S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Mach & Funky Spike First Run Bonus Gallery

Let's, Henshin!

The rider from America is here, S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Mach joins the lineup from Kamen Rider Driver!

Packaging
In the same vein as other Drive S.H. Figuarts releases, Mach opts for a very slim style box of. More or less the new standard for a lot mass retail releases and even some exclusives, I have little new to say about it. As with Drive & Mashin Chaser the theme of this season carries over well to the new box and it's decorated with some very awesome artwork. Aside from that and some stock photos of the figure, there's nothing new to report.

Main Figure
The bulk of this review consists of Kamen Rider Mach himself, we'll break down accessories a little further below. Much like Drive & Chaser before him, Mach is a brand new mold. Unlike like Gaim releases over the last year Drive figure don't share a terrible amount of parts between one another, which is refreshing. Mach is for all intents and purposes though a more stream lined version of Mashin Chaser, at least to me. He's orderly chaos, asymmetry with a pattern. Which contrasts strikingly against Mashin Chaser, but also gives Mach a unique feel all his own.

Mach is primarily themed like a motorcycle racer. His suit is very much based on a pro driver. Many took to calling him Kamen Rider Stig in honor of the legendary Top Gear mystery driver when he was first revealed. And let me say Mach's very deserving of this, he looks incredibly slick in person. While he's symmetrical below the waist without much interesting going on, his Mach Driver is where it's at. Sure the Drive Driver can be taken apart to change the Mr Belt readouts. But the Mach Driver is fully functional! There's a slide mechanism that allows you to pop the driver up and insert/remove Signal Bikes & Shift Cars at will. Though it's more intended for bikes as there's a tab on each to plug into the driver, but Shift Cars most certainly fit in there.

Drive's torso above this is actually quite nice, though I feel the sculpt should have been a little bulkier. While the dynamic sculpt of the toy gives his lower body a very agile look, his upper body looks a bit emaciated. He just doesn't look like someone wearing a suit in toy form. The arms also have some asymmetrical detailing, I suppose to break up some of the monotony of the suit. Again he's basically Mashin Chaser in orderly form, so each arm is entirely unique. The head sculpt is also quite magnificent. And while this feature doesn't come up in show much anymore, Mach's V-Helm can be fully raised to reveal his Shutter Face Guard beneath! Sadly the visor looks a bit plain compared to the show prop, but it's quite nice to see this gimmick realized here. The V-Helm itself is on a nice sturdy hinge though the entire piece is cast in clear plastic that's painted, so some buyers have noted splotchy work on theirs. Mine appears to be just fine.

One more point to discuss is Kamen Rider Mach's "Tire" AKA Signa Advent affixed to his shoulder pad. The default Signal that Mach comes with. As new Signal Bikes are introduced into this toyline then more Advents will be as well. For now the way these work though yet again bars any sort of interchanging with Drive's Tire system. As with Mashin Chaser the gimmick isn't cross compatible as Mach features an entirely different system for his signals. The center piece is a panel that plugs into the shoulder and holds the tire ring in securely. It's a bit odd but sadly that's the fact of the matter. Much like Chaser whose Break Gunner can accept Shift Cars, the Mach Driver being able to do this realizes only half of what the gimmick should be.


Accessories
More so than either Drive or Mashin Chaser, S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Mach actually comes with quite a bit, and a 1st run bonus:

2 - Mufflers/Scarves. This complete Mach's basic look. You get one each of a standard resting muffler & a "dynamic" wind-blown muffler.

4 - Sets of additional hands. Pretty standard fare here. I always love a good thumbs up hand though.

1 - Zenrin Shooter. Mach's personal sidearm, the Zenrin is pretty nicely detailed. As with the Mach Driver the Shooter can also accept Shift Bikes via a small tab and clip system on the side. Other than that it's not really functional though, no spinning tire or anything like that.

1 - Magarl Shift Bike. A new translucent bike for use with the Mach Driver or Zenrin Shooter. This bike is meant for use in tandem with the next item.

1 - Advent Signal Magarl. The Magarl Signal, denoted by the 90 degree turn allows Mach to shoot in different directions. As mentioned above you need to disassemble the default Signa Advent on his shoulder to use this one. It looks pretty nice but I can't see Bandai going all out to make all of these like they seem to be doing with Drive.

1st Run Bonus

1 - Funky Spike Tire. Much like the Max Flare & Midnight Shadow Tires, it can break apart into several components. The front and back halves can be clipped onto Kamen Rider Drive Type Speeds' chest. 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! The paint on Funky Spike is pretty decent, certainly not as hit or miss as Midnight Shadow was.

Sadly however, as stated above, Mach is incompatible with the Frive Tires as is. Much like Chaser. However with Mach it shouldn't quite be there anyway. When Mach uses a Shift Car he gains a new Advent Signal in the theme of that car. So maybe they'll release some of the Shift Car themed ones down the road.

1 - Flipped Funky Spike Shift Car. Just like previous Shift Cars, a flipped version for Drive's Shift Brace.

1 - Mr. Belt Spike read out. Also just as with previous releases, just pop Mr. Belt off and swap this in to complete the look of Funky Spike

All in all a fantastic selection of accessories for those who actually ordered the first release version. If you haven't yet it's still available at most major online retailers that carry S.H. Figuarts!

Final Thoughts
With each successive release in the Kamen Rider Drive sub line I'm impressed. Drive was a glorious and solid figure in all the best ways, Mashin Chaser even more so with a few more accessories to boot, and S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Mach is just top tier. Great posability, tons of accessories, lots of personality in the figure. I'm just impressed all around with this one. Well done Bandai. Next up is the S.H. Figuarts Ride Macher!

Part 2!

More shots & Funky Spike Bonus!

Love the shots with bravo

he kinda looks too thin, especially in the chest and shoulders, and his hips look off to me. kinda the same problems i had with Machine Chaser but like doubled because of the lack of armour bulk.

How do you change the signal in the tire? I haven't figured that out yet. (I haven't really tried though lol)

What elevates this release for me is that he comes with a hand to hold his Advent Signals.

I feel like I need to type that, like, five times and underline it. I love putting my Figuarts in their classic TV "show the audience this year's henshin widget" poses, but not all Figuarts include the necessary hands/accessories. The peg end sticks out - you can't feasibly insert it the other way - but still. Nifty.

By the way, I love that you thought to do a shot of his "hammers fist on Mach Driver for hissastu attack" thing.