Category: Statues (non-articulated figures)

Hatsune Miku – Vocaloid – VN02

This figure I wanted for a long time, but because she won’t fit into a SAL small packet so held off ordering her, as the postage would be more than the figure secondhand. Plus customs fees on top of that… So this was one of the few figures on my “hit list” when I went to Japan, as putting her in a suitcase would be MUCH cheaper.
So I did:

Upon unboxing her, she turned out to be really dusty, so had to give her a good wash. I love the pose of this figure, and the shades of green, even though they aren’t very “Miku”. The figure took some effort to assemble – main issue is getting the leg protrusion lined up with the notch in the base so she stands solidly. I love the detail in this figure – her costume has a lot of details in it, and I like her face. I can see this figure not being too appealing to people who are distinctively fans of Miku, as it’s kinda fairly far off her normal design. For me, I love the future tech aesthetic. 

Face:

The face looks really nice to me – her skin is reasonably plain, but the parts of her face work together as a whole for me. I love the detail in the hair – the strands are really well-sculpted here. She also has a bit of a videogame character vibe going on, what with the green part jutting out, which if Dead Space is to be believed, is where you keep your HUD. 

Left:

Here you can see the large amount of movement in the figure – I love the way her hair curls up and backwards over her, and the clear tips. The fading-to-clear theme is also repeated on her sleeves. Here you can see where her knee support goes into the stand – the way the stand is part of the figure is another reason this figure stood out to me. It’s also surprisingly stable, which was something I was worried about, given her pose. Here we also see the speakers(?) attached to her back – these weren’t too hard to attach to the figure (and come separate in the box). I also love the shiny boots. 

Right:

Here is mostly more of what we saw in the left side. Here we can see her boots are held up by suspenders, and some of the speaker inside the stand. The white crest that juts up from it holds her quite sturdily. Her gloves and boots have been given similar designs, which helps tie the figure together thematically. 

Closeup of the speakers:

These parts have lots of small details, mostly painted ones too. The lines running around them help sell the technology feel of the figure, plus there’s some pink accents in there. I also love the holes, and their green edging.

Inside view:

They certainly didn’t slack on the details here either. Lots of small gold accents here, with some smaller dots. If you’re not busy being distracted by her backside in this shot… which is well-curved, and her legs are well-sculpted at the top, and give a lifelike loot. 

The rest of the back:

I love the gold bands around the bottom of her head, and the green parts running down her spine. This is a figure that can look good at any angle, should you have somewhere to display it where it can be viewed from different directions. 

OK, back to the backside!

I took this more for the spine detail, and upper back detail. But it features her backside a fair bit too. I like the fact they’ve sculpted creases back here too, as well as on her front. I’m a sucker for armoured spines, so I do like her back design. Here you can see where the speakers connect too – the gold parts have the pegs attached. All of the paint is neat, which is very nice. I feel maybe the back of her hair could do with a few more lines to make it feel less plastic, but that’s definitely not a biggie. 

Back of the base:

Looks good from all the angles imo. I do like the way these parts curl and crest over – only downside is the speaker isn’t very visible from many angles, though this isn’t a bother for me. Though it seems a partly odd choice to mostly hide it this way. 

Overall, I’d highly recommend this figure, if you like the look of it. I think with the colour scheme and theme, it probably is a bit of a Marmite figure, hence its lower price in the aftermarket. Though the postage cost is probably going to bite, unless you’re used to EMS/SAL parcel, or shipping other stuff with it. Or if you’re super-patient there is surface shipping… So I’d say this one probably isn’t for the Miku fan, but rather for people who love the themes in this figure. Or if you want a figure you can display on a higher shelf and it still look good – her leaning pose is really good for this. 

Luna Luna – Queen’s Blade Rebellion

This was one figure I was planning to pick up prior to visiting Japan, after seeing it on the Mandarake website. 

Here’s her upper half, in her clothed form:

Even clothed, she’s not really that SFW, but we’ll get onto that in a minute. Her top sits nicely, and definitely looks like part of the figure when she’s wearing it, so her clothed option is definitely viable if you’re not so fond of having boobs hangin’ out. I love her four tentacles posed around her head, and her hands posed in a very dancer-ish way. I love the small details here – her rings and nail polish are both well done. 


