The Unofficial Custom Takara Batman Thread

Hi All,

I was looking for a HT OC Batman, but unfortunately, they're so higly priced now I'd be able to get a relatively more affordable OC Batman from Takara, though. Currently, a friend of mine spotted one for USD200 in HK. Aside from the funny-looking boots, it seems to look good and has an excellent amount of accessories. However, I don't know how good it is in terms of quality and accuracy compared to Hot Toy's version. Is it worth picking up, or should I stick with HT?

Also, is the Takara head compatible with a HT or TTL body? I was thinking of bashing up a Batman as he was portrayed when he first talked with Gordon (when he wore a balaclava). Could anyone proved some stills for that scene? Was he already wearing the eventual Batman armor at that time? The Takara version has all accessories to make one except the body (and perhaps the armor if he wore that).

Thanks guys

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

i have the takara batman and I loooove it! i actually like it better than my TDK batman. I believe that it is worth picking up as it is the only figure to have the accessories that he wore when he first talked with Gordan. And yes was already wearing the eventual batman suit at that time. he just hadn't added the bat symbol to the chest yet. I've never owned the HT OC Batman, but i think I'd still prefer my takara. the funky boots will hardly even be noticeable when displayed unless you're looking right at them. hope this helps you're decision

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

Thanks Gipetto, it's helping out a lot

Are there any QC issues that I should look out for in the Takara version?

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

iampoch said:

Thanks Gipetto, it's helping out a lot

Are there any QC issues that I should look out for in the Takara version?

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You should search around this forum, there have been quite a few discussions about the Takara vs. other versions.
I can tell you my impression.
GREAT cape. Nice sculpt,aticulation and accessories.
On the negative side, for me, the rubber under his arms tore in less than a year and I didn't do any extreme posing.
I was pretty bummed.
Thankfully the huge cape hides the tears and the ugly boots, so it makes a nice display piece.
But, I bought mine before HT came out with their 2nd, Dark Knight, version of the Original costume that to me, looks overall better than the Takara.
I would have waited.

-Ray

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

Ursus3978 said:

You should search around this forum, there have been quite a few discussions about the Takara vs. other versions.
I can tell you my impression.
GREAT cape. Nice sculpt,aticulation and accessories.
On the negative side, for me, the rubber under his arms tore in less than a year and I didn't do any extreme posing.
I was pretty bummed.
Thankfully the huge cape hides the tears and the ugly boots, so it makes a nice display piece.
But, I bought mine before HT came out with their 2nd, Dark Knight, version of the Original costume that to me, looks overall better than the Takara.
I would have waited.

-Ray

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I would give the same advice man, just wait til you can afford an HT OC bats. Takara version has a lot of nice things going for it and when it came out, it was regarded as the best batman 1/6.

Unfortunately, its night and day compared to the HT OC batman.
The takara looks great on far away shots cause of its high articulation and poses. But close up, it looks like a toy whereas the OC bats seriously looks like a miniature figure of Bale.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

I have both Takara Batman Begins and HT OC Batman. Both are great in their own ways. As far as the boots on Takara's, they look that way because they allow for a full range of motion in the ankles. You can pose it with the legs spread apart in a fighting stance, and still have both feet planted flat on the ground. The closest thing I can compare it to is the Enterbay BL 3.5 body's ankles.

$200 USD is a good price for Takara Batman. The accessories are great:
unmasked Bruce Wayne headsculpt, harness, balaclava mask, extremely well-sculpted grapnel (better than HT, IMO).

I have both on display. Takara Batman has the unmasked Bruce Wayne head and test harness. I still love it, even with the HT OC Batman next to it.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

This is a question that really only you can answer for yourself. Let me tell you what I went through, to explain what I mean:

When I first got into this hobby (a little less than 2 years ago), I wanted the core cast of Batman characters - Batman in both outfits (Begins and "Dark Knight"), Joker, Two-Face, and maybe a few others. I didn't want to spend much money, since I didn't have much, and each figure is quite expensive.

Back then, the Original Costume (OC) Batman didn't cost as much as it does now, but it was still a good $50 more than Takara Batman. The OC Batman comes with a unique accessory (the pneumatic mangler), but I figured $50 wasn't worth it, so I went with Takara Batman, especially as it was said to be more poseable.

Now I'm a bit of a stickler for details, so this decision gnawed at me for months after receiving the Takara Batman. Here were the issues I had:

-Lack of aforementioned "pneumatic manger."

-Cheap-looking "Bruce Wayne" headsculpt. The Takara version is minimalist in detail and paint, so it looks like a doll head, unlike Hot Toys' realistic Bale head. The Takara masked "Batman" head is also weak - while it doesn't need more physical detail and is shaped perfect, the paint job is much less detailed than the Hot Toys version.

-The Takara Batman looks really lean in the stomach, while the Hot Toys OC Batman looks much more bulky - as he should, as the bulkiness of the old suit was mentioned in "The Dark Knight."

On the plus side, the Takara is more poseable, so keep that in mind.

So, because I was a stickler for detail, those issues kept bothering me. Eventually, I caved and got the Hot Toys OC Batman as well. So maybe I should've admitted to myself that these issues mattered and saved money (by either avoiding the Takara altogether or purchasing the OC Batman before its price continued to rise).

