Okay, okay, I’ll admit, I haven’t seen Jetman yet! I don’t have an excuse really; everybody (“YOU MEAN NERDS!”-Chris) considers it to be one of the best Sentai series of the 1990’s. Still, I’ve always been a fan of the costumes from the series (they’re probably some of my all-time favorites!) and I’ve always wanted a nice figure of one of the girls. Since we probably won’t get one of those, I opted for Black Condor instead. For those of you that have seen Gokaiger, you’ll understand my reasoning. When I first heard he was getting a Figuart along with Red Hawk, you can guarantee he was on my list.
Now, unfortunately, Black Condor was a Tamashii Web exclusive in Japan, and a very limited Amazon release in the US. However, I’m reviewing him because from an accessory standpoint, he is identical to the domestic release of Red Hawk, with the colors and helmet shape being the only thing that differentiates them. This is part of the reason why I’m probably only going for him, unless they release Figuarts of the Jetman girls. They’re all basically the same toy, and I’m really not going to go out of my way to buy the same toy in different colors five or six times. If they didn’t make the “less important” ones webshop exclusives all the time, things would be more reasonable…
Black Condor has a very lean frame, similar to the other Sentai Figuarts we’ve seen recently. His helmet is actually painted in a different type of paint than the main body; it’s glossier. Some people found this to be a turn off but I quite like it—the helmet is obviously made out of a different material than the rest of the suit, so it only makes sense that it would be different.
His articulation is quite good, but I’m kinda worried about the connections on the shoulders. Mine feel incredibly tight, and I’m constantly afraid I’m going to break them. I might have to go inside and loosen some screws.
…which is actually quite easy, thanks to his wings! His back plate swaps out to place the wings in, and they look pretty cool. Unfortunately I can’t pose him properly with them due to my lack of a Tamashii Stage…
Another well-designed accessory is the Wing Gauntlet which, instead of being a finicky accessory you swap out in his hands, has a hand molded into it! It can still be a pain to get in and out, but it’s much easier than sticking it in a hand.
One thing that didn’t fare too well was his holsters. While the one for the sword is fine, the one for the gun barely stays in place. Additionally, they’re very clunky and kind of get in the way.
The Bringer Sword itself is rather nice, however, and both combinations of the Bird Blaster look and feel great.
The assortment of hands is great, too, with ones for all purposes. My favorites are the hands for the fighting pose, which, let’s be honest, just look like he’s making air quotes.
Overall, Black Condor is an excellent figure. While I doubt FPNYC will be able to get this figure in stock, his mold-mate Red Hawk is a definite, and in spite of some small problems, he comes highly recommended to any Sentai fan or even a general Figuarts collector.
