Mega Man Merchandise Monday – May 29th, 2017 (Update)

At the beginning of May, we learned that Bandai was resurrecting the classic 90’s line of Rockman/Rockman X “Mega Armor Series” model kits in a new form — the “Giga Armor Series” figures. Along with that reveal, we were given a brief, faceless tease of what the first (of hopefully many) figure in this line would look like.

Fast forward to the end of the month here, and Bandai has laid all its cards out on the table with regards to this offering. By way of Tag Hobby, we now have a look at the complete figure, face and all:

And, as one would expect from an X figure of any remote level of sophistication, his hand can swap out for the X-Buster:

Unlike previous figures which require swapping out the entire forearm, however, a description from Amazon.co.jp (courtesy of a tip from Adalberto Morales {via @figsoku} and run through Google Translate, as much of the info here is) states that “Changes to Xbusters are reproduced with a gimmick without replacement.” Maybe it’s a spring-loaded barrel that pops out when the hand is removed? That’s just speculation on my part.

The figure, whose full name is translated as “Superalloy Rockman X GIGA ARMOR X,” is approximately 140mm tall and is constructed of ABS, die cast, and PVC materials.

But wait, there’s more!

Not only is there a new X figure, but he has a new Ride Chaser as well:

I’m not quite sure what the third picture there is highlighting, but it probably has something to do with the fact that this Ride Chaser is more than meets the eye; it’s a new armor for X in disguise!

This reminds me of some Power Rangers stuff. Lightspeed Rescue, anyone? Anyone?

Anyway, if you look closely, you might notice that the entirety of the cycle hasn’t attached itself to X’s frame. That’s because the “Giga Armor Series” itself isn’t the only throwback to the 90’s; another part of the Ride Chaser forms this:

Hundreds of pieces of fan art and fan fiction from the days when we all thought X was just the original Mega Man in a newer frame (and that every other robotic member of the core Classic cast should have an “X” version as well) has just been validated as none other than freaking Rush finally makes his official (if not necessarily canonical to the games) debut as a part of Rockman X!

Amazon.co.jp has the product up for ￥12,960 (approximately $116.39 USD), with a release date of October 31st. I’ll let you know if I spot it anywhere else, but feel free to send me a tip if you see it first! And speaking of tips, thanks to Azure and luizssb for the additional submissions!

(Update: DJ Schway in the comments points out that AmiAmi has pre-orders open for12,960 JPY (approximately $116.98 USD), but with a discount of 18 percent, bringing it to 10,600 JPY (approximately $104.58 USD), while Protodude has also found pre-orders at CDJapan ($88.80 USD after an 18 percent discount) and Play-Asia.com for $149.66 USD.)

Oh, and if you want more pics (as well as a couple of the NXEDGE X and Zero figures, along with so much more), check out Shishioh’s Tamashii 10th Anniversary Tour gallery.

Following this, we have some news that may come as a disappointment to some of you.

The First 4 Figure Zero statue, a piece which would cost $299.99 (light-up)/$259.99 (regular) and is seen above with its Z-Buster configuration, has apparently been cancelled.

According to Protodude’s Rockman Corner, the following notice was sent to those who had pre-ordered the statue:

“Zero was launched for pre-order in November 2015 and we recently got the reply from the factory that there will be an increase in production cost as the quote they given were not valid anymore. Since the number of orders cannot cover the cost, we have no other option but to cancel the all the productions of Zero.

For customers who have placed the order, we will refund all the deposit you made within 2-3 days. We sincerely apologize for the cancellation.
 
Should you have any inquiries, please fill in the Contact Us form in our website.”

If you didn’t have your heart set on Zero so much as just some sort of Rockman X series statue and are willing to pay at least twice as much, then there’s still good news for you!

Kotaku reports that the above statue is coming our way from HMO Collectibles, measuring in at 21 inches tall (1/4 scale), and comes in both normal Blue Bomber and “Hard Candy Red” variations. Check out the gallery below to see both versions, as well as the way the top layer of armored plating can be removed to expose the robotic bits underneath.

If you want one of these figures, then in terms of American funds, you’re going to have to form a tag team (playa) with President McKinley and Ben Franklin (in other words, $599 USD). If you want both, then that will cost you the not-at-all discounted (and in fact, actually marked up) price of $1,200 USD.

Unfortunately, that’s only if you’re able to find a retailer offering these or a very kind aftermarket seller — the BMO Collectibles web store is already sold out. The latter case is especially unlikely, as these are pretty limited, with only 200 blue, 75 red, and 50 “Ultimate Bundles” containing both being made.

Hard as they may be to get, at least they were actually made.

And that’s it for now! If you spot anything else cool and would like your name in lights (well, text) as a contributor, send a tip my way either at this link or at the.mega.man.network (at) gmail.com!