Bandai
released S.I.C. Vol.25 Alternative Zero & Masked Rider Ryuga
set in September of 2004. Vol.25 was the third in the S.I.C. series to feature characters
from Masked Rider Ryuki (means Dragon Knight) TV show. This set
was another twin-pack and came with two completed figures -
S.I.C. versions of Alternative Zero and Masked Rider Ryuga.
Ryuga was slightly retool of the previously released S.I.C.
Vol.23 Ryuki figure. (Ryuga was the anti-hero Mirror World
version of Masked Rider Ryuki). The set did not include
the monster Black Dragreder but the set did come with Drag Visor
and Drag Saber. While Ryuga was a nice figure with very striking
paint job of black and silver, the main attraction for this set
was Alternative Zero. Alternative Zero was not part of the
Masked Riders but a duplicate system build by Dr. Kagawa using
technology stolen from Kanzaki (Kanzaki was responsible for
creating Advent Card sets and the Masked Riders). Zero's design
was based on cricket monster and being copy of Masked Rider
system, he retained some similarity to the Masked Riders. The
figure was very well sculpted with very nice details throughout.
However, like other S.I.C. figures from Kamen Rider Ryuki
series, the design was less "imaginative" than the
early S.I.C. and was more closely resemble the original design
from the TV show. Alternative Zero came with his sword weapon
molded in PVC and die-cast metal. He came with his Slash Visor
unit that attached to his right forearm. The figure
was painted in dark gray color with nice blue and gold
highlight. The set was nice addition to the series, if a
little uninspiring. While addition of supporting character like
Alternative Zero and Ryuga was very welcoming, the set lacked
some of the excitement of the other S.I.C. Ryuki series
releases. This could be because Ryuga was just a repainted and
there was not much to Alternative Zero aside from nice
sculpting.
