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Well, so the first preorder of Magic Mirror is ongoing! And to help us spread the love, I've decided to start a Facebook contest, that can result on bringing your favourite girl home for free!
These are the rules:
-This promotion is ongoing from the 16th of October until the 21th.
-''Like'' Magic Mirror Facebook page
-''Like'' this post and share it!
-For every social media that you use to share it, you will have one chance to win. The allowed social media are the following: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr. You can have up to 4 participations.
-Come back here and post a reply in this post, adding the links to your shares so I can verify them. And good luck!
These are the prizes:
NOTE: All the discounts apply to basic doll only (Faceup, Bodyblush, Special Customization and Wig are not included)
-If the Magic Mirror facebook page reaches 750 ''Like'': You will have Saoirse OR Siobhan for free in Pink White skin!
-If the Magic Mirror mirror Facebook does not reach 750 ''Like'', the winner still will have a 50% discount when preordering his/her fairy (Of course, you can give up the prize if you do not want it, and more draws will be done until a valid winner is found!)
-If the winner has already submitted a preorder, but the Facebook site didn't reach 750 ''Like'', he or she still will have a 75% discount to the order.
-If the winner has already made his/her preorder, and the Facebook site reached the 750 ''Like'', he or she can either choose to have the Pink White doll for free, or to have his preordered doll for free instead.
-If the site reaches 1000 ''Like''... it will be a very special surprise for the winner, PLUS the free doll!!
So, let's share!
Shinku arrived last November, I had preordered her and fell in love on her first photoshoot.
But then, I almost sold her last spring! o_O Fortunately, the buyer wasnt reliable and I had to keep her. Now, I am very glad I did!
More Transformers goodness that has been sitting there for about 6 months now.
One of the more awesome things to come out of the PotP line was Abominus, the combiner formed from the Terrorcons. This combiner was, as expected, a G1 character that was released to oppose Computron, whose updated set was release during the Combiner Wars line. Unlike Computron, however, Abominus saw zero screen time during the recent animated trilogy, which is a shame because I'd like to have seen him interact with Computron.
I had cracked open Hun-Grr and Rippersnapper last year, but gotten the rest of the team by the Summer. didn't really open anything else up because I was waiting for the one thing to bring them all together - the Transform Dreamwave upgrade kit.
Transform Dreamwave (TDW) is one of the newer 3P companies to come on the scene, and effectively presents itself as better valued Perfect Effects (PE) alternative. I only have one PE upgrade kit - the one for Computron, so I can't really comment on any of their hands and feet options. But the PE stuff I did get was very well made, and Abominus needed some love so I figured why not?
Well, the set finally arrived, and I unpacked everything and did some photos, made some notes, and now present to you my findings, starting with my assessment of the rest of the Terrorcon team.
As with most combiner limbs, regardless of the era, they're generally functional in all modes with no real winner as there is reuse and remoulding of parts as much as possible to reduce production costs. To complicate matters, as it were, the Terrorcons are all monsters of sorts, so even their alt modes are kind of arbitrary. Also, as is the new norm, the accessories they came with are rather meh, though I'm trying to decide which is more boring - the weapons, or the fist/armour bits.
Having said that, some are less boring to look at than others, and my vote for best Terrorcon limb goes to Blot, the black and purple fellow. I love the colour scheme and the "not quite a block with arms and legs" look he's got going for him.
Overall, winner by a large margin.
So back to TDW. They actually came to my attention first with their Volcanicus upgrade kit (soon to be discussed) but when I preordered the Abominus kit the Volcanicus kit had not arrived yet, so I did so with blind faith.
For those who are unfamiliar with TDW and PE, as you suspect, their upgrade kits make the default combiners from Hasbro/Takara into magnificent looking bastards which sadly still have the underlying problems of really crappy loose joints.
Much like the PE set, the TDW set has their combiner fists and feet being able to separate and transform, as applicable, into weapons for the smaller bots and wield. The TDW sets try to one up PE by making EVERYTHING into a weapon or accessory for the smaller bots, thus increasing it's value as it were, but honestly I don't know of many people who would be taking advantage of I'm fairly confident that most folks would stick with the combined mode anyway because lets face it, the individual bots are above average overall.
Unlike PE, however, I've noticed that TDW has parts to increase thigh thickness of the combined mode, as well as in the case of Abominus, additional parts to expand the torso size due to the installation of the chest shield.
Installed, the set does definitely do the job of making the combined mode much more visually appealing, which as mentioned, is limited by the crap joints that are in the base product.
I know there are lots of people who complain about the QC on Hasbro products, but generally it's an issue with poor paint apps. The QC with these sets is all over the place, which I guess is not out of the realm of expectations for a smaller manufacturer, but it really does put the reality of Hasbro and Takara being better at something in perspective.
Between Volcanicus and Abominus, the biggest issues I saw were:
- poor paint apps, most prevalent on the silver guns in the feet
- poor hinge tolerance on the feet, leading them to split apart when weight is applied
- peg tolerances being too large resulting in difficulty inserting into the figures
So yeah, buyer beware, but again if you're not looking too closely you're generally good to go.
More Transformers goodness that has been sitting there for about 6 months now.
One of the more awesome things to come out of the PotP line was Abominus, the combiner formed from the Terrorcons. This combiner was, as expected, a G1 character that was released to oppose Computron, whose updated set was release during the Combiner Wars line. Unlike Computron, however, Abominus saw zero screen time during the recent animated trilogy, which is a shame because I'd like to have seen him interact with Computron.
I had cracked open Hun-Grr and Rippersnapper last year, but gotten the rest of the team by the Summer. didn't really open anything else up because I was waiting for the one thing to bring them all together - the Transform Dreamwave upgrade kit.
Transform Dreamwave (TDW) is one of the newer 3P companies to come on the scene, and effectively presents itself as better valued Perfect Effects (PE) alternative. I only have one PE upgrade kit - the one for Computron, so I can't really comment on any of their hands and feet options. But the PE stuff I did get was very well made, and Abominus needed some love so I figured why not?
Well, the set finally arrived, and I unpacked everything and did some photos, made some notes, and now present to you my findings, starting with my assessment of the rest of the Terrorcon team.
As with most combiner limbs, regardless of the era, they're generally functional in all modes with no real winner as there is reuse and remoulding of parts as much as possible to reduce production costs. To complicate matters, as it were, the Terrorcons are all monsters of sorts, so even their alt modes are kind of arbitrary. Also, as is the new norm, the accessories they came with are rather meh, though I'm trying to decide which is more boring - the weapons, or the fist/armour bits.
