Saturday 10 March 2012

Beware BRS Beast

 

BRSBhd

Interestingly enough, we have three characters aside from BRS, that is Dead Master, Black Gold Saw and Strength.  One might think this is unfair, but on the other side we have BRS, BRS2035 and now BRS Beast.  That’s pretty even odds really…

 

So in a sea of like looking fellows, how does this one stand up?

 

*My usual picture background has been disposed of without my permission, so I have had to improvise.  I am going to try some different set ups when taking this and the next lot of pictures.*

 

So once again adding to my slowly increasing Black Rock Shooter collection (with it seems the main focus being solely on Black Rock Shooter herself), I am here with a little gallery and review of Black Rock Shooter : Beast.  This one came with a Huke art book (Huke being the artist who designed BRS).  Or maybe the Art Book came with a figma, I am not exactly sure really.  Anyway, whichever way it comes, we have yet another BRS.

First BRS

Second BRS

Opening the Box for the first time.

 

 

I will start by saying that when I saw the pictures of the prototype of this one, I was most excited.  Having actually recieved it though, I found myself just a little bit, hmm, I don’t know really.  Disappointed I guess, I am not too sure what it is, it could well be that this one came out too soon after 2035?  Or perhaps I am just suffering a BRS overdose.  The concept pictures for this one looked ace.  All nice and strong, but actually getting it, I found myself at a loss as how to pose it.  Let’s see if going on about can generate some interest and I might go back and retake my photos.

 

BRSBeast (1)BRSBeast (2)

 

The box is interesting.  Very large and heavy, I remember having a very large WHAAAAAA?  escape my lips as I saw the postage estimate for the package that contained this.  It is a lot larger than a normal figma box and that is due to the size of the book.

 

BRSBeast (3)BRSBeast (4)

 

Apparently Huke not only does came up with the style for BRS, but also has worked on some games.  the book features a lot of sketches and work on BRS in various forms, character concepts and actual used pictures, but also has a large section on Steins Gate, whatever that is and some other stuff.  A few example pages below.

 

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So there you have a nice sample of some of the works.  It’s a pretty nicely presented book and would look good in a bookcase or under the coffee table, heck even open if you enjoy looking at the art.

 

BRSB is entombed within her own box.  It has a nice two tone effect for the rock/chess/patch art style of the BRS series.  I think they might be individually numbered as well as I see mine has a number on it.  I will need to check and see if there are any other pictures around to see what serial number they have.

 

BRSBeast (18)BRSBeast (17)

 

The number also coincide with a little cardboard collar that goes around the plastic backing in the box.

 

BRSB is in the usual plastic case but this one is much thinner than the others.

 

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Accessory wise she comes with a new style Black Blade, 4 sets of extra hands, a closed eyes face, fiery fringe, a Black Rock Pistol (I guess, I will have to check the name) and a blue crown.

 

Getting her out of the box yielded some surprises to me.

 

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Like 2035, she appears to be a more mature BRS.  I suspect that she is a crossover between BRS and Black Gold Saw, since she has adopted BGS’s big man hands of a skeletal nature.  Add to that, the increase of her sword and the decrease of her gun, effectively turning her from Black Rock Shooter to Black Rock Slicer.

 

The design is most interesting, she now sports a tattoo on her back between her shoulder blades and I was happy to see how clear and intricate it is.  This design also features on her blade and the back of the outer box as well.

 

BRSBeast (26)BRSBeast (27)

 

In an interesting change, she has changed her clothes from short shorts and a bikini top to something a little more covering on top, and less so down the bottom.  My first thoughts were of cheerleaders as she now has a short pleated skirt on the bottom and a normal top, which she obviously couldn’t zip up at the back with her ham-hands.

 

BRSBeast (30)BRSBeast (31)

 

She is very star encrusted as well.  All along the hem of her shirt and zipper handles as well as the back of her hands.  One thing I like about the zippers is they are aligned with where her scars were on her other figures.  There was one on her left rib and right hip.  Both zips are closed where the scars were.  They are sculpted quite nicely I must say.  The blue star on her breast has a very small BRSB printed underneath it as well, that is a nice touch.

 

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The belt buckle is also something I really like a well.  It breaks up the black and white quite nicely, without looking out of place.  In case you are wondering, the skirt has a small slit on each side and is made of soft plastic, and doesn’t hinder her leg movement at all.

 

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One thing I must warn anyone about, this figma is VERY VERY pointy!  A fair few hard plastic edges abound, and I found pricking myself although not deadly still managed to hurt a little, especially when it came time to put on the crown.

 

First major pointy bit are her legs.  I really like the design of the legs, the brace effect and armour makes them look really long and she does have large shoes that just kind of meld into the large shins, which is pretty weird.  Almost like she has hoofs.  Around her feet are flaming blue bits.  On the back of her legs are some, um, crab like thingamabobs.

 

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The armour over her knees can be moved up and down for best coverage depending on your posing.  The crab things can move around a bit, but don’t completely fold away and I will admit that a lot of the time, I found myself wondering what to do with them all.  They manage to stop her knees from bending back more than about 90 degrees, which means crouching is an issue.  I will say this though, this is probably the best figma I have seen in regards to balance without the stand.  Her wide feet and heavy(ish) legs provide her with some very nice balance.

