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Surprise, surprise - I've been sitting on a bunch of figures, including the BT-02 Windgirl from Bingo Toys.
Besides being a strikingly good looking Fembot, the BT-02 caught the attention of the third party collectors market (or at least the ones that like T&A) not so much because of what she looks like, but rather, because of the fact the former front runner, BigFirebird Toys, seemed to have cancelled their own plans for a Windblade homage, rumoured due to a desire to avoid the ever watching gaze of Hasbro.
I'd never heard of Bingo Toys before, but I was told their previous release, a Shockwave figure I believe, fell into the "good value" territory, so with expectations adjusted I ordered one.
It's an interesting release to say the very least. Finishing up the aesthetics discussion, descriptions say this is their take on the IDW (comics) version. I've not read the comics, but I do own the original Windblade figure when she was more Geisha assassin than Magical Girl, so yes, I can see where that description is coming from.
Furthermore, Windgirl definitely has this very strong "mecha" aesthetic, very sleek and futuristic, relying on strong angular lines for most of the body. While there are obvious fantasized female characteristics, lets be honest, we've all seen much, much worse. Hell, I own some of the them.
For whatever reason, Flickr deleted my entire blurb, so I'm going to summarize my thoughts as follows - this is the product that I wish Bigfirebird Toy made. Not just Windblade per se, but rather, a figure with better QC and Engineering decisions.
Accessory wise, she's got several pairs of hands, including two pairs with questionable posing use, four faceplates ranging from neutral to "I'm laughing at your penis size", and a stand that I can't figure out how to use. There is no manual, just a stop motion video... which also doesn't cover the stand.
The figure holds together quite well and features very similar articulation to Nicee, including the fact that her every pose is basically hampered by the backpack. Joints, overall, appear to be under better control here, though to be fair Mocha wasn't bad - everything before her, on the other hand, was terrible. There's also better posing options for her hands as there's an additional forearm joint. Wing joints are tad on the loose side, whereas body joints are all fine.
Engineering wise, it's not bad. Some props need to be given as at least they didn't take the easy way out and simply make this a frame that you pop panels back on for the transformation. However, you will likely need to readjust some parts upon completion of said transformation, as misaligned limbs will result in a warped jet mode.
I just wish I could understand why the hip joints pivot at the upper corners of the cavity rather than the traditional positions.
For the $118 CAD I paid, Windgirl is a very solid product. Is it as good as Eris? Definitely not, but it's also not that expensive. Windgirl is, however, a better first impression than several other third party figures have given me, and for that I think I'd be willing to see where they go from here.
Have you ever heard of Osawa? Don't worry, neither have I, but they are among the many third-party lens makers in the mid to late 20th Century. And this lens seems to have a bit of a good reputation on the market. At the same time, it's far from being a perfect lens with a bit of distortion and softness wide open, overall an excellent kit zoom lens for the Olympus.
You can read the full review online
www.alexluyckx.com/blog/index.php/2022/03/21/optical-revi...
Nikon D750 - AF Nikkor 28-105mm 1:3.5-4.5D