Having said that, some are less boring to look at than others, and my vote for best Terrorcon limb goes to Blot, the black and purple fellow. I love the colour scheme and the "not quite a block with arms and legs" look he's got going for him.
Overall, winner by a large margin.
So back to TDW. They actually came to my attention first with their Volcanicus upgrade kit (soon to be discussed) but when I preordered the Abominus kit the Volcanicus kit had not arrived yet, so I did so with blind faith.
For those who are unfamiliar with TDW and PE, as you suspect, their upgrade kits make the default combiners from Hasbro/Takara into magnificent looking bastards which sadly still have the underlying problems of really crappy loose joints.
Much like the PE set, the TDW set has their combiner fists and feet being able to separate and transform, as applicable, into weapons for the smaller bots and wield. The TDW sets try to one up PE by making EVERYTHING into a weapon or accessory for the smaller bots, thus increasing it's value as it were, but honestly I don't know of many people who would be taking advantage of I'm fairly confident that most folks would stick with the combined mode anyway because lets face it, the individual bots are above average overall.
Unlike PE, however, I've noticed that TDW has parts to increase thigh thickness of the combined mode, as well as in the case of Abominus, additional parts to expand the torso size due to the installation of the chest shield.
Installed, the set does definitely do the job of making the combined mode much more visually appealing, which as mentioned, is limited by the crap joints that are in the base product.
I know there are lots of people who complain about the QC on Hasbro products, but generally it's an issue with poor paint apps. The QC with these sets is all over the place, which I guess is not out of the realm of expectations for a smaller manufacturer, but it really does put the reality of Hasbro and Takara being better at something in perspective.
Between Volcanicus and Abominus, the biggest issues I saw were:
- poor paint apps, most prevalent on the silver guns in the feet
- poor hinge tolerance on the feet, leading them to split apart when weight is applied
- peg tolerances being too large resulting in difficulty inserting into the figures
So yeah, buyer beware, but again if you're not looking too closely you're generally good to go.
She FINALLY has her blue hair thanks to leeke world! The had this gorgeous blue available for preordered wigs.
Neela is my first full custom based on my Blue Girl drawing. Krista did her piercings for me. I might need to get lighter chips for her and revamp her face-up one day. Or commission someone... Meh.
Not my pic of course.
I don't usually go for these kind of dolls, but I really like this one, so I preordered her.
The Limited Edition Ariel and Eric Doll Set, #12 of 6000, in their display case, with the clear acrylic cover removed. None of the factory restraints have been removed, but I have cleaned up Ariel's face a bit, and cut off a loose thread from her blouse. Photographed using built-in camera flash.
My pre-ordered Ariel and Eric Doll Set, from the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection. It arrived on October 15, 2013, and I was thrilled to see that they are numbered #012 of 6000! It matches the number of the other doll sets in the pre-order, except that Snow White and the Prince is #4508 of 6000. There are some slight scratches on the gold nameplate and on the acrylic cover of the display case, but they are very minor, and don't diminish the look of the set. Ariel's head is posed a bit awkwardly, but I'll see if I can adjust it a bit without undoing any of the shipping restraints. There is also a loose thread hanging from the left sleeve of Ariel's blouse. Otherwise, Ariel and Eric look very beautiful, and in perfect shape. I'm so happy that I have them after failing to get them in the in-store raffle earlier in the day.
I'm not going to debox the dolls in this set, but I am going to take photos of it boxed, with the cover sleeve off, and with the clear acrylic cover off, to show off the dolls as much as possible without actually removing them from their factory restraints.
Disney Fairytale Designer Collection
US Disney Store
Release In-Store: October 15, 2013
Release Online: October 16, 2013 (at 12 AM PDT)
Sold Out Online: October 16, 2013 (by 12:15 AM)
Pre-ordered at the D23 Expo, August 9, 2013
Received October 15, 2013.
#12 of 6000
Product information from the US Disney Store website:
Ariel and Prince Eric Doll Set - Disney Fairytale Designer Collection
$129.95
Item No. 6070040900891P
Above the sea
The red-headed Ariel gets her wish to be out of the sea and with her handsome prince, Eric, in this pair of limited-edition dolls. Part of the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection, they feature elegantly detailed costumes.
Magic in the details...
Please Note: Each Guest will be limited to ordering a maximum of one of this item per order.
As part of the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection this pair of Ariel and Prince Eric dolls were carefully crafted by artists inspired by Disney's 1989 movie The Little Mermaid. The Disney Princess and handsome Prince have been reimagined in exquisite detail with these limited edition dolls. Brought to life with thoughtful attention, they uniquely capture the essence of the fairytale couple, creating a one of a kind set that will be a treasured keepsake of collectors, Disney fans, and every princess at heart!
•Global Limited Editon of 6000
•Includes Certificate of Authenticity
•Ariel features her signature red curls tied back with a blue satin bow
•Rooted eyelashes
•Lacey off-shoulder neckline
•Satin and velvet bodice with embroidery and rhinestone accents
•Embroidered taffeta overlay with printed inset hemmed with lace trim at the bottom
•Prince Eric features billowy satin shirt with embroidered detailing
•Crimson sash, belt and matching boots
•Dolls sold in a special keepsake display case with intricate details on the base, including a golden plate with the name of Ariel and Eric
•Includes special Disney Fairytale Designer Collection Gift Bag
•Part of the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection
* Intended for adult collectors -- Not a child's toy.
The bare necessities
•Plastic / polyester
•Ariel: 11 1/2'' H
•Prince Eric: 12'' H
•Imported
I impulse-preordered Guava at HLJ last month ... and I've had my index on the "cancel preorder" button for days.. I was just waiting for these promo pics first.
I don't know what to do! I'm broke!
So today is harry potter reading day and i have to admit that i set no alarm to wake me to go by my preordered copy. i ate breakfast slowly i dawdled in town after i bought it and when i got home i soent at least an hour using the beautiful sun to take doll pictures in the garden...
mostly I was putting of the trauma of there being no more new harry potter after today and how badly jk might fuck the whole thing up.
For Obelia once i set myself up in bed to start readiing the anticipation was almost too much to bear!
Takara Legends Arcee and Nightbird
As part of the Legends series, Takara released 6 figures nicknamed the Fembots because.. well, they were female. Unfortunately, for some odd reason, I completely dropped the ball when it came to preordering ALL of them, so it's a slow, painful crawl to acquire them all.
I'm finally up to three of them, with the focus of this blurb on two toys that share moulds - Arcee and Nightbird.
Arcee is a character that I've gotten a few figures for, and should super very familiar to those even only remotely interested in Transformers lore. The Legends toys was released by Hasbro as part of the Generations line... sort of.