Now I don't regret the decision to get Takara Batman. He was my first and I still like him a lot. More importantly, he's got something the OC Batman doesn't have - the prototype suit, which makes for an alternative "first night out" look. When you display your figures, you don't have to have two nearly identical Batman Begins outfits next to each other - you get a nice variant.

The harness looks good because it covers the Bat-logo, but leaves everything else visible. The balaclava sucks, so you're going to want to go on Ebay and get a much more accurate ski-mask, but that will only cost a few extra bucks. And it will cover up the awful Takara "Bruce Wayne" headsculpt, so that won't be an issue anymore.

For someone like me, who is only interested in 1/6 Batman but wants ALL the 1/6 Batman movie figures he can get, that kind of variant is important and worth it to me.

The bottom line is, do you care more about details or saving money?

Because if this kind of stuff will bother you, it's best to save up for the OC Batman, since you might cave and end up buying it later on anyway. The price isn't falling on it either, so if you're going to get it, you want to do it sooner, rather than later, and save some money.

On the other hand, if extreme poseability, a cheaper price, or the prototype-suit look are serious considerations for you, and movie accuracy and extra details and accessories don't matter to you, then go for the Takara Batman.

And if you want both, to display a Batman with a prototype-suit Bruce Wayne, then get the OC Batman ASAP, since the price on that has risen a lot quicker than the price on the Takara.

Good luck.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

as a first figure...this is the ____...well worth getting.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

I've seen Takara for a fair bit less than 200 bucks 'buy it now' on ebay. Just last week one went for 70 dollars at auction.

I'm in the same dilema iampoch, but based on what a lot of what has been said on this board, and the comparison reviews I've read, I'm saving my pennies for the Hot Toys version - money comes and goes, but a HT BB is forever (well, a fair while anyway)

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

I think you'll only appreciate takara if you have both. I concur to what the other guy said. The problem is that when you buy it and, I'm pretty positive that sometime or another, you're gonna wish you would have bought the OC batman.

Its not like we're saying the Takara sucks, again, I'll reiterate that at one point, it was the best batman 1/6. But just against OC...well, here, take your pick.

Takara




Hot toys OC with Velvet cape.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

The rubber on the suit is really bad compared to the OC. Or at least, the rubber stinks on the Takara and I know, but the OC LOOKS alot better from the pics, and here the posability in the arms is much better.

The only QC problems really are that the head can be sloppily cut, and the eyes can look weird, and the cape is sloppily hemmed, and is extremely visible.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

here's what the takara batman can achieve. very fluid and natural articulation, IMO.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

It can really do all that with the suit ON? I'll believe it when I see it.

You can pose a naked truetype like that too.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

dominishin said:

It can really do all that with the suit ON? I'll believe it when I see it.

You can pose a naked truetype like that too.

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Cheeky marketing ploy at best, deceitful advertising at worst.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

dominishin said:

It can really do all that with the suit ON? I'll believe it when I see it.

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No. It can't.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

With the suit on, it can be a challenge to have the arms hold a pose. But overall I'm still very pleased with this figure.
Besides this was my very first 1/6 figure, so it'll always have a special place in my collection.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

Thanks so much for the insights guys, truly appreciate this

The question haytil asked actually made me rethink a lot, and Remy's pictures clearly show how majestic OC Bats is compared to the competition (it looks infinitely much better than MMS13, which I really didn't consider).

I'm now starting to think that even though I decide to get Takara Bats, I'd still get that nagging feeling that I have to get HT OC. But at more than twice the price of what Takara Bats is going for right now, it'll be quite a while before I can get one

I've also seen the Takara Bats going for around UDS170 on eBay but would cost USD205 overall due to shipping. Curiously, the item's from HK. The $200 figure my friend told me is from a brick and mortar shop there. Hopefully, he can find somewhere else cheaper, or that he could be able to haggle for it.

One of my deciding factors would also be the quality of the rubber. I know that neither HT's or Takara's can hold extreme poses for long. Both would tend to tear one time or the other, but is the Takara's really more susceptible to tearing? How does it hold up to poses that aren't as extreme as the ones fosing showed?

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

Cue someone who has both figures.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

as long as I've had the takara, it has yet to rip. and I had his arm up in a "about to throw a batarang" kind of pose for like 6 months and it didn't tear. though, when I attempted to do some of the crouching poses, I saw how the rubber was getting stressed so I didn't want to continue in fear of ripping, though I think that is something that can happen with any rubber suit. that's why some wont put the DX in crouching poses, as it will most likely rip.

I'm not going to lie, at times I wish I had the HT OC Bats, but then once i get home and look at my Takara Bats and can't be happier. and to take care of that kind of stomach squishing in problem, I just added some soft foam to bulk it up a bit. I'm also going to do some other kind of mods to it when I get the chance.

Re: Questions regarding Takara's Batman Begins Figure

iampoch said:

But at more than twice the price of what Takara Bats is going for right now, it'll be quite a while before I can get one

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Don't sweat it mate - I have to say that this HT figure has become my latest obsession also, and like you I just can't afford it yet (unless I stumble across a bargain).

But you've got to love the anxiety and anticipation that comes with a good figure hunt, it's part and parcel of collecting. Me, I'm going to save my pennies until I have enough to get this figure in a few months time. I may have to fork out top dollar, which I hate to do because this sort of buying drives up prices - but if I'm out of options what choice do I have?

I just know that when I finally get him it'll be happy days.

And then no doubt I'll find another figure to obsess about