Category: Trading & Small figures

Rei Ayanami – Poolside Ver – Evangelion

This figure was part of a Suruga-ya order. Unfortunately, this one had an unpictured extra – cigarette smell :/. So this figure got a couple of baths too… 

Here she is, assembled with the pool piece:

I like the pose for this figure, which is why I chose it. Figure quality isn’t great as she’s a small gachapon figure. Main thing that bothers me is the kinda strange paint job on her hair – not sure what’s going on with the shading there. 

She also has a leg piece:

.. so you can do this if you really want to. Could look cool on a shelf ledge like this, or some kind of custom display.

However, it’s more so you can do this:

If you’d prefer to display her without the poolside, this piece allows her to look complete. Though her pose is a bit odd without the poolside. 

Some other angles without the pool:

“Don’t look at me”:

Back:

Here you can see where her parts need to be shoved together a bit more.. Her foot is nicely sculpted, and we do have some wrinkling in her bikini bottoms.

Front:

Not too much to see here. However, you can see the paint job that looks like some ink was spilled on her head… Probably needed to use a lighter blue here. 

Other side:

Not too much to see on this side. Hair is nicely sculpted, pool handle looks good.

View from below:

She has some nice sculpting on her body, giving her good body definition. 

Overall, she’s decent for a gacha figure, and would recommend as a “bonus” item to an order. Hopefully if you get one though, it won’t come with bonus smoke smell like mine :

Hela – Rock Candy – Thor: Ragnarok

This Rock Candy figure I bought elsewhere, but on the same day as the Harley Quinn one… I think if I saw it at a later date I wouldn’t have bought it, due to the quality of the other one. So let’s see what this one is like.

Front:

Here she is, proclaiming her unboxed glory. At a first glance I really like her outfit and her helm, but her face does feel a bit derp. Feels like her eyes and mouth don’t quite match up somehow.

Face close-up:

From this angle the effect is much less. Nose feels slightly too big though. And the paint across her nose went on the wonk. Still prefer that to Harley’s nose scrape though. Overall, I like the sculpt of her helm, and think this works well. The parts of her face work well individually, but not entirely sold on the overall look. 

Outfit:

The big thing that attracts me to Hela figures – her outfit. The paint colours are nice and striking here, and seem to match up with the colours of other figures of her. However, the paint is hilariously off in places – especially the upper right part of her suit. These paint issues weren’t restricted to this one in the shop, and this was the one I chose for being least distracting with errors. As the centre of the suit attracted my eye, I was looking for the least amount of error in this part.

Here we can see the rubberised bits used to cover her arm joints… but they tend to have a mind of their own and not sit properly on her shoulders. May need to heat treat these so they sit in the right location more naturally. 

Left:

Hm, apparently she stole one of my hairs. Gerroff that! Helm looks good from the side, and the paint is nice on her arms. They’ve painted her fingernails, but it is a bit blobby. 

Right:

Looks OK from this side, but her shoulder does look odd… and I think the paint is a bit more pallid on her shoulders. Bit of a nasty seam there too. 

Back:

I like the shininess of the cape, and the colour is lovely. The fabric wrinkles look good, so I’m pleased with this. Just wish more of this was visible from the front. The way it joins onto her back isn’t as lovely, but it does the job. 

Not particularly pictured is the fact she’s a bobblehead – in the above pic you can see some of the gap around her head that allows her to “bobble”. Not sure I’m keen on this feature, but it doesn’t really take anything away… so that’s there if you like to bobble your bobbleheads. 

Overall, I’m more pleased with this figure than the Harely one, but it still isn’t particularly high quality. I did get this one cheaper though, but not sure I could recommend it. 

Harley Quinn – Rock Candy

This was a random buy, as I came across her at a reasonable price. Was considering getting one or two of the Rock Candy figures as I like the proportions. As Harley Quinn is one of the characters I collect figures for, she was one of the natural choices.

So here she is:

image

With my copy, there is a slight mark on her nose – annoyingly I didn’t notice this until I unboxed her, otherwise I would’ve probably not bough her. I like the rest of her face though, the front of her collar is done well… and the hammer is nice, apart from the slight bend it has to it. However, the less good things are the fact the quadrants of her top aren’t aligned properly, leaving some overlap on the black and there’s a noticeable seam on the collar to her left side. Can also see a bit of paint mess on her hat pom-poms.

