Tag: alter

Black Aries –  Makai Tenshi Djibril

This was a figure I got along with the Saber Maid in yesterday’s blog. I hadn’t come across her before, but loved the design:

I love the pose of this character, the contrasting colours and the claw hand. Her hair also has a nice gradient, going from pink to purple. I also like the gold accents as they add some nice highlights to the figure.

Face:

I like the small marks on her face, and the claw from this angle looks menacing. The shading on her… leotard(?) looks very nice too. I love the small crystal on her belt, and the large bow looks good.

Left:

Here we can see the claw more front-on, and I love the crisp lines and details on it. Her hair looks nice, and has a good gradient to it. I also like the shading on her boots and gloves, so the black isn’t completely flat.

Right:

I love the gradients under her dress and the details on the bottom of her boots, plus they’e added creases where her ankle is bending the boots.

Back:

Here we finally get to see the wings that you attach as part of the assembly. In isolation, I think they look good,but they were a pain to get pegged in place. Due to the keying on the pegs, they don’t feel like the sturdiest of things, so I’d recommend being careful with them, lest the peg snaps. Once you’ve worked out which way they go in, and have them in place, they’re fine though. Love the motion in this figure, and I think this back shot really shows that off. 

Overall, I really like this figure, and glad I got her, despite not being familiar with her as a character. She only has this figure according to MFC, and at least it’s a very nice one if you are a fan, though. Would recommend this figure. She feels sturdy enough, and being an Alter figure, she’s likely to have support against leaning, so not too worried about that. With her relative obscurity, she seems to be fairly cheap to get hold of in the aftermarket.

Saber – Maid ver. – Fate/Hollow Ataraxia

This figure I got from a Discord user. 

Front:

She’s a pretty impressive figure in her own way, with a strong stance. I love the dark metallic blue of her outfit, and the attention to detail in the sculpting. 

Face close-up:

She’s a happy maid :). The figure definitely has an older feel to me, not that I mind. Hair is nicely sculpted, and I like her collar. 

Mop:

I like the way this mop sits on the base – it’s moulded to sit on the edge of the base, which I like. A fair amount of detail has been put into the mop, which I appreciate. The tassels are also shaded well.

Left:

There is a nice sheer effect to her leggings, and her shoes have been painted neatly. I like the bands around her leg, which match nicely with her outfit. Her hair has been done well to hide any seamlines. 

Right:

This shot shows the shiny blue of her outfit quite well on her skirt. Her hair is blended quite well to her neck. She holds the mop quite well, and it doesn’t seem prone to falling over. 

Back:

I love the way her back shows through the dress – it certainly adds a focal point to her back. The painting on her back really adds to the depth. The bow is also nicely presented on her dress, and helps show she’s moving her hips a bit to the side, causing movement to her dress. 

Hair close-up:

I love the details put into her hair – the sculpt is very nice. The bow is also really nicely sculpted and painted to match her dress. 

Top-down view:

Here we can see the cuffs she’s wearing got some attention too – the cufflinks are painted nicely, and there’s some texture here. Her nails are also painted neatly. 

For what could be a very simple figure, there is a lot of attention to detail, and I think it’s a really nice looking figure. There is an updated version of her, with a nicer base, so I’d likely suggest that one, especially as it seems to be around the same price secondhand. But this one definitely isn’t a bad figure, and I’d recommend it. Would be nice if the base was less plain, though. If it wasn’t for the fact I got a really good deal on this one, I may have gone for the updated version, but I could still recommend this one. 

Rin Tohsaka – Fate/Stay Night – Swimsuit Ver

Here we have another unexpected find on Suruga-ya – Alter’s Rin Tohsaka, swimsuit edition. I tried to buy this figure from someone on MFC, but then they messed me about and stopped replying to my messages :/, so this one was an insta-basket when I saw her.

So here she is:

image

I feel she is a little plain in the face, but the rest of her works well. She doesn’t hold up favourably to modern figures, but she is good-looking for her age. The ring comes pre-attached to the figure, but the handles are separate pieces. Other than that, she just pegs to the base.

Closer look at her upper half:

image

Here we can see that she isn’t shaded too much, which is the reason for her face appearing on the plain side. Her swimsuit is shaded though, which I think is much-needed, otherwise it’d feel very much prize figure. Her eyes are a nice shade of blue, which I think compliments her outfit. Her hair is not heavily shaded either, which I think shows, but doesn’t bother me. She has some hair shading at her crown and hair tips, so it isn’t totally flat.

Left:

image

Here we see she has two deliberate seams in her outfit, which have been given realistic creasing. I like these, as it works well. Again, a lot of her skin shading is given by natural light, rather than paint. We can also see she has pink nail polish on her toes, which is a nice touch.

Close-up of the ring:

image

Here we see the handles, which I think have been very nicely done. The handles slid in nicely, and I’m not concerned about them falling out. The ring itself, however, does have an appearance of the hard plastic it is made out of, rather than rubber. There are crease lines in it, but something about the paintwork on the flatter areas doesn’t really hide the fact it is plastic. It isn’t a deal-breaker for me, but I believe this is one area that would be improved on a modern figure.

