DSC_8307
So this statue has taken me over a decade to find.
When I first learned of the Queen's Gate line, I figured it wouldn't be an overnight thing to actually get a good number of them. Like with most of my things, I basically waited for other to do the heavy lifting and when they were tired of them, I'd strike.
That finally happened this year (2024) at Anime North. I was actually kind of shocked because normally I can't find ANYTHING in the Vendor Room, and usually end up outside in the Artist Area or something for a random miracle to show up. This year, I only found deals in the Vendor Room and not the Night Market or other areas.
Kasumi here was made by Kotobukiya, who I guess had a stranglehold on the Dead or Alive license at the time. I recall them doing the various Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 statues, and I think even a non Xtreme Ayane.
I feel they did a decent job of capturing the artwork, but from what I can tell her proportions are pretty off, with the art being much bustier and curvier, with a slightly larger head. The actual style of it, pretty decent replication. I believe the pose is based off one of the official illustrations in the book. Due to the age of the figure and perhaps budge restrictions, you might notice that the left foot is permanently on a wedge that allows you to connect it to the base, and the right food actually is supported by a pillar.
The statue comes with a short sword that can either be displayed in its sheath or in the left hand.
I had completely forgotten about this, but kotobukiya did actually do cast off for most of their Dead or Alive figures, though they're not naked underneath. This means that I believe Kasumi might actually be the only Queen's Gate release (I believe child Alice was Queen's Blade) to actually have some sort of cst off function.
The under represented curves are even more noticeable in cast off mode, The bra and panties look isn't bad and there's some decent detailing to be see. I guess is ultimately better than nothing, but you have to admit it looks kind of wierd with the forearm and shin guards still on. It's also somewhat of a paint to replace the holes left behind by the cast off parts with the little tiny bows.
Paint is pretty typical for Kotoubkiya of the time. Not looking for miracles just generally clean. with the occasional rough spot. That seems to be what was delivered. Flesh tones are smoothly applied and while the white on the main body isn't bad, the white trim on her outfit is pretty rough looking. Paint on the shor tsword is retty solid and has a nice two ton effect on the blade itself.
Build is kind of mixed. The statue needs some external support, which is pretty common for back then, though I suppose it happens these days too unless the statue has steel supports or something for a similar single foot pose. The actual cast off clothing is made of a softer, rubber like plastic which was pretty typical even on the Megahouse figure - for the record I have no idea if a post 2020 cast off still uses this tech, as the most recently release cast off I have would be from 2015 or so. This softness is great for making sure the parts don't break, but it's not great for tolerances. As an added bonus, the blade on my short sword snapped right at the hilt. I'm not sure if that was a me thing,, design thing, or an age thing, but it happened and had to be repaired.
DSC_8307
So this statue has taken me over a decade to find.
When I first learned of the Queen's Gate line, I figured it wouldn't be an overnight thing to actually get a good number of them. Like with most of my things, I basically waited for other to do the heavy lifting and when they were tired of them, I'd strike.
That finally happened this year (2024) at Anime North. I was actually kind of shocked because normally I can't find ANYTHING in the Vendor Room, and usually end up outside in the Artist Area or something for a random miracle to show up. This year, I only found deals in the Vendor Room and not the Night Market or other areas.
Kasumi here was made by Kotobukiya, who I guess had a stranglehold on the Dead or Alive license at the time. I recall them doing the various Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 statues, and I think even a non Xtreme Ayane.
I feel they did a decent job of capturing the artwork, but from what I can tell her proportions are pretty off, with the art being much bustier and curvier, with a slightly larger head. The actual style of it, pretty decent replication. I believe the pose is based off one of the official illustrations in the book. Due to the age of the figure and perhaps budge restrictions, you might notice that the left foot is permanently on a wedge that allows you to connect it to the base, and the right food actually is supported by a pillar.
The statue comes with a short sword that can either be displayed in its sheath or in the left hand.
I had completely forgotten about this, but kotobukiya did actually do cast off for most of their Dead or Alive figures, though they're not naked underneath. This means that I believe Kasumi might actually be the only Queen's Gate release (I believe child Alice was Queen's Blade) to actually have some sort of cst off function.
The under represented curves are even more noticeable in cast off mode, The bra and panties look isn't bad and there's some decent detailing to be see. I guess is ultimately better than nothing, but you have to admit it looks kind of wierd with the forearm and shin guards still on. It's also somewhat of a paint to replace the holes left behind by the cast off parts with the little tiny bows.
Paint is pretty typical for Kotoubkiya of the time. Not looking for miracles just generally clean. with the occasional rough spot. That seems to be what was delivered. Flesh tones are smoothly applied and while the white on the main body isn't bad, the white trim on her outfit is pretty rough looking. Paint on the shor tsword is retty solid and has a nice two ton effect on the blade itself.
Build is kind of mixed. The statue needs some external support, which is pretty common for back then, though I suppose it happens these days too unless the statue has steel supports or something for a similar single foot pose. The actual cast off clothing is made of a softer, rubber like plastic which was pretty typical even on the Megahouse figure - for the record I have no idea if a post 2020 cast off still uses this tech, as the most recently release cast off I have would be from 2015 or so. This softness is great for making sure the parts don't break, but it's not great for tolerances. As an added bonus, the blade on my short sword snapped right at the hilt. I'm not sure if that was a me thing,, design thing, or an age thing, but it happened and had to be repaired.