S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Build Rabbit Tank Form Gallery

"Best Match!"

Kamen Rider Build is nearing it's halfway point, and while the plot thickens and the action heats up, it's also time for the first figuarts releases to make their way out. First up is Build's base form, S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Build Rabbit Tank Form! Let's see how this brand new figuarts sub-line introduces itself to us below.

Main Figure
As always with our first release from a new line, it's up to the first figure to set the bar high (hopefully). Undoubtedly the last few years have had some fantastic winners in this regard (Gaim, Drive, Ex-Aid) and serious losers (Wizard, Ghost). So what end of the spectrum does Build Rabbit Tank fall on?

For starters I have to see I really like the general bulk of this figure. The body feels fully fleshed out and like like. Often figuarts can feel a bit lanky and unrealistic in terms of body proportions. Build strikes a pretty decent balance of form and functionality that gives this figure a more realistic look than most. It's bulky in the ways that make it believable someone wears that suit.

At the ground level Builds asymmetrical legs looks pretty decent, but I find the paint work to be a bit weak. The colors look fine (if a bit dark) but the lines aren't terribly crisp which bothers me. I do really like the soles of the feet though, those unique designs are really appreciated. The recent trend of the bottom of figuarts feet being accurate makes me extremely happy. That attention to detail is great. The articulation is mostly fine in this part of the body, the knees feel a bit limited, but the hips are more so. They're traditional drop down types but they don't drop down very far, so you do run (literally) into some clearance issues with the waist.

Moving up we have the Build Driver. The Driver looks fine, but the details are a bit iffy and ill defined. The handle can rotate accurately, and the Full Bottles are removable! These little things are sculpted really well for something that size. Of course there are missing details to them, but at this scale I'm quite pleased. I remember when figuarts Shift Cars weren't even half as well detailed. They can also be stored on the Full Bottle Holster on the left hip if you so choose.

The arms and torso features fairly standard articulation. Nothing extraordinary, minor limitations to the wrists and what have you. I do find it's easy to pop the shoulder pads off if you don't rotate them down a bit first before posing. The upper body can arch back and forth and from side to side pretty wellThe head is also pretty normal fair. It's an excellent sculpt with unique compound eyes that pop in just about any light at all. The sculpt is on point for this part of the figure and perhaps it's only drawback is that the , and the arms can accommodate this movement to give Build really natural looking poses. cuff around the neck does impact it's movement a bit. I'd also like to mention that the back of the figure just looks really nice to me? Oddly I just really love the details on the back, it just looks great.

So yeah, Build is pretty nice, though he does fall a little short. It's a charismatic figure that get's by on style. I do think the paint job is a quite a bit too dark, but overall the figure packs a punch. Even if as far as it's design, it's pretty average. I quite like it.

Accessories
Sadly Build doesn't come with any of his weapons. He comes 2.5 sets of hands. That's two types of open palms for posing his signature moves and one right hand capable of gripping the Build Driver handle. Bandai's usual ploy to get you to buy multiple things is in full effect with this one. The Build Crusher sword & gun forms will be packed in with the Machine Builder release. So I know this feels bare bones, and purposefully so. But I'm just happy to see the weapons coming somewhere.

As is this release should and could have come with anything else to sweeten the deal. Gas effects like Stalk would have been great. Or maybe a personalized Tamashii Stage? I know we rarely see those anymore but it would have been welcome.

Final Thoughts
Tamashii Nations has found the formula for victory with this one! Lack of accessories and my personal issues with the colors aside, I really enjoy this figure. S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Build is a great initial release in this brand new subline. I welcome future releases like Night Rogue, Cross-Z, and Blood Stalk very much now.

Part 2
- Vortex Finish
- Heisei Generations Final
- Group Shots

very cool. those tiny Rabbit/Tank bottles are crazy!

the seam lines on his legs look so obvious but maybe it's just a side-effect of the metallic looking paint.

no matter, it's a very cool figure. I'll have to pick it up.

Thanks for the great photos.

I will never understand Bandai. I want to be delighted by the removable FullBottles, but then Build doesn't come with any hands that can hold them. The character does the "shaking the bottles" thing frequently. It's just a bizarre oversight, but no more so than the Ghost figures lacking hands capable of holding Eyecons. You can kinda get the Gaim figures to hold Lock Seeds, but the hands clearly weren't designed for the purpose.

Part of the reason it's baffling is because sometimes, they remember. Pretty much all the figures that come with individual cards can hold them. Den-O can hold his liner pass. The SS W can hold Gaia Memories.

Those FullBottles are GREAT, but it's just stupid that this figure can't hold them.

Sounds like this figure falls into the "close, but not top-notch" category, which is a shame. At least it's not an outright turkey like Wizard and Ghost. I just don't like this feeling that main Rider figure releases are getting increasingly perfunctory, and Shinkochhou Seihou has been painfully slow in releasing new main Riders.

(I just noticed that the FullBottles can fit in the holder. That's pretty great.)

You know until you brought it up I hadn't even realized that he can't hold the bottles. That's pretty dumb. Even recently I noticed the same thing with Amazon Neo and New Omega. They have no way to hold the Amazon Injectors that come packaged with them. That's just silly, and for Build even more so.

Well, mine's just shipped and I'm glad it looks great

The lack of grippy hands is a bit bothersome but otherwise, this figure is really nice to play with. I also dig the group shot with both Kikaiders, Metalder and W.

This is where an effects set would come in real handy for proper Vortex Finishers (seriously algebra ftw), Build Crusher weapon, and hands for bottles. Then again, this will be one of many SH versions to come.

It's a fantastic looking figure but the lack of accessories really is disappointing. Sourcing it out to a release I have no interest in getting isn't helping much either.