Tokunation is in Top Gear today! We’re proud to finally be able to share a full gallery and review of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Drive Type Speed! As well as the included 1st Run Bonus Max Flare Set!
Kamen Rider Drive Type Speed is our titular heroes basic form, but the figure itself is far from that. While it may appear to have a lite accessory count, only 2 pairs of hands, this figure more than makes up for that with it’s versatility and interchangeability. Not only can the tires be removed to replicate the Tire Koukan gimmick, but so can the read outs on the Drive Driver, the flipped Shift Cars in the brace, and even the Shift Cars on Drive’s holster! The level of thought and engineering that’s gone into this figure is astounding, and the included 1st run Max Flare bonuses more than makes up for any lack of accessories. This figure is hands down worth your purchase.
We have a full gallery, totally over 100 images, after the jump as well as an in depth review detailing the wonderful aspects of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Drive Type Speed. Just click “discuss on the TokuNation forums” at the bottom of this post to be taken to the complete thread. If you don’t get the point from our review then let me state it simply here, all you need is Drive.
Drive, Type Speed!
Tokunation is proud to finally present an in depth look at the newest Heisei Rider to join the S.H. Figuarts line, Kamen Rider Drive Type Speed and the included 1st Run Max Flare Bonus!
Packaging
Kamen Rider Drive comes packaged in what appears to be the new standard for most S.H. Figuarts. A new slim style box. We've seen a recent trend of Figuarts boxes getting a bit smaller over time, Vul Eagle was slimmer but taller than the average, Hakaider & Kikaider were the first of the true slim styles, and now Drive and even Imperial Stormtroopers are being packaged this way. In Drive's case it could have to do with his low accessory count, but either way I'm totally okay with the slimmer box design. As has become the case in recent years, rider boxes have gotten fairly elaborate and very nicely themed to each character, this one feels very much the same in that regard.
The Max Flare Bonus (as most bonuses do) comes packed in it's own small square 2-tone box. Traditionally most add on 1st run extras like this come in similarly themed packaging. Even as far back as the Gokaiger Darins. Included in the main Drive box however, other than the instructions, is a premium glossy mini-booklet focusing on the upcoming S.H. Figuarts Tridoron! A nice little bonus to get people salivating for that expensive beast.
Main Figure
Wow. Let me just say that up front. WOW. Last year I was convinced that Kamen Rider Gaim Orange Arms was hands down one of the best Figuarts I'd ever owned. Let me just say that for all that amazement I am even more blown away by Kamen Rider Drive Type Speed. This figure, in nearly every way possible, captures the true essence of the on screen Drive suit, and even manages to replicate it's real life counterparts gimmick in practical prop fashion. Let's start by looking at the amazing level of detailing this beauty has.
You expect an S.H. Figuart to exude a certain level of quality because of it's nature as a collector's piece. Then you handle Drive. Everything from the gorgeously detailed head to the wonderfully painted belt looks great. Looking head on you get Drive in all his glory. Perhaps the best area on the figure though is the Driver Driver & belt. The Driver itself is immaculate, just perfectly detailed at this scale. It's also removable! The face of the driver itself can be removed exposing the cylindrical part that displays Mr. Belt's facial expressions/Tire Koukans. From the ground up this figure is designed for cross compatibility with future Shift Car/Tire sets. Meanwhile the Shift Car holster looks fantastic. You think to yourself, wow these cars look so good, almost like they're removable. And they are! You can literally remove the Funky Spike, Midnight Shadow, & Max Flare Shift Cars from the holsters and replace them with other cars from future releases. In much the same way that Gaim Orange Arms could hold additional Lock Seeds on his holster. The Shift Brace is likewise magnificent, the flipped Type Speed Shift Car pre-packaged into it is also removable! Allowing for you to use future flipped Shift Cars in the brace to recreate various Tire Koukans! Seriously anything you need to to do accommodate a Tire Koukan can be done.
As if that kind of ingenuity weren't enough the chest is just magical. The Type Speed Tire, which is made of rubber material, also happens to be modular and entirely removable! This is easily going to be the highlight of the Drive Figuarts line, the reason why it outshines other current releases. Because it's just genius that they've recreated Tire Koukan in this way. This basic Tire breaks up into 2 components, a small connector piece comes straight off Drive's back. A hint at the future, this piece was designed to be removed in that way so that a flattened back tire piece could be included with S.H. Figuarts Triodorn, thus giving Drive a smooth back to fit in the vehicle better. The larger front half which wraps all the way around the figure slides right off thanks to the bendable rubber material its made from, exposing the tireless flat diagonal across Drive's chest underneath.
