Category: Figure manufacturer origin

Behemoth King & Marlboro – Final Fantasy XIII

These pair of creatures I picked up cheap at a Hobby Off, without boxes. I was impressed with the prices in the Hobby Offs I visited, even if they didn’t do tax-free shopping.

Firstly, let’s have a look at the Behemoth King:

Looking at these creatures close-up, there are many small details to be seen, such as the stitches on his sleeve, and the metal edging on his shoulder… ribbons? His tail curls around him nicely, and for this figure the “front” isn’t the best viewing angle, but you do get to see his face.

Left:

This I would regard as his viewing angle, as you can see mos of his pose. Here we see his tail has a heavy metal end that I’d definitely not want to tangle with! The muted blue and purple colour scheme works well, and definitely counteracts blandness in colour design for a creature, without going full-on fantasy. I also wouldn’t want to tangle with the clawed gloves he seems to be wearing on all his limbs. The weapon on his back is also nicely sculpted and painted.

Right:

Here we can see he has a good amount of shading in his back paint. The rock “stand” is largely visible from here, and the textures and colours on it are nice and feel like stone. The ribbons on his shoulder look like they are blowing in the wind, which is a nice touch.

Back:

Here we can see the ribbons (as I’m calling them…) are textured nicely and are shaded down their length. Also liking the spiky collars on his wrists/ankles.

Overall, I’m impressed with the quality of the sculpt and the paint for this figure, plus I love his overall design.

Now for Marlboro:

My research revealed, that yes, his name is a reference to the cigarettes, as he kills you with his stink. I love the detail of this creature’s design, and the muted colour scheme. He also feels kinda cute to me, by monster standards. Here we see him looking like he’s wrapped himself over a dead adventurer, who still had his sword. I love his big, gaping mouth, with all its teeth. The paintwork is quite detailed around here.

Left:

Here we see His Plantiness has orange tips on all his extremities. I like this touch in his design, and the paint seems blended well with the green, so there isn’t a harsh transition.

Right:

Again, more orange-ended tentacles, plus some skulls beneath him. Yeah, don’t think I want to tussle with those teeth.

Back:

Here we see an obvious join about halfway up his back – this is the only noticeable flaw imo. Here he also has some yellow accents on his vines, which adds some depth and detail to him. I think a decent amount of detail has been put into his sculpt, and definitely gives him a plantlike appearance.

Overall, I’m really happy with this figure too. On a personal level, I think Marlboro is my favourite of the two, but that’s down to creature design rather than quality. I could recommend these figures, who would like some more creaturey small figures in their collection.

Catwoman – New 52 – ARTFX+

This figure was pretty much an instabuy when I saw it… after some price-checking.

So here she is, out of the box:

They’ve nailed the shiny outfit she wears, though the zipper doesn’t feel super-detailed. I like her pose, as it conveys her confidence and strength. Her collar also looks nice, and her lipstick is painted well. The base is the standard Kotobukiya magnetic stand that they use for their Western property figures.

Left:

Here we can see she is endowed, but not overly so. There are a couple of creases in her outfit, and her buckles on her boots are painted well. Here we get a look at her whip – this is mostly a cord, which looks OK at a distance, but would prefer if it was something with a poseable wire.

Right:

Her small ears on her hood work well. Buckles on this side are also well painted and sculpted – I like the way they’re not perfectly even. Here we can also see her spiked gloves, which look good.

Back:

Here we see a bunch of creasing in the back of her outfit – I do like the fact they have sculpted it like this, instead of totally flat, like most Catwoman figures. The band for her goggles looks a little odd though – just doesn’t feel like it’s any particular material.

She also has switchable goggles, here is a close-up of the ones used in the above figures:

These goggles are pretty decent. Please ignoe the dust on her chest… Here we can see the lack of sculpt detail in the zipper, above the zipper itself. Would’ve been nicer if the teeth of the zipper were more defined.

Without glasses:

Her eyes are painted well, though her eyes do look a little bloodshot, as it seems the eyelid edge paint went a bit walkies into the whites of her eyes. If you look just above her eyes, on the sides of her hood, you can see the indentations that the glasses attach to. Looking at the zipper pull in this shot, it does appear to be a bit distorted.

Alternative glasses:

After trying these pair of glasses on her, I think these are the ones I will display her with. I like the way they are see-through, so you can see her eyes. The orange colour is nice too.

Overall, this figure is fairly decent, but does have a couple of flaws. I could recommend it at a good price, but not worth an inflated aftermarket price. Personally, I quite like this figure, and am happy to add another Catwoman to my collection.

Al Azif – Demonbane – Crystal ver

This Al Azif was the version I was glad I didn’t spend all the money on, but I saw it super-cheap in Lashingbang, so decided to go for it. There were a few notes on its condition, but they were mainly related to the box, which was definitely in poor condition (the glue had gone on it).

So let’s look at this ‘special’ version of Al Azif by BEAT:

Personally, she doesn’t look bad like I thought she might. The purple hair actually works decently well, helped by the shading in her fringe. The sculpt is the same as the other, so it has that going for it. The outfit still looks nice and frilly, and her bows are well-sculpted. However, in this version, she doesn’t have any shading on her top, and instead it’s a pearlscent finish, which does look a little odd. Her skin is also a different tone, compared to the other, but looks OK. The base is identical.

