be re-enacted). The upper arm socket which connects the arms and Rockbuster is rectangular, and is deliberately placed off-center to one side to ensure the parts bend in the right direction.
And finally, the hand parts which consist of a pair of closed fists and open hands. They can be swapped out easily by removing them from their circle-head joints and refitting them with the hand you want. The joint facing the lower arm consists of a ball and socket joint, allowing complete posing flexibility. One very small nitpick would be that the hole exposing the joint will become visible if bent too far inward, though given the flexibility it provides this is a justified tradeoff (and again, this really is nitpicking on my part).
But perhaps the coolest touch of detail is the way the open hands are posed:
While they may seem like nothing special at first glance, long-time fans of the classic series may recognize that both hands have the third and fourth finger placed together. This is actually a nod to the original designs and artwork where characters' open hands are posed in such a way, and applies to other characters as well (though Rockman's hands are most prevalent in being posed this way). As a quick reference, I have put together some examples below:
© CAPCOM CO., LTD.
It may just be a small detail, but it's one I have always looked for in official artwork. I'm glad that this was not glossed over for this figure.
The set also comes with stand and multi-jointed transparent crane arm for posing the action figure (and its parts) mid-air or when it needs extra support. Unlike figures from toy lines such as Revoltechs and Figmas, there is no hole in the back of the figures used for plugging the insert arm into; though this results in having the crane arms get in the way of the character, I personally prefer having no visible hole in the back, especially since this figure can stand on its own pretty well. Furthermore, the crane itself isn't very intrusive, and would look something like this when holding Rockman during a mid-air jump:
And of course, there are ways to get creative with the crane arm by using it on more than just holding up the main figure.
For example, something like this can be done after a bit of cleanup in Photoshop:
Conclusions
Overall, I found this Rockman figure much easier to pose and work with compared to other action figures, again partly due to its overall light weight and large feet. I was particularly fond of how flexible the figure was, even allows recreating his slide technique perfectly (among many others) without the need for removing/replacing parts. Though the helmet details seem a little cheap and paint job sloppy in some places, they're fairly minor faults which I don't consider enough to deter owning one.
At any rate, this action figure is definitely one I would recommend, and (given its price point) a must-have for any Rockman and Mega Man collector.
What I liked:
Purchase Links
Gallery
This 4 Inch-Nel version of Rockman uses the body proportions found on the official design and artwork from the Rockman 4~7 games, with a less super-deformed doughy physical appearance (Rockman 1-3, Smash Bros. WiiU/3DS) but not going full-bodied proportions like with 8. I personally like this physical appearance the most as it makes his defining features such as his large head/face, arms, and body very easy to recognize yet not to the point of seeming too surreal. The figure is painted with a eye-catching cobalt blue and light blue, including some black on the 3 vent holes on the back of the head (blatantly shown in 8's animated opening) and some red for the inner ear parts of the helmet, and the lens of the Rockbuster and bottom of the feet. Much like the EXE figure, the Rockman figure features a very consistent texture, and is very minimal gimmick-wise especially when compared to the D-Arts versions (which included visual bits such as Buster attack effects).
Each section (torso, arms, legs, head, etc.) of the main figure consist of multiple parts, each held together with their own set of joints which can be seen where pivot joints are present. This Rockman figure consists more of individual parts without relying too much on the metallic pivot joints however, which I felt adds to the natural visual appeal. The body itself consists of 3 parts, allowing strecthing and arching in any direction for more natural and dynamic poses.
The head and neck consists of several joints as well, and consists mainly of the main head and the swappable face plate (see Accessories section for more details). The ear segments on the helmet looked fine, but felt like they were intended to be removed due to the space it had between it and the main head, which was a little disappointing detail-wise. The helmet itself clearly consisted of 2 parts, with the connecting point a little obvious for my taste especially if there was no practical reason to have it that way (such as removing it when placing a new face plate, which this figure didn't need). The back of the head includes a flap section which moves when the head is tilted back, allowing extra flexibility when posing without being too obvious (a very nice touch).
The shoulders and arms consist of a combination of pivot and ball-socket joints, allowing additional stretching and rotation in each segment which felt very natural when posing or even just for casual play. Though the extra parts may seem obvious especially when compared to the plain seamless look of the original design, I didn't feel that it took too much from the visual aspect especially when the alternative would be to use the highly obvious metallic pivot joint (which may even hamper the visual appearance further, all things considered).
The legs also consist of multiple segments; with pivot joints in the knees and lower leg (for the flap which tucks in when bent at an 180-degree angle). Due to Rockman's massive legs, the back plate of the legs actually tuck inward when bent back enough, giving it a much greater degree of freedom and natural posing potential. One thing I had some trouble when posing it is that the joint connecting the hip and upper leg needs to be rotated into position and not just moved into place like with a ball-socket joint. Though to be fair, this helps give the figure better posing potential by minimizing the number of 'flexible' joints, especially for the legs (and on the other hand, this is where the Revoltech series of snap-in joints are at an advantage). The foot-leg joint actually consists of a pair of ball-socket joints, allowing both turning and stretching; this is something I found helpful when posing the figure, especially on an uneven surface.