So let’s have a look at the rest of her:

Yep. Nothin’ hanging out here at all. All good. Perfectly fine for the in-laws. Her body is well-sculpted and she has a range of details – from her shoes, to the bells on her thighs, and the gold beading encircling her lower body. Her hair also has a wonderful gradient in it, and the blending looks good. 

Back:

Here we can see where her headpiece reaches around the back of her head and also has a nice range of colour. Her hair gradient feels both subtle and vibrant. With her clothing, it dangles down and hides her bum from view. The clothing has a nice sheen to it, and I like the fact it is translucent. From this side, we can see her tentacles also have metal rings on them, which are nicely sculpted and painted. 

Now for some disassembly:

There’s a fair amount to disassemble here – both her arms, and the two tentacles that aren’t wrapper around her arms, plus her head. 

After that, we can take her top off and begin reassembling her:

Aww, still looking a bit sad here.

Assembled:

And this feels the way the figure has been designed to be displayed. Her pose somehow feels better like this to me. And the clear base definitely doesn’t do anything to distract the eye. 

Face:

I like the way her nipples don’t have the severe shading a lot of other figures seem to have. This feels much more natural. Here we can also admire the fastener for the beads around her midriff, if you’re not too distracted by boobs. 

Photo of her a bit less close:

Here we can see how two of the tentacles jut out from her arms, and are nicely curled around them. And her purple protrusion, that also acts as a clip for her body jewellery. Is it a penis? Is it not? Sources say no, but that doesn’t say it isn’t hangin’ out there like one. Nope, totally wasn’t this feature that attracted me to this figure. Not at all. Nope. 

Legs:

I love the amount of detail put into her shoe – from the vibrant, well-painted colours to the creasing down by the sole. The leg behind her fishnets feels a bit flat though, and some of her skin could do with a bit more shading imo. 

Other leg:

I like these small bells dangling down, and their flowery appearance. The top of her fishnets also is nicely coloured and designed. Some of the green paint didn’t quite reach the edges, but I feel this is a minor gripe. 

“Flower”:

Clearly not a real one, but it definitely seems to be doing its job. The translucent plastic is nicely coloured. 

Left:

Her pose feels very dynamic from this angle, and she is quite a lithe body type. 

Upper half:

I like her neckpiece from this angle. and her hair’s pretty. The seamlines feel nicely hidden in her hair. 

Right:

Maybe her leg is bulging a little bit too much here? The bell/flower on her leg dangles well, and feels correct for the pose. 

Closeup on the hairpiece:

It’s not terribly easy to photo, but I love the greenish colours, and the metallic finish. She’s also got some moon earrings on, one of which can be see at this angle. 

Back:

And here we can see her shapely backside. I love the way the jewellery has been don on her back, and finished the model nicely. Her hair is probably the most vibrant from this angle.

Overall, I’m really happy with this figure and glad I got her. She’s a nice piece of (tentacly) colour, in an interesting and dynamic pose. I love the darker skin tone, and the amount of smaller details that went into this figure. If you like this kind of figure, I’d recommend her. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

Cyborg – Justice League (2017) – Kotobukiya

This figure I found was for sale at one of Mandarake stores I planned to visit, so put it on my “to buy list”.

And then bought it:

Whilst the film was a pile of poop (watched it on the plane), I quite like the design of Cyborg. Not convinced it rivals his comic book look, but I like it on its own merits. What I like about it: the red accents, the wires near his chin, and a couple of other details on his upper half. What I don’t like: The midriff feels overly fussy, his legs feel too “robot”. 

Face:

His face is nicely sculpted and painted, and I think Kotobukiya did a good job of this. The metal part fits well. His hair, however, looks rather on the painted-on side, which spoils it a bit. I really like his upper chest with the angular parts, red glow and wires. Love the show-of-strength pose. 

Stand:

The base is magnetic, so he sticks well to it. I like the logo, but the base being thing looks like more like a cheap coaster than a base for a figure. Wish they went for the thicker style the other western Kotobukiya figures came on. 