Face:

Here we see her face, wit the colours, it looks more doll-like to me, like a Western-style kid’s doll. I like the effect of her hair on her head, and she is neatly painted. The hair being plain but translucent lower down doesn’t help the figure though, but I don’t mind this.

Left:

Here we see even her socks got the shiny treatment. Her floating “cookies” look good, and have avoided being made shiny. I still like her pose, and her top is realistically creased. We can also see how her hair isn’t entirely one colour, which is one thing I was afraid of, which would’ve made the figure look cheesier than it does.

Right:

‘Nother side, another cookie. The bows are all looking good and neatly painted. Here we can see how her skin is paler than it is on the other one. They have done some shading on her leg, by her sock, which really helps the sock look like a sock, instead of paint on her leg.

Back:

Here we see on mine there’s some “freckling” going on, on the back of her legs. Pretty sure this is discolouration, and likely won’t be present on other ones of this figure. From the back, her hair looks like it’s a large hard-boiled sweet to me and it’d be some berry flavour, lol. The ribbon entwines her hair nicely, and I do like the sculptwork that went into this.

Overall, I like this figure, but recommend picking this one up cheap. She’s not bad, but not as good as the other version, which is what I suspected. If you’re looking at images of the box, this one should have a black sticker on the front to state it is the crystal version, if you’re looking out for it.

Here are the two figures side-by-side:

Here we can see the original version has a more natural skin tone, and the extra shading in the top that helps it stand out. The shiny finish on the crystal one is interesting and a bit different, but I think the lack of other paint details drag it down significantly. The hair I think is a personal choice – it definitely doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would, but I’m probably still going to go for the original version’s hair.

If I were to recommend one, I’d definitely say save up for the original version, though I don’t think the crystal version is as bad of an option as I originally thought. I’d only recommend getting both, if you’re like me and you really want both… for reasons my brain won’t explain.

Lara Croft – Tomb Raider

More old Western action figures! This time Lara from Tomb Raider:

That’s one helluva face… Her head is too thin, and that lipstick is way too red. The material shorts were an interesting choice. Looks like one of the legs has come unfurled during this photoshoot, which doesn’t help. Note to self: go fix that. I think with the top not being fabric, this doesn’t work so well, and maybe they would have been better off moulding them, but this was probably the easiest way, without losing leg articulation entirely. 

Left:

… and I didn’t pose this uzi correctly – her finger does fit in the trigger, and sits well in her hand. The holsters do feel super-large to her body, but they were designed to fit the guns she comes with, so you do have the option of holstering them. Her hair looks OK, but isn’t super-detailed. You can rotate her pony tail though. 

Right:

Here we can see where the white paint on her sock/shoe is a mess. Bit of a shame. The black bands on her leg are supposed to be where her holsters attached… but here they’re just um, garters? It might be possible to pull the holsters down so they reach, but it won’t look good. On the fence about them adding these – it is more accurate to her design, but defeats the point if her holsters aren’t attached to the bands. 

Back:

Here the stitching is a bit of a mess on the back, but the rolled short looks nice. Her backpack is pretty decent – not too much detail to it, but does the job. The joints in her arm are very visible, but this is typical of older figures. The stand in these photos is one of the spare bases I have – without a base she doesn’t really balance, so I’d recommend getting one of these plastic disc bases for her. She has a standard sized hole though (these bases work with NECA figures, for an example), so if you have a spare base, it’s worth trying with her. 

Watch out Lara!

The thing that attracted me to this figure other than the fact it was Lara was the fact she comes with a couple of creatures. She comes with this bat, and what’s apparently an Atlantean Guard:

I really like this little guy – he has a fair amount of detail to him too. Possibly more so than Lara! He also has a peg on his tail, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what this pegs to. 

Right:

Vicious lookin’ bugger. Don’t think I want to cross him. The eye is painted really well. 

Back of the guard and bat::

They’re both nicely detailed on the back. These accessories are almost better than the main feature, lol. 

Here are the other two guns she comes with:

You can sling these over her shoulders, if you like. I find that a bit overkill. They’re not hugely detailed, but I like the fact they’ve been included. I may sling one over her shoulder, but not both. 

Overall, I don’t think I could recommend this figure, and it’s one for the more hardcore collector/fan. I have a soft spot for things Lara, so couldn’t resist adding this to my collection, with the low price tag. If you’re in the US, you should be able to pick this up as cheaply as I did, however it could end up pretty costly in other countries. She feels like an experimental figure from the 90s, of ideas that would be later refined, and she has a face that only a mother could love… 

Barnaby Brooks Jr – Chess Piece

Just a small loot item today, Barnaby as a chess piece:

I like the pose in this figure, and the backdrop. And the fact it doesn’t even look like a chess piece. The paint is pretty decent for a figure of this size, and he has the translucent pieces he should do. 

Left:

Here we see he’s very close up to the backdrop. His chest is done well, and nicely detailed. Here we can also see his eyes are painted, and he has paint details on his inner arm. And the “TV” part of the “Hero TV” logo.