Left:

The colours are nice, the sculpt isn’t too bad (collar feels a bit thick though), but there are small paint errors dotted around – most noticeable is just above her hand. 

Right:

Right looks better than the left and doesn’t have much in the way of noticeable issues. Do wish they put a rod in the hammer handle so it didn’t bend so freely. It does make assembly easier (and the figure cheaper…) but at a cost. 

Hammer & leg close-up:

One thing I can say for the hammer is the sculpt job is nice, and the paint used for the bands works well… if you ignore the paint slop. The diamonds are printed well on her leg, which is nice. 

Back:

Square overlap doesn’t seem as bad on the back and the paint looks mostly neat. Cuffs have a bit of slop, but this is pretty common. 

The big paint slop though…

Who the heck QC’d this… or more to the point, didn’t? Pretty nasty paint flaw here, and this is why I don’t buy Funko stuff often. Wouldn’t recommend buying their figures online, unless you’re not fussed over paint mess… as this is not too uncommon. 

Overall, I like the design, but the execution leaves something to be desired. A handful of paint errors and an ugly amount of flashing on her collar doesn’t make for a very premium figure. Honestly wouldn’t recommend these at full price. 

Sam Flynn – Tron

Found this dude at the same fair as Clu, but in a different fodder box.

Front:

image

This one has a fairly equal level of paint and sculpt. Which is to say… not amazing. 

Lit up:

image

Face effect looks cool on this one too, and the LEDs work. Overall works well to distract from the figure 😛

Face close-up:

The faces look surprisingly realistic. Kind of wish some other figures went with this effect, but don’t think it’d be massively popular. 

Left:

Sam’s helmet profile is less cool to me than Clu’s but does look good in general. Skin tone on his hands feels off though. 

Right:

Not too much different from the left. No paint detail on his lower calf on this side though. 

Back:

Again, a half-assed paint job when it came to the battery cover and a hole in his arse. Disc on this one was also lost to time, so I don’t have that to show. So he’ll have to forever grasp at air, instead of his disc. 

Overall, I can’t recommend these Tron figures, unless you have some sort of nostalgia or soft spot for them. I kind’ve always wanted them, but ended up missing out when they clearanced, so kinda happy to get them since for not a lot of money. For me, I think the figure’s gimmick actually works (though I probably won’t trigger it often), but the rest of the figure leaves a lot to be desired.

Clu – Tron

This figure isn’t in the best condition, as I bought it from a box of “fodder” – loose figures that come as-is. Not uncommon to see fodder boxes at cons and car boot sales (UK equivalent of yard sales). 

So here he is:

Paintwork is passable, sculpt is OK. I can see why these got clearanced back in the day. 

However, that bump on his side does make this figure more interesting. 

First press:

The lights turn on, which does look pretty neat.

Second press:

He lights up and says a line. Imo, it’s a pretty neat effect, especially for an older toy. Was also surprised the batteries weren’t flat either. 

Left:

Love the profile on the helmet. Most of the orange paint on this side is neat. Not sure if the paint missing on the side is wear and tear or if it was just a poor paint job. 

Right:

Paint feels more of a mess on this side, leading me to be less sure if the other side was damage, rather than a manufacturing defect. Still suspect it was damage though.

Back:

This clip is supposed to have a disc, but being fodder, the ring has probably been long lost to time. The paint hasn’t been matched up well on the battery compartment, which gives a cheap feel to the figure. Feel as if they just kind of gave up with the back. 

So my conclusion is a cheapy figure with a neat gimmick. Looks OK at a distance, but the paintwork seems to have been lacking, even taking wear and tear into account. 

Voth City Ship

Bit of a random buy this one… but here is a city ship from the Star Trek universe:

I like its slender design and rounded shape. 

Side:

Here it is in profile… I do rather like the overall shape, and the detailing upon it

Back:

Here we have what should be the engine, but does kinda look like more windows.

Top:

Here we can see all the details sculpted into it – there’s a reasonable amount of detail here, to give the impression of something bigger. Also some mottling, which also adds to this impression. 

Bottom:

We have a similar set of details and a very flat base. This thing is… weirdly flat. Could’ve done with a bit more shape. 

