Kaiyodo

Kaiyodo Co., Ltd or simply Kaiyodo (海洋堂 Kaiyōdō) is a Japanese company dedicated to figurines and garage kits. Its headquarters is in Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture. While the company mostly focuses on anime related characters, it recently has acquired other licenses, e.g. King Kong, and some Godzilla characters.

Kaiyodo was originally a small shop in Japan, but grew into a famous company over the years, leading them to sell collectables worldwide. One of their most famous sculptors is Bome, who is most well known for his Mon-sieur BOME collection. In recent years, his figurines have become well known and sought by collectors, and his works have been displayed on a worldwide scale at conventions, including Paris, Tokyo etc.

Kaiyodo is known for their brand of action figures called Revoltech. Revoltech is a portmanteau for "Revolver Technology," in reference to the unique "Revolver Joint" articulation which all of the figures in this particular series utilize. This gives the figures a wide range of motion and stability, allowing for many dynamic and varied poses.

The subject matter for the Revoltech line can be broadly split into four categories—Real Robot, Super Robot, Humanoid and Creature. Thus far, robots and characters from anime, video games, manga, tokusatsu, film and television have been covered.

The Revolver Joint is composed of three pieces, two half spheres whose flat sections provide the friction surface for the articulation, and a cross section pin that locks the whole ensemble into place. Both half-spheres have round cylindrical pegs used to connect the different body parts of any given figure.

Involvement with the Metal Gear Franchise
Kaiyodo's first involvement with Metal Gear was in 2012 with the announcement of their 131st Revoltech figure of their Humanoid category being Snake from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Snake's figure was sculpted by Katsuhisa Yamaguchi and was released in April, 2013. He was later re-released in November, 2013. He came along with a number of accessories, including: a SFX display stand, Mk.22 with Hush Puppy suppressor, M16A1, Stun Rod, 2x Hooks, 9x changeable hands, a Exclamation Mark icon, A Zzz icon and a cardboard box mimicking the one shown on the Metal Gear 25th Anniversary logo.

The next Revoltech announced for the Metal Gear series would be Raiden from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance making it Kaiyodo's 140th humanoid Revoltech figure. Raiden was scupted by Katsuhisa Yamaguchi and was released in November, 2013 along with the Snake re-release. Raiden came with various accessories including HF Blade, HF Knife, Sheath, Visor head piece, watermelon, 7x changeable hands, SFX display stand and a standard display stand.

In November, 2013 it was announced was Snake would get another re-release but instead be released as part of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes instead. The figure remains the same, the only different is the head sculpt, and the Mk.22, M16A1, Stun Rod, Cardboard Box and SFX display stand accessories were replaced by Wu Silent Pistol, AM MRS-4 Rifle, Survival Knife, NVG, iDroid and a standard display stand. The figure was later announced that it will be part of the Japanese Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Premium Package and will not have a standard release. It was released in March 2014 on the game's release date.

In Febuary 2014, on Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance's 1st anniversary, it was announced that the Raiden revoltech will be getting a re-release, instead appearing in his White Armor attire. The figure and it's accessories will remain the same. Raiden - White Armor ver. is planned to be release in June 2014.

On April 2014, Kaiyodo announced it's new brand of action figures called Revolmini. Revolmini appear like normal Revoltechs but are 4 inches tall and uses new ball joints that don't click and ratchet. Kaiyodo announced that debiting this brand new set of figures will be Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid. Snake was sculpted by Katsuhisa Yamaguchi and is set for a July 2014 release. Like past Revoltech, Snake will come with accessories, these include: SOCOM, FAMAS, Claymore, Scope 4x changeable hands and a display stand.

On May 2014, via his Twitter, Hideo Kojima announced and posted images of the next Revolmini figure for the franchise will be the Cyborg Ninja from Metal Gear Solid. It's release date is yet to be announced.