Aside from way too many Transformers figures, I haven’t had a lot of imports this month. But I did just get my fifth Revoltech Takeya figure in this week, so I guess that’s my sign to get part four’s review out of the way.
Zouchouten is Lord of the South. His name means Lord who expands or enlarges, and he is given credit for being a catalyst for spiritual growth. Being one of the four Heavenly Kings that protect the cardinal directions, Zouchouten is portrayed in armor and ready for battle. The resources I found on this figure say he’s most commonly portrayed as holding a sword or halberd, but these aren’t set in stone and he can be portrayed with other items.
Like the previous figures in the Revoltech Takeya line, Zouchouten has an impressively ornate sculpt. His armor is similar in style with the other two Heavenly Kings figures, but it definitely has its own unique sculpt and detailing. Zouchouten’s even stands out a bit more from the other two since a lot of his upper body armor has a lot of curves and round patterns, while his lower armor has been given jagged leaf-like spikes. Even the belts and sashes for each of the three Kings are different.
But all three figures also share pieces. I mentioned this in my last review, but with the third figure the reuse trend is definitely more noticeable. Their halos, flowing sleeves, vambraces, hands, cloth thighs, greaves, and armored shoes are all the same. The good news is that these similar pieces blend in so well with each figure’s design that the reuse is easy to ignore. The camouflage effect is even furthered by the various colors of each figures design.
Like the other figures in the set, Zouchouten’s paint job is amazing. I’d actually go as far to say that the paint job rivals the sculpt in intricacy and detail. Each tiny rim of armor has a paint app to separate it from the rest of the body, while the figure’s clothing and skin are given different colored dry washes to express each wrinkle and fold. And there’s really no slop, which is an impressive achievement on its own.
Zouchouten is articulated the same as the previous two Kings figures. His head, neck, shoulders, wrists, chest, waist, hips, knees, and ankles are all revolver joints, while his elbows are double revolvers. Also his halo, shoulder pads, and the three plates of his lower body armor are articulated with revolver joints to make movement easier and prevent the figure’s sculpt from getting in the way of his articulation. Continue to page 2…
Wicked cool!
He’s pretty nifty.
Another cool figure.
a quick google turns up this: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/zouchoten.html
interesting reading.
(and this review is already on the first search page! LOL)
Thanks for the link Brain!
Now that we know this is possible, if they made a Shiva Nataraja, I’d snap one of those up without hesitation!
A Shiva would be really cool. I don’t know how far they’re going to expand the line though. They did show us a prototype for Fujin, the wind god, and there’s talk about making Raijin, the thunder god.
The Ninja Turtle is from Neca or the new 2012 wave?
He’s Neca. Although I know I’ll be picking up at least a few of the 2012 line. They look too awesome to pass up.
I like the new desingns and the new “classic” line but April is a fail for me and I don’t know what to think about the baddies either… Eastman and Lair must be like the richest people in the world due to all the lines playmates has done until now.
And yet, once again, my usual online toy e-tailer is not allowed to ship them outside the USA. Must be nice to be so rich that you can order businesses about and alienate 95% of the planet’s population.
That’s really weird. Japanese companies do that too sometimes, and I really don’t understand why. Thankfully the few larger stores over there ignore mandate most of the time.
Good luck on getting the Turtles, Beedo. Can I ask who you were going to buy them from?
I was going to get them from Big Bad Toy Store, my usual American toy fix providers. Y’know, though, if the toy manufacturers are going to pull that kind of crap, I reckon they can do without my money, and I can save for a nice trip and use the space that would’ve been taken up by TMNT stuff for storing other books, toys, DVDs, and CDs.
So to Hell with ’em.
you know, i know that to compare these to like a dcuc is kind of anathema… on the other hand, this is why i hate the mattel excuses for cheaping out on buck lines. the takeya’s prove that A) new parts are not going to completely explode one’s price point and B) parts reuse doesn’t mean every friggin dude has to look like every other friggin dude… and C)it proves that sculpting texture is your friend.