One issue that isn’t pictured is that it’ll fall off its base at the slightest provocation.  If it’s on a shelf it should be fine, but touch it even ever so slightly and it is likely to take off and make a visit to the floor. Wish the stand designs had some kind of clips to actually hold the ships. Out of the ones I personally own, this one seems the worst for pinging off the stand.

Overall, I’m fond of its looks, but it isn’t overly exciting. Can’t give a strong recommendation of it, but I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with it either.

Adam Jensen – Deus Ex

This figure originally came with Loot Gaming, but I bought this at a Toy Fair (the reason a bunch of Western figures are coming out now :P). 

Front:

He’s a pretty nifty chibi figure, done in a solid block colour style. They’ve used some good paint for his glasses, that make them match the ones he wears in-game. They’ve included the indentation in his head, which shows attention to detail. I also think his clothes have been rendered well, and is reminiscent of one of his outfits from the game. 

Left:

His hair has been done in an interesting way. Not sure if I like the look from the side or not. But it does help give his head some detail so it isn’t a plain ball. On this side we have one of his arm blades – for those not familiar, they are dull-ended as depicted here. Here we can also see his artificial arm details here too. 

Right:

Here we have a silenced pistol. The paint detail on his hand is nice and neat. We have a weird seam going around his head here though. 

Back:

Painting and sculpting is nice back here. I also like his gold base, which complements the figure well, and fits in with the Deus Ex colour scheme, for the games he is featured in. 

Overall, I think this is a nice figure and would recommend it, if you can find it reasonably priced. 

Gilbert – The Monsters!

Gilbert is part of a mini-series of Bad Taste Bears, but based upon movie monsters. The series was simply titled “The Monsters!”. 

Gilbert himself is a cross between a bear and Gill-Man from Creature from the Black Lagoon. So let’s take a look at him:

I love the bright blue-green colour they went with, and the mustard colour compliments the blue-green well. The texture on his scales has been sculpted well, and helps the bear-gillman cross work. 

Left:

They’ve added several finned bits, which helps add to the aquatic theme. Gotta have something to counteract the shagginess! 

Arm close-up:

I love the webbed hands, and think these have been sculpted and painted ell. The light green accents have been done well, and the yellow paint is within the finned parts, though there’s a tiny stray bit on one finger if you look closely.

Right:

Love the tiny little claws he has. Sculpt on the back of his hand is very effective. The shiny finish complements the aquatic themeing of the figure.

Back:

His back has the usual number and BTB icons on his back. Ignoring those, I really like his back – it completes the figure well, and we have the nice spine bits goin’ on. Again, there’s nicely-placed light accents.

Glad I was able to get him, and he was cheap too. Would recommend this figure if it appeals. Getting hold of him in the aftermarket might be hit and miss, but he seems fairly available at time of writing. 

Starfire – DC

Another Eaglemoss figure… but this time for a DC character:

Just about recognisable as Starfire :P. This is based on her New-52 outfit and is part of the Chess Collection. Some of her body sculpting is nice, such as her chest, others are more suspect, like her upper legs and lumpy arms. 

The chosen colours for the paintwork work well, but the actual paint job is… lacking. Her face and upper clothes seem to be fine, as is most of her sues, but the other parts are roughly painted, leaving her skin looking lumpy. Top of her left boot also missed the mark. 

Left:

The upper parts of her hair look OK, but where it should blend to yellow and white there is just a sudden transition into this part, which makes look like she accidentally dipped her hair in bleach. Not a good look… 

The bands on her armguards are overly lumpy – the should be raised, but this is too raised for the bit that goes over her arm. With her boots, I think she’s supposed to be standing on her toes, but with her standing so high up like this, her feet either look misshapen or like she should have some heels descending from the back of her shoes. I think it would look better, if her feet were less straight up (i.e. if she lowered her heel more to the ground). 

Right:

Looks to be some attempt at highlights in her hair, but they don’t work too well. Her arm looks a bit lumpy this side, and apparently she’s developed some webbed fingers… Didn’t realise Starfire was turning aquatic! Her feet look less odd from this side, but still, I think she’s a bit too much on her tippy toes. 

Back:

Back paint definitely has some slops in it. Hair highlights seem to work a bit better from the back to me… Here we get to see the absolute lack of blending they’ve done between the yellow and orange paint. Not sure why they didn’t even try, seeing as the yellow and white are blended. 

Overall, this isn’t a great figure. Would only recommend to someone collecting the set or people who just want Starfire stuff (like me). Stafire has had a rough time with collectables imo, so decided to pick this up as it was Starfire and cheap enough despite its flaws. Thankfully, since buying this, Kotobukiya is re-releasing her Bishoujo figure so I’ve got that to look forward to! Yay! 

Black Panther – Marvel

Today’s blog features Black Panther, made by Eaglemoss.

Front:

This is his comic book appearance, rather than his film appearance – Eaglemoss has done figures of both, but this is the older one. 

Here he is, looking very stealthy in his cape. There isn’t much in terms of colour, but the gold accents and eyes have been painted nicely. The sculpt is good too, and I do like his pose. 

On mine, the left arm has been misassembled – I may break this at some point and reglue (probably not particularly needed to repin). Not sure how I didn’t notice this when I was photographing it…

Left:

I like the way he he bent over slightly. Here we can see the gold accents do go around his back, under his cape. Nice to see this attention to detail.

Right:

Here we can get a bit of a better look at his eye – they’ve used 2 paint colours here, which does elevate their appearance. His bag o’ tricks is a nice touch. 

Again, please ignore the “elbow”. At first, I think it looked like a design element, but on closer inspection, it’s a mistake. The joint here wasn’t pushed all the way in, so left with this mess… ah, QC. Or not. 

Back:

I like the cape design, with the large flowing wrinkles. Tiny paint scratch on the back, but this could’ve been a previous owner. 

Overall, a decent figure, or will be once I repair him I guess. If you get one that’s properly assembled at a reasonable price, I’d recommend him. 

Juggernaut – Marvel

Another big heavyweight of a character, Juggernaut:

Here we have him doing his typical thing of charging into something. Or at least I assume that’s what he’s doing. The paint job feels much simpler than that of Colossus (featured in yesterday’s blog). Here they’ve at least used two different shades of red for his outfit, so he doesn’t blend all into one, which can be an issue with some Eaglemoss figures. The paint on his arms, however, feels rather sloppy, thanks to the overspill on his bands and the half-arsed dark wash. I also feel the holes on his mask feel a bit roughly-hewn rather than neatly cut, as per his mask in his comic design. 

Left:

I think his bands are so tight he’s bleeding? He has muscles sculpted on his leg, but honestly it looks more like a piece of cooked meat rather than a leg to me. Almost like they went “fuck it, call it a day” when doing the sculpt. The boot sculpt is nice though. 

Right:

Again, due to the way his bands are painted, looks like they’re potentially cutting into his arm. Arm muscles also suffer a bit from being oddly shaped and feeling half-sculpted. 

Back:

There was an attempt. The middle band of his outfit feels an absolute mess back here. Again, you can see the poor sculpt of the muscles on his left leg. However… they’ve weirdly nailed the sculpt of the bottom of his boot, and that actually looks decent. His right boot is pretty good too – though the sole is a tad uneven. 

Overall, this figure… isn’t great. Feels like it was half-arsed in sculpt and paint. There are some positives, but overall he’s rather “meh”. Why did I buy this again? Oh yeah, bought him with another two Eaglemoss figures and didn’t look at him too closely… Wouldn’t recommend unless you really want a small Juggernaut figure. Or you’re an idiot like me and pick random stuff up for cheap. 

Colossus – Marvel

Today we’ll be looking at Colossus by Eaglemoss:

image

Here he is, in his comic book colours. There is some attempts at shading – some more successful as each other. He has some lighter red paint highlighting his muscles, but this looks a bit odd towards the top of his suit. There is some dark-coloured wash too, which works better. The lines on his body are good for the most part, but he does that strange seam on his right leg. 

Looking at him front-on:

Here’s a better look at his front, where you can see the unusual bright red paint in full effect. The sculpt on his pants(? underpants?) is good, and gives a fabric feel. 

I think his face sculpt is done well, and his boots are nicely painted. 

Left:

I like his pose, and the sculpt has a good amount of detail. They’ve certainly gone to town on his muscles. The gold accents add some nice focal points to the figure. 

