Final Fantasy VII - Cloud Strife & Hardy Daytona Play Arts Vol.1 #0

Here is the pride and joy of my collection so far, the Cloud Strife & Hardy Daytona Play Arts figure. This was purchased from Ebay like the rest of my collection but the person selling it to me was getting rid of it for his son, he said it didn't look like the box had ever been opened. It had been opened but i only know that because the seal was broken, you wouldn't have known otherwise.

This set is pretty much mint condition and is absolutely fantastic.

The set consists of exactly the same Cloud Strife figure as the Vol.1 # 1 edition, he's around 8.5" tall and comes with spare hands and his infamous Buster Sword. The figure is based on the game version of
and not the Advent children version. The figure is highly detailed and has over 22 points of articulation, which allow you to pose him in various different ways. I've chosen one of his most iconic stances for the individual cloud and another one that should be VERY familiar for the one on the Daytona. It comes with the peg for the back that i mentioned in the Vol.1 #1 edition, this makes it a lot easier to keep the sword in place when you have him holding it over his shoulder. When not using the peg, there is a small plug that you can put into the hole, this is fairly discreet and unless you're looking for it, it doesn't look out of place.

Now onto the bike, this is a work of art! The bike measures in at around 13" in length and at it's tallest point (around the handles) it's about 6" high. It is quite a weight and is very well made. The wheels feel like they are made of rubber (quite hard but soft) and they obviously do turn, they aren't fixed. There is a kickstand (i think that's what it's called haha) underneath it to keep the bike upright and stable, but i didn't really use this when displaying it with Cloud, i'll tell you why shortly.
The attention to detail and everything about this bike is absolutely fantastic! It could almost be mistaken for a real one that had been somehow miniaturized! I mentioned earlier there is a good weight behind it and it's very sturdy. It's hard for me to explain but the weight and feel of the actual bike just adds to the appeal, it's so well made you can't help but love it!
When displaying the bike, i tried to make it so that Cloud had one foot on the ground and the bike was slightly tilted, this left Cloud's other leg bent at the other side of the bike, which looks cool in my opinion, Cloud is also holding out his Buster Sword as though he's ready for some Bike Fight action.
At first i wasn't sure if Cloud would get on the bike but his legs can be pulled further apart than you first realise, once this was done i could position him nicely on top of the bike and clip one of the handlebars into his hand. My major problem was trying to get the bike to not fall over in this position, i found that putting the kickstand down a bit and putting a bit of blu tack under Cloud's foot kept the bike in place, but i'd still be careful around it due to the weight of the bike. I would just use the kickstand and keep it stable, but then I'd lose the tilt and Clouds feet would both be off of the floor.

I haven't done this in the pictures because i didn't want blu tack on the table i was taking the pictures on, but i did try and get the figure as identical to how he's normally displayed as possible.

The packaging for the set is superb as always, the Vol.1 Packaging is very well designed and looks just as nice as what's inside most of the time. Once again it is a matt black colour with the silvered Play Arts lettering on the front at the bottom. The Final Fantasy VII logo is also on the front, along with the name and number of the set. The sides are fairly standard with a small image on one side and the name of the set on the other. The back of the packaging actually shows the image of how i had him displayed (the large image) along with a few other views of and the Daytona, it also displays the other figures that are included in the Vol.1 set. Other than that it's the usual smallprint in the corner. Underneath the box is the Square-Enix shop info.

I would definately recommend this set, it is my favourite of all the figures i have shown you so far and probably will remain the favourite or one of them, for a long time to come. It wasn't too cheap (not for me) but at the same time i think i got it at a decent price. I've seen this set selling on ebay for more than £100. The detail and care that has gone into making this set so accurate and amazing is fantastic! It's going to be fun re-running some of the bike minigames and storyline section with this in my peripheral vision! Buy it if you can find it!

Here are the pictures: