Review – Real X Head Akrokaiser

Last April I reviewed the Real X Head Organ Bat (review here) and was impressed with how the toy was constructed by sleeving new vinyl parts over an existing body. Well, this Akrokaiser uses the same trick and even shares the basic body — if not the arms, head, and sleeve — with the Organ Bat. And it’s just as cool of a trick now as it was last year.

Articulation

Basically the same as the Organ Bat — swivels at the shoulders — with the addition of a swivel neck because this design doesn’t quite do away with the base toy’s neck joint. I know that articulation junkies will be no more impressed with this level of articulation today than they were when I first reviewed a RXH toy, but those of you who collect Japanese vinyl understand that it’s often about the sculpt and colors — not the articulation — when it comes to spotting a cool Japanese vinyl toy.

Sculpt and Paint

And when it comes to the toy’s sculpt and paintwork, the Akrokaiser is every bit as fun as just about every single RXH toy in my collection. The one-eyed beast looks great at a glance, but it’s when you start scoping out the sculpted details on the sleeved torso piece that you start to spot some quirky fun. Zoom in on any of the pics here and take a look at the little skull sculpted into the chest piece; yeah, it’s kinda dumb, but it’s also crazy fun. And since fun’s what I expect from RXH toys this guy’s a winner.

The paint’s also nice, though there actually isn’t a lot of it. The arms and body are cast in a light translucent purple and hit with black and silver sprays while the head and torso over-sleeve are cast in black plastic and sprayed with silver. The final effect is basically a lavender toy with black and purple details and highlights, and in my opinion it looks pretty remarkable. I wish the purple had been just a touch darker, but when you display this guy on lit shelving the translucent parts work great and he looks really nice with my other RXH toys.

Closing Thoughts

The Real X Head Akrokaiser isn’t a new toy — my copy of the Encyclopedia of Kaiju says this sculpt first appeared in 2006 — but it’s pretty new to me since I only got the toy a couple of months ago. I like it, and I suspect that other RXH collectors like the basic sculpt, but then I tend to like lots of weird monsters with horned heads and a single eye so maybe I’m just weird.

I doubt I’ll go after a second color of this sculpt — but this Akrokaiser at toybot studios that matches the Organ Bat I own would be tempting if I ever saw it for sale — but it’s nice to have one on my shelf of RXH toys. A neat sculpt and one I’m happy to have.

Philip Reed is sitting on a few other RXH pieces that he should also photograph and review.