Where the Tire Koukan (TK) figures opted to make the Tire's full components without which Drive would be missing huge chunks of body mass, this figure takes the gimmick in the more practical direction of the actual show suit. In doing so it gives a truly truly accurate version of Drive that I jut did not expect. And Tire swapping is oh so simple on this guy as I'll explain below in the accessories portion of the review. And the rest of the detailing on this guy is just fantastic as well. The head is a dead ringer for the actual prop, though I'm sure some avid customizers out there will figure out how to incorporate LED's into the eyes. And the entire back half of the figure features that gorgeous undercarriage detailing we've come to know and love from the actual show suit. The TK fgure even included this detailing so I knew the S.H. Figuart would pull it off fantastically. I was not disappointed.
I think special mention should be made that the articulation on Drive Type Speed is not hindered in any realistic way that I've found either. Despite having a diagonal rubber tire through his chest Drive's neck and head articulation aren't really impacated at all. Honestly the neck ball joint is so good that it just works around the tire. And the left shoulder which would otherwise have trouble with it, has a groove cut into it to allow it to slide under the tire's edge. The hips have a wonderful full range of motion, this is the style of Figuart hip I absolutely adore as well. Can't stand drop down hips at all. Frankly this figure is just the full package. It's absolutely one of my favorite Figuarts ever. Just a home run this year Bandai.
Accessories
It should come as no surprise to anyone that's followed Drive that he has a rather lite accessory count. Included with the primary figure are:
2 - sets of additional hands. Granted I know that doesn't seem like much. But we also get....
1st Run Bonus
1 - Max Flare Tire bonus. A swappable tire gimmick for Drive! Last year there didn't seem to be a feasible way for Gaim to properly do the Arms Change gimmick with high end figure like this, but Tires seem to be where it's at this year! The Max Flare Tire, like all others in this line, can break apart into 3 component, front and back halves, as well as a midsection with the "hub" piece. The front and back halves can be clipped onto Kamen Rider Drive's chest or another compatible future release. This allows for a damn near seamless high end version of the Tire Koukan gimmick. The Hub section has a peg hole on the back of it that yes conveniently works with tamashii stage arms, but moreover it's meant to let the tires be used by the upcoming Tridoron! or to be plugged onto other upcoming figures which use a similar peg combination like Mashin Chaser!
1 - Flipped Max Flare Shift Car. Flipped as in, already in the henshin brace pose. Simply unplug the Type Speed Shift Car from the brace and plug this one on for accuracy. You can even go so far as to remove the "normal" Max Flare Shift Car from Drive's holster to really finish off the look!
1 - Mr. Belt Max Flare read out. A replacement faceplate for the Drive Driver! Simply unplug the Driver by pulling it off from the cylindrical
faceplate portion. Then remove the cylinder itself to use this new one! The rest of the line will be like this as well allowing for near 100% accuracy with Drive. Truly incredible.
2 - Flame Effect Parts (Max Flare Version). Better than the standard Orange Flame effects Tamashii released last year, these pieces are tailored with a more tapered color scheme to give them some variety. They snap on just over drive's wrists to allow for flaming punches and the like. These fit much more snugly than the mass release type flames and look much better as well. Bravo.
Now I know people won't consider the Max Flare bonuses to be truly included accessories, but think about the way in which they're included. It's a 1st run bonus which literally EVERY online retailer that carries this figure will have for anywhere upwards of a month or more after the figures release, it costs nothing additional currently because of it's abundance, and there's frankly no real hassle to get it either. For all intents and purposes these are Drive's standard accessories that are just included as a bonus you didn't have to pay for. And we know that the Handle Sword & Door Gun and the hands necessary to hold them will be included with his other forms, while Driving hands will be included with Tridoron. So frankly there wasn't anything else to even include with this figure in his standard box. I love the way Bandai has handled the break down of accessories for this line personally.
Final Thoughts
If I haven't said it enough it at this point, go buy Drive! Or rather, you really really should own this figure. S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Drive Type Speed is an excellent example of what this line should strive for every time. It's incredibly faithful, excellently engineered, and full of possibilities for expansion with upcoming releases in the line. This figure is indeed in Top Gear. But seriously, all jokes aside, I can't stress this enough, all you need is Drive.
Part 2!
Group shots and more closeups!
Part 3!
Max Flare Bonuses!
Very nice figure, just hope I don't loose any of the shift cars. there just so small
This is a really nice gallery here, type speed figuarts looks really great which makes sense since type speed looks great in general.
Didn't you mean that all we needs is Drive?
Drive really does look like he just leaped out of the show. Especially love how he looks with Max Flare. Can't wait to get the Midnight Shadow tire.
Great gallery, and I couldn't agree more on how nice this figure is. I almost skipped out on it since I'm not really into Drive, but I'm very glad I didn't. This is definitely one of the best Figuarts I've seen in quite a while.
Keep reading: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Drive Type Speed & 1st Run Bonus Gallery - Page 2
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