Blokees Legend Ultraman Noa Review: A Joy to Build

 
What is it?
A model kit from Blokees for you to build a fully articulated Ultraman Noa that stands about 7.5 inches, from head to toe. It's under their Legend line of kits, not to be confused with the many many other kit-lines that Blokees dishes out, such as the Defender, Shining or Galaxy Versions (which also has a Noa). Unlike those, Legend is not a blind box.

Is it good?
Oh yeah, it sure is. That's why I'm blogging this. 

Should I buy it? 
Yup, totally.

I pre-ordered it for RM128.25 (30 USD) shipped. 

For that price, you not only get a great kit, but once fully assembled, it's basically an action figure that's compatible with stuff like the McFarlane DC stuff or ACG Spectrum's line of Ultraman figures. Given Noa's lore, he's also compatible with smaller figures like the SH Figuarts Ultraman line or heck, he could be a giant for your 1/18 scale figs.

It also comes with a ton of accessories like extra hands, effects parts, an articulated display stand and even a LED light function. Way better value than stuff like your typical modern Marvel Legends, Black Series Star Wars or even McFarlane DC itself.

Naturally, it also looks flippin' cool, regardless of whether or not you're a fan of the Ultraman aesthetic.

And unlike the old Ultra-Act Noa, it's affordable and not riddled with durability issues, right out of the box.

What's the catch?
It's a model kit, with all the caveats and foibles that entails. I'll talk about it in detail down at the next section, but basically, Blokees Legend Ultraman Noa is a great kit leading into a great toy, but if you're just not into kits, then that can be a big hurdle to overcome. Especially since, while it is a truly great kit that's ultra beginner friendly, it's still a kit with a seemingly daunting number of parts involved. 

With ACG Spectrum Ultra Father

Tell me about it in excruciating detail.
Now it's time for the main event. And the reason I felt compelled to write this whole shebang.

The gist of it
Blokees Legend Ultraman Noa, is in a couple words, "user friendly". It addresses many problems that normies like myself, have with building model kits.

First of all, the final product for many model kits tend to be a fragile feeling figure, featuring flimsy flexors. They feel like they'll break if you accidentally squeeze too hard while holding them and all the joints are either loose or feel like they'll get loose after just a few uses. While Noa is mostly made with a harder plastic that may well break if dropped, in-hand, he feels like a proper, sturdy action figure and the joints are all nice and tight.

With Hiya King Ghidorah

Breaking stupid model kit building conventions
Second, and this is the big one, it really feels like Blokees designed this kit to not have all the annoying aspects of model building that other kits have, simply because that's the way it's always been.

The first thing I noticed while building Noa was that I had completed sprues pretty early on. This honestly blew me away. A lot of other kits will spread out the build in such a way that sprues don't get fully utilized until late into the building process. Like, there would be a sprue for building the torso, but after you're done building that torso, you're left with a few parts that won't be used until you build a limb or accessory later down the line. This means you have to keep that sprue around in case you need it, which just clutters everything up and makes it more annoying to track down the parts you need.

But Noa will generally try to fully use up a sprue as soon as possible. Which means that related pieces will also tend to be grouped together, making them easier to find.

Speaking of making it easier to find the parts, the instruction manual will also list the sprues you'll need for each particular body part you're building, so you can just bring those out and set aside the rest for later. This really helps with the clutter and reduces the annoyance level.

The second thing I noticed was how simple and direct the building process was. Other model kits have a tendency to make things arbitrarily more complicated than they need to be. For example, you're building a mech with a square panel. Those kits will make you assemble that square. I used to think it was to make the figure more sturdy, but nope, that kinda thing just makes the pieces more fragile in the name of adding artificial complexity to the build.

Blokees Legend Ultraman Noa is very no nonsense. You build the internal Blokee skeleton, cover it up with Noa's body part, then attach all the silver bits for the color separation and texture. And that's it. The instruction booklet will even show you the correct orientation when assembling the figure.

There are no annoyingly small and fiddly bits that makes it all but mandatory to get one of those "magnifying glass x flashlight" setups that Geri the toy repair guy from Toy Story had. The smallest pieces on Blokees Legend Ultraman Noa are some of the silver bits, but those never feel fiddly because they fit in so snugly and smoothly.

Oh, and boy do they fit in smoooooth. There have been kits which boasted tight and precise fits, but Noa's parts just sliiiiiide in smooth (like how I slide into yer mum's DMs). And everything fits perfectly with no gaps.

No proper cutting technique nor sanding required. Which was great for me because all I have for tools are a cheap 1 buck nipper and a 20 year-old rusty cutter knife.

Noa's a genuinely pleasant model kit to build. Due to my incompetence as a builder, it took me several hours to complete him, but those hours just flew on by and I was actually eager to finish building him. Normally I'd lose interest in a kit by the time I reach the limbs because the limbs are always soooooo effin' annoying. It's always so frustrating that it seems to take forever to finish up each limb. But with Noa, each limb is quick and painless.

The bit they DON'T leave in your hands
Thirdly (yes, we're going back to the numbering), Blokees Legend Ultraman Noa (or BLUN, as all the cool kids call it), has pre-painted and pre-assembled parts. Pre-painted lines for Noa's undersuit is great and all, but let's talk a bit about the pre-assembled parts instead. Primarily, the elbow and knee joints. That's the game changer for BLUN. Simply by having pre-assembled elbows and knees with strong tolerances, it eliminates the feeble arms and legs that so many otherwise great model kits are plagued with, and really make BLUN feel like a proper action figure once it's all put together.

 
And now for some bad news
Okay, enough of the lollipops and sunshine, let's get into the seedy underbelly of this kit.

To begin with, it IS still a model kit. So while I think it could actually survive a 3.28084 foot drop, a lot of parts will probably be sent flying if that happens.

It took me several hours to build this guy. If you're at all a competent builder, it'd probably take you under an hour. But you're still not getting a figure straight out of the box.

If you're a model kit normie like myself, your Noa's probably going to have minute imperfections as a result of your model building skill level. Others probably won't even notice those minute imperfections, but you will know they're there. And that'll eat away at your soul until one day, it breaks you at a fundamental level of your being and before you know it, you'll end up at a regular soul-crushing office job, newly promoted to middle-management, which is the perfect place for someone whose soul had long been destroyed by the knowledge that your BLUN's perfection was ruined due to a little bit of paint chipping (it's actually just some dirt you could have wiped off, but you never realized that).

Also, as much as I praise the build, there is one fairly major shortcoming to BLUN's otherwise fantastic instructions booklet. You see, the parts that make up the Blokees skeleton/inner frame come in a baggie. So they're all jumbled up together. A lot of them have similar looking silhouettes, such as the male/female hinges. The problem is that the instruction booklet, illustrates these black pieces, in black and white. So it can be hard to tell which part is which, because you can't really make out the details in the pictures.

My only tip here is that if the parts don't seem to come together, you might be dealing with the wrong parts. BLUN's assembly should be buttery smooth at all times.

 
TL;DR
Blokees Legend Ultraman Noa is a joyful kit to build and the end result is worth it.

Blokees intentionally skipped all the arbitrarily boring, annoying and frustrating conventions of other model kits. I have no complaints other than the instructions for building the inner frame being hard to make out.