Arcee was one of the toys that Canada got completely shafted out of due to some language law kerfuffle, so my choices were pretty much to either buy a scalper price US version, or just go Takara.
Easy choice.
The toy is of course, based on her G1 appearance. The silhouette of the figure is quite nice, definitely quite feminine in appear without being over the top. Arcee is armed with two swords and two guns. I don't exactly remember her ever using the swords in the original series, but this could have been influenced by her Animated appearance as well.
The only real sore point of this figure is the absolute lack of waist articulation, which is unfortunate, but not quite possible given the transformation she uses. I also noticed the upper right shoulder on mine looks like it was stressed by being pulled the wrong way, but I suspect I got a bum one from the QC department.
Vehicle mode is nicely sculpted, and even has a painted interior with some nice detailing.
The main differences between the Hasbro version and the Takara version are the strength of the pink used, and the paint apps on her face. I don't think Hasbro Arcee had a pink face, and definitely it's a Hasbro "No No" to have any form of actual expression on their toys.
Nightbird is a character that I'm not familiar with myself, but it seems she was a G1 character that was the creation of a Mad Scientist, designed to be a robotic Ninja.
It was the 80s.... all Mad Scientists did WAS cause shit.
Her toy is a predominately silver and black repaint of the Arcee toy, and while in vehicle mode the two look very similar, they are almost like two different toys.
For starters, the use of of metallic silver paint is a stark contrast to the black plastics and highlight various body parts more so than with Arcee, especially in the legs. Obviously, there is that new headsculpt, and equally obvious should be the addition of two melee weapons, a pair of Sais.
Naturally, as one would expect, the two figures share the same strengths and weaknesses. I guess if I had to add one more thing to the Nightbird side of the equation it's that I wish the wheels weren't black as aesthetically they tend to blend in with the chassis of the car.
It's not often that I get so many great dolls at once! I got my first Chip and Poppy set today, and tomorrow I should get the other set I preordered and my first Hansel. I got my first Amelie come with the couple from a dealer and a nude Go Home Dorothy from Rich (thank you)! I've been thinking of getting these two girls since last year when I first saw pictures of them, but I just didn't get around to doing it until now. Better late than never! ;-)
Remember Reach!
My roommate preordered Halo Reach and the new Xbox 360 Reach Edition so he picked it up at midnight and we have only stopped playing to go to class and take this photo. This game is truly a masterpiece.
Comments, notes, and favs appreciated!
I JUST recently got the Fujifilm Finepix X100. I preordered it on March 14, 2011 and it arrived in my hands on April 02, 2011.
I was lucky enough to find a store that had a LOW preorder list! The store had 8 preorders, and they received 3 from Fuji Canada. Luckily for me, i made the cut, and I was #3 of 3 cameras.
Anyways, today, I decided to walk around Steveston, BC for a quick street test of the Fujifilm X100. All I can say is, WOW! This camera is FANTASTIC! I feel invisible when I am taking street shots! I definitely feel a lot more liberated as oppose to when I use my 5D Mark II. I'm still getting used to the camera so I hope to improve my speed when handling the camera. It'll probably take a week or something to do just that.
Anyways, here's some test shots from Steveston, BC.
When I heard they were making Pokémon Hanafuda cards, I immediately got on to Serge, who kindly preordered and sent them over with my 2014 calendar. Here's the full set. Love that most of the original 105 are on these, but from a distance they just seem like the traditional cards. I have no idea how the game is played btw :p
The doll that caused me to become a doll collector. Milou, by designer Wendy Roper, is made of white vinyl. She has a Art Deco air about her and a 40s wardrobe (well, just this one gown so far). I preordered her last December and production delays caused her to only just arrive last week. It was worth the wait for I am delighted with her!
My baby boy is getting soooooo big and grownup..... sniff....
Homecoming banquet on Saturday night.
Matthew had asked Bethany ( strictly a friend, Matthew tells me ) to the Homecoming banquet some time ago, and she said yes. But Matthew had asked me if we could go to the store and buys some flowers for her 5 days before the banquet.
"Sure" I said.. "..but don't you want to wait and get them the day before the banquet? " I asked.....
"Dad", he said.... " I don't know how it was when you went to dances, but this is how WE roll " !!! Oh my goodness.. I was rolling inside!!!!
He also had to go to her house and officially ask her father for his permission to take her.
Then... on the night of the banquet, he tells me that he needs to get a corsage for her. We drove to the local Safeway grocery store where the sell flowers, but no one there who could make one. We drove down the main road looking for a florist, when we drove into the Raley's shopping market. They asked if we preordered...no... Sorry, they said... we cant help you, then....aaurgh... We ended up at a Bel Air store and found someone who makes them. " Did you preorder ?" Sigh.."..no, I didnt" I told her. She rolls her eyes and makes one to Matthew's specifications and tells us it'll be a half hour. 30 minutes later, she's done and implores me to call ahead next time. Sure, I thought.. no problem I just couldnt beleive what a trouble it was for her.. I mean, she was just sitting there reading a TV Guide.. so it's not like I was having her paint the Mona Lisa for me... gosh..!!!
Matthew and Bethany had a GREAT time and I'm so proud of him for being a gentleman to her.
The second of two scale statues that I preordered in 2022 was the Mai Shiranui from the Kotobukiya Bishoujo lineup. Well she arrived along with a crap ton of other things I'd been sitting on in October or so, and I've finally had time to open her up.
The statue is, as always, based on the artwork of on Shunya Yamashita, who in case I never mentioned it, is the artist for the entirety of the Koto Bishoujo stuff, including those.. delightful My Little Pony things and the Optimus Prime and Megatron.
She (I believe it's "she") has a distinct art style, with very distinctive face, eyes and curves. Not really much for musculature unless it's absolutely necessary, which on Mai is definitely not really an issue provided you get the curves.
It's a nice piece of art, but I much prefer the art of Kinu Nishimura, and I do wish I still had my 1/6 Mai Shiranui based on her artwork from back in the day.
The statue itself is roughly 1/8 scale, so it's not tiny, but it's certainly not going to take up too much room, even if the base is a bit on the wide side. Stance is Mai's classic fighting pose, though I suspect her facial expression is a bit more flirty than her on the battlefield.
Transition to statue from art handled like they typically do, meaning the overall shape is about right. This time, there were no real liberties taken with the pose. Eyes are their usual smidgen off accuracy.
Overall finished product appears good. Admittedly, I didn't look super hard, but I did not notice any seamlines or other blemishes that usually annoy me, even in the hair. Paintwork is great, with no overspray or other similar issues. Texture is smooth overall.