 

The armour on her calves, knees and elbows has some great paint work on it.  It looks metallic and marbly at the same time.  Tough as nails no doubt.

 

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Didn’t notice it when I was taking these shots, but her panties keep making themselves seen in quite a few of them.  Yoiks!   <:-/

 

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More on her man hands.  She has a set for left and right, sword holding, gun holding, open, slightly open, closed fist.  The plug into her sleeves easily, but movement is hindered a bit by the sleeves.  Each hand has a little blue star on them.  Awwww!

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Most have a ball joint connecting them to the wrist piece which allows for a little bit of swivel, but not much.  The sword hands are all one solid piece, which is understandable for holding the large sword she has.

 

However, be careful with the gun hands.  I put the gun in one and the thumb piece came out of the palm, luckily it is attached at the fingers as well.  Initially I thought it was meant to do this to make getting the gun in easier, after all she does have a finger on the trigger, but now I don’t think it is supposed to, as the other hand doesn’t come apart like this.  I strongly suggest caution.

 

BRSBeast (84)BRSBeast (85)

 

She has some quite striking eyes with swirls in them being fairly noticeable.  Her other face has her eyes closed, which is a nice meditative kind of face.  I wonder if they are interchangeable with the other BRS figures?  Her fringe is more emo than the others as well, covering a good proportion of her forehead.  As well as that, her long hair has been changed to quite a bit shorter hair.  It is still hinged with joints though.

 

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That hole in the top of her head there is for the hair piece (ha ha! Geddit?) that holds the crown in place.

 

Naturally she comes with a flaming eye attachment piece that can be combined with either set of eyes quite effectively.  Boy howdy is it a big flame or what?

 

BRSBeast (55)BRSBeast (60)

 

Then you can add the crown to the whole shebang for some serious as kicking, or coronating, depending on your frame of mind.

 

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The crown also adds a little flick of hair to her as well.  Hmmm, I think I prefer either the eye flame or the crown, but not both.  It just looks a bit too busy.

 

That pretty much covers the figure herself.  Time to move on to the accessories of a war-like nature!  First up.  Black Blade!

 

BRSBeast (62)

Simple design, made of opaque plastic.  It has the tattoo design on the pointy end and BRSBLADE written on the other end.  I suppose this helps her avoid confusing it with her gun…

 

It’s very much larger to her usual blade.

BRS2035 (44)

 

The other side has a HEAP of print on it, and it is kind of interesting to look at.  When I first saw it, it reminded me of a lithium battery you find in your mobile or camera, or even laptop.  Is it Engrish?  Not quite, but there is some mildly amusing stuff in there “No Step” is one that made me chuckle.  On a sword? Ya-huh!

 

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And I just saw that it is “model #8091 BRSB Devastator.”  Well that answers my question about the serial number I guess.  I would say then that all the BRSBs have the same number.  A Devastator sword?  BRS/Transformers Crossover!  I call it, you wait and see, Optimus Prime in BRS colours before you know it!  Hmm, there is some nonsensical english there.  Great!

 

Next up, the pistol.  I love pistols.

 

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It is quite a bit different to BRS’s usual gun, but it does have a couple of recognisable bits in there.  The chamber for example and er, well that’s about it really.

 

Her normal Black Rock Cannon

BRS2035 (55)

 

 

So, there is pretty much all the sexiness of the Beast version of BRS.  As I got towards the end of my shoot, I began to have a bit more of a feel for posing the figure.  Without the flowing jacket, I initially felt a little lost, but the streamlined  build of this figure make it great for ground based melee actioning.  The others I have are more prone to cannon blasting, flying sort of dynamics, whereas the Beast here just wants to kick some arse!  This is aided by the big sword and little gun.

 

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However I did come across one little flaw, but it is kind of a design thing and a structural thing.  The sword wrists are solid pieces, which is required due to the size of the word, but this means that you can only have the sword at one angle, which is also inhibited a touch by the sleeves.  Really a minor complaint, and I can see why it is this way, I guess it’s a good thing that the main thing that irked me was such a minor complaint.  Obviously the figure must be pretty good.

 

Oh I forgot to add the little card with the image of the Puchitto BRS Beast.  Cute.  I have since found out that I might be able to use the code on the back!  Wooooo.

 

BRSBeast (86)

 

So to summ this up, it is a very active figure I guess would be the way I would describe it.  The lack of sculpting allows the joints to really work well for movement and that is where this figure excels.  The other BRSs all look nice in flying/flowing sort of poses, whereas this one is all about close up in your face action.  It is let down slightly by the crab claws on the  back of the calves and the sleeves, but these are relatively minor when compared to the coolness of the rest of the figure.

 

Lovely!

2 comments:

  1. This is a pretty cool looking toy with a lot of features. I really like the transparent blue flame coming out of her eye... oh, and those panties. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. MMM, yes... The panties... :D

    ReplyDelete

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