I think I may have chewed a bit too much off, certainly this Friday, as I’m way behind on school-work, but here I am.
I plan to try and go during Fridays on exciting figures that caught my eye, or figures that are real stinkers. I will discuss figures that have recently been released, figures up to pre-order, re-stock figures, etc.
I will mainly reference Hobby Search, because their site is nice to look at, easy to navigate, and sends me emails on a timely basis, letting me find stuff out with ease.
Kumo‘s blog and Nekomagic are two other sources for pictures I will use here, so I’d like to time to thank them via this blog-post.
At the end of the post, there will be a poll, and some open questions, please take the time to give me feedback, at least if you care to see this again.
This post is image-heavy, understandably.
Stuff up for order:
(You can click on the figures to go to pages where you can usually see more pictures of theirs. And information, like what series the figure is from.)
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Strikers Signuml Agito Unison Ver. action figure by CM’s Corp
This figure is a limited re-release for November 2009. 10,000 yen! I like the normal version better, but as it’s slightly more “goth” than the original version, and is limited, I’m sure it’ll get picked up like hot-cakes.
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s the Battle of Aces Takamachi Nanoha figma action figure by Bandai
Limited figma, very cute. Not worth the asking price because it comes with a video game that looks like crap. And I care for content, people.
January 2010.
Etrian Odyssey Doctor Magus Girl nano! PVC figure by WAVE
From the people who’ve brought us the Evangelion XX Nano. Sadly, these are not half as neat.
January 2010, 2,500 yen.
Yosuganosora Kasugano Sora 1/8 PVC figure by Megahouse
Simple, elegant, cute.
December 2009, 6,800 yen.
Please note, to find out the following figure’s name, place your mouse over it to see the ALT-Text. Thank you.
Great hair, nice pose. Too shiny, someone should add a matte layer to her. December 09, 7,810 yen.
Umi Monogatari Marin 1/7 PVC figure by Yamato. || Where do I begin? The hair is unexciting, the face looks like crap, and what's with the outfit? Just no. || December 2009, price unknown.
ToHeart2 Kousaka Tamaki 1/8 PVC figure by Kotobukiya
The attention to the bum (click on photo for Nekomagic post) was a bit too much, and a bit too shiny. But honestly, beautiful, adorable. And who doesn’t like Christmas outfit? Even non-Christians like me can like it. Expensive, but you get two figures.
12,000 yen (2 figures), December 2009, Magazine exclusive.
Strike Witches Charlotte E Yeager Shirley 1/8 PVC figure by amiami
Cute, usagimi (bunny-girl), a gun-bunny. Not really my taste, but nice.
September 2009, 6,648 yen.
Touhou Project the Half-human Half-ghost Gardener Konpaku Youmu 1/8 PVC figure by Griffon Enterprises
Pretty simple figure, but I love it, seriously. Love the dress, love the frills, love the swords. Love.
November 2009, 7,200 yen. I want this, but it might be a bit too expensive. Maybe I should stop buying figures I like less at $35 and save for figures I like more at the $70-$90 range?
Touhou Project the Ghost from the Calamitous Nirvana Saigyouji Yuyuko 1/8 PVC figure by Griffon Enterprises
The other Griffon Touhou project figure. I am less excited about it, though the clothings are better. Not a fan of the see-through plastic, it looks like snot, but the dress, the folds, the creases, the colouring, seems pretty spectacular to me.
Nov 2009, 7,800 yen.
Misaka Mikoto Swimsuit Ver
Not too crazy about the hair crack, and the seam goes up too much at the back, but, damn, I love this character’s looks (I have a folder of her pictures), I love this figure. I am not getting it, no :(
Magazine exclusive, Dec 2009 (reservations till August 26th), 6,300 yen.
Nendoroid Ryogi Shiki
Reservation started, release at November 2009. Regular Nendoroid price (~3,400 yen)
Good figure. Very similar to Canaan. Could be her twin, basically. Cat’s chest is a bit too bulky/angular.
Alter Akiyama Mio
Ok figure, unexciting. If you want a guitar wielder, I’d pick Haruhi. I guess most of the excitement comes from people who’ve watched the series and love the character.
Reservation started, November 2009 release, 6,800 yen
Kos-mos version 4 1/4 resin kit.
Yes, a resin kit. If you want to order, try clicking on the picture to go to Tokyohunter’s blog, must be before September 20th.
50,400 yen(!!!), Limited release at 29/08 and 20/09.
Choun Shiryu Comic 14 Illustration Ver
Reserves out, 13,800 yen. October release.
AMAZING robe, if I were made of money, I’d get this. I know someone who paints miniatures at this level, or even higher, actually.
Nendoroid Riannon
Adorable, love the snazzy hat.
September 2009. 3,334 yen.
Recent Releases:
Click on figures for Hobby Link page.
Sill Plain
6,800 yen, came out this week.
What’s up with all those horrible seam-lines? I hope the actual figure is not like this.