You might notice that Mai appears to be kind of glossy, especially for a relatively higher end statue. Well, from what I've read, it seems that Kotobukiya made her this way in order to replicate the heavily oiled look Yamashita gave her in the art work. I can sort of see it, though I personally feel that limiting the gloss to the fleshy sections would have been sufficient.
As several others have stated, this does make the entire statue look like it's supposed to be about two price points lower than the MSRP. I don't think I'm bored enough to spray the statue with matte clearcoat in order to remedy this.
The second of two scale statues that I preordered in 2022 was the Mai Shiranui from the Kotobukiya Bishoujo lineup. Well she arrived along with a crap ton of other things I'd been sitting on in October or so, and I've finally had time to open her up.
The statue is, as always, based on the artwork of on Shunya Yamashita, who in case I never mentioned it, is the artist for the entirety of the Koto Bishoujo stuff, including those.. delightful My Little Pony things and the Optimus Prime and Megatron.
She (I believe it's "she") has a distinct art style, with very distinctive face, eyes and curves. Not really much for musculature unless it's absolutely necessary, which on Mai is definitely not really an issue provided you get the curves.
It's a nice piece of art, but I much prefer the art of Kinu Nishimura, and I do wish I still had my 1/6 Mai Shiranui based on her artwork from back in the day.
The statue itself is roughly 1/8 scale, so it's not tiny, but it's certainly not going to take up too much room, even if the base is a bit on the wide side. Stance is Mai's classic fighting pose, though I suspect her facial expression is a bit more flirty than her on the battlefield.
Transition to statue from art handled like they typically do, meaning the overall shape is about right. This time, there were no real liberties taken with the pose. Eyes are their usual smidgen off accuracy.
Overall finished product appears good. Admittedly, I didn't look super hard, but I did not notice any seamlines or other blemishes that usually annoy me, even in the hair. Paintwork is great, with no overspray or other similar issues. Texture is smooth overall.
You might notice that Mai appears to be kind of glossy, especially for a relatively higher end statue. Well, from what I've read, it seems that Kotobukiya made her this way in order to replicate the heavily oiled look Yamashita gave her in the art work. I can sort of see it, though I personally feel that limiting the gloss to the fleshy sections would have been sufficient.
As several others have stated, this does make the entire statue look like it's supposed to be about two price points lower than the MSRP. I don't think I'm bored enough to spray the statue with matte clearcoat in order to remedy this.
The Six-Pack team are from Long Island NY *(near New York City) They preordered our services during the tournament
Takara Legends Arcee and Nightbird
As part of the Legends series, Takara released 6 figures nicknamed the Fembots because.. well, they were female. Unfortunately, for some odd reason, I completely dropped the ball when it came to preordering ALL of them, so it's a slow, painful crawl to acquire them all.
I'm finally up to three of them, with the focus of this blurb on two toys that share moulds - Arcee and Nightbird.
Arcee is a character that I've gotten a few figures for, and should super very familiar to those even only remotely interested in Transformers lore. The Legends toys was released by Hasbro as part of the Generations line... sort of.
Arcee was one of the toys that Canada got completely shafted out of due to some language law kerfuffle, so my choices were pretty much to either buy a scalper price US version, or just go Takara.
Easy choice.
The toy is of course, based on her G1 appearance. The silhouette of the figure is quite nice, definitely quite feminine in appear without being over the top. Arcee is armed with two swords and two guns. I don't exactly remember her ever using the swords in the original series, but this could have been influenced by her Animated appearance as well.
The only real sore point of this figure is the absolute lack of waist articulation, which is unfortunate, but not quite possible given the transformation she uses. I also noticed the upper right shoulder on mine looks like it was stressed by being pulled the wrong way, but I suspect I got a bum one from the QC department.
Vehicle mode is nicely sculpted, and even has a painted interior with some nice detailing.
The main differences between the Hasbro version and the Takara version are the strength of the pink used, and the paint apps on her face. I don't think Hasbro Arcee had a pink face, and definitely it's a Hasbro "No No" to have any form of actual expression on their toys.
Nightbird is a character that I'm not familiar with myself, but it seems she was a G1 character that was the creation of a Mad Scientist, designed to be a robotic Ninja.
It was the 80s.... all Mad Scientists did WAS cause shit.
Her toy is a predominately silver and black repaint of the Arcee toy, and while in vehicle mode the two look very similar, they are almost like two different toys.
For starters, the use of of metallic silver paint is a stark contrast to the black plastics and highlight various body parts more so than with Arcee, especially in the legs. Obviously, there is that new headsculpt, and equally obvious should be the addition of two melee weapons, a pair of Sais.
Naturally, as one would expect, the two figures share the same strengths and weaknesses. I guess if I had to add one more thing to the Nightbird side of the equation it's that I wish the wheels weren't black as aesthetically they tend to blend in with the chassis of the car.
This has happened three times to me -- I preorder a book a week or more before release, then I'm given an insane delivery estimate, and when the item is released, I don't get it on day one.
For Cory Doctorow's latest book, I preordered it a month or two before it came out, and when I checked my account on the day it was up for sale on Amazon, the projected date was months ahead of time. I created a new order and noticed I could have it in a couple days, so I cancelled my preorder.
For my new Movable Type book, if you look at the dates of order, the July 13, 2005 was a pre-order before release, with a ship date estimated at Sept 14, 2005.
The July 23, 2005 order was made when the book page said it was in stock and ready to ship "in less than 24 hours". So I canceled my pre-order and went with my new one. Again.
Pre-orders should just work.
The second of two scale statues that I preordered in 2022 was the Mai Shiranui from the Kotobukiya Bishoujo lineup. Well she arrived along with a crap ton of other things I'd been sitting on in October or so, and I've finally had time to open her up.
The statue is, as always, based on the artwork of on Shunya Yamashita, who in case I never mentioned it, is the artist for the entirety of the Koto Bishoujo stuff, including those.. delightful My Little Pony things and the Optimus Prime and Megatron.
She (I believe it's "she") has a distinct art style, with very distinctive face, eyes and curves. Not really much for musculature unless it's absolutely necessary, which on Mai is definitely not really an issue provided you get the curves.
It's a nice piece of art, but I much prefer the art of Kinu Nishimura, and I do wish I still had my 1/6 Mai Shiranui based on her artwork from back in the day.
The statue itself is roughly 1/8 scale, so it's not tiny, but it's certainly not going to take up too much room, even if the base is a bit on the wide side. Stance is Mai's classic fighting pose, though I suspect her facial expression is a bit more flirty than her on the battlefield.
