We’re long past due sharing this one with you, but for Toku Toy Box we’re pulling out all the stops this year! Released just recently as a Tamashii Web Exclusive we’re happy to finally be able to take a look at the massive S.H. Figuarts Tridoron!
The Tridoron is one amazing collector’s piece. What you’ll immediately notice about it is the hefty die-cast metal used in the undercarriage as well as the gorgeous and near flawless paint applications. Get beyond the shock of these features though and what we have is an amazingly functional vehicle with a WEALTH of accessories. Tridoron has working LED’s for head/tail lights, fully detailed & functional interiors, a number of new faces for Mr. Belt are included, as are several items necessary to replicate Tire Koukans on this behemoth. But perhaps most interesting of all though is the removable Driver’s Side cutaway model! A special stand is even included for it’s display. S.H. Figuarts Tridoron is literally one of the most all inclusive packages I’ve ever seen.
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Come on, Tridoron!
We weren't sure if Bandai would ever do it when Kamen Rider Drive started. It seemed impossible given the scale and functionality this thing would have to have. Bandai gave us a serviceable representation of this vehicle in the form of the DX Tridoron, but we all secretly hoped for a truly premium S.H. Figuarts release. Finally thanks to the Tamashii Web Shop fulfilling our wishes we can share a gallery of the S.H. Figuarts Tridoron!
Packaging
S.H. Figuarts Tridoron is a behemoth, shipped in a gargantuan box. If anyone has experience with larger Bandai/Tamashii Nations boxes like Rideshooter, Genocider, and the like, even then you aren't prepared for this thing. It's just massive. And gorgeous. Taking cues from the general style of the Kamen Rider Drive SHF line, Tridoron looks absolutely gorgeous in the stock photos, and the actual toy does not disappoint either. (I hope the box pictures turned out alright, it's actually quite a bit too large for my lightbox)
Tridoron
It's hard to sum up all the things that make this a great release but here's my attempt, Hnnnnnnnnnnnnnng. But seriously this is a great vehicle. I'm not using the term "toy" with this thing either. It's a big expensive interactive brick of a collector's piece. "Toy" wouldn't even begin to cover it. For starters Tridoron is an absolute spot-on scale representation of the in show vehicle. It's at perfectly 1/12 scale, right in line with S.H. Figuarts Kamen Riders & other heroes. Though I have found the fit of figures in the cockpit to be a bit tight. This includes Kamen Rider Drive himself. But we'll get to that in a moment.
The Tridoron itself is loaded down with a ton of features outside of the accessories it comes with and we'll get into those down below. And by the way loaded down is quite literal as a massive chunk of the car frame is die-cast metal! As as far as mold details and paint apps go this thing sets the bar HIGH. Everything is crisp and gorgeous right down to the vanity plates on the front and rear ends of the vehicle. The hood dashboard and hubcaps all feature Drive's trademark "R" symbol, and what would this behemoth be without working LED's! Thanks to a small battery compartment on the undercarriage, which is itself incredibly detailed, we get fully functioning head & tail lights for this bad boy! These are extremely bright and look very realistic. Shooting this thing in the dark can be difficult so it's hard to communicate how nice these are, but I hope I've done a decent enough job. That about sums up the exterior, though I should mention the nice thick actual rubber tires. Or at least they feel like rubber, it could be a softer plastic but they work wonderfully. And I have to make mention of how awful the doors are. I feel like I can barely get them open without wedging something in between them and the door frame as there's no real place to apply force to open then.
Anyway the real marvel of this vehicle is the interior! You can access the full interior by opening the doors and removing the entire canopy & back windshield. The door windows are also removable but mostly for the alternate display mode we'll get to in a minute. Inside the vehicle you'll see just an unmatched level of detailing. The "floor mats" are molded in but are painted a great checkered red and black to match the exterior, the bucket seats look like stock models used for race cars, the dashboard is fully mounted with a section to store Shfit Cars (though they can't peg in), and the gear shift & parking break actually function even! This thing has everything inside. The steering wheel of course turns but does not activate any features in doing so. My one gripe with the interior is that no attempt was made to recreate the seat belt assembly. So much for accuracy? When even the gauges are fully detailed down to the most minute paint app it's odd that seatbelts aren't included.
The best part of this interior is the Drive Driver dashmount. Out of the box Tridoron is equipper with a generic panel. The way it would normally work when Drive is still wearing Mr. Belt and driving, or fighting. There are parts included to replicate his attachment which I'll dive into below. For now though I just marvel at the majesty of this central figure. It's incredible that in just the last few years we've gotten such massive to scale releases as Machine Itasha, Rideshooter, Tridoron, & Rideron. Thank you Bandai.This is magnificent collector's piece. I should also mention the incredible removable Drivers' Side display! But we can't properly talk about it without one of the below accessories.
Accessories
Literally everything you'd really near aside from those pesky seatbelts:
6 - hubcap adapters. These can be utilized by prying off the small "R's" on each hub revealing a port. Plugging this in lets you attach the various 1st run bonus tires you have piling up onto the Tridoron. Sadly though you need the next accessory just to use them.