Left:

The pose doesn’t feel overdone from this angle, which I  like. The sculptwork is really nice and looks good from this angle.

Right:

The expression fits the pose from this side, but the hair being a bit shiny looks odd. ‘tis my main niggle with this figure. The shading on the metal parts is really nice and give it a lifelike feel. 

Back:

I really like the design of the back, and think it works better than the front… but that’s more DC’s fault. The fin effect is a lot less fussy than the randomness on the front, and the metal places help accent it. The shielding on the spine looks really good to me:

Here we can also see the number of paint effects going on, on the metal parts of the figure. I think they did a really good job with that. 

Overall, I think if you like this figure mostly relies on if you like DC’s design. Apart from the hair, I think Kotobukiya did a good job of recreating Cyborg in figure form, and am glad to have him, even though the film is poop. 

DC, stop making crap movies kkthx!

Kuroyukihime – Accel World – Incognito Avatar Ver

Whilst there aren’t so many Black Lotus figures, there’s plenty of Kuroyukihime… so here’s one more!

This figure was nicer out of the box than I was expecting. The mask is painted well, the dress has some shading, and her face looks really nice. Also the base isn’t boring and plain.

Face:

The eyes are nicely detailed, and don’t feel as overly heavy in the linework as the ones on the FuRyu one I looked at recently. I love the butterfly attaching her collar to her dress, and the rose is a nice addition. 

Mask:

The colours complement each other well, and are within the lines. Is a really nice piece. 

Base:

These butterflies are silver and are decently reflective. It goes well with the dressed-up party theme. Her shoes do look a bit on the “painted on” side. but aren’t too bad imo.

Left:

Her hair isn’t shaded, but I don’t think it detracts that much from the figure. Having the dress shaded though does make a good bit of difference to the look of the figure and I’m glad they did it. Here you can see the shading they have on the back of her legs – from the side it looks OK, but from the back it looks kind of like she has sunburn. 

Right:

She has a nice armband on this side – butterfly-themed ofc :). I like the way her hands are posed as it gives a sense of motion to her.  Most of the hair is stranded, which makes it look good. 

Back:

Here you can see the sunburn on the back of her legs. Her legs are nicely shaped though, and her hair is sculpted nicely. 

Overall, I really like this figure. I may get the recoloured variant at some point in the future. Super-glad I picked this one up. 

Black Lotus – Accel World – FuRyu

This was a figure I didn’t expect to see, so was really happy when I did. As it wasn’t overpriced, it was an instabuy. So here she is:

There aren’t too many figures of Kuroyukihime in her avatar form, so gotta buy them all :). According to MFC, I have all but two exclusive model kits, which are too rare for me to obsessively track down.

And, as usual, she’s a bit hard to photograph, with her main colour being black. Her finish isn’t too even, and being a flat colour, this is pretty noticeable. Not entirely a surprise though, as she is a prize figure. She is nicely posed though, in her battle mode.

“Face” close-up:

I love that they’ve added all her small, purple details in. The ones in the middle shine more than the others such as the ones on her shoulders. The mask is a nice shade of purple, with the mildest hint of face.

Side of her head:

Here you can see where the finish isn’t entirely even. The purple parts of her head spikes have been included, but these points are prone to bending, which can be seen with her left spike. I may fix this at some point, but it will be a mild pain to do so.

Left:

If you look closely at her arm spike, this presents the largest issue I have with the finish – here you can see the splotchiness I was referring to. And here we get a good look at her support stand, which manages to be not too intrusive. Here we can see where her legs are extended out, showing the purple areas – I do rather like her in this mode. The way she’s posed makes me feel like she means business.

Close-up on the legs:

The translucent plastic is what really makes this figure imo. I think this came out well.

Right:

Not too different from the left. The base is plain, but holds the figure up just fine. Gives a good contrast, if you’re looking at her from an angle that the base is behind her. 

Arm close-up:

This one has a better finish to it than the other one. The trianglar & diamond-shaped parts came out well imo. If the finish was even like this all over, I’d strongly recommend it as a prize figure, but with the finish flaws it draws it more back to average.

