Kamen Rider Black Renewal Version (S.H. Figuarts)

Kamen Rider Black was one of the early S.H. Figuarts from back in 2009. After five more years of engineering refinement Tamashii Nations released an updated figure of Minami Kohtaro's cybernetic alter ego. And here he is: the costume is molded to look more like fabric and has a more matte finish which fans tend to say looks more "realistic" than the glossy paint of yesteryear. Gone are the die cast feet but the joints are redesigned and he comes with more hands, including a pair of motorcycle handle holding hands to go with his "Battle Hopper" motorcycle which I do NOT own and am slightly bitter about because of some unfortunate circumstances that I'm clearly not as over as I thought. ANYWAY... I do like the proportions and some of the detailing on this renewal version of Kamen Rider Black, but some of the articulation is just as fiddly as the original and I don't think the waist is particularly successful though I'm not sure how they'd fix that.

The antennae more closely resemble the TV costume.

The little triangle doohickies would glow purple when Kamen Rider Black needed to enhance his hearing.

The chest symbol is sculpted, not just painted on.

The King Stone looks just as good on both figures.

That could totally be leather underwear.

The ankle stripes are separate pieces to hide the ankle joints a bit more.

The textured bits between the armour parts is more visible and more screen accurate

Look at those subtle wrinkles just above his knees.

"RIDER..."

"...KICK!"

Ok, nerd times extreme: The next bunch of pics are my attempt to recreate the transformation sequence and used this video as my guide from about 1:20-1:55.

"HEN..."

"...SHIN!"

End Video Sequence.

"RIDER..."

"...PUNCH!"

Inspired by this video

Cool Martial Arts Pose!

The "swing-down" hips give a bit more range to the legs for kicking poses.

Round Kick!

Advances in shoulder joint-ery.

Close up on the eyes.

2009 vs. 2013

The painting on the stripes is great on both figures, as are the compound eyes.

Double Riders Black (Not to be confused with these guys or those guys)

Crisis on Parallel Kamen Rider Earths.