COOL CAPSULES: Ninja Fighters White Ninja

Tuesday night saw us out for a family dinner at a local pizza place. And we had a great night, made all the better by the awesome vending machines the restaurant had tucked away in one corner, one of which was stocked with these very cool Ninja Fighter figures from A&A Global Industries (who appear to be the Microsoft Apple of vending toys.) 

Standing at around an inch tall, these figures are very popular, both in vending machines and as ticket-based prizes at arcades. There are a number of different designs and colourways but today we're looking at the crouching White Ninja.

The basic sculpt is pretty good. The Ninja is kneeling, cute little Ninjato and Shuriken in-hand, ready to deal death at a moment's notice. I like the child-like proportions and large, doe-like eyes,  because there's nothing as cute and cuddly as a stealthy, armed assassin.

What could have been a very plain design is actually pretty detailed, with some nice touches such as his crossed-over Gi shirt front and sash. There's even a little bow/knot at the back of the head, where the cloth of his mask is tied-off. For a figure so small, there's a lot of detail.

Paintwork is basic, but well applied, with his weapons, skin, facial details and sash all featuring a layer of paint. It's cleanly done and there are no real issues. I especially like his pink belt, which signifies he's a Fourth Dan Flower Presser. It's just too bad the paint app doesn't continue around the back, where his belt is the default white.

For a 25c toy there's actually a pretty good amount of detail here. The paintwork is nice (except for the half-painted sash), the pose is pretty good, the sculpt is detailed and the overall quality of the molding and production is fairly high.

Overall, these are pretty cool little toys, especially for the price and if you're a fan of Ninja or a vending toy geek then you'll find a lot of good here, especially at the price.

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