Right:

Here we can see the creasing on his pants was sculpted all around. And that seam on his leg, which is slightly offputting, as it does disrupt the grooves on his leg. Bit of a difficult one to deal with though tbh. 

Back:

Here we have more of the red highlighting, that I don’t think works too well. The sparing bits on his left work better than the larger blobs on the right – I think the lighter red needed to either be used more sparingly or actually blended. There is some dark wash going on, which does help accentuate the figure though. And them pants be tight… The paint, on average, has been neatly done, which is an achievement for an Eaglemoss figure. 

Overall, I think this is a decent figure, and would recommend if you like it. Personally, I’m happy with him. 

Knuckles – Totaku

And finally, let’s look at Knuckles.

Front:

This one seemed to have the least issues with paint, and I should imagine the crescent moon print on his chest helps with that. Here we have him, in his Lego-shoe glory! 

Knuckles also have an accessory of a Chaos Emerald – I think this works well, as Knuckles has a “thing” for the emeralds, The emerald also has been done well, in transparent plastic. 

Left:

His hand feels a bit elongated, and the seams in his hair are a bit rough. Rest of it looks OK.

Right:

Hair is neater on this side, but his eye seems to have some lumpy paint.

Back:

“Hair” looks good from the back, and the backs of his paint seem to be painted well. And we have his li’l tail :). 

Overall, I think he’s a decent figure, and a good choice for the set. I glad they did the more-original three, rather than some of the later characters. 

And here are all three together:

Feel like I should have probably put Tails in the centre here… But with the bright colours, they do look very nice as a set. Kinda wish Tails had some item in front of him, to complete the set. If you can pick the three up for a reasonable price, I’d recommend them, but with the caveat of seeing what ones you’re buying beforehand, due to the annoying paint issues. Just wish they were a little more consistent for the price. 

Tails – Totaku

Second Sonic-based Totaku… Tails!

Front:

This one… I didn’t pick so good, and there’s actually a small paint chip on his moustache. If you look carefully, it is on the right in this photo. I did almost think about seeing if I could exchange him, but then apathy took over. However, the colours work well on him, and it feels accurate to his in-game appearance. They have included a small detail of his tongue, which is nice to see they have paid some attention to detail. 

The base is very similar to Sonic’s, but this time with nothing to decorate it. 

Left:

His head and body look OK, but not sure what’s going on with the white paint on his shoe there. Seems to have gone a little uneven… maybe they put this one in the box a bit quick? Bit of paint has gone walkies on his tail, but it isn’t too much of a mess. 

Right:

Looks OK from this odd angle I apparently photographed him at. Do like the sculpt on the hair strands. 

Back:

Tails butt! Not too much to see back here, but looks fine imo. 

Overall, I think this one is decent, especially if you can get one without derpy white paint. This one seemed to be the one most prone to paint flaws in the shop I was at though… And if you’re paying £10 for a small figure, you’d expect a little more QC tbh. 

Sonic – Totaku

Now… Sonic, from Sonic! The next three blogs will be the Sonic The Hedgehog Totaku that have been released. 

Front:

Love the base for this one – they’ve emulated Green Hill Zone for these. including the stripey greens. The details are all nice and crisp on the base, and it works really well.

We also have a ring flat to the base – does look a little odd lying down, but at least it isn’t an accessory that’s easily knocked over. I also appreciate it as an extra detail. 

The colours for Sonic are nice and bold, and match his in-game appearance. The pose chosen also works well. However there are a bunch of small paint flaws, some of which I find more annoying than the ones on Crash. Mine has a white dot on his left sneaker, and I don’t like rough paint above his right eye. 

Left:

Here we have quite a bad seam on the lower spike. We can also see a seam in the head, but it’s blended decently enough. 

Right:

Seam on his lower spike is less obnoxious on this side, but still visible. Bottom of his shoe feels a bit square – would be nice if they mad his foot taper a bit more. Not sure if it’s exactly a match for the other one, which doesn’t seem so square. His hand and arm are painted nicely though. 

Back:

The spikes look good from the back, and I like the golden buckle on his shoe. Surprisingly few issues back here. 

