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Koto Inc and ARTFX Deliver the Goods With Bastard! Figures
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 Koto, Inc. and ARTFX sent us Bastard! samples. By far the coolest is Bastard! Dark Schneider Majin. Not only is the sculpt incredible (and sharp, several staffers were lightly pricked by Schneider's thorny appendages), but the articulation is well planned yet hidden. Standard shoulder connection, the biceps swivel sideways, the elbows swivel, and the wrists rotate. The paint application and sculpting cleverly hides most of these points. The detail by itself is incredible. Molded in red with black paint, the look is very effective. There are two sets of wings, the 'bat wings' and the 'bird wings.' The bat wings are molded in a hard rubber that is not pose able, but the bird wings fold in half. He also has a long wire-pose able tail, that comes in handy for standing him up, as the wings are quite heavy. His hips, knees, shins and ankles all articulate too. He is set to ship in July or August. The apparent head of this line though is Dark Schneider Version 1. He has wonderfully sculpted hair and odd tentacles coming out of his back. He also comes with an interchangeable hand to hold his sword. The sculpting is nice, and the paint is well done too, however there is no articulation below the shoulders on the main body. His elbows, wrists and shoulders are the only things that move. He comes with a stand with a peg. Nice sculpt, but not more than a functional statue. Due to ship in July or August.
Rounding out this set is Mikael. Set to ship in August or September, she is a beautiful sculpt and paint job as well... the wings are layered, and the sculpt looks straight from the cartoon. Mikael however has even less articulation; her arms move up and down. The sculpt is absolutely fantastic, even from the back! (One of her features is her "of-steel" posterior.) She cannot stand by herself though, and requires a stand that has a spine that clasps around her waist.
 Overall the series is beautiful to look at, and is great for display. Its sharp points and intended mature-audience make this a toy strictly for collectors, not children. ARTFX also produced the Armored Core 2 figures, which also have high standards of detail and articulation.
  
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