Stag Beetle
It’s been a while, but we took a look at S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Gatack back in December. And after so many years waiting for a good renewal of Gatack, Bandai only made us wait a couple months to get his ride! Today we’ve got a quick gallery & review of the S.H. Figuarts Gatack Extender!
The Gatack Extender, like it’s predecessor the Kabuto Extender, doesn’t actually transform from Masked Form to EX. After Bandai really knocked things like Dragranzer & Auto-Vaijin out of the park I wish they’d tried a bit more with these. But as is the Gatack Extender Masked Form we have here is still a great looking rider machine. One that pairs very well with Kamen Rider Gatack himself. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of many bikes, it does a more than serviceable job as a display piece.
You can view the entire 30+ images of this release after the jump by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post. And we’ll be back in a couple of days with a brand new gallery from Kamen Rider Ex-Aid!
It's been a few months but we're finally back with another new Kamen Rider Kabuto review! Following up from last years release of Shinkocchou Seihou Gattack we have this gallery & review of S.H. Figuarts Gatack Extender! Gatack's rider machine finally completes the character and leaves only (the probably never happening) Hyper Gatack to hopefully be released at some point.
Packaging
The box for the Gatack Extender is pretty nice, though obviously it doesn't pair well with the premium style Shinkocchou Seihou box Gatack himself came in. The stock photos look about as nice as the finished product. Not much to say about the box otherwise, it's pretty average stuff.
Main Figure
Like many Rider Machine releases the Gatack Extender is a rather bland one. These bikes are traditionally just giant accessories for their riders after all. They don't typically have many functional features. Transforming bikes like Dragranzer, Darkraider, & Auto-Vaijin have quite a few bells and whistles that standard machines just don't. They tend to serve their purpose as vehicles and that's about it. The Gatack Extender is no diferent.
However, the Gatack Extender in show IS a transforming bike. It goes from it's Masked Form, which is what we have a figuart of here, to it's EX Form, which is a bit like a flying surfboard with scissors. As was the Kabuto Extender. Neither of their figuarts releases cam transform at all. Which is really pretty disappointing. After the fantastic work that went into things like Auto-Vaijin it's hard to believe Bandai didn't go the extra mile with either of the Kabuto bikes. But that's where we are. You have to examine the Gatack Extender based on the merits of it's design rather than it's functionality.
So what does the Gatack Extender offer? Not much. It's a very nicely painted machine, if a bit monochromatic around the engine block. The engine block itself actually seems a bit hollow to me, from the right angle it doesn't quite look like it's connected to the main body. It has working spring rear suspension like many modern releases. For some reason it still has removable handle bars like many releases, the difference being here that a spare set isn't included so there's no purpose to that function. And really that's about it. This is a great looking bike that works well with Kamen Rider Gatack himself, though I always find it difficult to pose a rider naturally on their bike. Hopefully it comes through in the photos. I'm happy to have this release but it ultimately doesn't do much.
Accessories
1 - wheel base. Standard stuff, basically all bikes comes with basically the same type of wheel bases, just minute size differences is all.
1 - Tamashii Stage Adapter. A more recent trend is seeing bike specific adapters that can fit over the undercarriage of the bike itself. These ensure much tighter connections than your standard Tamashii stage arms.
And that's it. If only this bike could transform like it should. Or maybe even just some alternate dummy parts could have been included to swap out for the transformed mode. Anything else would have been a welcome addition.
Final Thoughts
I love Kamen Rider Kabuto, and Gattack in particular was my favorite rider from the series. So I really really wanted to get his bike. I expected it not to transform as Kabuto's didn't either. But I can't help but find it disappointing still. S.H. Figuarts Gattack Extender is a fairly standard release that was an expensive web exclusive. If you can find it cheaply on the secondary market then do so, otherwise I can only recommend this purchase if you're a die hard fan like myself.
Have secondary bikes always been better than the main riders bikes, or is this just a trend I’ve been seeing recently
Oof, pretty disappointing it doesn't have the ability to, y'know, extend
It's funny; these figures look terrific with their bikes, but I'm just not tempted to make a purchase. Where would I put them? I also wonder whether they could have incorporated the gimmick from the show.
Fortunately, galleries like this - and the terrific lighting - mean I can enjoy them vicariously, without having to figure out space.
Nice bike but too expensive for me
It's a bike, it's blue. You make it look good, Den-O, but not good enough to buy.
If only it transformed, it looks so nice next to the riders.
Gatack is my favorite rider, and his bike is beautiful. The deep shade of cobalt blue they used on it is so pleasing to the eye.
Blade suit designs are really good, but this bike seems a little dull compared to its rider.
Wow the bike looks very lonely by itself, but when it's with Gatack, it makes a huge difference.
Keep reading: S.H. Figuarts Gatack Extender Gallery - Page 2
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