Vegeta is a character who has had a few looks throughout his time in Dragon Ball Z. Almost all of those looks are some variation on his Saiyan armor from his debut with minor tweaks and modifications. Since Vegeta has become one of the most popular characters from the long-running manga/anime, most of those looks have made it into plastic. At this point, it’s easier to pick out the few looks that haven’t received representation in the Bandai and Tamashii Nations action figure line S.H.Figuarts. Despite Vegeta’s popularity, his most recent figures have seen him locked behind the Premium Bandai delivery method. This is essentially a made-to-order process that comes in at a higher price than a general release item. For example, there’s currently a Vegeta hitting Target stores and other vendors for $35 since it’s mostly a reissue with updated deco. This Vegeta, despite also being mostly reuse of the prior Premium Bandai release, was marked at $60, but if you have always wanted to have Vegeta in his Frieza Saga look then you had to swallow your pride and pay the piper.
The Old Style Battle Clothes Vegeta is what the fandom commonly referred to as Namek Vegeta back in the day. Even though he featured two distinct looks, the first one was so similar to his appearance in the Saiyan Saga that this is the look that ended up standing out. And it’s not drastically different from the former. It’s basically Vegeta in a black bodysuit with torso armor that looks largely the same as the previous armor just minus the giant shoulder pads. When Vegeta outfits Gohan and Krillin with battle suits he’s asked why his is different and he says it’s an older model and was apparently all that was available in his size on Frieza’s ship. As a look, it’s a little less dramatic and a little more subtle than what he had before. It does differentiate him from the rest of the bad guys in this era of the show and maybe that was the true point, or creator Akira Toriyama was just sick of having to draw those shoulder pads. It’s also a little bit of a preview of the look he’d feature in the Android Saga which basically just adds straps to the shoulder area and goes back to a more royal blue for the body suit.
I’m a bit of a Vegeta sicko so I was interested in adding this look to my collection. I was also curious how Bandai would integrate the battle damage into it as well which they showed off in the solicitation images. I was slightly hesitant though because I was a bit underwhelmed by the last Vegeta released via this method: Vegeta 24,000 Power Level. That one wasn’t a disaster, but it had some obvious flaws that ultimately frustrated me. This figure is built off of the same foundation and it was apparent even in the glamour shots. That’s not automatically a bad thing, but when the base of the figure is one that disappointed then it becomes more of a concern.
Vegeta stands at about 5″ to where his head most likely would end and close to 6 1/8″ to the tip of his hair. I didn’t go back and check to see what I wrote for measurements on the 24k Vegeta, but they’re the same size. And as expected, there’s a lot of shared parts between the two, but not as much as I thought which might actually be a bad thing. What’s shared are the arms, neck, and everything below the waist. What’s not is the torso, which is expected since we’re talking a different sculpt with the need to integrate some new functionality. What also isn’t shared are the heads. The hair shape on the new Vegeta is a bit more narrow, the black has more of a satin finish, and as a result the faces are different. It’s a slightly frustrating choice because it means the faces aren’t interchangeable between the two. That would have been something fun to make use of, but we’ve been denied.
The look of the figure is something of a mixed bag. Even though I wish the heads were the same for some shared functionality, I’m not disappointed in how the Prince of all Saiyans looks from the neck up. The portraits are exquisite and I like this new finish on the hair. The torso is less flat looking than it was on the previous release, but the diaphragm cut still needs some work. I don’t want it gone, but it’s not particularly elegant. The neck is still a problem as there’s almost always a gap between the base of it and the torso. It needed to be larger and have a flange at the base that closes up those gaps. It’s a real bummer because the figure can’t look up using the head alone, but we’ll get more into that with the articulation. The armor is a nice white this time, which I prefer to the off-white of the 24k Vegeta. The body suit is navy as opposed to black which perhaps comes from Toriyama’s notes, but in the anime it’s clearly black. I would have preferred black, but I’m not particularly bothered by it. The shoulders though look awkward. They don’t seat into the torso very well, probably because they were designed for a figure with giant shoulder pads to work around. You can shove the shoulders deeper into the apparatus inside which is the better silhouette, but Vegeta loses his ability to place his arms at his side. If you pull them out slightly for better range, they look bulbous and disconnected from the body. I feel like they could have done a better job here as this just isn’t their best work.
And to add to that sentiment, we have minor QC issues on this one. The right ball hinge isn’t seated all the way into the wrist and protrudes more than usual. I’ll have to see if I can heat it up and force it in. The left elbow also has some of the steel joint inside visible as if the joint was misaligned slightly during assembly. It’s not a major eyesore, but it is uncharacteristic of this line. If you’re curious, this one was manufactured in the Vietnam factory which has had some great figures come out of it, as well as some that were of a noticeably lesser quality.
