Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Red Hawk

We begin 2013 with a review of a figure released last summer, and another of the Super Sentai red heroes released during the boom of Akibaranger merchandise. To make things even better its a series I recently finished watching and is now one of my firm favourites. Of course its none other than Ryu Tendoh aka Red Hawk, the leader of the Chōjin Sentai Jetman. He is the first of the Jetman to be released, with Black Condor following as a Tamashii web exclusive in October and the remaining three yet to be revealed. He is also the first Sentai Figuart to be released in the US via Bluefin (excluding the Toys R Us exclusive Shinken Red and Gold), however this released lacked the bundled Akibaranger Inordinate power.

Red Hawk's packaging is fairly simple, but nicely evokes the early 90s feel of Super Sentai that Jetman comes from. The red packing is emblazoned with gold text and images of the figure, while the back includes a few action poses, images of the accessories and a sectioned off box showing off the Akibaranger accessory.

The Jetman costumes are fairly elaborate in comparison to some of the other Super Sentai Figuarts, and Bandai have pulled it off fantastically. The large white sections break up the primary red colour nicely, with the yellow highlighting finishing the ensemble off. The belt buckle and neck crest are moulded perfectly, and the helmet looks great with its glossy paint job. Once again Bandai show off that they've improved the shoulders on their Sentai Figuarts since the release of the Shinkengers, with more fluid movement that makes posing far easier (and with the neck piece, the design itself is far less obtrusive to the overall look of the figure). The only flaw in what is an otherwise perfect figure is once again missing out on the bicep swivel included on the Gokaiger figures, which would have added that tiny bit more versatility when it comes to posing. Included are two holster pieces that can be clipped to either side of the belt - one for the Bird Blaster, and one for the folded-up Bringer Sword.

Super Sentai figuarts usually include an excellent amount of accessories, and Red Hawk is no exception. Altogether we have 10 different hands (a pair of closed fists, open palms, sword holding hands, gun holding hands and a pair doing what seem to be quotation fingers), the aforementioned folded-up Bringer Sword, an extended Bringer Sword, the Bird Blaster, the Jet Hand Cannon (a combination of the sword and gun), the Wing Gauntlet (with swappable pieces) and most importantly, an alternate back piece featuring folded-out wings. The only thing really missing from Red Hawk's arsenal is the Beak Smasher, which didn't appear in the series until the very end anyway.

Red Hawk is another example of how to do changeable pieces on figures properly, with the hands extremely easy to swap in and out. The back piece is also really easy to swap out for the winged piece, also giving you a look at the inner workings of a Figuart torso should you be interested. Its a shame that he doesn't come with his own Tamashii stand so you can pose him flying without buying anything extra, but considering Figuarts rarely do it's hard to complain when he comes with so much.

Finally we have the Jetman Inordinate power as seen in Akibaranger - the Jet Winger. This colourful wing piece and clip onto the back of the three Akibarangers to give them the power of flight, and does have a very limited range of motion to make the wings flap. As I now own all three pieces of it this review will also look at the combined form of the Jet Winger, the Deka Wappers (included with Deka Red) and the Bouken Scooper (included with Bouken Red) - the Inordinate Cannon. Even though the combination is fairly simple its great to see that Bandai went the extra mile to include it, the end result a pretty hefty piece that looks best when supported by a Tamashii stage.

Even with the lack of a bicep swivel, Red Hawk is probably my new favourite Sentai Figuart. The level of detail on the suit is great with no obvious goofs or sloppiness, and the collection of accessories is pretty much everything you could want from a Jetman figure. Even if your attachment to Sentai Figuarts mainly comes from Power Rangers this is a release that couldn't come recommended any higher - and its even better when you consider how easy he is to get!