Right:

image

This picture probably best captures the plastic-ness of the ring. As we can see, her hair does have some shading in, but it is rather on the subtle side. And this picture makes me realise one of the big differences between this and a newer scale – the finishes are shinier and less varied than on a modern equivalent. Also she has a bit of a seamline down her arm. The swimsuit still looks really nice though.

Back:

image

Here we can see the shiny, less-detailed hair. And the way the ring isn’t quite rubber. Nothing particularly bad about the figure, but it doesn’t hold up to modern standards.

Overall, I like this figure, though it does have its flaws. I’d mostly recommend it to Tohsaka fans, who aren’t put off by the quality of older figures. If you can find her for a reasonable price, I’d recommend her, but she was a hard one to find – after the sale fell through on MFC, I did try to find her, but with no luck. However, I’m glad to have found her for a reasonable price, even if I did need to forward her (Suruga-ya doesn’t do international ship

Gwendolyn – Alter – Odin Sphere

I bought this figure from a seller on MFC, along with tomorrow’s figure. I’ve been debating getting this one, but with shipping & import, it was adding up a little high, but this seller was in the UK, so no import, woo. 

So here she is:

image

I love the pose on this figure – the thin line with the wings outstretched makes for a dramatic pose. I was also attracted to this figure thanks to the blue hues in her wings. 

Close-up of her spear:

I love the crystal on the end of this, with its gentle blue colour. The moon gives the staff a good focal point too. 

Close-up of her face:

She’s clearly looking at something, but not sure the expression goes with the pose? She has a cute face tough, and her upper body is moulded well. Love the little tiara on her head, and her hair looks good.

Close-up of her wing:

I love the translucenty look of these wings, and the subtle gradients. Gives the figure some colour without being overpowering. The downward angle means they also show well when viewed from the front. 

Left:

Bit hard to photograph well from the sides, but here we can see her holding her spear aloft, and her left leg poised to show movement. 

Close-up of her leg:

She also has mini wings attached to her knees. These ones are more brightly coloured, and the purple was a good inclusion. The metal parts of her armour here are nice and shiny. 

Right:

More wing covering up her face :P. The pins on her skirt are painted well. Her right leg has metal pins into the base, and she stands sturdily. 

More leg close-up:

Some creases behind the knee, which is nice, and the lovely sculpting on the knee wings. 

Back:

Her dress is flared out, showing us she’s likely landing on the tree stump, which explains the more neutral expression. 

Close-up of her back:

Bit of a seam on the back of her dress, but I’m assuming this is going to be her zip. The gold choker gives a good look to her neck. The dress is separate from the body, which helps with the overall realistic look. Love the way the dress flows in the wind. 

Close-up of the base:

The base is very detailed and well-painted imo. Plenty of shading in the dirt and the plants – even some dirt on the plant to the left of this photo. It does have a more anime vibe than a realistic one, but I think this fits well. 

Overall, I really like this figure, and glad I finally picked it up. If you want a more “sophisticated” statue of Gwendolyn, I think this is a good one. And likely cheaper than Alter’s new one… which will probably come out after this blog does… 

Alter Ayanami Rei

Been thinking of buying this figure on and off, but found it on local eBay for a price too good to pass up. Did say unopened, but she may’ve been out of the box before, but she shows no marks, so all good with me 🙂

Here she is with her default hairpiece:

With her pose, she’s rather awkward to photograph, but she looks really nice irl. 

Here is a top-down picture, showing her pose:

The rest of the shots in this blog will be with her hairpiece with her interface headset, I prefer her with it. 

Here is her underside:

Certain parts of her are flat on this side, but it isn’t hugely visible from this photo. The painting is still well done on this side though, despite the fact most people won’t see much of it. 

Here she is from the front:

You get a nice look at her suit, but not her face. 

Here she is from her back:

Her backpack is nicely done, and her body well-sculpted. Also her soles are correctly detailed. 

Here is a more top-down view:

She looks nice from the top, and is probably the view you’ll mostly see. 

Unless you display her feet-first:

This is quite a cute angle for her, and you can see her face 🙂

She did come with a black base, with “Evangelion 1.0″ on it, but for me, it doesn’t add much to the figure, so I left it in the box. 

However, I do have this base:

She just fits on this base, and the mirror allows you to see more of her from above. This was the base that came with Shamsiel Shahal. 

Here she is with her body reflected:

Looking at her face:

Backpack:

And finally, her backside:

Shapely!

The paint is really well done on this figure, and especially so for an older figure. She’s quite small, and will likely fit on the palm of your hand, but if you can pick this up fora  good price, and you’re a Rei fan, i would recommend her. I picked her up for £34, though I usually see her for £45ish. Both hair pieces are well-shaded, and a great option imo.