02/08/98- This is a GI Joe figure wearing Max Factory's vinyl garage kit of the Guyver Zoanoid from the movie Guyver 2: Dark Hero. Not exactly a blockbuster, but an entertaining sci-fi flick. The creature was designed by the talented Steve Wang, who's a great sculptor & designer. Max Factory's garage kit was sculpted by Yoshihito Kobayashi-- it's an incredible piece with intricate detail. This guy's still in the works-- he's got a painful job of painting ahead...

I'd had this kit lying around unbuilt for quite a while, fulfilling its duty as a model dustketcher. My recent purchase of Medicom's very cool Predator & Alien figures inspired me to finally do something about it. I didn't want to do a Garage Kit build up because they're so static-- everyone who's built this kit has a nearly identical version, except for the paint job and base. The thing I appreciate about posable toys is that you can get a lot of different looks out of the same figure.

Of course there is a cost. A non-articulated figure will usually look more realistic because you don't have to compromise look for articulation. I say usually, because the biggest exception to this is seen in film. An elaborate rubber skin can be cast and placed over the actor or articulated armature. That's a lot of work, and I'm sort of a lazy, quick-gratification type.