After a short delay, Kotobukiya has finally released the latest kits in their Mega Man Classic line. This time, we got two Special Weapon based kits from Mega Man 11: Scramble Thunder and Pile Drive. Are they worth the wait, and do they stay true to the source material? After the break, I’ll cover everything you need to know!
DISCLAIMER: As of August 26, 2025, HobbyLink Japan was forced to temporarily suspend shipments to the US. US residents can still purchase products and have them held at the HLJ private warehouse until shipping resumes. HLJ is currently working on a solution to this issue. We will update this post when US shipping is once again available. This review was written before this news came out. However, the shipping situation is has nothing to do with the figures and they should be judged for what they are. This issue was completely put of HLJ's control. For more information, please read their post on the matter here. Thank you for reading this, and I hope you enjoy the review.
Ready to Rock.
The revamped Special Weapons first seen in Mega Man 11 were such a fun idea; Mega Man didn't just change colors, now his helmet and Buster got to change to more accurately represent the weapons in question. An idea that fun was just begging to be fully realized in the form of high-quality toys, and the time has finally come to see that become a reality.
Scramble Thunder and
Pile Drive were really good choices, featuring nice colors and unique functions. The articulation here is basically the same as the
standard Mega Man 11 kit. The only real difference is that the Busters are wider and may hinder some
very specific poses, but that is nowhere near a deal breaker. As usual, you can get these kits in basically any pose you can think of.
You've been...Thunderstruck.
The first one we are going to look at is the Scramble Thunder kit. The first thing I have to point out is the color scheme; this thing POPS! The yellow is so vibrant and the blue joints are very pleasing to the eye. This kit also features clear blue parts, both on the helmet and on the Buster, and they are handled extremely well. The clear blue parts on the helmet features parts inside to complete the light bulb look.
"It's not over yet!"
Mega Man really does look like he just defeated Fuse Man and jumped straight out of the Weapon Get screen. Once again, Kotobukiya has knocked it out of the park with the likeness, because this looks perfect.
"Impact!"
Pile Drive Mega Man is absolutely insane with its asymmetrical design. Both the orange and yellow sides look fantastic and compliment one another very well. This is definitely not a design I would have come up with myself, but its uniqueness really sets it apart from any other Special Weapon color Mega Man has ever worn. It’s worth noting that the yellow on this kit is a completely different shade from the one on the Scramble Thunder kit, so there’s no risk of accidentally mixing up the parts.
"Help!"
The spike at the end of the Buster comes in two lengths: standard and retracted, basically long and short. To change them, you simply pop one out of the Buster and swap it with the other, it's a very secure connection.
Accessorize!
Each kit comes with a variety of accessories. Both include the same set of hands: fists, splayed open, and two different sets of gripping hands. The Scramble Thunder kit comes with three faces—neutral smile, wincing (looking right), and stern (looking right)—as well as the Scramble Thunder Buster, which can be attached to either arm. The Pile Drive kit also includes three faces—neutral smile, mouth open (looking forward), and teeth gritted (looking left)—along with the Pile Drive Buster, which features two different spike lengths.
It’s worth noting that the Pile Drive kit leaves a few unused parts due to the way the runners were printed in multiple colors, so you might find a use for the extra orange and yellow hands. With full compatibility and interchangeability with the other Mega Man 11 kits, there’s plenty here to experiment with—so let your creativity run wild.
Weapon Get
That about does it for Scramble Thunder and Pile Drive. Overall, these are excellent kits and wonderful representations of the source material. I don't know why these kits were initially delayed, but the end products were definitely worth the wait. The release of these two really raises the question: is Kotobukiya planning to release the other six Special Weapons that were featured in
Mega Man 11? Would you be interested in having them all made? If they really wanted to go above and beyond, a kit of the
unused Tundra Storm design, the one that really resembled Starforce, would be insane. That will
probably never happen, but it's fun to dream.
These kits, as well as several others, are currently available from
HobbyLink Japan, so be sure to get them while you can! Use our links so they know we sent ya!
I really like the color of Scramble Thunder, the slightly greenish yellow. I imagine they’re just doing these two for now since they were featured in the demo.
ReplyDeleteHope *the situation* gets better. Japan Post just suspended most services to the US, and DHL had already done the same.
I'll do my best to update this post when the shipping situation clears up.
ReplyDeleteAnd I really wouldn't mind more weapons, 11 or otherwise. Though I still want that unused Tundra Storm, haha.
I mean I think August prototype Neon Tiger looks better than final Neon Tiger, so I can relate. :p
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