DSC_9592
Lets take another trip to the past, this time to 2007. I had just finished the Xenosaga trilogy, and had pretty much committed myself to being a KOS-MOS fan for life. I didn't realize it at the time, but Xenosaga apparently wasn't that popular of a game, resulting in much of the merchandise available in Japan never really being offered. Alter seemed to be the leading producer of Xenosaga merch offered, so I eagerly purchased what has remained a focal point in my Bishoujo figure collection, the 1/8 scale KOS-MOS v.4.0 statue.
I'd eventually get the 1/8 scale Griffon release, which I should probably pop open for a photo op, but overall the other 1/8 offerings paled in comparison to this statue. Alter would go on to release a 1/8 scale T-ELOS, though she would be nowhere as extravagant looking as KOS-MOS.
Still, much like with her Figma counterpart, I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to find a T-ELOS to complement KOS-MOS here.
Again, my stuff is all packed away so I don't have access to it right now, but one of the coolest things about this figure was the box. It was a clear plastic cube, nothing more, nothing less, and really worked well with the high tech theme of KOS-MOS.
If you do consider buying one of these, the price seems to be much higher than MSRP though MSRP was around $60 back in the day, so that isn't saying much. Sadly, because of age, KOS-MOS does suffer from the leg bend that plagues many similarly aged pieces, though fixing it is pretty straight forward.
KOS-MOS is sculpted in a dynamic stance, hair blowing in the wind, though sadly she's only posed with one of her chainguns rather than two of them like with her Figma release. The various details of her lingerie/armour are captured quite well as is her generally serene expression. Even by modern standards, the v4.0 body that KOS-MOS has is particularly busy, a vivid tapestry of lines, layers, and colours - and of course, her tranlucent blue hair.
Decals are expertly applied, and are so high resolution that they are legible even at very close proximity, which isn't something I can say about, for example, those horrible things that came with the Elita-1 Voyager toy.
I will readily admit that while this is one of my favourite pieces, it's not perfect. While assembly work and finishing of the part is top notch, as I would expect from Alter, the paint apps on busy areas is a bit on the sloppy side, with some of the gold and black oversprayed, and the masking not as crisp as I would have liked. I suspect the small scale coupled with the frequent need for paint apps and masking probably didn't help.
For over a decade, this was pretty much the defacto 1/8 scale KOS-MOS statue to own. She still displays well with contemporary items, with the exception of the lean you have to keep an eye out for. Sadly, it looks like the title of best scale statue will likely be handed off to the upcoming 1/7 release from Good Smile Company for their Xenoblade 2 KOS-MOS, but it was a good reign, and when the time comes I'll be sure leave her a space so that the v4.0 can stand tall and proud as she was always meant to.
DSC_9592
Lets take another trip to the past, this time to 2007. I had just finished the Xenosaga trilogy, and had pretty much committed myself to being a KOS-MOS fan for life. I didn't realize it at the time, but Xenosaga apparently wasn't that popular of a game, resulting in much of the merchandise available in Japan never really being offered. Alter seemed to be the leading producer of Xenosaga merch offered, so I eagerly purchased what has remained a focal point in my Bishoujo figure collection, the 1/8 scale KOS-MOS v.4.0 statue.
I'd eventually get the 1/8 scale Griffon release, which I should probably pop open for a photo op, but overall the other 1/8 offerings paled in comparison to this statue. Alter would go on to release a 1/8 scale T-ELOS, though she would be nowhere as extravagant looking as KOS-MOS.
Still, much like with her Figma counterpart, I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to find a T-ELOS to complement KOS-MOS here.
Again, my stuff is all packed away so I don't have access to it right now, but one of the coolest things about this figure was the box. It was a clear plastic cube, nothing more, nothing less, and really worked well with the high tech theme of KOS-MOS.
If you do consider buying one of these, the price seems to be much higher than MSRP though MSRP was around $60 back in the day, so that isn't saying much. Sadly, because of age, KOS-MOS does suffer from the leg bend that plagues many similarly aged pieces, though fixing it is pretty straight forward.
KOS-MOS is sculpted in a dynamic stance, hair blowing in the wind, though sadly she's only posed with one of her chainguns rather than two of them like with her Figma release. The various details of her lingerie/armour are captured quite well as is her generally serene expression. Even by modern standards, the v4.0 body that KOS-MOS has is particularly busy, a vivid tapestry of lines, layers, and colours - and of course, her tranlucent blue hair.
Decals are expertly applied, and are so high resolution that they are legible even at very close proximity, which isn't something I can say about, for example, those horrible things that came with the Elita-1 Voyager toy.
I will readily admit that while this is one of my favourite pieces, it's not perfect. While assembly work and finishing of the part is top notch, as I would expect from Alter, the paint apps on busy areas is a bit on the sloppy side, with some of the gold and black oversprayed, and the masking not as crisp as I would have liked. I suspect the small scale coupled with the frequent need for paint apps and masking probably didn't help.
For over a decade, this was pretty much the defacto 1/8 scale KOS-MOS statue to own. She still displays well with contemporary items, with the exception of the lean you have to keep an eye out for. Sadly, it looks like the title of best scale statue will likely be handed off to the upcoming 1/7 release from Good Smile Company for their Xenoblade 2 KOS-MOS, but it was a good reign, and when the time comes I'll be sure leave her a space so that the v4.0 can stand tall and proud as she was always meant to.