Right:

Here we have a goodly amount of detail too – he has his thrusters, and all his back plates. 

Back:

Not much to see here, though apparently I have the base rotated, so the only clue that he’s a chess piece is back here. You’d need a pretty big board if this is the size of a chess piece… the base isn’t too big, but he’s the size of a trading figure, so you’d need a good-sized board if you had a set of pieces… However, researching it, it’s more of a ‘concept’ set, where you’d just collect one of each, rather than a chess set’s worth. 

Here’s an angled shot:

I really like this piece. I’d collect the others, if I came across them for a decent price. A good amount of detail has been put into the sculpting and the painting for this figure. I’d recommend these figures, but maybe not for actually playing chess. 

Lala Satalin Deviluke – Metamo ver – To Love Ru

Aaannd now for a figure I got before Japan, but didn’t blog about… because I had to take more pics. Reason why shown later in the blog.

So here she is:

Definitely a happy Lala! I like the shading in her hair and her smiling expression. Her tail curves nicely around her, and the shower makes this figure a bit different from most figures. 

Face close-up:

Yep, diggin’ that grin and Peke (the hair decoration). The curls on the top of her head looks good, and her cleavage has been well done. The thin line of dark paint in her mouth adds a good element of definition. Here we can also see there’s some shading painted onto her skin too. 

Left:

She’s moulded nicely from this side – we can see the detail in her toes. In a way, she’s a fairly plain figure, but the shading in her hair really helps her not be boring. 

Tail close-up:

Her tail is nice, done with a shiny finish, which I think fits Lala. The tail can be rotated and displayed at differing angles. Here we can see a seam on her leg, but it does appear they’ve done some work to help hide it, so it’s not super-noticeable. 

Right:

Here we see more of the shower, which definitely helps her stand up – without it she can bend over a bit. The hair is nicely sculpted around her ear.

Back:

Her backside looks good, but the back of her leg has been interestingly sculpted. We can see here they’ve attempted to sculpt tendons, but it looks a bit wrong to me. Love the way her tail is a big feature from this angle. 

But wait, what’s this?

What’s going on? Britain is having a summer? Wait what? One of the selling points for this figure is that it changes colour when it gets hot – on the day I took the first set of photos it was hot enough for this to start happening. This should start happening around 30C, which is very hot for the UK. So she had a stint in the fridge before the above pics, then I couldn’t be bothered to heat her up and take more. 

So here’s some shots from the second photo shoot:

It transforms well, and will stay like this for a long time. Ended up putting her in the fridge to turn her back – I think between certain temperatures she will stay whatever colour she is, which is a nice thing. I think both options looks good, but I prefer the black version, so back in the fridge she went for awhile :P. 

Overall, I think this is a decent figure. I think she’s a cut above a prize figure, but not really comparable with scale figures. I think her original RRP might’ve been a bit on the high side, and the price I got her for, the aftermarket agreed. Glad to finally have a Lala figure that doesn’t break the bank. 

Lady Demon – Chaos

And now for another Moore Collectables figure!

Lady Demon:

Also a sucker for demon figures :). I like her red skin and accessories – here we see her wand. The skull crotch looks good too. Her face and hair are painted well, but I think her horns could do with a bit of work. Also the rings that are part of her loincloth could’ve done with more paint, as they blend far too well into her skin, and can look unpainted from a distance. Her top is sculpted, which gives it needed depth, but the boots are painted and gloves are painted on. 

Left:

Yep, she’s deffo got some boob goin’ on. The sculpting is nice in her hair, but is quite obviously two pieces. She leans a bit on the stand – this is fairly common on Moore figures, as they only have one foot peg. I love her clawed hands. 

Right:

Tiny little skull detail on the side strap for her loincloth :). I wonder what demon magic keeps her boobs that perky…

Wand:

I like this wand – it is nicely detailed, with the claw & horns on the gem, and the bone effect on the handle. Imo, the bone effect came out really well.

Back:

Here we see she has a very full head of hair :). Again, she has a case of copyright-butt. I do like the stands for these Chaos figures, as the Chaos logo makes for a good stand design. The indents are also useful for propping the figure/accessories. 

Sword:

I really like the shiny red this sword is painted. The black wash at the bottom also works well, and we have a small detail of a skull on the base of the handle. I couldn’t get it into her hand so I came up with a different way of displaying it:

Here you can see where I use the base to help the sword stand upright. As long as it doesn’t get jostled, it’ll stay in place, helped by her hand holding it. The arm articulation actually comes in useful here, so you can pose her with the sword. 

Overall, I like this figure. The colours work well, and she has some nice small details. Again, it’s a Moore Collectables, so has that “look” to it. I’d recommend this figure, if you like this style. 

Aspen Matthews – Marine Metallic Ver – Fathom

I was attracted to this figure, thanks to its colour scheme and aquatic theming. And, er, also cheap.

So here she is:

I love the sheen her skin has, and the blue & greens work well, and definitely give the figure an aquatic feel. The blue-green weapon part comes separate, and you clip this to her arm. I like the detail in this piece. Her body is well-defined and she has a decent amount of definition in her harms. Her legs suffer from the “Moore Collectables” plainness though. 

