In 1990 I frequented a crummy sandwich bar in my high street. It was an awful place to eat but it always had a steady rotation of the latest arcade games. It had all the hot games: Chase H.Q, Golden Axe, the four-player ninja turtles, but the one game I played more than any other was Street Fighter 2 (SF2). Because it came out so long ago it’s easy to forget how this game redefined the genre. The best fighting game until then was Pit Fighter, and that was rubbish! Every fighting game that we have now wouldn’t exist without SF2. But getting action figures over the years have been hit and miss. There was the G.I. Joe figures which were mixed in terms of quality; the super articulated SOTA Toys were excellent but ended too soon, leaving more popular characters to exchange hands for ridiculous prices on the secondary market; the exhaustive Jazzwares line which...well, it happened, let’s just leave at that. Now a new challenger arrives in the form of Storm Collectables, who have been making figures based on several fighting games for a few years now, but recently have produced figures based on the classic SF2 (or Ultra Street Fighter 2 to be precise) designs. And the first SF figure I’ve got from them is the king of muay thai, the giant lieutenant of shadaloo, Sagat. But will their efforts be top tier or a scrub?
First off- if you haven’t already guessed- Storm Collictables are working with a different scale to other figure companies. Bigger than your average action figure, about seven and a half inches and really hefty. So being based on a character officially listed as being seven foot four, it’s no surprise this is one big figure, a proper big lad at nine inches. He towers over everything but a Hot Toys and a Play Arts Kai figure and has more muscles than all the shellfish stalls in Blackpool. So it should be noted that while the design is based on the classic video game, the particular aesthetic is based upon the recent HF remake: Ultra SF2 and the old promotional art for Super SF 2, which you also see emblazoned on the box, hence why he looks like a tank on legs as opposed to the more lean character model from the original arcade game. The huge muscles, bulging veins and marble-sized knuckles give the figure an overall sense of menace and I love it. Even amongst a full shelf of figures , it stands out, even against taller figures. The head sculpt is top notch too- all hard angles and jawline with a scowl to match the severity of his chest scar. If you’re unfamiliar to SF, Sagat basically is obsessed with beating the fighter who gave him his chest scar. Even the head it comes packed with has a look of anger to the blank expression. The upper torso is hollow and made of a soft plastic, as opposed to the solid head and limbs. This is to allow more articulation, and while the colour is a match for the rest of the skin tone I do worry about how long the torso will hold up- as anyone who’s owned a figure with soft plastic parts will attest. The upside is that having a mostly hollow upper body reduces weight so you don’t have to worry about it falling over from being top-heavy but it’s not much fun worrying if the body will tear if you pose the arms one too many times. The boxing shorts are part of the leg sculpt, which are fine were it not for the fact Storm’s Mike Tyson figure has fabric shorts- which I would’ve preferred, even at the cost of articulation. That’s not to say the articulation breaks completely ruin the look of the shorts, but if you’re not into super posability then you’ll be wishing for soft goods shorts. The paint job is well done, with some really subtle touches. For instance, the top of the head has a faint touch of grey to it, like it’s five o’clock shadow. And not forgetting the grey wash on the tape around the hands and feet, which is a nice addition seeing Sagat only wears a pair of shorts and a massive scar so it’s god Storm collectables see fit to add detail where they can.