Transition to statue from art handled like they typically do, meaning the overall shape is about right. This time, there were no real liberties taken with the pose. Eyes are their usual smidgen off accuracy.
Overall finished product appears good. Admittedly, I didn't look super hard, but I did not notice any seamlines or other blemishes that usually annoy me, even in the hair. Paintwork is great, with no overspray or other similar issues. Texture is smooth overall.
You might notice that Mai appears to be kind of glossy, especially for a relatively higher end statue. Well, from what I've read, it seems that Kotobukiya made her this way in order to replicate the heavily oiled look Yamashita gave her in the art work. I can sort of see it, though I personally feel that limiting the gloss to the fleshy sections would have been sufficient.
As several others have stated, this does make the entire statue look like it's supposed to be about two price points lower than the MSRP. I don't think I'm bored enough to spray the statue with matte clearcoat in order to remedy this.
The second of two scale statues that I preordered in 2022 was the Mai Shiranui from the Kotobukiya Bishoujo lineup. Well she arrived along with a crap ton of other things I'd been sitting on in October or so, and I've finally had time to open her up.
The statue is, as always, based on the artwork of on Shunya Yamashita, who in case I never mentioned it, is the artist for the entirety of the Koto Bishoujo stuff, including those.. delightful My Little Pony things and the Optimus Prime and Megatron.
She (I believe it's "she") has a distinct art style, with very distinctive face, eyes and curves. Not really much for musculature unless it's absolutely necessary, which on Mai is definitely not really an issue provided you get the curves.
It's a nice piece of art, but I much prefer the art of Kinu Nishimura, and I do wish I still had my 1/6 Mai Shiranui based on her artwork from back in the day.
The statue itself is roughly 1/8 scale, so it's not tiny, but it's certainly not going to take up too much room, even if the base is a bit on the wide side. Stance is Mai's classic fighting pose, though I suspect her facial expression is a bit more flirty than her on the battlefield.
Transition to statue from art handled like they typically do, meaning the overall shape is about right. This time, there were no real liberties taken with the pose. Eyes are their usual smidgen off accuracy.
Overall finished product appears good. Admittedly, I didn't look super hard, but I did not notice any seamlines or other blemishes that usually annoy me, even in the hair. Paintwork is great, with no overspray or other similar issues. Texture is smooth overall.
You might notice that Mai appears to be kind of glossy, especially for a relatively higher end statue. Well, from what I've read, it seems that Kotobukiya made her this way in order to replicate the heavily oiled look Yamashita gave her in the art work. I can sort of see it, though I personally feel that limiting the gloss to the fleshy sections would have been sufficient.
As several others have stated, this does make the entire statue look like it's supposed to be about two price points lower than the MSRP. I don't think I'm bored enough to spray the statue with matte clearcoat in order to remedy this.
Takara Legends Arcee and Nightbird
As part of the Legends series, Takara released 6 figures nicknamed the Fembots because.. well, they were female. Unfortunately, for some odd reason, I completely dropped the ball when it came to preordering ALL of them, so it's a slow, painful crawl to acquire them all.
I'm finally up to three of them, with the focus of this blurb on two toys that share moulds - Arcee and Nightbird.
Arcee is a character that I've gotten a few figures for, and should super very familiar to those even only remotely interested in Transformers lore. The Legends toys was released by Hasbro as part of the Generations line... sort of.
Arcee was one of the toys that Canada got completely shafted out of due to some language law kerfuffle, so my choices were pretty much to either buy a scalper price US version, or just go Takara.
Easy choice.
The toy is of course, based on her G1 appearance. The silhouette of the figure is quite nice, definitely quite feminine in appear without being over the top. Arcee is armed with two swords and two guns. I don't exactly remember her ever using the swords in the original series, but this could have been influenced by her Animated appearance as well.
The only real sore point of this figure is the absolute lack of waist articulation, which is unfortunate, but not quite possible given the transformation she uses. I also noticed the upper right shoulder on mine looks like it was stressed by being pulled the wrong way, but I suspect I got a bum one from the QC department.
Vehicle mode is nicely sculpted, and even has a painted interior with some nice detailing.
The main differences between the Hasbro version and the Takara version are the strength of the pink used, and the paint apps on her face. I don't think Hasbro Arcee had a pink face, and definitely it's a Hasbro "No No" to have any form of actual expression on their toys.
Nightbird is a character that I'm not familiar with myself, but it seems she was a G1 character that was the creation of a Mad Scientist, designed to be a robotic Ninja.
It was the 80s.... all Mad Scientists did WAS cause shit.
Her toy is a predominately silver and black repaint of the Arcee toy, and while in vehicle mode the two look very similar, they are almost like two different toys.
For starters, the use of of metallic silver paint is a stark contrast to the black plastics and highlight various body parts more so than with Arcee, especially in the legs. Obviously, there is that new headsculpt, and equally obvious should be the addition of two melee weapons, a pair of Sais.
Naturally, as one would expect, the two figures share the same strengths and weaknesses. I guess if I had to add one more thing to the Nightbird side of the equation it's that I wish the wheels weren't black as aesthetically they tend to blend in with the chassis of the car.
Magic Mirror
Well, so the first preorder of Magic Mirror is ongoing! And to help us spread the love, I've decided to start a Facebook contest, that can result on bringing your favourite girl home for free!
These are the rules:
-This promotion is ongoing from the 16th of October until the 21th.
-''Like'' Magic Mirror Facebook page
-''Like'' this post and share it!
-For every social media that you use to share it, you will have one chance to win. The allowed social media are the following: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr. You can have up to 4 participations.
-Come back here and post a reply in this post, adding the links to your shares so I can verify them. And good luck!
These are the prizes:
NOTE: All the discounts apply to basic doll only (Faceup, Bodyblush, Special Customization and Wig are not included)
-If the Magic Mirror facebook page reaches 750 ''Like'': You will have Saoirse OR Siobhan for free in Pink White skin!
-If the Magic Mirror mirror Facebook does not reach 750 ''Like'', the winner still will have a 50% discount when preordering his/her fairy (Of course, you can give up the prize if you do not want it, and more draws will be done until a valid winner is found!)
-If the winner has already submitted a preorder, but the Facebook site didn't reach 750 ''Like'', he or she still will have a 75% discount to the order.
-If the winner has already made his/her preorder, and the Facebook site reached the 750 ''Like'', he or she can either choose to have the Pink White doll for free, or to have his preordered doll for free instead.
-If the site reaches 1000 ''Like''... it will be a very special surprise for the winner, PLUS the free doll!!
So, let's share!
The second of two scale statues that I preordered in 2022 was the Mai Shiranui from the Kotobukiya Bishoujo lineup. Well she arrived along with a crap ton of other things I'd been sitting on in October or so, and I've finally had time to open her up.