1 - clear angled base. This base doesn't fit securely or really hold Tridoron in place, the car rests on it at an angle to allow you to attach the Tire bonuses I mentioned above. Otherwise the larger and more cumbersome ones like Max Flare & Midnight Shadow would dig into the ground when attached. A little bit of a poor design choice on Bandai's part but I get it. This thing doesn't really serve any other purpose.
1 - generic wheel. For some reason an extra wheel is included like those that came with the 1st run Tire bonuses. The instructions even show images of how you should use it with the Type Speed Tire. I could only see a point to this if you wanted to display that tire when not in use while using another Tire with Drive, but ultimately I get no use out of this accessory. It's superfluous to me.
1 - set of wheel holding hands. Just so Drive can actually hold the steering wheel properly. Or I suppose a Rider Machine if you so chose to put him on one.
7 - alternate Mr. Belt faces. One for each of his various moods and expressions. I won't go into how each looks on the Driver but suffice to say your many needs will be met. A blank one is even included to replicate the Driver being turned off.
1 - Drive Driver dash mount. This is the component you'll need to attach to the dash if you wish to plug the Driver in for display. Just pull the other component off, then plug one of the Mr. Belt faces on and plug the Driver on. Which seems, stupid. Why on Earth would you display this vehicle with your Drive figuarts but take the Drive Driver off and plug it in the cars' dash where it can't be seen? Honestly I have no idea why Tridoron didn't just come with an extra Driver. But it didn't so your left with the rather silly prospect of not getting much use from this accessory. Unless you like taking the Drive off your Drive and letting him look a bit silly on your shelf. It's neat for some brief play time but it really is just odd that we didn't get an extra Driver to utilize this feature.
1 - Flat tire segment. This replaces the chunk of the Type Speed Tire on Drive's back and allows him to sit flush against his drivers' seat. In all honesty though this doesn't help him fit in the car much. I've found it difficult/frustrating to get Drive posed how he needs to be in the drivers' seat only to plug the canopy back on and his head makes contact with the roof. I just can not seem to get him down low enough in the seat to give his head the clearance it needs. Maybe I'm just awful at this but it's quite annoying.
1 - "R" symbol stage & arm. This set of parts, though packaged separately, makes up the most unique item in this set. This base allows you to display the full driver's side section of Tridoron as a cutaway model! When you have the canopy off of Tridoron just lift up on that entire section and it pops right out! The middle arm rest panel needs to be removed first and you can alternately pull out the door window. But no matter what this is really unique. You can display the full drivers' section of the car on an extremely sturdy, ratchet-jointed stage. It's a really unique way to be able to look at this vehicle. However again I find that if you do this, the entire point of the Tridoron itself is kind of lost as there's no real display option for the now dissected car. They should have included some dummy parts to fill that section out at least.
Again, this is an excellent selection of accesoriers. Far FAR more than we usually get with any web exclusive or retail release. But I find some of the choices a little baffling, that's all.
Final Thoughts
Overall I'm VERY pleased with how this release turned out. Expensive Web Shop prices aside, S.H. Figuarts Tridoron truly truly delivers in jut about every way. It's big, heavy, functional, and includes a welath of accessories & bonus features that you just probably aren't expecting. If you were able to secure it for it's original price or can swallow the pill of it's heightened aftermarket price then I encourage you to pick this one up! Nice Drive!
And more features!
- Working LED's!
- Tire Koukans!
- Removable cockpit display!
I wasn't much of a Drive fan. But I did love Tridoron and Mr. Belt.
This is a very dang cool figuarts vehicle and probably taught Tamashii Nations on what to do for Rideron.
Not sure if I'll be able to hunt this down or not.
Despite my feelings towards the show, I have to admit, Drive put out some damn nice toys, and this is just the icing on the cake. Honestly, if I'd had the money to throw away I probably would've gone in on this thing, but as it is I'm content admiring from afar.
I'd love for a separate release of all of Mr. Belt's faces, though.
This is definitely an impressive toy. After I started watching Drive, I was tempted to get this, but alas, that price is, although not necessarily excessive for what you get, definitely really damn high. So that's nothing but a pipe dream. Regardless, this gallery shows very clearly just how detailed and well crafted this release is. Though for all they include, I would have really thought an extra Driver would be a given. Odd, that.
I watched a cstoys review of this and this toy is huge. Of course it has to be to be able to fit SH Figuarts. It is pretty impressive.
I want this thing in my life so badly, but alas, it is too expensive, I will have to settle with either nothing, or the DX. Even though it looks like trash compared to this. Drive has spoiled me for DX toys.
Removable cockpit effect is really cool. This would look great next to itasha robo.
It's quite the impressive figure, no doubt. I do love how beautiful Tridoron looks. I'm actually a little surprised that it would go so far as to include lights, considering Figuarts is the kind of line that isn't really too keen on electronics. However, it doesn't really intrude with anything and I'm certainly not complaining~
The price is rather daunting, but thankfully, I was never too keen on Drive. Though I can't deny that some of the figures the line released certainly have been appealing (I've been eyeing Chase and Drive Type Speed, personally). If not for the fact that I'm poor as hell, I'd also have a sharp eye on this, too
Keep reading: S.H. Figuarts Tridoron Gallery - Page 2
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