This one spicy? Yes. Very. Much spice under the fold. Warning: 🍆 ahead.
Gentleman 18 Studio – Sukuna and Megumi
Author: tharglet
Top cast-off for Kanno by Otherwhere
Instructions of how to cast off Konno – instructions under the fold as NSFW.
Wonfes 2022-2023 Shanghai – My personal picks
In this article, I’ll detail the statutes and figures that caught my eye. Not seen much activity on Wonfes Shanghai on MFC, so thought I’d add something of my own.
The first thing I’ll cover is a figure I’ve already got preordered – Dragon Princess by ULoop Studio:
NL Studio – Thanos – Jack-o pose
The meme, the legend… presenting Thanos in the Jack-o pose! This figure took the internet by storm in 2022 when NL Studio announced they were going to produce him. If you’ve not heard of this figure, oh boy, you’re in for a treat! Warning: eggplant ahead!
This figure was offered in 1/6 and 1/4 scales, both with a standard and a deluxe edition – the deluxe coming with two bodies, one “clothed” and one naked. I went for the 1/6 deluxe edition – with Thanos being a large chap in general I felt the 1/6 would be sufficiently large and wanting the two bodies, the 1/6 deluxe was pricey enough at CN¥1880 (US$265).
Shipping woes
Deposit went fine, replenishment (final payment) went fine, studio didn’t take long to dispatch. Then came the fun with international shipping. He was just under the limit for volumetric shipping so ended up paying for the shipping service so I wouldn’t have to pay an eye-watering amount for volumetric shipping – his shipping via SAL was CN¥560 (US$80), volumetric was clocking in at least double that. So I stumped up the cash, and waited. Then Chinese customs refused it. Arrggghhh. Then came an agonising 2.5 months wait for it to be returned to the agent’s warehouse and get stocked back in, not knowing for sure if it was going to happen.
Thankfully it returned and my shipping was refunded, whew. In the intervening time, EMS prices came down significantly so it cost “only” CN¥585 to reship via EMS. And another CN¥20 for the shipping service…
And if the shipping wasn’t cursed enough, EMS took 14 days, when other parcels were taking 7. But he arrived and that’s the main thing!
Base
Let’s first see what number I got by flipping the base:
I think the universe is telling me he is indeed cursed. I hope the mail delay wasn’t him trying to Thanos Snap the other parcels he was shipped with.
Top view of the base:
The base is decently weighty which is pretty common for resin bases. As Thanos is known for his destruction they went with a destroyed piece of concrete with bits of twisted metal reminiscent of parts of a building. The metal parts look good, but the concrete/asphalt looks a bit bland in person and could’ve done with a bit more variance in shading. As it is, from certain angles it does look plasticky. It’s nice they have included some earthy bits though I think they could have done adding in some darker earth tones.
Official vs Bootleg: Eve Lovecall ver. – Pink Charm
Welcome to what will probably be the final Official vs Bootleg. However, this blog should deliver – not only do we have two bootlegs to compare with, well… you’ll see!
I will be comparing her both cast-off and clothed – if you’re not interested in seeing her unclothed, I can offer one (1) free click of the back button.
The two bootlegs are a hard and soft version – so let’s see how similar they are to each other and the original. Will she fare better than Hermaphroditos did?
Pricing
MSRP (without tax): ¥18,000
Price I paid for the official (inc shipping): ¥22,030 (£144.42)
Price I paid for the hard bootleg (inc shipping): ¥CN165 (£19.05)
Price I paid for the soft bootleg (inc shipping): ¥CN175 (£20.20)
ODD Mastermind – 10cm edition
Marketed as just an ordinary brain, we have the Mastermind from ODD. This figure comes in two sizes – this small 10cm edition and a 30cm edition that’s not released yet. In imperial units, that makes it 4″ tall.
The box:
In ODD style, it’s pretty plain with some warning information on the back.
Official vs Bootleg: Shiro Sniper Ver. – Pop Up Parade
This figure was my first Pop Up Parade so is the first release. Pop Up Parade is known for being a budget line, so how does a knockoff of a budget figure compare?
Pricing
MSRP (without tax): ¥3,545
Price I paid for the official (inc shipping): ¥3,900 (£29.28)
Price I paid for the bootleg (inc shipping): $20.07 (£14.14)
The official I pre-ordered from Big in Japan.