But overall, the figure itself is very flexible for posing; Rockman's basic design consists of large flat feet which gives it an ideal foundation for standing. This allows him to be put in all sorts of poses easily (such as having its body leaning forward, arched back, and so forth).
Though the Rockman figure can stand up perfectly in all sorts of poses, its flexibility is best when limited to holding up its own mass. Its joints are not meant for snapping into place (like Revoltechs), meaning moderate load on its limbs would cause it to lose its pose. For this, I tried this by using a Nendoroid head as an attempt to hold it up, but it turned out to be just too much for Rockman's tiny joints. Though in the end, I did managed to find some way of carrying the head (which didn't quite last long either):
Accessories
Including the parts already attached to the main figure straight out of the box, the included accessories consist of two face plates (happy, angry expressions), a Rockbuster that can be fitted on either arm, and a pair of closed fists and open hands. The hands parts and Rockbuster each come with a small plastic piece that goes into their joint socket, which is handy during storage by preventing dust and grit from building up inside them.
Face playes can be swapped by simply tugging below the chin of the current face, sliding it off, and then doing the steps in reverse with the new faceplate. Unlike the EXE figure, no additional removal of parts are needed to complete this procedure. Though convenient, I have had a few cases when the face plate didn't fit tightly in place, causing it to fall off on occasion to reveal a rather distrubing faceless Rockman:
The Rockbuster features a rotating hinge where it connected to the arm, allowing the yellow markings to be shown/hidden as needed (a simple and neat little detail). The inside of the Rockbuster isn't left out details-wise, and is painted red. As mentioned above, the Rockbuster isn't restricted to the left arm (thankfully!), and can be fitted on either arm easily by swapping out the arm part with it (which also means if a second Rockbuster is available, the Double Rockbuster from Super Adventure could even be re-enacted). The upper arm socket which connects the arms and Rockbuster is rectangular, and is deliberately placed off-center to one side to ensure the parts bend in the right direction.
And finally, the hand parts which consist of a pair of closed fists and open hands. They can be swapped out easily by removing them from their circle-head joints and refitting them with the hand you want. The joint facing the lower arm consists of a ball and socket joint, allowing complete posing flexibility. One very small nitpick would be that the hole exposing the joint will become visible if bent too far inward, though given the flexibility it provides this is a justified tradeoff (and again, this really is nitpicking on my part).
But perhaps the coolest touch of detail is the way the open hands are posed:
While they may seem like nothing special at first glance, long-time fans of the classic series may recognize that both hands have the third and fourth finger placed together. This is actually a nod to the original designs and artwork where characters' open hands are posed in such a way, and applies to other characters as well (though Rockman's hands are most prevalent in being posed this way). As a quick reference, I have put together some examples below:
© CAPCOM CO., LTD.
It may just be a small detail, but it's one I have always looked for in official artwork. I'm glad that this was not glossed over for this figure.
The set also comes with stand and multi-jointed transparent crane arm for posing the action figure (and its parts) mid-air or when it needs extra support. Unlike figures from toy lines such as Revoltechs and Figmas, there is no hole in the back of the figures used for plugging the insert arm into; though this results in having the crane arms get in the way of the character, I personally prefer having no visible hole in the back, especially since this figure can stand on its own pretty well. Furthermore, the crane itself isn't very intrusive, and would look something like this when holding Rockman during a mid-air jump:
And of course, there are ways to get creative with the crane arm by using it on more than just holding up the main figure.
For example, something like this can be done after a bit of cleanup in Photoshop:
Conclusions
Overall, I found this Rockman figure much easier to pose and work with compared to other action figures, again partly due to its overall light weight and large feet. I was particularly fond of how flexible the figure was, even allows recreating his slide technique perfectly (among many others) without the need for removing/replacing parts. Though the helmet details seem a little cheap and paint job sloppy in some places, they're fairly minor faults which I don't consider enough to deter owning one.
At any rate, this action figure is definitely one I would recommend, and (given its price point) a must-have for any Rockman and Mega Man collector.
What I liked:
- Large range of natural and dynamic flexibility
- Highly detailed, featuring minor details based on a combination of designs over several games
- Facial expressions are perfect recreations of the original artwork
- Open hands pay homage to the original games and artwork
- Consistent texture, focuses less on gimmicks in favor of functionality
- Relatively inexpensive compared to similar action figures
- Paint work felt shoddy in some places (though only obvious when inspected up-close)
- Helmet seams felt obvious, and ear components felt too "spaced" from the main helmet parts
- Upper leg flexibility might need some time to twist into place for some
- Face plates fell off on some occasion, unclear if attached properly due to limited spacing
Purchase Links
Gallery