Monday, July 2, 2007

Neptuneman by Romandoh

Neptuneman is a character from the Kinnikuman series who was a masked Kenkaman. This character Kenkaman is based on Hulk Hogan who was actually very popular in Japan as well as the US. In the story, the England native Kenkaman was depressed that he was so powerful and no one could stand up to him in the wrestling world. He felt he had nothing left to accomplish and decided to end his life by jumping into the Thames River.

Upon jumping in, however, he was discovered by the Neptune King, a former battler who had gone to live beneath the waters hundreds of years earlier because he didn't like how the wrestling world had moved away from life or death matches.

Neptune King gave Kenkaman a mask with magnetic powers, changing Kenkaman to Neptuneman!


This M.U.S.C.L.E. character was a favorite of mine when I was a kid. I knew nothing of the Kinnikuman toys back then, and, like most kids, named my little figures however I chose. This guy was named Harvey. Actually they were both called Harvey and formed a tag team together. (He was named Harvey because he looked like a friend of my dad's named Harvey. Harvey drove an El Camino and he was awesome haha)

So I couldn't pass up this giant Harvey figure...

Sculpt (4.75 out of 5): Oh yea..... this one is a beauty I have to say. Bulky, solid, just a great sculpt overall. His two faces are different enough to be unique and both have cool expressions. His hands look cool in thair various shapes, and the muscle definition looks great!
The figure is well balanced and stands easily on its own.
My only complaints (very minor) on the scupt are 1) the visible seams that are on pretty much all these Romandoh figures that are solid... This is the price you pay for solid figures due to the way they are produced. and 2) the post for his head to sit on is slightly undersized so his head comes off a little too easily. These are really nitpicking though because the sculpt is so well done.

Paint (5 out of 5): I really like the paint job on this figure. This was the first one I received ever with the airbrushed paint that had different finishes. His skin, hair and fur on his legs are matte and nicely shaded, and his trunks, wrist bands, face mask and boots are nice and glossy with a little metallic sheen in the highlights.
The skin looks as though it could even be soft, although it isnt

Articulation (3.5 out of 5): General articulation like all the other solid Romandoh figures I own. Head, shoudlers, bicept, elbows, 1 of the wrists, hips, knees and ankles. The joints aren't too tight and arent too loose. Very well put together.
His hips cannot bend very far in either direction due to the basic designand his ankles can hardly move at all because of the big furry tufts at the bottoms of his legs hindering that movement... this is the biggest articulation problem because you pretty much have to keep his legs straight under him in order to maintain balance.

Accessories (4.5 out of 5): Neptuneman comes with some cool accessories I havent typically seen in these figures.
He does come with the standard head (no-mask Kenkaman head.)

He comes with two different right hands - a clawing, gripping almost-fist and then a fist with index pointer pointing up in a #1 sign.

He also comes with a removable rubber vest with big nasty spikes on the front. the vest is easy to get on and off thanks to a split under the left armpit. so you only have to put one sleeve over his right arm, then the rest falls into place (with a little adjustment to get it under his hair and stuff like that.)

The figure also comes with a long, vinyl cape that has images of all the masks I suppose him and Big the Budo have stolen. In the story, Neptuneman and Big the Budo use their powers of magnetism to go on a mask-stealing crusade through the wrestling ranks. The cape is kind of a pain to attach and is honestly a better accessory to have rather than use.
Finally there are 2 transparent lightning bolts that he can hold in one hand... I think these are supposed to signify his magnetic powers
Very nice accessory set!

Coolness (5 out of 5):This figure is bulky, heavy, spikey and just overall cool. He looks awesome standing amongst any other figures and is definitely one of the first noticed by anyone seeing him for the first time.

Value (3.75 out of 5): Very pricey for an action figure, but you get a lot more for your money over a figure like Terryman of Kinnikuman... in size and accessories.

Overall (4.75 out of 5):This is my overall favorite figure from the Romandoh line that I own so far. I am holding out on the coveted 5 out of 5 rating just in case anything blows me away, but I really like this one.
Good points – Bulky, awesome paint, cool accessories, spikes, i can pose it just like his kinkeshi with it's arm raised.
Negative points – visible seams, pricey, limited leg poseability because of limited ankle movement range.
If you have the cash and want a terrific Romandoh figure, this is totally worth the purchase.


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