Face:

I like her face, and it feels well-sculpted. The “fabric” part of her outfit feels very flat to her body though, with the aquatic plantlife being raised fully. 

Top of her head:

Some parts have been missed on mine, in some of the deep gaps of her hair. It ends up quite noticeable when looking at her from above, but not so much from the front. 

Left:

Not sure what the muscles are doing on her arm… she might want to get that looked at. She has painted nails, which is a nice touch. Her neck joint shows quite a bit – not sure what the point of the articulations are in these figures – it doesn’t work particularly well, but some articulation is definitely a Western thing, lol. Some of the black background paint is a bit much on her leg – it works well on the lower, denser part, but looks a bit odd higher up.  I love the use of colour on her shoulder. 

Right:

Yeah. should’a retaken this shot… but I like the shapes in the “weapon” part she has. Rest of her on this side looks good.

Back:

Lotta deformation action back here. And the copyrights somewhat spoiling it… I think they’ve given her back too much definition, and it doesn’t quite make sense. And her butt could do with a little more definition. 

Despite the figure’s flaws, I really love this figure. From the colour scheme to the theming, it falls into a few categories of “stuff I like”. If you’re OK with Moore’s style of figure, I could recommend this one. Looks far better than the default colour scheme – I’ve seen this figure being sold in a store before, and the colours make it look very messy. This is definitely the superior one for me. 

Jack the Assassin – Fate/Grand Order

This was one of the figures on my “to buy” list when I headed to Japan – it was one of two Jack figures I was thinking of buying, and I decided to go with this one.

So let’s look at her out of the box:

I like the pose, but not sold on her expression. According the the promo shots, I actually have her daggers in her hands the wrong way up, but honestly, I prefer them pointing upwards rather than downwards (please don’t shoot me Fate fans!). 

Face:

I like her eyes and the scar. Here we can see the paint job is mediocre – the edges on her top are a bit messy. and the straps on her arm have paint all over the shop. 

Left:

I like the diamond parts on her leg. Her hair looks OK, but isn’t particularly detailed. The side of her top is nicely detailed, and I do love the knife holders on her back.

Right:

She looks good from this side. Still likin’ the knives and the details on her top. 

Arm close-up:

They tried to make the bandages on her arm look dirty, but I’m not sure I like the effect. However, I do really dig the daggers – they’re a detailed shape, and the paint with the gradient is really nice. Definitely one of the highlights of this figure.

Side of the knife sheathes:

Here we see some of paint marks that aren’t uncommon on certain prize figures. Other than that, the sheathes are pretty nice. 

Back:

Here we have a bag o’ tricks and all them sheathes. She looks really good from this angle. 

Close-up of her back:

The pack is painted decently well, but the knives are a little bit of a mess. Not too much of a problem, as they’re on her back. 

Front shot:

Her outfit is an interesting one… looks like she forgot her trousers this morning :P. The body is sculpted decently well, with some definition near her hips and groin, and she has a belly button. 

Overall, it’s an OK prize figure. She should be pretty cheap to get hold of – I wouldn’t recommend spending a whole load on this figure due to her flaws, but she is a reasonably decent figure imo. 

Angela – Limited Edition – Spawn

This figure came with a VHS tape, with some Spawn episodes on… but that went straight into storage. So let’s look at the figure instead:

I was attracted to this figure due to its blue colour… and cheap price tag (¥500). I love the colour scheme on this figure – there’s a variety of colours, but they work together. The blue and goldish colour pairs well.

Face:

Here we have her hair and headband. She looks like the wings are part of her head, but if we look up close, we see this is not the case. Whilst the translucent wings are a nice effect, it may’ve been better to keep the headband as the same colour as her armour. The paintwork is average for McFarlane – which is reasonably neat if you don’t look too close :P. The black belt across her midriff terminates a bit early, which looks odd. 

Left:

Her weapon is neat, and she holds it well. The tip can fire out, and does so with some force. I like the armour on her arm, and the purple boot is.. interesting. 

Right:

Here we can see the button that fires the tip. The gold armour on her arm on this side I like quite a bit. I like the spiky shoulderpads too. 

Back:

Here we can see the brightness of her hair – it is quite a bright orange, that contrasts with the rest of her. There’s a decent amount of texture sculpted into it. Paint on her backside is a bit sloppy. I like the sword on her back, which she can also hold, if you prefer it to the staff. 

Overall, I’m really glad I picked this one up. I was trying not not buy all the McFarlane figures, as the quality isn’t the best for these older figures, but certainly worth it for ¥500! She’s grown on me a fair bit since I’ve unpacked her, so she’s staying on display 🙂

Alien Shocktrooper – Independence Day

This was another super-cheap Western figure from Mandarake that I couldn’t not buy. Also… shiny…

Shiny and blue is also a winner with me :P. And tentacles. This figure feels very 90s. And being 90s style, it has to have an action feature:

Not entirely sure if this cardboard dude is supposed to come out or not. He doesn’t easily, so he’s stayin’ in there. Here we can see there is plenty of glitter underneath the sealant. 