Overall, I think he’s decent, but potentially beset by paint issues. I know for a couple of the Sonic ones I did spend some time comparing, and I’m not sure if it is just a general issue or a first run issue, but these ones seemed less consistent with the paint jobs than  the other Totaku I’ve looked at. However, if you’re either able to overlook or find a decently painted one, it’s a pretty nice figure. 

Crash Bandicoot – Totaku

Here’s Crash Bandicoot… from Crash Bandicoot. In Totaku form:

These figures are kind of cheaper collectables, but they are pretty small… which kind of negates the price point imo. So let’s see how this dude stacks up… 

First thing that stands out is his bright orange colour, which is accurate to his in-game appearance. I also like his base – the sandy coloured base works well, and I like the paint effect on it.

Face close-up:

His eyes are neat for the most part, as well as the eyebrows. Brown paint on his muzzle escapes his top lip a bit though. The light orange fur patch is painted neatly on this side, but less so on the other. The gloves are also painted well. So some minor flaws, but nothing too annoying. 

Left:

I like the way the fur texture is throughout his body, and does have some natural-type patterns to the direction of the fur. His shoes look good and the wite seems neat for the most part, and so are his gloves.

His jeans seem to be sculpted OK, but are darker than they should be imo. Doesn’t bother me much as I never played the games, so I don’t really notice the inaccuracy, but looking at other pictures of him, they upper part should really be a lighter colour. 

Right:

Love the nose and the expression. This side looks good for the most part, but we do see where the brown paint escaped his muzzle somewhat. Shading in his ear is nice though. 

Back:

Bit of a plaint fleck on mine, near his left shoulder. However, the texture work is nice, only issue back here imo (other than the fleck) is them pants being too dark blue. 

Overall, it’s decent for a small figure. The paintwork is pretty decent for the most part, but not free of flaws. For the price they retail in the UK, I think they’re slightly overprice, but GAME has often been doing deals on these, so you may be able to pick them up for a more reasonable price. Not entirely sure if he’s worth the £10 I paid, but I think he’s a fairly decent figure. 

Devilman mini-figure 4-Pack

This set I saw on YAJ first (iirc), but then found one of the Mandarake stores had it, so went and ordered it there. 

I’ll start with my favourite, the one similar to his original colours:

The first apparent downside of these figures – they don’t stand up, and no stands are provided. Not sure if Uni-Five intended for these to be unboxed…? Or maybe you’re supposed to carry these as charms? 

The sculpts for these figures are all the same – and thankfully it’s a decent sculpt. The details are somewhat obscured due to the clear plastic, but are there. We can see details of his face, and the small protrusions of his horns. I love the pose chosen – his arms crossed is a fitting pose. 

Back:

The texture on his legs looks good, and I like the way his tail curls around his leg. The wings also work well, and I do like his pose… even if he can’t stand on his own. 

So with the sculpt analysed, here are the other colours included in the set.

Red:

Probably my least favourite of the set. Bit too on the neon side. 

Black:

Looks OK, bit better than the red one.

Glow-in-the-dark:

Whilst his sculpt details are less obvious in the daytime, he does glow, and for that he’s my second favourite. 

Overall, I like this set, but is probably a set a fair few will just display in box as it has fairly eye-catching packaging:

For myself, I’ll likely get out some white-tack to help them stand, and display them amongst my collection. And maybe sneak one into an ita bag…

Gilles de Rais – Fate/Grand Order Duel

This was the Fate/Grand Order Duel figure that I saw and wanted. I’ve always been a fan of Gilles de Rais’s look. Being a less popular character, this figure was also cheap, which was a bonus. 

So let’s have a look at him:

image

From the front, he looks decent, but I don’t like the fact he looks down – it would be nicer if he was looking a bit higher so his face was visible when looking front-on. I wouldn’t mind him looking slightly down, as that fits Gilles, but from this angle you don’t really get to see his face.

So here’s his face:

His face has been sculpted well, and has his angular look. Hair and outfit are both neatly painted, and the pink and blues chosen work well together. His rungs look good too. 

Left:

The paintwork on his arm has been done well, and the shading throughout his cloak looks really good. Definitely doesn’t have the shading issue of the prize figure. The points on his collar are nice and crisp. 