Paint on Vegeta is, as expected, pretty minimal. It’s mostly limited to the face, the visible part of the torso around the neck, and the battle damaged parts. The paint on the torso doesn’t match the plastic used for the neck and face which is disappointing. The painted battle damaged parts look nice though and there the flesh matches much better, though it’s also aided by the distance between the abdomen and neck. We might as well talk about the parts now, but you have an optional chest piece, abdomen, upper back, and lower back. These pop off pretty easily and are a hard plastic. Vegeta was blasted through the abs by Krillin and the resulting damage is captured well. You have the brown panels, the exposed flesh, and the tattered remains of the bodysuit all sculpted and painted. They look great, no complaints here, though it does add to the gappy nature of the diaphragm joint since the upper part of the chest is a smaller piece than the default one.
In addition to the extra armor bits, we get the standard array of Vegeta hands: fists, clenching, open, and Big Bang Attack hands. For portraits, we get five different ones: neutral, shouting, teeth-gritting, sleeping, and weeping. These expressions are how the figure really sets it apart from other Vegeta figures and captures a moment in the series. The sleeping portrait is amusing as he does take a nap in the show which allows Gohan, Krillin, and Dende to sneak off with the Dragon Balls (it’s maybe Toriyama’s laziest solution to a problem) and make their wishes. The teeth-gritting face features terrific details with painted lines and beads of sweat. This is basically Vegeta realizing he’s screwed as he tries to take on Frieza. The weeping head is basically from the moment he accepts that he’s failed and the result of his pride being damaged beyond repair. It’s not from when he’s pleading with Goku to defeat Frieza, though you could probably use it as such if you really wanted to. They’re all very well detailed and I continue to be impressed with the expressions on these latest figures in the line though I’m surprised we didn’t get a cocky portrait from when he was boasting about being a Super Saiyan to Frieza. Again, if he could just share portraits with the prior release this wouldn’t be an issue. The final accessory is old reliable: the crossed arms piece. It’s the same as the 24k Vegeta’s crossed arms piece that separates in the middle and connects at the shoulder, it’s just color-matched for the new bodysuit.
Vegeta’s articulation is pretty much the same as the 24K Vegeta with all of the same pluses and minuses. I already mentioned the limited articulation at the head which is intended to be moved with the neck, but it’s gappy. Same for the torso joint which mostly rotates and is pretty limited going back and forth. The butterfly joint features poor range while the rest of the joints in the arms function as expected. The waist is basically just a pivot point as it doesn’t bend forward and back much at all, nor does it tilt to the side. The hips are able to kick forward just fine, back a little, but suck going out to the side for no real reason. The thigh twists and knees are fine while the ankles are on double ball pegs and don’t work very well. You also get a toe hinge which is fine.
There’s no sugar-coating that this is one of lesser releases in this line when it comes to articulation. It’s one thing for a NECA or a Super7 figure to not articulate all that well because those companies tend to be more aesthetic-focused. Tamashii Nations is all about the P.O.A. and it’s disappointing that they didn’t rework the 24k Vegeta more to make this Vegeta a better experience. These ball-peg ankles have got to go. They finally ditched them on Goku with the Legendary Super Saiyan release and it’s time for them to do the same with Vegeta. This torso also needs to be retired because the diaphragm joint is just bad. They stopped doing the hinged joint in the torso awhile ago, but it would have helped here.
Are the problems with the articulation going to matter much in the end? Yes, but maybe not as much as they would normally. If you’re buying this Vegeta it’s because of the very specific look. Bandai did a decent job there by providing the extra parts to capture the battle damaged look Vegeta had when he took on Frieza in his final form. There’s a good amount of portraits and the hands are as expected. The crossed arms piece is going to come with basically every Vegeta and at least it’s the newer version. The only things missing that could have added to the package would have been a new tail for Frieza Fourth Form designed to hold Vegeta in place since it’s a memorable portion of their fight. And then it also would have been nice to get an effect part which is something I wish came with every release. And since we’re paying a “premium” for a Premium Bandai figure, why not start including stands with those releases? A lot of these releases feel a little short when it comes to the value component and something as simple as a generic Tamashii Nations stand would help.
Since this is indeed a Premium Bandai release, the only way to get this Vegeta now is on the secondary market. Some e-tailers like Big Bad Toy Store might stock it, but since they have to pay MSRP like the rest of us it’s going to come at an inflated price. And with these things, it’s hard to know if the price will rise or fall on the secondary market. Bandai did just put Cooler back up for preorder so they have created the precedent that these aren’t just one and done. There’s always the possibility of a recolored edition for a convention exclusive as well, maybe in black? At $60, this Vegeta is already a hard sell. It’s relying entirely on one’s fondness for this specific look. I really can’t recommend anyone extend themself beyond that MSRP for this one as it’s just not good enough.
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March 7th, 2025 at 11:48 am
[…] The edgework around the armor isn’t as clean as it could be, and like the recently reviewed Old Style Battle Clothes Vegeta, some of the steel in the right elbow joint is visible suggesting it was slightly misaligned during […]
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