“A transformation into a more mature style, perfect for formal occasions.”
The tradition of the Hyper Battle Video (and the rider forms exclusive to them) dates all the way back to Kamen Rider Kuuga, though that special did not feature an exclusive form for him. To this date none of the various HBV exclusive rider forms have ever had figuarts produced of them and likely never will either. In a search to rectify that case for Kamen Rider Drive, I stumbled across a fantastic artist & customizer. @relgnadam on twitter. Thankfully relgnadam had actually already created the form I was looking for, and after some correspondence agreed to recreate one more time for me, S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Drive Type High Speed! For Toku Toy Box today we’re taking a look at this magnificent work of art in the full gallery below!
I’ve followed relgnadams blog for some time now, which you can find here, madangler blog. You may be familiar with some of his more recent projects such as re-creating Dark Drive’s future ride the NEXTridoron or his brilliant work recreating fully poseable Cronus robes. Relgnadam is a professional, and his work is a labor of love. He tirelessly recreates figures and vehicles down to the most minute detail, with absolute precision. I was ridiculously happy to be able to come to an agreement on the Type High Speed custom you see today, and having it in hand after a little over a year of anticipation, I am nowhere near disappointed.
We’ve attached the full 50+ image gallery of this impressive custom piece to this post, but you can also check out our review by clicking the link below. Just click “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” to be taken to our full review thread! In a couple days we’ll be back with another Toku Toy Box gallery, and this time, we’re headed back into the Armour Zone….
"Shall we Drive?"
The tradition of the Hyper Battle Video and the rider forms exclusive to them dates all the way back to Kamen Rider Kuuga, though that special did not feature an exclusive form for him. To this date none of the various HBV exclusive rider forms (including the likes of Fourze RocketDrill States, Gattack Hyper Form, & OOO TakaToraGaru Combo) have ever been made as figures. No figuart has ever been produced of any of these wild exclusive forms. And they likely never will. But I wish they would.
In a search to rectify that case for Kamen Rider Drive, I stumbled across a fantastic artist & customizer. @relgnadam on twitter. I've followed his blog for some time now, which you can find here, madangler blog. You may be familiar with some of his more recent projects such as re-creating Dark Drive's future ride the NEXTridoron or his brilliant work recreating fully poseable Cronus robes. Relgnadam is a professional, and his work is a labor of love. He tirelessly recreates figures and vehicles down to the most minute detail, with absolutely almost factory like quality. So I took it upon myself to contact relgnadam in the hopes of getting a commission. And I succeeded! Now I'm able to present to you a very special gallery of one of relgnadam's most gorgeous pieces of custom work, S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Drive Type High Speed!
The Story
And now a little background on the Kamen Rider Drive: Type HIGH SPEED! The True Power! Type High Speed is Born! special. Roidmude #27, with his Copy ability, is running amok hocking bogus copies of Televi-kun. And when there's a mischievous copycat afoot, you have to bring a little elegance to the fight.
#27 has managed to make a copy of the Drive Driver & Shift Brace for himself, becoming his own bogus version of Drive, Imitation Drive, (represented in the gallery below by my Type Speed) on top of his counterfeit publications. And while his powers aren't quite as intense as the real Drive's he has enough force and sheer luck behind him to best Shinnosuke. So the Drive team comes up with a new plan and a shiny "new" Shift Car to go with it. What results is the luxurious Kamen Rider Drive Type High Speed form! With it Shinnosuke managed to best #27 in battle. Seemingly impervious to attacks, with added speed & power behind him, Shinnosuke thought he'd found his new high-class permanent form. As it turns out, Rinna & Mr. Belt actually took Shinnosuke on a little ride of their own, hiding from him the fact that High Speed was merely a repaint of Drive Type Speed with identical specs. Thus teaching Shinnosuke a lesson in overcoming his own mental limits, and making a broader bit of commentary on toy repaints.
While this Hyper Battle Video was brief it's probably one of the more memorable ones I've seen, and it certainly has the most stylish new form for a rider that we've ever seen in an HBV. It's also actually the 2nd HBV special that Drive had, after Type TV-KUN: Hunter & Monster! Chase the Mystery of the Super Thief. Though that special didn't feature a brand new form like this one.
