PopBox Hikaru

PopBox's 1/6 Scale Hikaru Ichijo

Do You Remember Love, Movie Edition

Action Figure

(Reviewed by Graham)

Preface

Just a quick note to mention that this is the first time I've reviewed a 1/6 scale action figure. I'll be honest and admit upfront that it's not an area of toy collecting that I'm greatly familiar with, not having owned any 1/6 scale (12") action figures since the 1970s, except for the recent Hot Toys Hicks figure, which I bought and then immediately sold on eBay. As many of you know, my forte is reviewing transforming Variable Fighter toys. Action Figure aficionados, please forgive any blunders I may make or obvious points I may miss.

Introduction

Released in July 2006, the Hikaru Ichijo “Do You Remember Love” (DYRL) 1/6 scale action figure is designed, manufactured and distributed (in Asia) by PopBox collectibles, under world-wide license (except Japan) from Harmony Gold and Toynami. Macrossworld's own Blackaces (Noel) is a part of the PopBox set-up and has been heavily involved in the development of this figure.

I was lucky enough to receive a sample figure from PopBox for review. Apparently, according to the writing on the back of the box, 3,000 units of these will be produced for sale worldwide. The sample I received was numbered 0000-3000.

Box

The toy comes packaged in an attractive dark-blue, flap-top, card window box, with the accessories mounted in a clear plastic blister located on the inside of the flap. The box is the following dimensions: -

The front of the box flap features a dark blue silhouette of Hikaru, with a large silver UN Spacy Kite emblem positioned over his chest, which is in turn overlaid with the words "MACROSS" DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE? MOVIE EDITION". And then at the bottom of the front flap is a red band with the words "PILOT HIKARU ICHIJO".

The sides of the box feature the same wording and UN Spacy Kite, but also photos of the figure in sitting and kneeling positions.

The rear of the box features a small Kawamori line art drawing of the VF-1S in fighter mode, which was apparently approved by Harmony Gold. Also the following paragraph is written on the rear of the box: -

"1:6 Pilot Hikaru Ichijo figure rendered authentically from Macross the

movie, "Do You Remember Love?" The exceptionally detailed

real cloth utility uniform is donned on an awesome 23 points of articula-

tion body for superior posability. Comes with collector's insignia

patch and dog-tag. Limited to 3,000 units worldwide.

Please note that although the figure I received was production standard, I was informed by Noel that the box will differ slightly from the one shown in the photos below, in that the blister for the accessories will be attached more neatly. Also, the box I received was missing the velcro for holding the front flap closed, which the production boxes will have. Otherwise, the box shown here is identical to production boxes. Overall, the box comes off as being quite classy in my opinion. Anyway, as they say a picture speaks a thousand words, so here you go: -

A nice touch I thought, is the removable inner card liner behind the plastic tray, which is silver color and features a large Skull Squadron logo printed in white.

The figure posed in standing, saluting position comes mounted in a clear plastic tray, with the optional spare open right hand. Photos of the figure in it's tray can be seen below.

As mentioned above, the base body of this figure is from Toynami and has a 2001 copyright mark molded on its back. The box mentions that the figure features 23 points of articulation. I removed the right-fitting uniform to check and yes, I actually counted 26 points of articulation (if the double jointed knees and elbow joints are counted twice): -

As I've already mentioned, I'm not an expert on 1/6 scale action figures, so can't comment on how this Toynami body compares articulation-wise with those from other manufacturers such as Dragon, Medicom, Hot Toys etc. However, the articulation seems adequate to me, although I couldn't put the figure in a prone snipping pose (see the "Hikaru Armed & Dangerous' paragraph below).

Unfortunately, I neglected to take any photos of the naked body (wadda ya think I am, some sort of perv)! However, one strange thing I noticed is that the figure has 1cm wide x 0.5cm thick x 8cm long black foam strips glued to the back of each upper leg, from just below the buttocks, running down to the back of the knee joint. I can only guess that these are to make the figure fills out its uniform better, so the legs don't look so skinny, due to the tight fitting nature of the uniform.

As a side note, from what I understand PopBox were obliged to use the Toynami body as part of the licensing agreement with Harmony Gold.

I'm quite impressed with the head sculpt and while it's not 100% accurate to Mikimotos's line art, I'd say it's about 90% there, or close enough anyway. Mikimoto's 2D character designs have always posed a challenge to convert into a 3D medium while retaining the essential Mikimoto essence. I think PopBox have done a pretty good job with the head sculpt. I've certainly seen far worse from other manufacturer's that have attempted to make a Hikaru Figure.

Paint application on the skin is smooth, although it has no noticeable skin-tone shading effects. Paint application on the eyes and eyebrows is also good, with no flaws I could detect.

The hair, which is solid, appears to be in two pieces, a front and rear, with a fairly noticeable join line running across the top of the head from left to right. Paint application on the head is also well done, with at least two different shades of dark brown used.

According to Noel, the PopBox Hikaru figure is a true 1/6 scale action figure and not just the generic 12" standard size of many figures. The Macross Compendium states that Hikaru is 175cm tall, which at 1/6 scale would make him 29.16cm. Measuring the figure to the top of the figures tall spiky hair I get a measurement of approx 31.5cm. However, if we measure to the where I guess the top of his head is rather than the hair, we get a measurement of about 30cm, which is close to what true 1/6 scale should be.