Here is the head closed:

The red eyes stand out from the rest of the figure, but aren’t too hash a contrast. The sculpting is good for its age, though the colours chosen are probably somewhat Marmite if you like them or not. 

Left:

Here we see the majesty of this thing. The tentacles take up quite a bit of room, but the upper ones have wires, so they can be posed. The lower two he stands on are solid so they can prop him up. The purple accents on these tentacles are a nice touch. The upper tentacles are pre-attached, but the lower ones are an absolute arse to get in – would recommend warming the figure to ease insertion. 

Close-up of the body:

Still looking shiny and decently detailed. The protruding bit on his upper back is the clip you squeeze to open the head. The head will spring closed. 

Right:

This shot shows the levers and hinge aren’t really that hidden. Does give you a good grip to open it though, which makes sense as a toy aimed at kids. 

Close-up of the lower tentacles:

Decently detailed, and reasonably easy to balance him on these back “legs”. 

Back:

All the tentacle you could need! Haven’t posed them much, but with some fiddling, they’d look good.

Close-up of the tentacle ends:

Here we can see there is more than one tip type, which is a nice detail. I like the way these came out. 

You also get a host dude:

He has a certain amount of flexibility, but isn’t designed to be poseable. The paint colours are nice though. I’ll either find somewhere he can hang onto, or maybe hang him onto a tentacle. He’s a decent little accessory to the figure, but he’s not capable of standing on his own, so that’s a bit of a shame. Would have more display potential if he did. 

Overall, I like this figure, not sure who I’d recommend it to. It also came with a floppy disk, but haven’t been bothered to try and see if it still reads. As of the time of writing, here’s some videos that I found of the mission disks that came with these figures: https://www.youtube.com/user/JTcheatwood/videos They’re all very short minigames (my brother had the Area 51 one as kids, which came with a mini playset, which is why I know the vague content of the disks). 

Yozora Mikazuki – Haganai NEXT

Here’s a figure I bought on my first day in Japan:

image

This figure is by the most-likely-defunct Griffon Enterprise. The thing that attracted me to this figure was her outfit – I love the shiny, red colour and the spikiness :). I also like her horns and the leg warmers(?). I like the detail that went into the legwear – the creases are nice and detailed, and the shading is well done. 

Face:

She has quite a cute face. Love the eyes, rest of the face doesn’t feel too detailed. Her necklace is nicely done though, and looks cute, if morbid. Her horns are a pleasing shade of blue, and are well shaded. 

Midriff:

This angle emphasises where the top doesn’t quite meet her boob properly, on the left-hand side of this photo. I don’t find it too noticeable on the shelf, but if you look up close, it’s pretty obvious under certain lighting conditions. The red is spiffy though. The black lines feel a bit shakily painted up close. I like the fact they’ve painted her fingernails. 

One thing that did stand out to me further away was the way the strap doesn’t quite line up between the different areas of her skin. Again, the problem is worse on her right side. I feel the joins on this figure could’ve been done much better, because it is a bit shoddy in places. On her legs, the thin lines are painted well. 

Feet :

I like her shoes, and more spikes down here too :). Whilst I can’t read the plaque, I think they’ve stuffed too much information here, and it doesn’t look aesthetically pleasing. I think it would’ve been better to stick to two bits of info and not the pile here. Her name and the series would’ve been enough imo, though the moons are nice. 

Left:

Her hair looks nice, and those shiny clothes are still looking good. I like the way the top of her legwear creases, and the bottom. 

Right:

This side is pretty much a repeat of the other side, but here you can see the side of her knickers. They look OK from a distance like this, but up close it does look a bit of a mess :(. Hair and ribbon looks good though.

Back:

Her hair has a good amount of motion, and has been sculpted with a decent amount of detail. Here we can see a couple of ribbons in her hair – this detail is nice. 

She also comes with this hairpiece:

This hairpiece is the same as the part with the horns in, only without the horns… what’s the point of this? Pfft. Though if you prefer her without horns, hey, it’s an option. Not a very compelling one for me, alas. Personally I’d be happier to have less seams in her hair, but I guess some people would like this piece. 

Overall, she’s an OK figure, but I wouldn’t pay a lot for her. I paid £42 for her, and tbh, that feels like the most I’d probably pay for it. She was sold for a bit more than that at release, so not surprised she’s gone down somewhat in the aftermarket. Now I own this one, I don’t feel like buying the more common black variant – I think owning just this one is enough. If you’re OK with some flaws in your figure, you may like this one if you can get it for a reasonable price, otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it. She is shiny though.

Zanin – Devilman

Here we have Zanin from Devilman. I did end up getting the fully silver limited edition earlier in the holiday, but I prefer coloured versions, so picked this one up with little hesitation when I saw him:

I love the Devilman designs – they have a good range of colours and detailed designs. I love the shiny blue colour he has, and his wolf-insect head.

Let’s look closer at that head:

OK, I didn’t get the focus quite right…. His chest eyes have coppery irises, and blood vessel details, which make them look good without looking plain. His eyes on his main head are painted nicely too, but there is less to them, lol. The paintwork is nice, with a black wash that fits well.