The Figure
Now as a custom figure, my review won't really focus the same way on the functionality of the toy as previous ones. I've reviewed the Drive Type Speed body several times over the last couple years. You can check out any of my galleries and reviews on the subject of this body type for a more in=depth review of the mold itself:
Drive Type Speed
Proto-Drive
Gold Drive
Zero Drive
What I will say is that to this day I continue to absolutely love the Drive Type Speed mold. In any of it's variations it is an excellent toy. It's easily one of my favorite modern Figuarts. Even about 4 years on from it's first outing. It's stylish and well articulated, it's just a quality mold. And I have a lot of sentimental & emotional attachment to my own SHF Type Speed as well. Primarily because of how much I enjoyed the series itself, and just how many times I've busted it out of my display to feature in a gallery. With that in mind I sent off my original Type Speed that's been with me for all this time and galleries from Drive, to be upgraded into Drive Type High Speed by relgnadam. If you haven't seen the original post of the finished product on his blog, please go check it out.
As with the suit used in the DVD special, Type High Speed is an extensive repaint & slight remold of the base Type Speed body. Any of the red paint or plastic has been stripped and replaced by a gorgeous silver finish that looks absolutely factory quality it's so nice. I don't think I can ever lavish enough praise on relgnadam's work when it comes to paint. There's something extraordinary about it.
If you'd like to see a breakdown of how the new parts were molded & cast for this figure then you can check out this WIP post on Type High Speed. It's just incredible to see the amount of skill and effort that went into this!
New parts include the head crest, shoulders, and tire. In the case of the tire, it was sanded down, smoothed out, and given a flat surface with no tread unlike the regular Type Speed. It's more of a slick glossy racing tire now and the paint work is phenomenal on it. Not to mention the incredibly nice High Speed decals Relgnadam custom designed printed and applied to it.
The shoulders are entirely new parts, sculpted molded and recast by Relgnadam himself. Having seen the molds he created for them and the parts breakdown, it's hard to believe this was done by an individual. These parts when painted and detailed match exactly Tamashii factory quality. The Drive "R" crests on the new squared off shoulders are absolutely stunning and a real triumph of his skilled work. The head also features an elaborate new crest that once again was hand sculpted molded and cast, then finished to perfection. I'm honestly terrified that I'll be clumsy enough to break it when I touch it. But it's just so gorgeous. This part like the shoulders screams with creativity. I should also mention the new "diamond" rider jewel in Drives chest which looks stunning against the new silver paint scheme.
Frankly this is just a stunning piece of work all around. An absolutely incredible example of love and dedication to ones craft. [B]Relgnadam[/] is someone I've come to highly respect and I'd like to call my friend after over a year's worth of correspondence over this commission and it's progress. At a time when a lot of people who take commissions seem not to hit deadlines, or seem to be unable to deliver on their promises to customers, Relgnadam has shown me that not only is it possible to do so, but that this kind of project is a true work of art. This was an expensive commission, but one that was worth every penny. Or rather, yen, in this case. Relgnadam has helped me fill out my Drive collection with one more form that would have never existed otherwise. So I'm eternally grateful to own one of the only two Type High Speeds in the world, and honored that he owns the other. Thank you!!
Part 2
You know, I'd have had no idea this was custom if I wasn't told. This looks pretty damn slick and a really cool figure. I know very little about Drive as I haven't watched it yet and only know of him from the crossover movies. Might need to change that soon....
I'd never realised none of the HBV forms came out. I mean, it's semi-obvious in hindsight, but with High Speed being such an obvious repaint of Speed, it seems like it should have done at some point. But, even if it didn't, it did now, and you can honestly feel the love and care put into this.
Amazing. Simply amazing. I wish I had the guts to paint a high end collector's figure, but for now I'll just stick to painting Gundam kits.
Also, you mentioned that this guy made a custom robe? Does anybody know how to to this? I'd like to know how (Out of curiosity).
OH CRAP. Does this mean that gorgeous looking SHF Prime Rogue figure we saw a while back won't come out?!?! DX
I'm always amazed at the work customiser can do. At first glance it looked like a professional had done it. This fgure looks amazing.
That someone can put together a custom that photographs well enough that it actually looks right when put next to official releases in a high-resolution photo shoot is beyond impressive. I remember that Hyper Battle Video - I actually have the Type High Speed Shift Car - and... yeah. Hyper Battle Videos tend toward the funny, but Type High Speed actually looks great.
Reignadam's work is remarkable. As others here have said, I would have assumed this was an official release. (Let's face it: they've iterated that mold as many times as they thought they could get away with. It's not even unrealistic.)
Beautiful piece of work.
That is some great quality.
It's probably my favourite hyper battle form but that's not much competition - they actually used the fact that it's a recolour in the plot.
Keep reading: CUSTOM GALLERY: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Drive Type High Speed - Page 2
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