The thing that most impressed me about this figure is the work that has gone into the design and manufacture of Hikaru's form-fitting utility uniform. The workmanship, sewing and stretchable materials used are really first rate. On first glance, you might think it's a fairly simple uniform to make, but a lot of thought has obviously gone into getting all the little details right, such as the pleats on the shoulder and hip area and also Hikaru's collar.

The utility uniform is basically a one-piece jumpsuit, which opens by a zip down the front. The miniature 1/6 scale zip is really neat. I remember the uniforms for my 12" 'Action Men' (US: GI Joe) figures back in the '70s, all used to have full size zips.

The jump suit itself is constructed primarily of blue and yellow material, which I'm guessing is some type of nylon. The blue discs on the leg and arm cuffs are plastic.

Details such as the Skull Squadron patch (a miniature embroidered patch), the red collar buttons, the red rank strip on the chest and the circle-bar marking on the pack (printed on) are all present. As far as I can tell, the uniform is completely accurate to Mikimoto's lineart.

Despite the uniform being fairly tight, it can still be removed quite easily. Under the jumpsuit Hikaru is wearing a sleeveless blue vest, which is a darker shade of blue than the jumpsuit. The vest has an imitation cravat at the front.

Lastly, the ankle-high boots, which are made of plastic are removable, but it is a tight fit to get them on and off.

The toy comes with the following accessories mounted in the clear plastic blister on the inside of the box front flap: -

A red and yellow embroidered Skull Squadron patch with the words "H.ICHIJO" written at the bottom. The patch measures approx 9cm wide and 10.3cm high and can be sown or ironed onto an item of clothing.
A black anodized dog-tag with rubber protector around the edge. One side of the dog-tag has the UN Spacy Kite emblem on it, followed underneath by the words "MACROSS", "PILOT" & "H.ICHIJO". The other side of the dog-tag has Kawamori fighter-mode line art of the VF-1S as well as the writing "VF-1S".
A black chain for use with the dog-tag is also included on the tray, packed in a small clear plastic bag.

The above-mentioned accessories are high quality, as befits a high-end collectible figure. I'm certainly considering sowing the patch onto my leather jacket.

The figure itself is somewhat lacking in 1/6 scale accessories. Although to be fair to PopBox, the Hikaru character in the DYRL movie is never really shown carrying or using any weapons or other equipment. About the only items PopBox could have included while staying accurate to the anime, would be the fish-on-a-stick, that Hikaru feeds Misa after he crash-lands his VT-1 on Earth or perhaps the Handkerchief with Minmay's name on it.

PopBox have still managed to include a few accessories on the figure, as follows: -

The hands have a ball-shaped peg, which attaches to a matching socket in the wrist. The attachment is quite secure and the hands will not fall off accidentally and will only come off if you want them to.

Unlike some other 1/6 scale action figures, no display stand is provided, but I find Hikaru doesn't need one as he balances quite well.

My only complaint with about this toy is that it can't easily hold accessories designed for other 1/6 scale action figures. I personally would have liked it to come with an optional right hand for holding 1/6 scale firearms.

While I'm not a 1/6 scale figure collector myself, there are a great many people who are, and I know many of them like to mix-and-match or swap accessories between their figures. Anyway, as you can see from the photos below, which use weapons from one of my colleagues at work, who is a 1/6 scale action figure fanatic, Hikaru looks much cooler when tooled up, even if it's not accurate to the anime at all.

Unfortunately, Hikaru can't really grip the guns firmly as his fingers are too rigid with no flex and the slightest bump causes him to drop them. I've mentioned to Noel that a gun-gripping hand would be a good idea for any future releases and he is looking into it.

Also, I tried to put Hikaru in a prone shooting position with the SR-25 rifle, but articulation limitations in the neck and waist prevented me from being able to position him in that pose, mainly because his head can't tilt back about far enough to get a good pose of aiming through the rifle's scope while lying prone.

Well, what's coming next from PopBox? Apparently a DYRL Maximillian Jenius figure also in blue utility uniform is up next followed by a DYRL Roy Focker figure in utility uniform. Interestingly, from what I've heard, the Roy Focker figure will also be correctly scaled, and if so should stand a head taller than the Hikaru figure. If these action figures sell well, there is also the possibility of flight suit versions with flight helmets later on.

So is it worth US$79.95? I'd have to say yes. Despite the lack of accessories, you are getting a quality, well produced item, which frankly compared to many other high-end Macross collectibles is not really that expensive.

Until 30th June 2006, Macrossworld members can ordering the toy by clicking on this link and following the instructions can get free international shipping.

Hikaru Armed & Dangerous! (Click To Enlarge)

With Stoner 63A 5.56mm LMG	With SR-25 7.62mm Rifle	With SR-25 7.62mm Rifle	With SIG P226 9mm Pistol	With SIG P226 9mm Pistol

Box Pics (Click To Enlarge)

Tray Pics (Click To Enlarge)

Face Close-Up Pics (Click To Enlarge)

Figure Pics (Click To Enlarge)