Side of his head:

Ah, better photo. Here we can see they limited the black wash/painting to is hair, which works really well. His tentacles are nicely sculpted. We can also see his lower eyes also include what almost looks like an eyebrow.

Left:

Despite being articulated, there’s a limit amount of ways you can pose him without falling over. This dude doesn’t have a base. His body is an eye-catching shape, but this has the downside he won’t be cheap to get shipped boxed, as the box is huge, which is why I didn’t buy him prior to going on holiday, and planned to pick him up whilst I was there. Still diggin’ the shiny blue paint.

Right:

The hair texture on his legs is similar to his mane, and looks good. His head doesn’t have the best transtion to his neck. Still lovin’ him though.

Back:

… more eyes! He can see us from here too! The contrasting but complimentary colours look really good. I think they picked well here. Also the veins on his back are sculpted well, and painted in a shade of purple I like. There’s some shading on the green part of his back, to emphasise the ridges, which I think works well.

Overall, I’m really happy with this figure, and was glad I could pick him up. I’d recommend these Fewture figures to fans of Devilman. There is a mildly dated feel about them, but they’re still really good eye-catching figures. Just don’t expect to be able to pose them all that much. And prepare for some of them to be hefty on the postage, when they don’t fit in SAL small packet!

Christmas Rei Ayanami – Evangelion – Sega

So… it’s summer. So let’s review a Christmas figure.

Of Rei, naturally:

This is a really nice figure imo – her hair is nicely detailed, she has a good expression, and for the most part, she’s well painted. I like the way she’s posed, holding her jacket because it gives us a good view of her plugsuit-inspired dress. The figure also features a couple of different finishes, so her dress and boots are pearlescent, her coat is shiny and the other elements are more matte.

Face:

A fair amount of detail went into her face, which is a bit rare for prize figures. The fluffy parts suffer for being plastic, but I don’t find them too bad on this figure, and not as distracting as other figures I’ve blogged about. I love the red shininess of her jacket, and the badge on it is painted well. Some of the red does escape onto the edging, though. Also she’s one of the few Rei figures where the hair doesn’t go flat, and I really like this about this figure.

Left:

She sports a headband, which is a nice addition to help hide the seams, but being flat to her head it does look a little odd. She has quite a slender pose, which fits Rei. I like the red band at the top of her shoes.

Right:

Here we can see the fact her hair is moulded fully at the back, which is a rarity. The creases in her jacket give a sense of realism. We can see a bit of a seamline in her dress, but it doesn’t stand out much. Her legs aren’t shaded, but not much shows, so I don’t find that fact too significant. We can also see the headset she’s wearing, not sure why. Maybe she’s posing during a music video or some stage show…?

Back:

A bit of a miss with the red paint on her jacket, d’oh. Her bum sticks out slightly, which works well. I like the way the logo is printed on her jacket – I think silver paint was a nice choice, and the print is nice and crisp. The present paint looks OK from the back, but is a little dodgy on the front – some of the yellow paint wasn’t applied thickly enough.

Present boot:

Rockets… what’s possibly clips… yep, this appears to be presents from NERV! The bow is painted nicely, but there is a bit of a miss on the green paint on the ribbon, but it isn’t too bad.

Back:

Looks OK, nothing too special to say about the back. The toes on the boot feel a bit short though – feel like they could’ve lengthened them so it would feel more proportionate.

Base:

“December 24th 2004, we came in order to carry out a special duty to you tonight”. Mmm, special duty… Is Shinji getting the prize gift? I think the presents in the boot will keep Asuka happy for a bit.

Overall, I really like this figure. It’s definitely one of the nicer prize figures I have. Also being a Christmas figure she was really cheap – they don’t tend to keep their value as a lot of people don’t feel like displaying them outside of the Christmas period and end up selling them. But me being me, appreciates a good figure all year round :P. Yes, even the Christmas ones. If you need more Christmas and Rei in your life, I’d recommend this figure.

Seiki Hokuhou – Kantai Collection

This figure was a bit of a random buy for me. I was considering the scale, but the price for it turned out to be quite hefty, so I set my heart on getting one or two of the KanColle prize figures, as I don’t play KanColle, but I like some of the character designs.

So here is Seiki Hokuhou:

I liked this one as she looks quite cute, and I like all of the extras around her. With the present and the items she’s holding, it feels like it’s her birthday :).

Close-up of her face:

She has a bit of a worried expression, some food and a li’l plane. Nothing here is super-detailed, but what’s there looks good. I think he eye print could do with a little bit more vibrancy – it feels a little on the faded side. The Japanese sweet has a couple of flaws, but nothing seriously bothersome for me. Her hair has been done in a plainer style, but it’s one that works with this figure.

“Fiery chain chomp” companion:

These guys are cute, but quite basically printed. Here you can see the dots in the printing process, and I’m not using the macro lens here. From a distance they look OK, but close up, you can see this detail.

Present:

This present has been nicely done, and has a lovely anchor detail that has been sculpted well. Love the themeing here. The ribbon looks good and is flowing in the imaginary airflow around her. Dress side:

Here they’ve even thought to detail her underwear underneath her dress, which even has a little bow painted on. The dress shading itself is subtle, but effective. This is a figure that couldn’t be left plain without looking super-dull.

