Toku Toy Box: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Build Trial Form Rabbit Dragon Gallery

"We've got the winning formula!"

Two Earths, a single future. To save his world Sento has gambled everything on the power of the Pandora Box. Opening a bridge between universes, and using Evolt's energy as the catalyst, Sento seeks to fuse the two worlds to save them both. To create a New World, without Evolt. But when the alien menace possesses Ryuga one last time, Sento will use every last ounce of power he has to fight for this future. With Ryuga's help, one last experiment to save humanity begins. Gold & Silver, Rabbit & Dragon, Sento AND Ryuga. Build's final transformation, his Trial Form is born! With the unstable power of two Kamen Riders, can Sento save the New World he wishes to create?

Packaging
As a Tamashii Nations event exclusive, Rabbit Dragon has some seriously gorgeous packaging and box art. Event exclusives have gotten much more elaborate in recent years and this is by far the most gorgeous I've seen. The outer slip cover features the amazing logo for Tamashii Nations 2019 while the back side of it has a brilliant piece of monochrome artwork. Under the slip cover is the more standard type of Build packaging, but it still looks just a as good.

Main Figure
It shouldn't be any surprise by now, but I absolutely love Kamen Rider Build. The show resonated so much with me when it was airing. Few rider series have had the same impact on me that it did. It's right up there at the top with Den-O & Drive for me. So each new release this series manages to squeeze out is another small victory for me. And this form is something I absolutely never expected to happen, but always hoped for.

Trial Form is honestly a pretty basic repaint for the most part. Much of this line is pretty basic parts reuse, with elaborate paint additions to differentiate them so Rabbit Dragon fits right in in that respect. The legs are physically identical to the base Build Rabbit/Tank form. If you haven't handled this mold by now, it's pretty great. The ankles don't have any armor to impeded their movement, the knees have a great back bend, and the hips are free of obstruction. As is usually the case with this mold these joints are nice and tight and provide a very stable base of support. The on indication in the legs you'll find that Cross-Z is part of this combination, is in the thighs. While the physical parts are from the original build mold, and we get new silver and gold paint apps, the right thigh features Kamen Rider Cross-Z's flame band paint app.

The torso features yet another outing for the wonderful Build Driver. This item has made a number of outings in the line now, having only had significant paint alterations once with Mad Rogue. In this case the big change is in the Full Bottles. As the name of the form states, we get the Rabbit & Dragon bottles, which are not traditionally a Best Match, but due to Sento & Ryuga's bond, are compatible now. Rabbit is now Gold while Dragon is Silver. As always the bottles are removable and the crank on the right of the driver can turn. It's still one of my favorite 1/12 scale Drivers. There's still a Full Bottle holster on the left hip as well if you want to store any extra bottles there, though in my experience the fit is quite loose.

Outside paint apps on the torso there are no mold changes. As always the combination of a ball jointed waste and upper body with a unique ab crunch, create a lot of possibility. I particularly love that the small angular part of the armor on the abs can actually hing upward allowing you to bend the torso a bit further. It was a feature I didn't even notice the first few times around with this mold, but ever since I discovered it it still blows me away. The right gold arm is the classic Rabbit/Dragon mold with no physical changes. The shoulder, elbow, and wrist all work fantastically allowing you to get Build in his signature poses. The right silver arm however, is a direct carry over from Cross-Z, and I love that sculpt so much. We get the protruding shoulder pad, the flame band on the bicep, the dragon flames molded into the forearm. I absolutely love it. Asymmetry in Build forms is my favorite aspect of them, and Rabbit Dragon illustrates this so so well.

Finally, Trial Forms head is a wonderful fusion of Build & Cross-Z. Taking the right side Rabbit visor and combining it with half Cross-Z's dragon visor is a brilliant idea. The head itself is just builds without all the added Cross-Z bits, but the new compound eye combo looks brilliant in these colors. The Build line has absolutely some of the best Compound Eyes in the S.H. Figuarts line and Trial Forms just come alive in the right light. This whole figure comes alive. It's just stunning complete package. Absolutely everything I could have hoped for.

Accessories
This may seem sparse, but it's honestly perfect:

7 - additional hands. While we only get 2 left and 5 right, you get basically anything you need to replicate the forms briefs appearances as well as utilize other items in the Build SHF line. The gripping hands are good for using with the Machine Builder or Drill Crusher in particular. The expressive hands perfectly allow you recreate Build's poses, you get plenty of variety for display.

1 - Pandora Box. This is clearly the big draw of this figure. While the form itself is something truly special already, the inclusion of the Pandora Box is just the cherry on top. The build line has had quite a number of releases since it began, but the big question has always been, where on earth is the box? I was surprised it didn't come with the likes of Blood Stalk or Night Rogue, but seeing it finally hit the market like this is very satisfying. This is a hefty little cube with outrageously well defined details. The sculpt has so much depth and care put into it, it's a truly incredible little accessory. The only thing that could be better, is maybe one day getting the complete box with panels and molded in bottles. As is though, this is the ideal Build SHF accessory.

This form has about a minute worth of screen time in the finale episode of Build, so I didn't expect it to come with much anyway. If you own Rabbit/Rabbit or Tank/Tank as well as Machine Build or Cross-Z, you can arm your Rabbit/Dragon with just about anything you'd like anyways. The Pandora Box is the perfect singular accessory for this release to come with as is.

Final Thoughts
This incredible one off form is absolutely the best choice for an event exclusive. Tamashii tends to zero right in on sensible choices for these, forms that collectors want but aren't that necessary to own. And that's exactly what Build's Trial Form is. Kamen Rider Build has had a lot of longevity to it. and the molds used for it's line keep seeing new uses. With Grease Perfect on the Horizon and even prototypes of Prime Rogue & Metal Build having at least been displayed, there's a chance that this line has yet more life to it. I for one welcome anything Bandai wants to throw at us from Build's old and new worlds.

Part 2

What a wonderful release. Should a Figuarts of Cross-Z Build never surface, I'll absolutely be after this one instead. He just looks stunning

I really liked this design. It's such a shame that it got relegated to being just a CGI, last ditch, suit.

Build's true final form in my opinion. I absolutely adore the design. I wish they'd made it a physical suit. I prefer it's simplicity and elegance over the busy look of Cross-ZBuild

It looks really nice, I didn't even notice the dragon parts on the arm.

I like this form but man does it make me want a figure for Cross-Z Build

Jesus shit those pics of Cross-Z and Build alongside this figure are godlike

Always wondered why they would make a figuarts of this form. I know it's all pretty much reused parts with a repaint, but man, it was only used in the last episode for like... 30 seconds.

The slightly muted gold and silver really make this pop. It looks better than the one in the show, for certain. Damn Build's slightly wonky CGI.