Sota M.Bison Street Fighter

Street Fighter
Sota M.Bison Street Fighter
By Hervé St-Louis
January 18, 2005 - 15:30

M. Bison is the head of the evil Shadoloo organisation, determined to rule the world. Capcom introduced bison in the arcade game Street Fighter II released in 1991. He hosts the Second World Warrior's tournament. Bison has teleporting abilities and masters the Psycho Power fighting technique with blue energy. Originally called Vega in Japan, his name was changed to M.Bison in the West. Sota's Bison is impressive.

Likeness

Bison looks as imposing as an action figure as he does in video games. Bison trademarks are his large shoulders, his cap, and red military uniform. The action figure sports all these features. Here a sculptor has adapted the intricate boot design on Bison's boots into 3D logically. Bison's thighs lack the fluffiness of the cartoon and game versions. They look more buffed on the action figure.

Sculpt

Bison oozes power. Pose him punching through some the other Street Fighter to feel how impressive and imposing the figure is. His proportions are closer to characters like Hulk and Juggernaut but with extreme mobility. His grinning alternate faces have very intricate wrinkles. The back of Bison's leather boot has tiny tears, like real leather. His sculpt is neutral easily allowing bland and action poses.

Paint

The paint job is good. The base plastic is red, with darker highlights all over the figure's uniform. There are natural looking blemishes on Bison's face and hands, although they are very subtle. The paint used for his face is thick and doesn't look all that good, compared with the paint on his hands. Fortunately, the paint job on this figure is clean.

Scale

Bison is taller than Ryu and a little bit smaller than Sodom. He's of course shorter than Sagat and bigger than Chun Li. His proportions are very similar to Sodom's. Like all of Sota's Street Fighter action figures, Bison's proportions are well studied and logical within the action figure line.

Stability

Bison is very stable thanks to his thick flat feet and his top heavy chest. Because his thighs are so large, they can support his weight. In fact, any individual leg can support his full weight. Unfortunately, Sota does not drill peg holes in their figure's feet.

Articulation

Bison has 27 articulations at the neck, the shoulders, the abdominal, the waist, the hips, the thighs, the knees, the ankles, the feet, the toes, the biceps, the elbows, the wrists and the palms. At the knees, there are double joints. The shoulders, the neck and the hips are ball joints. The articulations are sturdy, but because paint has dried over them, they can break if one applies too much force. Be very careful.

Plastic

Sota uses PVC. It's a good plastic and you feel that your figure is worth something, as opposed to most hollow shells from other vendors such as Toy Biz. Bison's shoulder pads and boots' buckles are in soft PVC. His cape is in fabric. It's the cheapest looking part of the figure. A soft rubber cape would have been better. It feels as if the cape can be ripped off easily.

Props

Bison comes with a translucent power blast that fits on his right fist. There are pairs of hands. One set are fists, the other grappling hands. Of course, there's the alternate head with an open mouth. Pieces are very easy to exchange, but still, be careful not to put too much pressure and break them.

Packaging

Sota uses a complete plastic blister bubble. They are not practical, as you have to cut them open with scissors to remove the figure. Sota also uses many wires to hold the figure in place. These will test your patience, if all you want to do is hold the figure in your hand. Cardboard boxes are more effective and environmentally friendly, although they raise prices as they have to be individualized for each action figure.

Cost

Most retailers sell Bison for about $12 to 15. It's hard to imagine how they can turn a profit with $12, but Quicksand Collectibles have very competitive prices. Many retailers sell the figures as complete sets, which will give collectors an extra bonus. At their price range, the figures are very competitive to products from DCDirect and Marvel Legends.

Availability

Sota has not widely distributed this set only select retailers know about the figure. They are not well distributed outside the United States as only a few retailers are available in most countries. This is a shame as these figures will one day be sought by many collectors who will join the bandwagon late. Don't let this happen to you. If you enjoy Bison, or are thinking about getting one. Act now. He's worth every penny.