Perfect Piece Tachikoma Review
Date: 2007 December 31 10:08
Posted by Joe
With the holiday season coming to a close, some of you may have some extra cash to spend, this article might tempt some of that money away from you.
Anime fandom like most kinds of fandom is always susceptible to merchandising, and lets face it there is a lot of plastic tat out there, if you can print onto it, engrave it, or mould it, it's had some sort of anime merchandising. However every now and again something good comes along, so we thought it would be nice to do a product review to gauge our readers reactions and see if it's the sort of thing Otaku News readers want.
Full Story
The Perfect Piece Tachikoma by MegaHouse was released earlier in 2007 and has had several different variants released afterwards, here we review the first of the Tachikomas.
This 1/20th scale model is based on the Tachikomas seen in the first series of Ghost in the Shell: SAC. It's fully poseable and comes with all sorts of nice accessories (which we'll cover later in this review).
The model is packaged in a retail box, with a plastic window, so you can see inside. It retails for 9,800 Japanese Yen (which is about 45 GBP or 85 USD). It also has a nice anime style drawing of the Tachikoma on the cover.
On one side of the box has some pictures on the back, demonstrating how poseable and movable the model is.
The back of the box has more similar pictures with the Major Makoto figure, the Tachikoma with its pod open and also the fun accessories you get.
While the other side of the box features some pictures of the Tachikoma being all heroic and saving the day.
On opening the action figure, the first thing that hits you about it is how detailed it is, it's just like a real Tachikoma! ^_^ Erm, that is how you imagine a real Tachikoma would be. It has a metallic type finish to the plastic.
The level of detail is excellent, even the fingers have their tips painted green.
All three white bowling ball like eyes are really movable too, allowing you to spin them around to look at things.
From the side you can see the panels on the legs have been painted, and the panel on the pod are also moulded. The web shooters on the side of the pod rotate as well.
Each finger on the tachikoma's hand is also moveable which allows for all sorts of great poses and grip on to it's accessories.
The roof of the pod opens just like the real spider tanks.
All the lines on the back of the pod are present, along with the break lights to make the tank "road legal" (we question if the inclusion of a machine gun and rocket launcher would still make the vehicle road legal).
The pod doors also open on this model, and the roof raises too, allowing you to see inside the pod.
The Major Makoto figure included with the Tachikoma fits nicely inside, although the paint work and detailing on the figure isn't as nice as the Tachikoma itself.
When you explore the model some more, it also has its slot to insert some yummy natural oil in.
The toy also comes with a handy wrench...
...and a book for the robo tank to read.
Along with oil tears for those Tachikomatic Days moments.
The rocket launcher on front of the tachikoma can also be replaced with mini-gun for all your needs when assaulting an enemy of Section 9.
The safety pin on the rocket launcher can be removed too.
The legs on the model are fully poseable as they are on a ball joint, so you can rotate them and also adjust the angle of the leg, allowing you to position it as if it's about to pounce. The wheels also spin so you can race along. The hands can stretch out from the arms just like in the series. ^_^
Here's a shot of the model with a DVD from the series for to give you an idea for size.
This model is totally plastic, it makes a great desk toy. You do have to get used to positioning the legs as the pod is a bit heavy and can cause the model to tip backwards, but this is a minor issue. The Tachikoma model does not come with any kind of Thermo-Optic camouflage, so you won't loose it, nor does it come with any kind of AI system, so it won't run off and go on adventures on its own accord.
There are as far as we're aware three other models in the perfect piece range, a die cast metal Mk2 tachikoma with feet, and some more detailing on it's hands. This one does not have a pod that opens, instead the pod forms a battery case to power it's red lights.
There is also a yellow tachikoma that comes with a Batou figure, this appears to be a repaint of the Tachikoma reviewed on this page.
Finally, there is also a new die-cast metal Mk1 Tachikoma with a different Major Makoto figure. Which appears to be more detailed than the one reviewed here.
Is this action figure worth the money? Well the answer depends on how much you pay for it, you'll be very lucky to get it for around 45 GBP or 85 USD, as it costs a bit to ship over to the UK or the USA in the first place, plus importers put a bit of mark up on top. You could always order directly from a Japanese firm, but run the risk of getting stung by customs, at least ordering from an importer, you'll know the exact price you should pay. You could also get a good deal hunting around on eBay, but that can be a bit hit and miss and is also riskier. If you can get this model at a reasonable price, then we recommended it, but we also suggest considering the die cast metal (aka gokin or gohkin) version if you like your models more weighty and a bit more detailed.
Below is a list of retailers we suggest you check for Tachikoma goodies, they're listed by region then alphabetically:
Source: Otaku News