The statue is, as always, based on the artwork of on Shunya Yamashita, who in case I never mentioned it, is the artist for the entirety of the Koto Bishoujo stuff, including those.. delightful My Little Pony things and the Optimus Prime and Megatron.
She (I believe it's "she") has a distinct art style, with very distinctive face, eyes and curves. Not really much for musculature unless it's absolutely necessary, which on Mai is definitely not really an issue provided you get the curves.
It's a nice piece of art, but I much prefer the art of Kinu Nishimura, and I do wish I still had my 1/6 Mai Shiranui based on her artwork from back in the day.
The statue itself is roughly 1/8 scale, so it's not tiny, but it's certainly not going to take up too much room, even if the base is a bit on the wide side. Stance is Mai's classic fighting pose, though I suspect her facial expression is a bit more flirty than her on the battlefield.
Transition to statue from art handled like they typically do, meaning the overall shape is about right. This time, there were no real liberties taken with the pose. Eyes are their usual smidgen off accuracy.
Overall finished product appears good. Admittedly, I didn't look super hard, but I did not notice any seamlines or other blemishes that usually annoy me, even in the hair. Paintwork is great, with no overspray or other similar issues. Texture is smooth overall.
You might notice that Mai appears to be kind of glossy, especially for a relatively higher end statue. Well, from what I've read, it seems that Kotobukiya made her this way in order to replicate the heavily oiled look Yamashita gave her in the art work. I can sort of see it, though I personally feel that limiting the gloss to the fleshy sections would have been sufficient.
As several others have stated, this does make the entire statue look like it's supposed to be about two price points lower than the MSRP. I don't think I'm bored enough to spray the statue with matte clearcoat in order to remedy this.
One of the surprise (well.. sort of surprise) hits of the year is the second entry of their animated Spiderverse series. The story is alright, but the visuals are truly something extraordinary.
I actually didn't get anything from the first movie, so when Figuarts announced their preorders for the lineup from this move, I preordered them... and then proceeded to let them sit in a warehouse till Nendoroid Chun Li was released.
I'm not entire certain of the proportions per se, but I can say that the two are certainly looking about right, as the animated characters have a very unrealistic body style. Both feature two expressions under the mask (Gwen featuring two heads and Miles having interchangeable lenses), but Miles is the only one with an alternate unmasked head.
Other accessories are virtually identical. I believe the both have the same number of hands, the same assortment of web effects, and an actual stand, though I for the life of me could not pry the hole open on the base.
Both Miles and Gwen are very similar in terms of what the figures are capable of, which really shouldn't be surprising given that they have very similar body styles. The longer arms help Miles balance better when in crouched poses, but the junk in Gwen's trunk, combined with wider feet, allow Gwen to balance better. The hood accessory on Gwen does limit the articulation of the head, so you're probably gonna want to use the hood down effect piece for most of you posing needs.
Range of motion on the knees isn't quite deep enough for a true crouching pose, especially for Gwen, but there's certainly no shortage of actual joints, though for some reason the range of motion on the upper torso for Gwen vastly exceeds that of Miles.
A few minor things on Paint and Build. Paint wise, I noticed there was some paint chipping off one of the unmasked faces of Miles,I suspect the Digital Painting.... paint... doesn't quite adhere to the underlying plastic that strongly, or at least compared to the other paints used on the body. Otherwise, things are pretty much what you expect them to be.
Build wise, due to the nature of the beast, some joints can be a bit flimsy, especially compared to the more normally proportioned Figuarts, and for some reason the hair off my unmasked Gwen can come off the head, even though I'm pretty sure that it's not supposed to do that... unless there was some alternate hair piece for the Convention exclusive.
The second of two scale statues that I preordered in 2022 was the Mai Shiranui from the Kotobukiya Bishoujo lineup. Well she arrived along with a crap ton of other things I'd been sitting on in October or so, and I've finally had time to open her up.
The statue is, as always, based on the artwork of on Shunya Yamashita, who in case I never mentioned it, is the artist for the entirety of the Koto Bishoujo stuff, including those.. delightful My Little Pony things and the Optimus Prime and Megatron.
She (I believe it's "she") has a distinct art style, with very distinctive face, eyes and curves. Not really much for musculature unless it's absolutely necessary, which on Mai is definitely not really an issue provided you get the curves.
It's a nice piece of art, but I much prefer the art of Kinu Nishimura, and I do wish I still had my 1/6 Mai Shiranui based on her artwork from back in the day.
The statue itself is roughly 1/8 scale, so it's not tiny, but it's certainly not going to take up too much room, even if the base is a bit on the wide side. Stance is Mai's classic fighting pose, though I suspect her facial expression is a bit more flirty than her on the battlefield.
Transition to statue from art handled like they typically do, meaning the overall shape is about right. This time, there were no real liberties taken with the pose. Eyes are their usual smidgen off accuracy.
Overall finished product appears good. Admittedly, I didn't look super hard, but I did not notice any seamlines or other blemishes that usually annoy me, even in the hair. Paintwork is great, with no overspray or other similar issues. Texture is smooth overall.
You might notice that Mai appears to be kind of glossy, especially for a relatively higher end statue. Well, from what I've read, it seems that Kotobukiya made her this way in order to replicate the heavily oiled look Yamashita gave her in the art work. I can sort of see it, though I personally feel that limiting the gloss to the fleshy sections would have been sufficient.
As several others have stated, this does make the entire statue look like it's supposed to be about two price points lower than the MSRP. I don't think I'm bored enough to spray the statue with matte clearcoat in order to remedy this.
Takara Legends Arcee and Nightbird
As part of the Legends series, Takara released 6 figures nicknamed the Fembots because.. well, they were female. Unfortunately, for some odd reason, I completely dropped the ball when it came to preordering ALL of them, so it's a slow, painful crawl to acquire them all.
I'm finally up to three of them, with the focus of this blurb on two toys that share moulds - Arcee and Nightbird.
Arcee is a character that I've gotten a few figures for, and should super very familiar to those even only remotely interested in Transformers lore. The Legends toys was released by Hasbro as part of the Generations line... sort of.
Arcee was one of the toys that Canada got completely shafted out of due to some language law kerfuffle, so my choices were pretty much to either buy a scalper price US version, or just go Takara.
Easy choice.
The toy is of course, based on her G1 appearance. The silhouette of the figure is quite nice, definitely quite feminine in appear without being over the top. Arcee is armed with two swords and two guns. I don't exactly remember her ever using the swords in the original series, but this could have been influenced by her Animated appearance as well.