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| Size comparison with GI Joe Sagat |
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| Size comparison with SOTA Toys Guile |
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| With SOTA Toys T.Hawk |
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| with funko pop Dan Hibiki |
But if you start playing around with the articulation then you’ll see where this figure’s strength lies. The head is on a ball joint that pivots all around, up, down and to the side at the top of the neck as well as where it connects into the torso allowing for a really impressive amount of head movement, which I didn’t imagine from first looking at it. Both shoulders completely rotate, can pivot up as well as backwards and forwards, which gives you a great variety of arm positions and is a nice compensation for the elbows, which barely come to a 45 degree bend on account of the biceps getting in the way. There’s a bicep swivel although the right one is completely stuck and it feels like it’ll break if I force it. The wrists rotate completely and pivot up and down. Now while you can pose the arms in Sagat's trademark “tiger" and “tiger uppercut” positions with ease (thanks to the soft upper body) I have to report they can’t be set in a arms folded, victory pose- which I don’t think anyone was expecting (even revoltech figures can’t do that) but you still have a lot of options nonetheless. The upper torso tilts on a ball joint, as well as the stomach into the pelvis, including a full rotation at the waist, so there’s an impressive amount of movement beyond just an ab crunch. The legs are on great big pivot and rotation joints at the hip, allowing the legs to raise forward almost to 90 degrees, but you’re gonna have to give it an extra push to reach that far. They also come out (not quite) 40 degrees to the side and, for some reason, can turn almost 90 degrees back. Where the shorts end there’s a thigh cut with complete rotation, but be careful as these are super tight so hot water or a hair dryer at the ready. The knees just about bend to a right angle despite being a double hinge joint, but like the arms they’re hindered by the beefy sculpt. The feet pivot up 45 degrees, but not back at all. There is a decent amount of inward tilt and a toe bend. In conjunction with each other, and a figure stand, the joints will give you a great variety of fighting poses. You just need to work at it, making little adjustments as you go. My only real gripe is that the toe-bends aren’t as stiff as I’d like, seeing as his stance in the game has him on the balls of his feet and that’s not the safest pose to have him in. So, same advise as usual: get a figure stand.
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| I had a bit of trouble finding a stand big enough |
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| Beef it, lad! |
The old Street Fighter figures from SOTA toys boasted an impressive array of accessories and Storm are living up to that standard. You get three pairs of hands: two “karate chop" hands (or maybe a slap?), two splayed open hands, like they’re reaching out to grab something or the starting frames of a tiger shot. And there’s a pair of grabbing hands for, er, grabbing. You also get three- count ‘em- three alternate heads: a laughing face, presumably from his victory pose. An angry face, with gritted teeth on prominence, and a bruised and bloody face referencing Sagat's continue screen portrait. All three heads are sculpted and painted to the same excellent standard as the normal head, but one of them is missing the insert that makes it click onto the ball joint on the neck. It will hang in place but can’t be held in any position other than left or right, which is quite the oversight considering the price you’re paying. On top of those you get a tiger shot effect part. It’s made of light, semi-transparent plastic and it comes with its own clear stand so Sagat’s projectile can be displayed away from his fists. Not only that, there’s a second, shorter pole to simulate the low tiger shot which is a very smart addition.
As I mentioned earlier, this is a hefty figure and it comes at a hefty price- even more so on the secondary market. And then there’s the soft chest. It’s not so much an issue in my country but I’ve seen toy reviewers based in hot climates show how softer plastics and rubber just disintegrate when the weather is humid. I’m not saying that will happen to Sagat- and so far I haven’t heard any horror stories about the figure falling to bits- but if you live in a warm country keep him out of direct sunlight and in a temperature controlled room. But if you’re financially secure and have air con this is a good start to a new street fighter collection or as a tribute to your favourite boss. At the time I pre ordered this, the SH figuarts Sagat was also available but I went with the Storm instead and have not regretted it. Yes, the figuarts Sagat is a bit more articulated, can easily fit on a figure stand, and has a torso I don’t have to worry about getting torn or stained. But it’s not intimidating against other figures , it’s not as big, it doesn’t invoke the shock of when you first saw him standing at a height of two thirds of the arcade screen and bombard you with tiger shots the same way Storm collectables’ Sagat does. Whatever angle you view it from, it just screams “angry, one-eyed tank". Yes, he costs a lot but you get a lot to show for it, it looks great and it holds its own in the articulation department. Hail to the king, Ryu.
Company: Storm Collectibles
Price paid: £79.99
Age: 17+
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