Series: Street Fighter, 2

Craftsmanship: 9.4 / 10

- Extremely detailed

- Great paint application

- Great likeness to the source material

- SOTA got his height right

- Some balance problems

- State of the art

Playability: 9.4 / 10

- Lots of articulation

- Extra pair of hands

- Extra head (ugly thanks to Capcom…)

- Can mimic moves from the game

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If Street Fighter were a contest of who is the sickest individual, Vega would definitely take the prize. There is something really wrong with him; he is violent, disturbed and but still very cool. SOTA does the character justice and Vega is easily my favorite action figure.  Ever.

He stands approximately 7” tall (he’s taller than the average character), has over 30 points of articulation and is just loaded with detail.

I’ll start from head to toe. Vega’s hair is done with a strong and durable rubber. Even though it is pretty durable, like Cammy, you might want to watch his braided ponytail. Keep him away from kids because I can guarantee that it can be ripped off without much effort. The hair itself is sculpted well and the wash of a darker brown was a nice touch.

When it comes to Vega, the mask must be perfect! SOTA has done a great job and the mask looks nearly flawless. One thing I would have preferred is if we could actually see his eyes through the eyeholes of the mask. SOTA decided to just paint it black but it still looks great. 

Vega’s mask cannot come off, but I prefer it that way. Resaurus’ version of Vega suffered from his mask because when you put it on, it looked kind of weird. SOTA decided to take a 

safer route and include a mask-less Vega as an alternative head.

The chest detail is excellent and this is something similar that I wanted to see in Ken and Ryu because I dislike how SOTA overdid the rippling muscles on the chest. What is really neat is Vega’s snake tattoo that goes across his chest and all the way around his stomach. The sash on his waist looks fantastic, especially from a side view. It really looks like it’s flowing. The detail on the hands is nice and I like the way the opened hands are sculpted. What I really like is that the hands and feet are not oversized like Ryu and Ken’s.

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The paint application is definitely state of the art. It’s completely flawless and I can’t wait to see how some characters turn out in series 3.

Vega comes with an alternative head (no mask), three hands, a rose, and of course his infamous claw. One hand is opened, one is closed and the other is opened with a tiny space between two fingers to fit the rose in. The claw being removable was a great idea for fans who want to re-enact scenes from the game where Vega loses his claw.

The lower body is where Vega loses some points and not because it looks bad. It looks great but Vega is a fancy man and he chose a fancy pair of shoes, which makes it hard to keep him balanced. SOTA should’ve included some sort of stand with the figure.

Besides his poor balance, where Vega suffers most is his alternative head. Vega wears a mask to protect his perfect face but the face looks goofy. This is not SOTA’s fault! I just want to make sure that everybody is clear on that. I’ve been following SOTA’s work and believe it or not the head looked good in some previous final pictures that were shot, but Capcom did not like it and told SOTA to change it to the way it is now! Sometimes I wonder if Capcom does not like SOTA for not producing them as mass-market toys. Another inaccuracy is his claw. The little thing that keeps the three individual claws together is supposed to be gold, not black. Again, SOTA was aware of this but Capcom told them to change it to black even though it is not accurate to the game! This is a really minor problem and should be overlooked. You could always repaint it if you want.

There is a green variant of Vega around. I think he’s a Japanese exclusive and his alternative head does not look as bad as the one we got. He has his tongue sticking out so you can make it look like the sick bastard is licking the blood off his claw like he did in the Street Fighter II anime movie back in the 90’s. If you’re really desperate for it you can order it from SOTA’s official website.

Even with a few balance problems and two inaccuracies, Vega is a great figure and as I said before, he is the best figure I have in my possession. To order your Vega I would highly suggest ordering from http://www.Cornerstorecomics.com.

- J’Tonello

(June 22, 2005)