Right:

Here we see him holding his book with a claw-like grip. The book has been done well, especially for a small piece. The cloak has also been well -shaded on this side, and we can see the shading on his upper collar too. 

Back:

Props for the stand not getting in the way on this one – I like the fact they’ve gone for a shorter stand so we can appreciate his cape. The back looks really good to me – with the differing shades of blues from the upper and lower halves, and the shading within each part.

Top of his cape:

His hair his sculpted well, and his colour is nicely sculpted and painted. The spikes are slightly different, giving it a more clothinglike appearance. 

Overall, I think this is a really nice figure of Gilles, if small. As a character without a lot of figures, it’s nice to have a quality one, even if it isn’t a scale. 

Cú Chulainn – Fate/Grand Order Duel

This figure is part of a tabletop game version of Fate/Grand Order by Aniplex. Not interested in the game, but some of these figures looked nice for the second-hand price so decided to pick a few of them up. 

Today, I’m looking at Cú Chulainn (Berserker):

Was attracted to this one by the colours and the overall design – love the tattooing on his chest, and the purplish colours of his outfit. And him looking half-demon was icing on the cake :). 

Face:

Love the mischievous grin :). The paint and print are all nice and crisp, without much paint bleed. Some is visible in the white parts, if you look close up. His ruff looks decent given the figure’s size and price point. 

Left:

Here we can see he has a tail – love the long, black spikyness of it, and the red lines complement it well. The ruffs around his ankle look odd, but this is part of the character’s design. However, I notice some fanart do miss these out, and he does look better for it imo. 

Right:

He looks nice from this side too, and we get to look at his spear – I love the red, shiny colour and the fact they’ve included some texture on the handle. 

Spear tip close-up:

I love these small details included on the tip, which give it more detail. 

Back:

Not too much to see here – we have a supporting stand which goes up into his collar, which does keep him upright. The stand itself is entirely flat, so this is the only form of peg on the figure (hence him having one foot up in the air in the first photo). He seems stable enough though. I think the base compliments the figure well, and I like the icon included on the front that tells you his class. 

Overall, I’m very happy with this figure and glad I got him. The colours work well, and there’s plenty of detail to see in the paint and the sculpt. Even if you’re uninterested in the game, these seem like decent figures to display. Though some of the popular characters may set you back a bit. 

Aliens x M.U.S.C.L.E – Series 2 – Part 3

Now for the rest of the figures in this wave.

First up, Burke:

I like the texture on the guy’s shirt – how to do a plaid shirt when you don’t have colours to use. I like the sculpting on this one – detail has been put into the clothes, with the wrinkles, pattern and his shoes. Another hairline to report on the back though. He does have a watch sculpted too, which is nice to see. Overall, I think this is a decent figure.

Hicks:

Hicks, giving off a strong Duke Nukem vibe. I think they’ve gone overly Nukem with the hair, which is what does it. Still, not a bad little sculpt, but probably not going to please someone who needs their figures character-accurate. 

Hudson:

Erm… and now I’m getting Frakenstein’s Monster vibes from this one. For me, this doesn’t really feel like Hudson, and looking at pics on Google Image Search… I’m still feeling that. The hair doesn’t look right, and his face looks derp. If we ignore it’s supposed to be Hudson, he looks OK for a generic army dude… though I think his face needs changing so it doesn’t look like he’s going “uhhhhhh”. 

Lastly, Vasquez

(she better not get my blog flagged again!):

That. Face. That…. face. They went for annoyed Vasquez, but ended up with pissed off granny. The mouth is too long, and I think the facial features are too squat, leading her to look older and angrier. They did give her dog tags though…. Her gun looks OK as far as sculpt goes – can’t blame the for filling in the smaller holes, for structural integrity. Also mine is a bit bent, but I could ix this, so I don’t regard this as a negative of the figure. 

If it wasn’t for the weapon and the headband though, I think it’d be a bit confusing who this is supposed to be… Again, OK for generic army dude, but kinda fails at being Vasquez.

Again, a mixed bag as regards figures. I think they’ve tried to add more to these figures, which has mostly worked, but have ended up with some odd faces, which doesn’t help with recognising them. This set has some highlights and some lowlights, so I’d recommend just getting the set(s) with figures in that appeal to you. And maybe not look too closely at the faces.