Tamashii Nations has revealed a new line of articulated 1/9 scale figures. Which means that the releases should be around 8 inches in height, depending on the character. The figures will be engineered and designed with a focus on hiding the seams and joints of the figure, allowing for the character designs to more closely resemble the designs we see in the source animation.
The Dragon Ball figure collecting community has seen this in the past, with figures utilizing vinyl and rubber materials to hide the joints. Unfortunately, these vinyl and rubber components were not long lasting and had a tendency to dry out and crack.
Additionally, Tamashii Nations has launched a new landing page for this line at their official website. However, all we’ve got to look at right now is a dark photo of a base form Goku figure:
Additionally, an alleged prototypical Imagination Works “Super Saiyan Blue Goku” photo has been making its rounds online. Couldn’t get a concrete answer on where this photo comes from, so if you have more information, please enlighten me in the comments section.
However, it does appear that this figure’s arms feature different materials and thusly the seams are much more obvious than in the Base Form Goku we’ve seen above. I’d assume this is a prototype effort that predates the Base Form Goku being marketed today.
It would appear that seamless figures have been on the radar for Tamashii Nations for quite some time. It wasn’t that long ago that there were S.H. Figuarts displays at toy shows featuring prototypical seamless figures. However, that was S.H. Figuarts, an entirely different line:
I’m curious about what this means for the future of Dragon Ball and S.H. Figuarts. Will the line be ignored in favor of this new approach? Will the two lines co-exist, as they offer different features? What will the price point be? I’m going to keep my finger on the pulse of this new line and be sure to report back when I can. I know updates have been slow, but maintaining this entire site on my own is daunting. So if you’re reading this and may want to give me a hand with updates, get in touch!
This is a great writeup. I have often found the 8 inch scale to be a bit gimmicky no matter the line… but if these really hide the seams well, then maybe they’ll be worth a shot. I would assume these will be around 90-100 bucks on release though, and for my money, I’d rather stick with figuarts scale. But my interest is certainly piqued
Saw this on another site too but didn’t see all the explanation there, just a photo…