Detailing:

More purple! Still loving these litle deails throughout – the one on her am and skirt. 

Back:

Her back is well-sculpted, and she has the fins on the back of her legs. I think she really does have the spiky, slender appearance from the back.

Stand:

The stand goes into a small hole in her left leg. It’s a bit of a fiddle to get in there, but sturdier than I thought it would be. She stands fine, without wobbling, unless you poke her. I like this stand, as I don’t find it too intrusive, and it holds her in the air well. Being metal, they have been able to make it quite thin, so it feels like it stands out less than a plastic clip or pokey stand.Overall, I’d recommend this figure to someone who wants all things Black Lotus, and those who want a cheapish figure as they like the character design. I don’t think I’d recommend her to a general collector, due to prize figure flaws. I’m happy with her though, and glad to add her to my collection. 

Armisael – Evangelion – Wave

This figure I randomly came across in Nakano Broadway Mandarake. Didn’t see it on the site prior to going, but it instantly went into the basket once I saw it. So here she is:

Reading about this after buying, she was an exclusive, so really happy I managed to come across her at a good price. One of the things that probably keeps her price down is some people regard her as a bit of a lazy cash-in, as she’s not too dissimilar to some of the other entries in this line. However, I was really excited to see this one, as it’s based on one of the events in the series. 

I love the “veins” effect, though the fading on the black parts of the suit is a bit odd. Not sure why the suit colouring has been done like this, instead of closer to Rei’s design. 

Left:

She leans forward a bit, but this is not really visible from the front. Not sure what’s up with the tippy-toeing. She looks nice from the side as well imo. 

Right:

Here, she doesn’t feel like she’s leaning quite as far from the other side to me. Paint is a little unsteady in some of the smaller areas. The fade, despite its oddness, seems to be done well. Hair seam feels a bit neater on this side.

Back:

Backpack has been done nicely, but there’s some stray paint on her backside. Bit of a shame. Palm paint on her hands also has some flaws. Veiny effect still nice throughout though. 

Base:

To match the others, she has the same “biohazard sample” base. I like this attention to detail on the bases. 

Shot from the bottom:

Here we can see the Adam embryo is an indentation into the base. I like the way they did this on the bases, and I think the effect looks really good. This base is also a pleasing red colour. 

Overall, I’m really happy with this figure and glad to have stumbled upon it. I can see why it isn’t a particularly sought-after piece being “another Rei”, but for me I really like what it is, so had to get it :). If you don’t think she’s too boring, and happen to come across her, I would recommend her. 

Asuka Langely – Fruits Punch

This one I bought before Rei, as I found it cheap but boxless. Then I had to chase down Rei…. which I eventually got, and for a reasonable price :). 

So here’s the Asuka that goes with the Fruits Punch ReI:

The mark on the base was just some dirt, and got washed off after these photos. I like the way Asuka’s outfit is more flamboyant than Rei’s, which matches her personality. Asuka does feel a good bit more detailed, with the more complicated rain-dress and the way her clothes poke out of the rainwear. The matching bracelets work really well imo. Her umbrella is held in by pegs on either end – one for the base, one for her hand. 

Again her face and hair are a simplified style. Her neuroclips are more clearly themed than Rei’s, by being obviously strawberries. I guess Rei’s are supposed to be pips? 

Left:

Her hair curls up nicely, and those strawberries kind of work. Bit of a weird shape. However, the seam on her leg is pretty visible. 

Right:

I do like her pose from this angle – has that sassy look that fits Asuka. Her hands are sculpted nicely, and have a good amount of motion in them. Again, her leg has a clear seamline in it. 

Back:

Her hair looks OK, if simple. The umbrella looks OK, but not too much like a strawberry to me. Feels like they went more umbrella than strawberry, but it’s not a dealbreaker. 