Left:

Here we see the bottom layer of the sweet is trying to run away. Pretty sure that’s not intentional. The edging on the cloth it sits on could’ve done with some work – the white edging would’ve been nicer if it had been fully painted red imo. The present is looking very spiffy though – it is shaded well, and he red band is crisp on this side. The dress also looks good, and a decent amount of sculpting went into the rips in her dress.

Right:

The back of her hair has a fair amount of life, and looks good. The poles the accessories are sitting on aren’t exactly hiding, so you have to wilfully ignore them.

Back:

Here we can see a greater amount of shading on her dress, which is what partly makes this figure. We can also see her feet and legs are well-posed and give her a good sense of motion. The anklets and bracelets she wears are also nice details.

Pantsu:

Yep, she has a pair of black panties. For those that care. I like the fact they’ve detailed them in. Here we can also see that her toes are sculpted well.

Overall, I think this is a decent prize figure. It’s one of the ones that is well-shaded, which is a win in my book. If I were to make one change, it’d be make the face print a bit more vibrant. And then align the sweet properly, though this probably isn’t incorrect on other instances of this figure. I’d recommend this figure to anyone who is interested in owning her. I think she’s reasonably available at a good price.

Oshino Shinobu – Monogatari – Ver.2

I was pretty sure I’d end up with at least one Oshino figure by the end of my Japan holiday. My only surprise is that I managed to keep it to one. Whilst I’m not familiar with

Monogatari

, I do rather like Shinobu’s design, and this one was on my “to buy” list due to the wings.

So here she is:

She’s definitely a cute figure, but… as we go on to see… her quality is somewhat lacking. Her hair and expression are nice, and the wings… cute li’l devil wings. I know some people have passed on this figure due to the fact they aren’t character-appropriate, but for me I’m a sucker for wings and therefore don’t care. Barring her skirt, she is pretty much plain, flat colours. If you look near her bracelet, you’ll see a bit of a seam too.

Left:

Here we see the obvious seam in her hair, and a bit of a weird sticky-out bit behind her ear. It looks OK from the front though, If you look near her ankle, there is a bit of a flaw in the finish. On her skirt, you’ll also see a bit of a grubby mark – there were a few of these on the figure. If it wasn’t for these marks, the skirt would look good. She’s also posed nicely, which is what attracted me to this figure. So at least there’s that.

Right:

… I think she’s broken her neck! Yeah.. this angle ain’ pretty! Her shoes are nice, but here you can see where I had issues getting her into the base – she didn’t slot in nicely. The bows feel a bit “plonked on” and aren’t exactly the pinnacle of sculpting. For me, this lacklustre effort emphasises the overall plainness of her dress. But that neck… she doesn’t look odd from the front, but the side angle makes me think “The Exorcist”. I feel they could have made this figure with her not quite as side-on so she didn’t look like she has broken her neck.

Dress close up:

The top edging is a bit dodgy, and the strap is a bit uneven in the sculpt. I’m starting to wonder if those bows are erasers…

Feet:

The feet themselves are nicely done, and the bows here look OK. However the white paint on the shoes themselves is awful and is a blobby, bootleggy-style mess. One of her shoes there is a gap between the sole and the upper, but apparently I didn’t get a good photo of that. 

Back:

Her hair is definitely a big block of yellow… something. Has an old prize figure feel. Not too much to say about it.

Hair from the top:

I like the shapes in it, that’s about it. Doesn’t much look like hair. Could’ve really done with some shading.

Wings:

They’re pretty nice, paint a little shaky though. More notable on the right wing. These weren’t too hard to put in place, but did need heat to go. Her wrist accoutrements are nice, but I’m seeing some stray paint near her watch….

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this figure. It’s not awful, but it isn’t great either. You could certainly do worse… like a bootleg. This figure was readily available at around 1k yen. I wouldn’t recommend paying more than that tbh, if you like it despite its flaws. Or y’know. Just don’t bother. 

Lilith Aensland – Vampire

Just a small figure for today, but a trading figure I was excited to see:

Lilith from Vampire/Darkstalkers. I love the cute look on her face, and the strong, vibrant colours used for this figure. Her hair has come out nicely, along with all her wings. For a small trading figure, it has been painted well, and looks the part.

Left:

I like her jaunty pose. The wing paint is mostly where it should be,with only a little bit out of place. The bats on her leggings are nicely defined. Here we can see Lord Raptor’s face – it is nicely detailed, so you can see him well. The tongue is also a separate part – it came detached in the bag I bought it in, and it took me a bit to work out where it went XD. The figure likely came in a gachapon, so it is supposed to disassemble, but likely originally had assembly instructions. Fortunately these things aren’t too hard to construct.

Right:

Whilst Lord Raptor is one colour, they’ve done a good job with the texturing, so he looks good. It’s so easy for translucent figure and figure parts to look bad and cheesy, but here I think it works well. The backs of her wings don’t have too much to them, but that’s more the design of Lilth than the figure itself. It has the one notable detail she has – the creases on her wings.

