“Fight with me, my greatest buddy!”
It’s time to search & destroy all at mach speed one more time! Kamen Rider Drive continues to be a merchandising juggernaut with new releases churned out from Bandai every quarter. Even now, nearly 3 years after the series finale. This go around we’re looking at the first new S.H. Figuart released from the series second V-Cinema, Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Mach/Kamen Rider Heart. Once again Bandai has managed to fashion a new form out of pre-existing molds to create S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Mach Chaser!
Not to be confused with last years’ Kamen Rider Chaser Mach, Mach Chaser is Gou’s final form. Accessed through a new Shift Ride Crosser (which is present in the Mach Driver), Mach Chaser is a new spin on what made Chaser Mach so great. This time the cohesion between the mishmash of Mach & Chaser parts is even greater though thanks to a solid new color scheme. As always Gou has his trusty Zenrin Shooter at his side, and this time he has the addition of a brand new zenrin effect part for curved slashes! If you loved Chaser Mach then there’s lots to love for you here with Mach Chaser as well. Drive as a franchise has been built on smart repaints and reuses of pre-existing designs, this is yet another wonderful execution of that ideology. And just a heads up, Mach Chaser does not come with a Signal Ax, the ones in these shots came from my Kamen Rider Chaser.
We’ve attached a selection of images to this post but you can view the full 80 image gallery by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post. We’ll be back in the VERY near future with a pair of new galleries from Kamen Rider W & Space Sheriff Gavan!
Den-O says
"Chase, I found my answer. I will see you again."
It's been 3 years since the final battle against Banno. When Chase sacrificed himself, and Gou valiantly borrowed his friends' power to defeat his own evil father. Now, Gou searches for answers and a way to bring his best buddy back to this world. But getting mixed up in things is his complicated relationship with Reiko, and the remnant of Roidmude 005. Can Gou grow up, overcome his fear, and unlock the Shift Ride Crosser's power? Find out in our gallery & review of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Mach Chaser!
** Fair warning, this will be word for word identical to my Chaser Mach Gallery in sections because the mold is nigh identical. If you want to skip down to the pics at the end feel free.
Packaging
Business as usual continues with this line. We've seen this nearly identical style of box several times over in this line. Links to previous galleries for reference.
Main Figure
As I mentioned above this gallery will be basically all rehash, in this case a three-for-one. Mach Chaser is a part for part straight up reuse of most of the lower half of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Chaser, and the upper half of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Mach. The release we're looking at today, Mach Chaser, is made nearly identically to the previously released Chaser Mach.
For the lower half of Mach Chaser we're looking almost strictly at Chaser components. From the mid torso down to the ankles. The feet however are Machs'. The nice thing about less bulky and more acrobatic suits like this one is they just don't have all that kibble to get in their way. Much like Drive, the Chaser legs have fully unrestricted hips. However I do need to mention that because of the sort of safety pad design of the shin armor, the feet can't quite tilt back as far as I'd like. The lower Chaser half of the body of course includes a Mach Driver with Ride Crosser Shift Car preset in it. The painted details on the Ride Crosser at that scale aren't super complex but it gets the job done. Where this lower half of the torso meets the Mach chest above it I wish that joint had more range, but you can still manage to get some decent poses out of him. He just can't hunch over or arch his back the way I'd like.
Now the upper torso is just the Mach chest sat down on Chasers' body. The standard Signa Advent is still present, only this time in blue. You can still exchange it for the other advents made for Mach from the S.H. Figuarts line, but Mach Chaser was never shown to use any of them. For this release a new molded in "metal plate" is present on the right side of Mach's chest. Probably just to give it just a little bit more differentiation in design. Thankfully this version of the mold also uses Mach's hands and upper arms, but the forearms are Chasers padded armor. So that funky armor on Mach's normal right arm isn't present to get in the way. You just get a nice streamlined look for him. As with previous releases, Mach Chaser's V-Helm can be opened to reveal his Shutter Face Guard beneath as well. This release replaced Mach's visor eyes with orange Chaser style compound eyes. Since these eyes are smaller they give the impression that the clear visor is too large, but they're really striking.
The combination of these two figures still works fantastically. They integrate seamlessly in a way that makes this design looks pretty much perfect, and the new paint job the mold has gotten this time around strengthens their cohesion. The original version of this form was most certainly a last minute addition to the series, but with the new look for it in the Heart V-Cinema, it feels more at home than ever. Everything is complimentary this go around in this shared figure. All of the previously purple accents are now blue, as are many of the parts that originally came from Mach. The grey suit components carried over from Chaser remain, and all around this color scheme makes the design feel even more cohesive than it once did.
Accessories
Mach Chaser comes with just slightly more accessories than the standard Kamen Rider Chaser did:
2 - sets of additional hands. That includes 2 identical open palm expressive hands, and 2 holding things hands. These are repacks of exactly the hands that came with Chaser Mach.
1 - muffler/scarf. Sadly only the standard "resting" one is repacked from the last couple of releases. You don't get the more dynamic windblown one in this set.
1 - Zenrin Shooter. Another straight repack from the original Mach. As with the Driver it can accept Shift Bikes via a small tab and clip system on the side. Other than that it's not really functional though, no spinning wheel or anything like that.
1 - Zenrin Shooter effect part. A sort of sweeping/rolling flame burst that attaches to the end of the gun. My best guess is that it's meant to approximate Gou using the Zenrin to slash upward at the mutated Roidmude 005 near the end of the film. It's just bizarre to get such a specific effect part like this for something that has mere seconds of on screen presence.
All in all not bad, but considering the obvious and extensive reuse and repacking of parts I don't quite understand why Chaser Mach didn't come with more hands or scarves at least. And the omission of a Signal Ax is really irritating. It would have been such a simple repack.
Final Thoughts
If you haven't guessed it by now, S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Mach Chaser is yet another winning addition to the Kamen Rider Drive lineup. Taking 2 fantastic figures and cramming the best parts together is still a perfect formula for success in my opinion. This show is well known for suit and parts reuse and I love that the toyline continues to embrace it. With the recently released Type Miracle and just announced Type Special, this line has closed the gap in ways I never thought possible in terms of completion. We're a mere handful of riders and forms away from having it all, Drive is the gift that keeps on giving!
"Nice Drive!"
Den-O says
Part 2
** Note: the Signal Ax was not included with this release, I've just borrowed one from my Kamen Rider Chaser.
- Group Shots
- Ride Macher
ARGiammarco says
This figure and the gallery look great s always. And of course Bandai and Toei would repaint something as a new form. Gotta save that money some how
AkibaSilver says
This guy seriously looks great. Kudos, Den!
Talisman says
Still miffed I opted to miss out on this one. At least the aftermarket isn't *too* crazy...
Helios says
I love the colors on this figure. The blue looks really good on Mach.
Talisman says
I love it when I'm right.
MaskedRiderAsakura says
Stop making me want this figure Den-O...Lol
The blue looks fantastic on this guy. Wish this was the version we got in the show.
GreenPsychoRanger says
So we have Chaser, Mach, Chaser Mach, and Mach Chaser.
Kiwami says
Yeah, this is the best looking Mach suit IMO and thus the best looking Mach SHF.
The blue color is one thing, but I think the bug eyes are what makes me like this over any other Mach form.
Thank you once again for the effort you put into these galleries Den-O
Keep reading: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Mach Chaser Gallery - Page 2
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