Box
Front:
Can you tell the difference? No? It’s hard isn’t it…
As is common with figures that come in clear boxes, the bootleggers have made their own card design with dubiously-sourced art. I’m not an art aficionado so I don’t know what was sourced from where. Interestingly, we have a photo of the bootleg crudely slapped on the bottom right of the box – interesting they didn’t go for promo art of the official product. The cutout is also of an interesting shape which is a surprising amount of effort for a bootleg box.
Treasure Chest Monster Octopus Girl – Snail Shell
This figure was an instant preorder for me – I like monster characters, especially of the aquatic variety. I did have some small reservations as I didn’t think Tomato Girl came out as well as it could’ve done. I don’t actually own Tomato Girl, but haven’t been that impressed by the photos I’ve seen. However, for an octopus girl I was prepared to risk it.
I preordered this before orders in Japan were available so didn’t get to get the AmiAmi scroll. Would’ve been a nice bonus to have.
So let’s see what we got!
Box
Wind Messenger Lille – ODD
This figure is an original character, and is made by the company ODD. They’re a Chinese manufacturer with 3 released figures, and more on the way. All of them, well, odd. You have been warned :P. There will be uncensored genitalia photos.
Each of their figures comes with a backstory – this character is member of a winged race, and was captured as her eggs are delicious and nutritious. The backstory doesn’t go into how nutritious, just that they are.
The mythical creatures are captured then cloned and placed in machines to take advantage of them. In Lille’s case she’s been put in gachapon machine and kept in heat so she continuously lays eggs. An interesting concept for a figure, for sure.
If you’re interested in the full story, I paid for a translation which can be found in the spoiler below
Box
So how is one of these delights presented? They have gone the Native route, so the boxes have hints to the content but no pictures.
Front, with a postcard for scale:
This box is chonk.
Marin Kitagawa – JM Studio
This figure is an unlicensed resin. I bought this figure as I fell in love with the succubus design – as of time of writing, I haven’t read/watched My Dress Up Darling.
The box
Front:
On the front of the box, we get to see both versions of the figure, and I get a banner on mine saying the first 100 preorders get a womb tattoo. Ooh! And some quality censoring on the nipples 😆
Continue reading “Marin Kitagawa – JM Studio”Sanis – ClayM
This figure is by ClayM, and distributed by Lechery in Japan.
The box, as imported from China:
Sleeping Cthulhu – Blue ver. – WeArtDoing
Decided to do some showcase blogs of some figures I’ve got recently, that aren’t necessarily featured on MFC. As I won’t be providing much in the way of analysis, I’m filing these under the “loot” category, rather than review.
This figure is of a sleeping female Cthulhu in a can. The figure is by WeArtDoing. I now have two of the three variants – this one I bought in stock from a random store on Taobao. She was 1188rmb with 15rmb freight collect. International shipping ended up being 270rmb – may’ve been cheaper if I had them remove the batteries, but I was juggling a couple of other parcels at the time, so just shipped as-is.
The figure comes with an edition card and three mediocre-quality postcards. I got #19/299 – which is ironically a lower edition number than the one I preordered.
Photos of the figure:
Official vs Bootleg: Nendoroid Rimuru (#1067)
Time for everyone’s favourite slime – Rimuru! He’s survived many things, so let’s see if he survived the bootlegging process!
Pricing
MSRP (without tax): ¥4,444
Price I paid for the official (inc shipping): ¥4,732 (£34.34)
Price I paid for the bootleg (inc shipping): £9.90
The official I bought from Nippon Yasan (so much money, so little retailer…)
Box
Front:
There are instantly noticeable differences right out of the gate – no logos at the top, no authenticity sticker and they’ve even removed the “Rimuru” in Japanese as well as the copyright! Looking closer, we can see the white parts on the bootleg box are slightly yellowy and the print quality is poor and grainy.
The “Rimuru” on the bootleg’s plastic may appear to be in the wrong place, but the plastic sheet had fallen off in transit.
Looking into the box the yellow background shines through a lot more clearly on the bootleg.
Official vs Bootleg: Wave Beach Queens Kuroyukihime
For this figure, when I got the bootleg I only owned the standard edition. I took photos with the standard edition then a month or two later I ended up buying the deluxe edition. The standard edition I have is sun-damaged to some extent, which you’ll see on some photos. I ended up retaking a good chunk of the comparison photos with the deluxe figure, but there will be a mix.
Pricing
MSRP (without tax): Standard: ¥3,800, Deluxe: ¥4,600
Price I paid for the official (inc shipping): £32.00
Price I paid for the bootleg (inc shipping): $16.94 (£14.05)
The official standard edition I bought from eBay, and the special edition from Suruga-ya. Both ended up around the same cost.