Queens Blade Combat Instructor Allean
Came out this week, 7,800 yen.
Love the figure, love the colours. Love the ears :)
It’s queen’s blade, so cast-offable and mature. But I actually like her better in her clothes!
School Swim Suit Mecha Nurse Girl Nana Megami Magazine Creaters vol.8 illustrated by Komatsu Eiji
This is just sweet, nice, and seems really well made.
Came out this week, already sold out. 9,334 yen.
Black Rock Shooter (Huke)
9,334 yen, August release.
The figure/image with the craze about it. Nice figure, girl’s a bit too thin, but big BIG gun.
Prism Ark : Teresa Tillett Flooding Ver
Came out, 8,800 yen.
I’m a fan of leather bands, what can I say? Hm, would be better if they were black.
Re-Stocks and Delays:
These items were meant to come originally in August, or have come out before and are getting a re-stock at Hobby Link, or getting a new printing run.
Katsura Hinagiku swimsuit version re-release.
October 2009 re-release. 6,000 yen.
The most likeable character on Hayate no Gotoku, aside from the silly girl who gets lost and exorcises ghosts. True to the character in the show, in ways both good and bad.
Alter Fatina
Delayed from August to September 2009. 8,200 yen.
Amazing figure. Every other word is a waste.
Vita re-release
Delayed to September 2009. 6,800 yen.
I like this figure more than the limited edition one at the top, and it’s cheaper. Win-win.
Yagyu Jubei
Delayed to October 2009. 7,800 yen.
Not too crazy about the too short shirt. But I love everything else about this figure. Love the swords, the socks, the way the shirt is, the face… BTW, to me the real Jubei will always be in “Ninja Scroll” :D
Re-stocks in stock:
Komaki Manaka Maid ver.
Really cute, but looks suspiciously like the upcoming Saber Maid version.
The rest will be down-post, pictures only.
Other Stuff:
This stuff will get links and no pictures. You’ll forgive me.
I get daily updates from Hobby Search, and this week I saw some crazy things. Figures got re-stocked and were already sold out by the time I checked the site! Either they ordered very few pieces, or people went into frenzy.
A couple of the figures in question were Clalaclan Noir version, Tamaki Kohsaka, both the pearly version and the black undergarment version (hot!).
Here are some re-stocks you can still get (and one above)
Happoubijin Book of paintings Sweet Body [Hustler] – Nice figure, ok.
Magical Amber – Simple and cute.
Leliel XXNano – Hobby Search carries some of the Evangelion XX Nanos again. Very cute, and cheaper than any other retailer who has them in stock.
Creators Labo #012 Nonnon – I really like her outfit. Well done.
Unity-Mei – I was sad when I missed it when it was on sale. Awesome figure.
Sales:
Possible figures to buy:
2old4anime/BlueDrakon is selling some figures, so I’m doing a service to you and him, and letting y’all know :)
HLJ has 1/6 Lilith for 60% off.
News:
09 Summer Hobby Maker Joint Products Exhibition: Part 1, part 2. WonFes stuff, but better quality shots, IMO
Blog Issues:
This post took a lot of time to research, post, etc. so I’d appreciate feedback on the following in the comments:
- Do you find such a weekly post useful, or do you think the daily posts on other sites are more than sufficient?
- What if it were bi-weekly, or a monthly review of the best and the worst?
- Pictures, are they necessary, or links and thoughts are good enough?
- What did you think? Please share.
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Geekorner-Geekulture. 
I had preordered Alter’s Jubei a couple of months ago and am none to happy about the delay. Hopefully she doesn’t go under any major alterations. But to answer your questions:
1. Like everyone, we have different tastes so I can’t say it’d be overly useful. I mainly stop by AmiAmi.com for the latest releases and go from there. Although listing restocks and delays is extremely helpful.
2. If you were to cover a proportional amount of figures with a 2 or 4 week post, I can only imagine its size. I think it would be best to leave it weekly for clutter issues unless you were to downsize the information provided.
3. Pictures are a must. Figures nearly hinge on visual aesthetics.
4. In addition to the above, I like the idea of “best and worst” of the week but what’s covered here is overwhelming for me. I’d narrow it down to something much more manageable, such as a “top 10” or “5 hot 5 not” etc. and provide additional formatted pictures or more text detailing your opinion.
Well, figure delays are also a problem because you only pay for them when they come out, and in some ways this is an issue which could force one to cancel (though minor, since if you need to cancel in the future, maybe it was better the money wasn’t spent before). And it’s a great figure, Jubei-chan is.
1. Yes, which is why hopefully I’ll get many replies, consider them all, and see what to do :)
Most of the delays were from Kumo, the re-stocks were from me making a note of them. I didn’t list all of them, there were endless restocks.. heck, one should just look at Hobby Search’s “Restock” category to see what’s there if one wants to see the full (might I say, endless?) list.
2.You have no idea how much time this thing took.