The only real sore point of this figure is the absolute lack of waist articulation, which is unfortunate, but not quite possible given the transformation she uses. I also noticed the upper right shoulder on mine looks like it was stressed by being pulled the wrong way, but I suspect I got a bum one from the QC department.
Vehicle mode is nicely sculpted, and even has a painted interior with some nice detailing.
The main differences between the Hasbro version and the Takara version are the strength of the pink used, and the paint apps on her face. I don't think Hasbro Arcee had a pink face, and definitely it's a Hasbro "No No" to have any form of actual expression on their toys.
Nightbird is a character that I'm not familiar with myself, but it seems she was a G1 character that was the creation of a Mad Scientist, designed to be a robotic Ninja.
It was the 80s.... all Mad Scientists did WAS cause shit.
Her toy is a predominately silver and black repaint of the Arcee toy, and while in vehicle mode the two look very similar, they are almost like two different toys.
For starters, the use of of metallic silver paint is a stark contrast to the black plastics and highlight various body parts more so than with Arcee, especially in the legs. Obviously, there is that new headsculpt, and equally obvious should be the addition of two melee weapons, a pair of Sais.
Naturally, as one would expect, the two figures share the same strengths and weaknesses. I guess if I had to add one more thing to the Nightbird side of the equation it's that I wish the wheels weren't black as aesthetically they tend to blend in with the chassis of the car.
This hat was won on eBay for $57, which included a sealed copy of Klonoa for the Wii. This hat was originally given out at GameCrazy if you preordered Klonoa, but due to poor advertisement, not very many very given out. Very, very rare. The last auction for the hat alone ended at $65.
Riolu sporting the new hat. :)
ホテル網走湖荘
Dinner at Hotel Abashirikoso. We had preordered two kani-gozen and two menme-zukushi meals when making the hotel reservation.
This dish is menme メンメ - I think it's either the same as kinki キンキ or a variant, but I'm not completely sure.
The Six-Pack team are from Long Island NY *(near New York City) They preordered our services during the tournament (Six-Pack-there's a club name you wouldn't get away with in Canada!)
The second of two scale statues that I preordered in 2022 was the Mai Shiranui from the Kotobukiya Bishoujo lineup. Well she arrived along with a crap ton of other things I'd been sitting on in October or so, and I've finally had time to open her up.
The statue is, as always, based on the artwork of on Shunya Yamashita, who in case I never mentioned it, is the artist for the entirety of the Koto Bishoujo stuff, including those.. delightful My Little Pony things and the Optimus Prime and Megatron.
She (I believe it's "she") has a distinct art style, with very distinctive face, eyes and curves. Not really much for musculature unless it's absolutely necessary, which on Mai is definitely not really an issue provided you get the curves.
It's a nice piece of art, but I much prefer the art of Kinu Nishimura, and I do wish I still had my 1/6 Mai Shiranui based on her artwork from back in the day.
The statue itself is roughly 1/8 scale, so it's not tiny, but it's certainly not going to take up too much room, even if the base is a bit on the wide side. Stance is Mai's classic fighting pose, though I suspect her facial expression is a bit more flirty than her on the battlefield.
Transition to statue from art handled like they typically do, meaning the overall shape is about right. This time, there were no real liberties taken with the pose. Eyes are their usual smidgen off accuracy.
Overall finished product appears good. Admittedly, I didn't look super hard, but I did not notice any seamlines or other blemishes that usually annoy me, even in the hair. Paintwork is great, with no overspray or other similar issues. Texture is smooth overall.
You might notice that Mai appears to be kind of glossy, especially for a relatively higher end statue. Well, from what I've read, it seems that Kotobukiya made her this way in order to replicate the heavily oiled look Yamashita gave her in the art work. I can sort of see it, though I personally feel that limiting the gloss to the fleshy sections would have been sufficient.
As several others have stated, this does make the entire statue look like it's supposed to be about two price points lower than the MSRP. I don't think I'm bored enough to spray the statue with matte clearcoat in order to remedy this.
Figma Lily Saber (1.0 and 2.0)
I've always liked Figma over Figuarts. Though from a quality perspective they're pretty close, it usually comes down to the licenses. One such license is the Fate Series, which is an anime adapted from an eroge (erotic game) which pits various spirits called servants, which are based off of historically important beings, into battle for each other.
I've only watched the first series, Fate/Stay Night, but it did leave a lasting impact on me as it was quite well adapted and introduced many interesting characters. One of these characters is the sword wielding Servant (aka Saber class) Artoria Pendragon, aka. King Arthur of Camelot.. but, you know, turned into a female.
For a while there (and to a certain degree even now), whenever you mentioned the name Saber in relation to the Fate series, most people turn to the though of this particular version.. effectively making her into the mascot for the series.
As she was quite popular, she spawn two addition versions, as it were - an Alter or "dark" version, which made an appearance in the game if you took the bad route, as it were, and Lily Saber, which I honestly have no idea, but I believe is sort of a prequel version to the more traditional version, as she is still somewhat kawaii and all that. Lily Saber was introduced in the Fates/Unlimited Codes fighting game.
Lily Saber is the focus of this particular discussion.
Having stated she was an original creation of the Fates/Unlimited Codes fighting game, the only way originally to get the Figma of this character was to buy the special edition of the game. Naturally, this lead to her being pretty expensive. There were Figma of Lily Saber not in her armoured dress, but I have no idea how hard they were to get.
Of course, things change, and a new armoured Lily Saber Figma ended up a general release figure as part of the Fates/Grand Order mobile game lineup.
There was about a decade of time between the original release and this newest one - surely it wasn't just a repackage, right?
Well, I'm happy to say that no, that is not the case.
Somewhere along the line of releasing 350+ figures, the Figma system got upgraded. They weren't bad to start with, but the new 2.0 bodies were generally bigger, had better designed bodies and limbs to allow for greater freedom of movement, and got rid of one of the most annoying things of the 1.0 bodies, the stupid needle thin plastic posts used to attach hands to the bodies.. I say stupid because I broke mine.
So with that out of the way, lets look at Lily Saber 1.0 & 2.0.
Both releases have their strengths. The 1.0 release only came with two expressions, but had an extra hair effect piece for that windswept look, an extra piece to convert the standard Figma stand into one with a grip rather than a peg, and one extra set of hands for a tilted hand grip. Furthermore, the paint on the armour pieces are a metallic silver versus a flatter pearl grey.