Box
Here we have the bootleg as it arrived:
Yup, padding and everything! That was a surprise. Usually bootleg sellers don’t particularly care what condition the box turns up in, but this one was well-protected for the tumultuous journey from China.
OK, now to discard the extra wrappings on the bootleg and get the deluxe edition box out:
A surprising amount of difference is instantly noticeable – no backdrop on the bootleg and the parts are packed in different positions. The face is in the official box but in a separate blister that’s not visible yet (we’ll see it later). For the official Haruyuki ball it is also in a separate blister for the official, whilst the bootleg has these parts integrated into the one blister. This difference can be explained via the official having two variants and the bootleg only one, so makes sense just to make one blister.
And yes, the Haruyuki ball was backwards in the bootleg box when I received it.
Looking at the top-left of the boxes, the bootleg doesn’t have the Wave logo or the Sunrise authenticity sticker.
They did bootleg the special edition sticker, but the print isn’t as dark.
Official vs Bootlegs: Union Creative Koakuma-chan
For this one, we have two bootlegs to compare! We have one that is intended as a copy, and another that’s a variant.
Pricing
MSRP (without tax): ¥11,000
Price I paid for the official (inc shipping): ¥12,480 (£98.06)
Price I paid for the bootleg copy (inc shipping): £16.00
Price I paid for the bootleg variant (inc shipping): £12.08
The official I preordered from Big in Japan.
Box
Front:
Wow, three very different boxes here! The official goes for a compact box, and the variant also goes for the compact design but with a different window configuration. And the copy… wat. A massive box, with the figure really oddly angled within it. This box came flattened, so wasn’t sure which orientation the blister was designed to fit in it, but neither orientations looked good.
With the variant, we see the text “Summer Dome Sister”… but what the heck is this? Some people are probably shouting the answer at the screen right now, but I had to research it. Turns out it is Kasugano Sora from Yosuga no Sora. I don’t play VNs, so wasn’t a series I was familiar with (nor have I seen/read the related anime/manga). I have seen a couple of her figures floating around before… and that’s the extent of my familiarity. So yeah, they’ve taken Rurudo’s character and modified the head so it has a resemblance to Kasugano Sora, which we’ll see when she’s out the box.
If we look at the top right of the variant box, we also see a white version alongside the red – this white version does exist but I opted for the red version to add some variation to this comparison.
Going back to the copy bootleg – the front of the box borrows the artwork of the official box, albeit blurry and stretched. Thankfully they didn’t try to stretch it up to the full height of the box.
Official vs Bootleg: BINDing Fetish Boy Mao
This figure was an instant PO for me – there isn’t many lewd males out there, so this was a rare opportunity in the male figure department. Even if he is dressed up somewhat feminine. So yeah, this blog is very much NSFW. Lewdness and toys will be on full show.
This bootleg was a bit of a trial to get – had a cancelled order or two, and the one seller I did finally get it from, it took around a month for the seller to dispatch it. Was beginning to believe it didn’t really exist, but I eventually had it in my hands… box and all.
Pricing
MSRP (without tax): ¥25,000
Price I paid for the official (inc shipping): ¥32,500 (£235.99)
Price I paid for the bootleg (inc shipping): £35.19
The official I bought from Nippon Yasan. Rest in pieces.
Box
Front:
First thing that’s notable is the lack of shiny silver print on the bootleg box. And we also have “Legend Creation” emblazoned on the bootleg.
The majority of the box’s design has been recreated on the bootleg, but the artist credits and BINDing logo have been removed. The print quality isn’t as good, so the colours have suffered as a result.
The card of the box is the same ridged type though looking to the box edges we can see the two boxes open differently.
Official vs Bootleg: Stronger Rin Tohsaka (Type-Moon Racing)
This figure was voted for DTINDCAREA, so I hope you enjoy this blog. I’ve enjoyed your comments :).
This figure is part of a popular trio of racing figures, with a special base that unite all three.
Let’s see if this bootleg is part of a trio of abominations.
Pricing
MSRP (without tax): ¥12,071
Price I paid for the official (inc shipping): ¥14,887 (£106.51)
Price I paid for the bootleg (inc shipping): $21.19 (£16.24)
The official I bought from MyKombini (who obtained it from Amazon!)
Box
Front:
The bootleg box is a copy of the official on the front, only lacking the Type-Moon authenticity sticker. Mmm, shiny. Oh, and also lacking in print quality – the figure photo is a bit grainy and the colours washed out.