If I had done away with pictures, I could have done it in 30 minutes, or just covered it during my normal internet-trolling week. This took time and dedication.
4. I think it might be overwhelming, yes, there were about 28 figures posted above with pictures, and another 5-6 without.
Maybe “Five hot, five not” and “Five limited”? Because limited figures are harder to come by, and so deserve their own region?
For re-stocks/delays, are pictures in order as well? I mean, people know what they are, or should, or should they get a picture only if you can still reserve/order them and they belong in the “5 hot/not”?
I think maybe most restocks/delays will go in a list, like the objects at the bottom under “re-stocks”?
If you’d like to devote space to “limited” figures, go for it.
I don’t think pictures should be required for restocks or delays regardless of their current availability. A list should suffice. I’d devote effort and pictures to a “5h5n” while giving small mention to fringe items like delays.
There were actually quite a few figures that were suppose to come out in August, and that’s why I dropped a couple of them because I don’t have an ATM in my house.
BRS actually got delayed to october if I remember correctly. Saber Lily (not posted here) delayed to September. I might be able to get BRS again. ^^
Yosuganosora Kasugano Sora 1/8 PVC figure by Megahouse is on my pre-order.
Alter’s Vita is definitely the better one because it’s by Alter. I also have her on pre-order since I missed her the first time around.
I have MegaHouse’s Allean on pre-order instead, since I don’t know much about the quality of Griffon Enterprise. Might give them a shot.
Other figures I have on pre-order that are coming out this month are MegaHouse’s Sheryl Nome, Chihaya Kisaragi, Iori Minase, and Alter’s Fate T. Harlaown True Sonic Form.
As to the question of how often you post things like this, it’s all up to you, the blog owner. But you have to ask yourself “are you posting just for the sake of posting?” It’s pretty interesting to read what’s coming out for the month, and what other people think about them; but not a lot changes from week to week in the figure world.
Keep up with what you’re doing, and you’ll learn by experience what your readers are interested in. :)
1. BRS got delayed after I made this post, naturally :)
2. This post was slightly longer, I suspect it’s because of all the figures that were put up for reservation directly following WonFes.
3. Hm, I notice now that I didn’t list that the Vita re-release is by Alter, need to pay more attention to companies.
4. I am actually not impressed by Fate T. Harlowe, I think it’s a lazy model, and uninspiring. And yes, I know I will bring upon me the Otaku-Wrath for saying so ;)
5. I post because I want to, a lot of things attract my eyes, and I want to share thoughts. But I also post because I want to be read, so, I will ask people what they think, because you don’t learn what people are interested in unless they reply, which they usually don’t unless it’s really good or really bad.
If things are in the middle, then they tend to not get much air-time, and asking questions helps there :)
As for not much happening in the figure world every week, well, when I find out I don’t have enough figures for “5 hot 5 not” a week (which I’ll try this week), we’ll see what we’ll do. This week has too many figures, not too few :)
Edit: I see you only posted “How often”. So the first paragraph is less relevant. But yeah, I’ll try to post weekly because a schedule is helpful, but if there isn’t enough material, I’ll push it back.
Nah, you got it right because Alter’s is a different version. This CM one is an action figure though.
It’s actually quite easy, in my honest opinion, to find 5 “nots” per week. ^^
Is it bad that I know nothing about the series where most of the characters here come from? OTL; Adelicia, BRS and Nendo Riannon are my favorites from this list. Allean is good too, but I know there’s a better looking Allean figure, from Megahouse, I think.
As for the questions:
1) I think it’s good that you have your own posts since different people have different opinions about figures. Especially since there are bloggers,
like myself, that are sometimes biased with figures from their favorite series ^^;2) I think a weekly post or bi-weekly post is good. With the rate of figure releases, you’d probably be swamped if you try to make monthly posts.
3) I think pictures are necessary for posts about figures. It helps the readers see visually without having to open another window or tab just to see what you are talking about. Pictures also prevent your entries into looking like a WALL of text, which usually shuns away a lot of
lazy, potential readers.Your opening question is tied to your #1 answer: If all you care for is the aesthetic, then it doesn’t really matter. Heck, I don’t know most of the characters/anime described above myself.
But, considering how much money one spends for a high quality figure, I think it’s better to know the character and like it. If you can spend $100 on an awesome figure of a character you don’t know, or spend $100 on an awesome figure of a character you love, which would you choose?
Heck, we take not as great figures of characters we like :)
What’s actually amazing about this hobby is that sometimes, the attractive figures make you try out series that you wouldn’t really have thought of trying. That’s been happening to me for a few times now. I do agree that I’d rather spend on awesome figures of characters I like — but if money issues were put aside, I would buy awesome figures of other characters and then learn about the character later on. XD
If money weren’t an issue, and storage (which is a byproduct of money) wasn’t an issue, then life would be simpler.
The fact is, every figure we buy is another figure we don’t buy. We can’t all be Madarame from Genshiken.