Beast Saga, the spiritual successor to Battle Beasts, is branching out into Sofubi.

At least that's what it says on the listings:

BS29 Beast Sofubi Collection 01 Raioga
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/prod ... ode=retail



Sure they will be Chinese vinyl, but I'm intrigued none the less.

Three in total.

That is cool news, but I am a bit confused. Firstly, these are already soft plastic, be it some form of vinyl or not. And what is the scale on them? I guess if they are upsized it kinda makes sense, but otherwise, why remake them, and at 11.99 I am sure guessing they are not very large, in which case it is far overpriced for a small, new issue, made in China figure. And I am a Battle Beasts fan.

I will take a wait and see approach before I get too excited. Also, where are the weapons?

I read that the whole franchise is getting a reboot in early 2013 with new battle figures and an anime of sorts. I'm kind of excited as I loved them when I was a kid, but am also afraid because I don't want to see it become the next sub-par anime crossover.

I own a good portion of the first wave of these guys, plus the colleseum thingy. They are made well, but I wish the weapons werent such a soft material (seems kinda odd that the Japanese had safety in mind for once, typically thats American over-worrying.) I'll take a stab at the preorders and post what I end up getting.

The first wave of the "new" ones that came out this year or the first wave of the old ones that came out forever ago? If they are the newer ones could you possibly post pictures? Do the limbs still come off as easy as they used to?

I'd also be interested to know, as this is the first I have heard of them. I actually thought the original issue weapons were pretty sturdy - the figures on the other hand... By 'come off' do you mean break, or pop out of the joint? Because the connections to the body were so thin and flexible, I definitely did notice the arms could break easily (this led to many a sad days for me as a kid). That, and losing the hologram was also a big downer if the sticker came off.

Ah man....I'm looking at the new rhino sculpt...I hate it.

He looks kind of dull-witted....

The old one is MUCH better:

Although a bit less realistic.

^^ Agreed. From that shot you posted looks like this is just another cash grab to start a trading/collectables-associated game (i.e. card and dice). Tie that in with a new anime series to peddle them = super lame.

Yeah I can try and snap some iPhone pics tomorrow when its light out. The main body "core" (the thing that holds the dice) is riggid ABS type plastic. The rest of the body is kinda softer, semi rubbery plastic, in the idea of like a PVC figure like OMFG. The limbs all pop off without much trouble, but go back on easily too. They aren't loose or prone to breakage. The sword/ gun and shield are a much softer PVC, similar to the saftey weapons Hasbro has been having Takara make for the US releases for Transformers, if not even softer. The sculpts are much less cartoonish than the old Battle Beasts, but I still am fond of them.

Not going to lie. That whale from the upcoming Water Kingdom series looks pretty fucking silly, but I feel as if I must own it.

I am a consumer whore.

I'm in for sure!

Not that I've ever researched it, but has anyone ever played the game associated with these new figures? Is it any fun? If not, then how bad does it suck?

I've only got a sketchy understanding, but each figure has a die associated, then you pick bonus and other modifier dice, and whoever has the highest score wins. It probably has more mechanics then that, but I don't read Japanese (or speak it).

The figures themselves are entertaining, if to realistic in the head and hands. The originals were much more stylized and like was mentioned before, filled with personality.

We're still getting bonkers stuff like the whale above, a stingray head, and a hamster with a machine gun. I've been happy with my purchases so far.

Got home late tonight, but I'll grab some pics in the daylight tomorrow while I let my birds out for their afternoon walk. I've been trying to understand the instructions on how to play them, but haven't found a god translation yet. But Nanite's description seems to make the most sense.

Have to have them.

I haven't read through all the post here yet (just found thread), but in case it hasn't been said:
Where &/or what type of shops are carrying these?

I bought most of mine at BBTS, but tfsource had some preorders that they had already sold out of at BBTS, and they also have good prices.

They sure seem to have a lot there. Oh, and thank you for your reply by the way.

I wish the "sofubi" ones said what size they are. But you're right, at that price they must not be too big. Not that that bothers me too much, but it would be weird if they were the same dimensions as the already produced ABS-like guys.

I thought perhaps comparing the shipping weights between these might help determine size difference, but alas, it's 0.21 pounds whether it be a single or multiple figure order, even for the playsets. No dice.

Based on the and lack of dice, perhaps they are the same size [or around] as the Ultraman Ultra Monsters or the Kamen Rider sofubi figures that are like, everywhere.

Calling it now!

Some pics are a little blurry, crappy iPhone







and my own little battle beast.. Bagok!

Awesome! The league of urban farmers strikes!

Painted up my spare Raioga, and clear dolphin:







I've been buying from Hobbylink Japan, but they're sold out of wave 1, and being really slow about getting in new product.

Really nice repaint you did with the lion! I have a spare, maybe I'll turn him into LioConvoy

From what I've heard, the normal figures are pretty much sold out everywhere in Japan too. They're definitely a hit. I'm guessing at this rate, there's gonna be an anime...and Hasbro will eventually import them (for far cheaper than the importer prices we're seeing now). That's just my theory though...

There is already a manga in Shonen Jump. Quite a few series already appear to be planned. If they do get imported by Hasbro they will probably include cheaper paint applications and/or plastic as we see in the Transformers toys.

Yeah, US releases might end up with fewer/cheaper paint ops...but who knows. They're already cheap as it is, so I wouldn't be surprised by simple repackaged (identical) figures. These guys are at a totally different economy of scale than Transformers.

Oh, and speaking of TFs, I'd love to see a LioConvoy custom, AgentRavage!

i will own these

yes