Looking at the print next to the diagonal line cuts, some are a bit off on the bootleg, but thanks to the pattern it isn’t particularly noticeable without them next to each other.
Pick Me Up Miku instructions
Original (requires Weibo account, Chinese): https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404786134344401123
This is a translated version of the operating instructions for Pick Me Up Miku. The wording has been machine-translated then rewritten by me to (hopefully!) make sense.
- Unscrew the screw at the bottom of the base, open the battery cover and insert 3 x AAA batteries and close the battery cover
- Open the battery cover at the bottom of the remote control, insert 1 x CR2025 battery and slide it in.
- Press the ‘switch’ button on the upper part of the remote control to turn on the base light
- The arrow functions are as follows:
- Up: Increase the brightness
- Down: Decrease the brightness
- Left: Next lighting effect
- Right: Previous lighting effect
If there is a problem with the remote control or lighting effect, please refer to the following steps to check operation and diagnose issues.
NOTE: The following instructions are only for self-testing/fixing Pick Me Up Miku when the base lighting is not working properly, and is not suitable for daily operation. If it functions normally, please do not use this part of the guide, so as to not cause issues.
If the lighting does not work after these diagnostic steps, please consult our after-sales. [Author’s note: Not sure if this is available to international customers, but they do have an email of support^at^apex-toy.com. If you bought from an international retailer, I would advise contacting the retailer in the first instance]
Continue reading “Pick Me Up Miku instructions”Idol Cthulhu (Fengrong Culture)
Do you like your figures cute, but just a bit scary? Then this figure is for you!
This review is pretty long – feel free to scroll past any sections that don’t appeal.
About Fengrong Culture
Fengrong Culture is a Chinese manufacturer, so you won’t find this figure in the MFC database.
Fengrong Culture was established in 2017, but this is their first release – they did intend to release another figure prior, but was cancelled before being available for order, likely for licensing reasons.
One thing to note this is the review of the figure without the DX base – the DX base is a separate release in China, and I do have this on preorder. Fengrong currently estimate 15th-20th August for the base’s release. The base was originally going to be resin, but due to the number of orders received, they changed it to be PVC & ABS. Oh, and it has lights and a speaker…
My history with the figure
I believe this figure was first revealed at Wonfes Shanghai 2019 – my first glimpse of it via an image posted to a Discord server I was on. I then promptly forgot which server it was posted on, and then couldn’t find it a week or so later. Thankfully awhile later someone reposted it, which allowed me to track down the details.
From there, I discovered Fengrong’s Weibo, which allowed me to keep track of the figure. I also discovered hpoi’s site (a Chinese MFC), so also watched the figure there.
Not knowing if the figure would see any international distribution, I registered with a Taobao proxy and did a couple of in-stock purchases to investigate how it worked, as well as looking into how deposits/preorders worked.
I decided to preorder this figure with hpoi’s store, as it was highly rated and seemed to be a good bet.
Then came the usual preorder wait. And delay. Then delay again… At one point the release date wasn’t known, but eventually Fengrong published that she’ll be sent out at the end of July. True to their word this time around, I was able to pay the replenishment (final) payment, and she was at my proxy very shortly after.
EMS from China to the UK took 11 days, so didn’t have too long to wait once she was enroute.
Figure box size and weight
As some of you reading this are likely waiting on their preorder from AmiAmi, the box weight & dimensions are:
Weight: 1875g
Dimensions: 330 x 265 x 190mm
So prepare for hefty shipping.
Figure’s box
Front:
We have an interestingly-shaped window here, showing off most of the figure. We have some glossy-printed tentacles which give a nice texture and detail to the box.
We also have the figure’s name in Chinese and English, plus the tagline “Rhythm from R’lyeh”, which I like.
Official vs Bootleg: Wing Saya
This figure I went back and forth on covering as her bootleg is quite well documented. Finally decided to cover it, as she’s quite a unique figure in some respects, especially if you’ve ‘played’ Saya No Uta.
Pricing
MSRP (without tax): ¥17,000
Price I paid for the official (inc shipping): ¥18,060 (£129.60)
Price I paid for the bootleg (inc shipping): £22.11
The official I bought from Big In Japan
Box
Front:
The first difference that is immediately noticeable is the missing “WING” logo in the top-left of the bootleg box. As this box is dominated by an image of the Saya figure, the poorer print quality on the bootleg shows with the two side-by-side. The print colours are also generally darker on the bootleg box.
Looking through the window of the box, we can see the large hair strands are in different positions between the two. The bootleg’s hair strands have much less of a gradient and a lack of protective plastic.