Overall, I’m pretty happy with this figure. Even though Rei is my favourite of the pair in the show, I think this is my favourite of this pair of figures. I feel it has more to offer visually, and the extra clothes make the outfit less jarring. Again, this is a figure if you like unusual outfits. Happy with this pair – you should be able to get them fairly cheap, if you like them. Wouldn’t recommend paying a lot as they are prize figures, but they’re pretty nice ones.

Rei Ayanami – Fruits Punch

This figure I had times I really wanted to buy it and times I thought it was the worst thing ever… but seeing it in person, I decided to go for it. So here she is:

So here she is, donning an outfit that’s an interesting mishmash between beachwear and rainwear. Personally, I’d prefer if this figure didn’t have the gummi boots. Her hair has been done in a simplified manner, but this is more for the style of the figure. I do love the fruity bracelet she’s wearing. 

Left:

She definitely has an older prize figure look about her, with the shiny skin and simplified style, however the simplified style has been worked with, making it age better than others. I like the way the lemon umbrella goes over her shoulder, but it’s gonna bend over time. It also has a little drip that comes down off it, but mine likes to be a bit sideways. She does have a hole in her hand a peg on the umbrella sits in, so she holds it fairly firmly. 

Right:

The rainwear is a rubbery material, whilst the rest of the figure is hard plastic. The holes let us look at the paintwork better, underneath the raincoat, which I appreciate. Hair seam definitely isn’t in hiding here.

Back:

I like the finish on the back of the lemon umbrella – it has a nice shade to it. The back of the raincoat has some interesting details which stop it from being plain. 

Overall, I think this is a cute figure. If you like your figures in unusual outfits, and a fan of Evangelion, this figure could be for you. The paintwork is imperfect in places, but seems decent enough for a prize figure. It doesn’t feel as cheap as I thought it might do, so was pleasantly surprised by that. 

Kuroyukihime – Tea-drinking edition

So.. finally! The Japan loot! Which will be coming out in no particular order…. 

(Yes, it has taken me over a month to finally get to this point…)

First up, here we have Kuroyukihime engaging in a suitably British pastime of drinking tea:

She has quite a cute expression on her face. The paint job does a good job of texture, but not one of shading. Her coat does get affected in this photo, but I don’t think it’s as bad irl. Though the buttons are the same colour as the coat, which doesn’t change outside of this photo :P. 

Close-up of her face:

Her face is fairly decent – a bit heavy-handed with the linework. The hair is pretty simple, and is pretty flat where it isn’t stranded. 

The tea:

Yep, looks like a more British brew, than an Asian one. Tea doesn’t quite get to all the edges of the tea surface, so it does leave a bit of a “shallow cup” look to it. Because of the way the tea is angled, you don’t tend to see much of it anyway. 

Left:

This figure shows the figure in a better light, and pretty close to its actual look. If you’re wondering how she sits on this chair, there are a couple of dimples at the front of it, which she rests in.You can still easily nudge her out of them, but they’re good enough for display purposes. Here we can see a little bit of rough painting on the edging on her skirt. It’s a little inconsistent most of the way around. 

Right:

Little bit of a scuff visible in her hair. There are a couple of these. Here we can see the attempt at shading in her hair. It’s fairly abrupt imo, but there’s less of a contrast when looking at it irl, so it’s not too visible. again, the skirt edging is a bit messy. The skirt is folded nicely, but feels a little stiff, as that’s the only crease there is. that isn’t pleats. 

Back:

Slightly roughly-hewn chair XD. Just plain white back here. The chair connects to the base with 4 pegs – these were an absolute arse to get in place. Even with heat they were difficult, and I was a bit worried about breaking them. I don’t think I’ll disconnect the chair from the base, lest I snap a peg or two. 

Chair, no Kuroyukihime:

The front of the chair has some blue shading for the middle bit, though it’s nothing to write home about. On mine, there are stray paint blobs too, which aren’t too visible here. Here we can see the dimples that keep her in place, and why they’re not super-effective at it, being fairly shallow. 

Overall, it’s reasonably decent for a prize figure. I think this is one more for the Kuroyukihime fans than anyone else. From a small distance away, she’s a pretty decent figure, but doesn’t really stand up to close scrutiny. I think she’s a bit hard to find an optimal viewing angle too. I’m pleased to have this figure, even though I don’t think it’ll be winning any awards. 

