DSC_8756
Final Fantasy XIII was the last mainline FF game I played.
XIII, which for some reason not only introduced some spastastic battle system where you'd change between the various roles a character could play, also introduced a rating and scoring system for battles that honestly didn't do anything. Then of course, there was that crafting system that is a prerequisite for upgrading.
Now that I've got two kids, sitting in front of a console is no longer really an option and as such, well, I've not touched XV either, though I've read some really cranky comments about the DLC.
As with all the FF games, XIII introduced me to a band of lovable rogues and heroes, with the lead protagonist being a woman by the name of Lightning.. or at least that's what she tells everyone to call her.
Her sister is Serah, so I can only presume that her parents hated her more. Or she hates herself.
Being the face of the XIII franchise, Lightning of course because quite popular among the hardcore FF players, with a plethora of merchandise featuring her visage, including the inaugural entry in the FF XIII Static Arts Bust line, launched in 2016.
As far as I know, pretty much all of the Final Fantasy figures since FFX have been produced by Koboukiya, a company I have had a love/hate relationship for a very, very long time. I love them because honestly their pricing isn't terrible - on the contrary it can actually be quite good. I hate them, however, because they consistently have some of lowest standards when it comes to their finished goods that I've seen from any major manufacturer, though to be fair they are getting better. There was a time that I could easily pick out a Kotobukiya release because they would consistent not bother painting the skin on any of their figures.
So while I have been picking up Play Arts figures here and there, these Static Arts pieces are supposed to be high end PVC busts of their most celebrate characters, and retail for about $80 CAD. Surely things must be better now, right?
Nope.. not really.
The good news is that the final product generally does actually look like what the prototype promised - the upper body of Lightning, with her default weapon, poised to attack her enemy. Loss of sculpt detail wasn't horrible with good detailing on her weapon and outfit. There was even paint on her exposed skin and decal work for her eyes and other small details weren't too bad. The crystal base didn't look too shabby either, and it seems the sanding job on her various extremities was solid.
Hell, even the weapon fit properly.
However, as one gets a little closer, the traditional Kotobukiya QC shines right through, with paint apps of small details being very, very messy, either overapplied or poorly masked. The back of her poor head is what made people most upset - I read comments about how people didn't like her hair, and honestly thought people were being overly critical until I actually saw it for myself.
For $80, the paint work is a disappointment to say the least. Its' not like this is a very big item, making it a value buy - the bust is probably 1/7 scale or so, and is only about 4 inches from bottom of the base to the highest point, the tips of her fingers.
So overall a disappointment, mostly because I've seen good work from Kotobukiya and the underlying sculpt is quite nice, but the lack of polish on the bust really hurts the final product. I'm not sure what the other busts are like, but I'm almost willing to bet there are similar issues.
But when you have a monopoly on something that is very popular, I guess people don't generally care and you get an automatic pass.
DSC_8756
Final Fantasy XIII was the last mainline FF game I played.
XIII, which for some reason not only introduced some spastastic battle system where you'd change between the various roles a character could play, also introduced a rating and scoring system for battles that honestly didn't do anything. Then of course, there was that crafting system that is a prerequisite for upgrading.
Now that I've got two kids, sitting in front of a console is no longer really an option and as such, well, I've not touched XV either, though I've read some really cranky comments about the DLC.
As with all the FF games, XIII introduced me to a band of lovable rogues and heroes, with the lead protagonist being a woman by the name of Lightning.. or at least that's what she tells everyone to call her.
Her sister is Serah, so I can only presume that her parents hated her more. Or she hates herself.
Being the face of the XIII franchise, Lightning of course because quite popular among the hardcore FF players, with a plethora of merchandise featuring her visage, including the inaugural entry in the FF XIII Static Arts Bust line, launched in 2016.
As far as I know, pretty much all of the Final Fantasy figures since FFX have been produced by Koboukiya, a company I have had a love/hate relationship for a very, very long time. I love them because honestly their pricing isn't terrible - on the contrary it can actually be quite good. I hate them, however, because they consistently have some of lowest standards when it comes to their finished goods that I've seen from any major manufacturer, though to be fair they are getting better. There was a time that I could easily pick out a Kotobukiya release because they would consistent not bother painting the skin on any of their figures.
So while I have been picking up Play Arts figures here and there, these Static Arts pieces are supposed to be high end PVC busts of their most celebrate characters, and retail for about $80 CAD. Surely things must be better now, right?
Nope.. not really.
The good news is that the final product generally does actually look like what the prototype promised - the upper body of Lightning, with her default weapon, poised to attack her enemy. Loss of sculpt detail wasn't horrible with good detailing on her weapon and outfit. There was even paint on her exposed skin and decal work for her eyes and other small details weren't too bad. The crystal base didn't look too shabby either, and it seems the sanding job on her various extremities was solid.
Hell, even the weapon fit properly.
However, as one gets a little closer, the traditional Kotobukiya QC shines right through, with paint apps of small details being very, very messy, either overapplied or poorly masked. The back of her poor head is what made people most upset - I read comments about how people didn't like her hair, and honestly thought people were being overly critical until I actually saw it for myself.
For $80, the paint work is a disappointment to say the least. Its' not like this is a very big item, making it a value buy - the bust is probably 1/7 scale or so, and is only about 4 inches from bottom of the base to the highest point, the tips of her fingers.
So overall a disappointment, mostly because I've seen good work from Kotobukiya and the underlying sculpt is quite nice, but the lack of polish on the bust really hurts the final product. I'm not sure what the other busts are like, but I'm almost willing to bet there are similar issues.
But when you have a monopoly on something that is very popular, I guess people don't generally care and you get an automatic pass.