The 2.0 release, as mentioned, is a larger figure. It doesn't come with a windswept hair effect, but it does have a posable ponytail. This release comes with three expressions (with a bonus 4th one if you had preordered through the GSC store). Due to the nature of the wrist pegs, the tilted wrist fists are no longer needed and not included with this package. Furthermore, it's not your eyes, but rather, yes the colours seem to be brighter and more vibrant on the 2.0 release. Her face is different and more "formed", but I'm not sure if that was an artistic thing, or a source material thing.
Both only come with her entry level weapon, Caliburn, even though every PVC statue I've seen of her comes with Avalon, her second more powerful sword. Both figures feature the white lace stockings and undergarments.
I think what you'll find as the biggest difference between the two figures (and the dealbreaker/game changer) is that the 2.0 doesn't just have greater movement for the limbs (and hair), but it also has a much more articulated skirt. This allows for a greater variety of display options, presuming you're willing to take the time move the various panels into position.
So overall, while they both look nice, I think if you're going to add one Lily Saber to your collection you're probably better off just going straight to the 2.0 release. It's bigger, has more display options, and is more durable. But as I said before, 1.0 is no slouch either.
The Six-Pack team are from Long Island NY *(near New York City) They preordered our services during the tournament
The second of two scale statues that I preordered in 2022 was the Mai Shiranui from the Kotobukiya Bishoujo lineup. Well she arrived along with a crap ton of other things I'd been sitting on in October or so, and I've finally had time to open her up.
The statue is, as always, based on the artwork of on Shunya Yamashita, who in case I never mentioned it, is the artist for the entirety of the Koto Bishoujo stuff, including those.. delightful My Little Pony things and the Optimus Prime and Megatron.
She (I believe it's "she") has a distinct art style, with very distinctive face, eyes and curves. Not really much for musculature unless it's absolutely necessary, which on Mai is definitely not really an issue provided you get the curves.
It's a nice piece of art, but I much prefer the art of Kinu Nishimura, and I do wish I still had my 1/6 Mai Shiranui based on her artwork from back in the day.
The statue itself is roughly 1/8 scale, so it's not tiny, but it's certainly not going to take up too much room, even if the base is a bit on the wide side. Stance is Mai's classic fighting pose, though I suspect her facial expression is a bit more flirty than her on the battlefield.
Transition to statue from art handled like they typically do, meaning the overall shape is about right. This time, there were no real liberties taken with the pose. Eyes are their usual smidgen off accuracy.
Overall finished product appears good. Admittedly, I didn't look super hard, but I did not notice any seamlines or other blemishes that usually annoy me, even in the hair. Paintwork is great, with no overspray or other similar issues. Texture is smooth overall.
You might notice that Mai appears to be kind of glossy, especially for a relatively higher end statue. Well, from what I've read, it seems that Kotobukiya made her this way in order to replicate the heavily oiled look Yamashita gave her in the art work. I can sort of see it, though I personally feel that limiting the gloss to the fleshy sections would have been sufficient.
As several others have stated, this does make the entire statue look like it's supposed to be about two price points lower than the MSRP. I don't think I'm bored enough to spray the statue with matte clearcoat in order to remedy this.
Bill The Butcher shirts are up for preordering! missmonster.bigcartel.com/
Please keep in mind they will not ship for awhile due to printer turnaround times and time allowed for people to place preorders.
Takara Legends Arcee and Nightbird
As part of the Legends series, Takara released 6 figures nicknamed the Fembots because.. well, they were female. Unfortunately, for some odd reason, I completely dropped the ball when it came to preordering ALL of them, so it's a slow, painful crawl to acquire them all.
I'm finally up to three of them, with the focus of this blurb on two toys that share moulds - Arcee and Nightbird.
Arcee is a character that I've gotten a few figures for, and should super very familiar to those even only remotely interested in Transformers lore. The Legends toys was released by Hasbro as part of the Generations line... sort of.
Arcee was one of the toys that Canada got completely shafted out of due to some language law kerfuffle, so my choices were pretty much to either buy a scalper price US version, or just go Takara.
Easy choice.
The toy is of course, based on her G1 appearance. The silhouette of the figure is quite nice, definitely quite feminine in appear without being over the top. Arcee is armed with two swords and two guns. I don't exactly remember her ever using the swords in the original series, but this could have been influenced by her Animated appearance as well.
The only real sore point of this figure is the absolute lack of waist articulation, which is unfortunate, but not quite possible given the transformation she uses. I also noticed the upper right shoulder on mine looks like it was stressed by being pulled the wrong way, but I suspect I got a bum one from the QC department.
Vehicle mode is nicely sculpted, and even has a painted interior with some nice detailing.
The main differences between the Hasbro version and the Takara version are the strength of the pink used, and the paint apps on her face. I don't think Hasbro Arcee had a pink face, and definitely it's a Hasbro "No No" to have any form of actual expression on their toys.
Nightbird is a character that I'm not familiar with myself, but it seems she was a G1 character that was the creation of a Mad Scientist, designed to be a robotic Ninja.
It was the 80s.... all Mad Scientists did WAS cause shit.
Her toy is a predominately silver and black repaint of the Arcee toy, and while in vehicle mode the two look very similar, they are almost like two different toys.
For starters, the use of of metallic silver paint is a stark contrast to the black plastics and highlight various body parts more so than with Arcee, especially in the legs. Obviously, there is that new headsculpt, and equally obvious should be the addition of two melee weapons, a pair of Sais.
Naturally, as one would expect, the two figures share the same strengths and weaknesses. I guess if I had to add one more thing to the Nightbird side of the equation it's that I wish the wheels weren't black as aesthetically they tend to blend in with the chassis of the car.
i just preordered this little girl. :) i'm new to the momoko world but this version struck me so i cannot wait to welcome her home.
she'll be my second "non-bjd" girl other than my Leni, a T42 Blythe. :)
One of the most memorable Sega Arcade Classics is Golden Axe. My time was mostly spent with the Master System version, so it blew my mind to find out that there were actually three characters to choose from, as opposed to just Ax Battler.
Storm Collectibles "recently" started their lineup from this beautiful game. Bored out of my mind due to lockdown, I preordered one directly from Storm in HK, as our local "dealer" in Toronto is not really reliable.
The figure itself follows the tried and true Storm design, featuring a base figure that has all the major bases covered, with a soft rubber upper torso, which normally would have allowed for neck motion without visible joints.... but they seem to have gotten rid of that a while ago.
Not that there was a non Deluxe version, but I suppose for the $128 its a decent value. You get 8 additional hands, her sword, and her noble steed the Blue Dragon. It's a shame that you don't get any little elves to beat up for meat and magic potions.
The Blue Dragon itself is nice and hefty, and also has a decent amount of articulation. Flame effect is meant for use with it... unless you're bored like me.