Suzune Arizono – Kiseijyui Suzune – Questioners

This figure is now my largest scale figure – at 1/3.5 scale. Bit of an interesting choice there, but hey. I bought this figure from someone on MFC.

So here she is:

She’s immediately striking from her pose and size. She isn’t too tall as a figure, due to her kneeling pose. There’s no hiding her chest, lol. 

Close-up of her face:

Her face feels a bit doll-like to me, and looks a little odd. Doesn’t help her eyes feel a little flat. She does have painted lips though, and I think her mouth looks good. Her hair is nicely shaded, and the strands sculpted well. The buckles on her collar are also painted and sculpted well.

Left:

Looking at her from the side reveals she’s leaning backwards somewhat. The arm looks somewhat unnatural from this angle. The colours in her hair show up well from this angle too.

Right:

I think she looks more attractive from this side than the other. Her arms look less odd from this side, and we can see her body better. I like the amount of details that have gone into her clothes, especially considering she’s a cast-off. The seam-lines have been done in realistic places, and she has wrinkles in her skirt and top.

Back:

Here we can see the buckle that holds her top on. I like the way her boot is folded over where she is leaning on it. I think her spine crease is a bit severe, but her shoulder bones are sculpted well.

Frog:

Yep, you read that right. She has this frog keeping things… kind of SFW? This frog doesn’t detach, but if you’re buying this figure, I’d ask why you would even want to, as it’s a highlight of the figure.

The clothed option I’d say is a viable one. Also, once you’ve sussed how to cast her on and off, it is reasonably easy to do.

Here are her clothes:

As we can see, they’re reasonably detailed and well-painted, in the small spots that have paint. But they’re rather the dust magnet, for being black.


To cast off her skirt, we separate her:

The upper half also has her collar off in the upper picture – this is how her top comes off. This collar can then be placed back on the figure, to mostly hide where her top comes off. The lug between the upper and lower halves is big, giving it a good, solid connection. It fits tightly, but not so tight that you can’t wiggle it out by hand.

So here she is, reassembled:

Her pose comes across as powerful and confident. I love the sculpting around her stomach area. Without the chest covering parts, her clothes become a small halter-top and a strap around her midriff. The gap does kind of show where the cups attach into the collar – that isn’t too well hidden.

Close-up of her chest:

She has a nice pair of nipples. She’s large-chested, but doesn’t feel ridiculous. They’ve managed to keep them to a nice shape, that isn’t reminiscent of balloons. 

Frog:

The frog is very nicely painted, and has a good amount of shading. I love the way his tongue is reaching up across her stomach, and he is in a good clinging pose. Some people have detached the frog from this figure, and apparently it isn’t detailed and sculpted underneath – things are pretty much frog-shaped, so I wouldn’t be tempted to do that. 

Frog eye:

Here you can see the way she’s shaped to the frog. Here we can see the frog is lighter on the bottom than the top, and its eye. Eye isn’t very detailed, but does the job. 

Left:

She looks nice from the side, apart from that arm still looks odd 😛

Right:

Here you get a good look at the side of her chest, and a bit of her backside. That’s one pointy nipple.

Back:

She has a nicely sculpted ass. I think she looks really good from the back, when cast-off. 

Close-up of her boots:

Love the distinct tread in her boots. 

Boot side:

The boots are very nicely detailed – the buckles are really nice, and the boot not being fully tight gives it extra detail 

Left glove:

Her gloves are nice too, and look leathery. Plus there are some nice seam-lines on them, adding to the detail. However, looking close you can see where some paint has gone stray. She’s also got delicately painted nails, adding to the detail.

Overall I really like this figure. Despite being a larger scale than anything I own, she fits on a Detolf shelf quite well, due to her pose. Was a bit worried she’d be too big to fit anywhere, but was glad to find that was not the case. I think her body shape and the unique frog aspect make this a really good figure and one I’m very pleased to have in my collection. Would recommend this figure if you don’t mind the relatively minor flaws with it, if you can get hold of it. Might not be easy to do that.