Back:

Here we see Lord Raptor’s impressive mane :). And Lilith’s back, which has some definition to it. The paint and sculpt is impressive on this tiny figure, especially so for a trading figure.

I’m glad I was able to pick this one up, and would recommend it to anyone who likes it.. if you can get hold of it.

Nathan Seymour – Tiger & Bunny – Banpresto

This figure I was considering buying prior to Japan, and came across whilst I was there, so decided to buy him. For Nathan, there are only two prepainted non-trading figures, and the other one was an exclusive, so if you’re a fan of this dude (not in costume) it’s slim pickings.

So let’s take a look what we got:

All in all, a pretty decent figure. Phew. Some paint flaws on the orange parts of his top, but the rest of it seems decent. His makeup has been replicated well, and he has shading throughout his outfit, which is definitely a bonus for a prize figure.

Face:

He has nice sculpt detail in his face, along with the makeup that matches with the show. I also like the ribbon around his neck, which is painted well, and I especially like the purple of the gem attached to it.

Left:

His hair and ruff look really good imo, and look pretty much like they’re supposed to. His earring is crisp and defined, which is good for such a small part. The clothes flow nicely, along with the shading present. We can see one seam down his coat, but it has been fairly well hidden.

Right:

Here we can see he has painted fingernails, which is good, and the different finishes. His coat is shiny, whilst the rest of him isn’t.

Back:

Here we can see his right hand has a ring on, and also has painted nails. The edge of his cuff could’ve done with a tad more orange paint though. His ruff is nicely shared though, and I like the hole in the back of his top – it adds a good amount of detail. His leggings and boots are nicely shaded, to complete the figure.

For a prize figure, this one is really good, so I am really happy with him. I’m glad they did a decent job on him as there is rather a lack of figures for the side characters of Tiger & Bunny, especially out of costume. He is one of my favourite side characters, despite being a bit too stereotypical in places. If you like this dude, I’d recommend this figure. It should also be pretty cheap to obtain, as these Tiger & Bunny figures don’t seem overly popular.

Mari Illustrious Makinami – Evangelion – Wave – Plugsuit ver.

There were many Maris to choose from, and I decided to go with this one:

I went with this one, as Wave figures tend to be better than prize figures and not too expensive. Also they’re not too big, which is a bonus when to use haven’t got infinite room. Out of the box, I am really pleased with this one – she is well-painted and sculpted, and the finish is really nice. She has a pretty basic stand, but I’m not too bothered by that.

I like the shininess of her plugsuit, and her expression fits her seriousness. The glasses are also well done.

Left:

Looking closely at the lines on her legs, they’re not perfect, but do the job. There is also a bit of a ridge where her legs connect to her body, where you can see the blue parts have been made to compensate for this. The side of her head looks good, though I think I’d prefer if her hair learned on her body, rather than stick out like it does. She doesn’t have much movement in her pose, so it makes it look a little odd to me.

Right:

Not too much different from the other side. Her headband paint is a bit better on this side, and her hair looks less odd, as it doesn’t look like it is floating of its own accord. The different coloured parts of the suit are well defined.

Back:

A little sneaky gold bit! Funny what I notice when writing these blogs. Her hands look good and are well posed. Ridges where her legs join her body could’ve done with some tidying up. Her backpack looks good, and her hair makes more sense from this angle. Her hair is a soft rubbery plastic, so not too much chance of breaking it. There is some sculpting on the upper part of her hair, stopping it from being totally plain, which is nice.

Overall, I think this is a decent Mari figure, and a cut above a prize figure. However, the joins could have done with some work to make them less severe. If you can pick this one up at a reasonable price, and happy with a smaller figure, I’d recommend it.

Yuuki – Code Register – Banpresto EXQ

This figure I had a couple of goes at trying to win at a claw machine, and realised it probably wasn’t gonna happen, so ended up looking for it throughout my holiday. Ended up finding her cheapish without box:

Aww, cute figure. These Banpresto figures are certainly a good thing in the prize figure world. I love Yuuki’s hair colour. The sculpting is good. but similar to the other EXQ ones I have, the skin lacks shading. The dress has an embossed pattern on, which I’m on the fence about. It does add detail, but does look a bit like she’s bandaged. Paint on the hair band looks like it goes a bit far on mine. 

Face:

Here we can see where the hairband is either ridged or the paint goes too far. Decision up to he reader. She does have some blush on her face, which is a nice touch. I love her cute expression. On mine, if you look closely, the chest doesn’t quite marry up with the dress, but it doesn’t really show when on a shelf.

Left:

Her hair curls around her nicely, and we can see where she sits on the stand. Her stand holds her well. The sculpt of her ears is clean, and looks good.

Right:

Here we can see there is shading in the hair, and a couple of seams. The seams are pretty decently hidden. 

Back:

Here we can see where the hair goes from light to dark, to light again. The backs of her legs are sculpted nicely too. 

Overall, I’m glad I got this figure, but don’t think it’s worth more than I paid. Some of these new EXQ figures are really worth their aftermarket price, but this one I’m on the fence about. I’m glad to have her, but with the outfit and the hairband, I’m more on the fence about her than the other EXQ figures.