Jun 24 2014

Star Wars: Mara Jade Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

It’s time for another installment of, “Kotobukiya is taking all my f’cking monies!” So far, they’ve raided my wallet for statues based on the DC, Marvel, Street Fighter, and even Ghostbusters licenses. Today I start down the Dark Path and forever will it dominate my bank account. It’s Star Wars Kotobukiya. Now, Koto is no stranger to the Star Wars license. They’ve been making ArtFX+ and Fine Art statues from the property for years, but they’ve just started introducing Star Wars to the Bishoujo line and that’s where I got on board. I’m starting with their second Star Wars Bishoujo, and it’s that red headed minx, Mara Jade.

The statue comes in a pretty simple black box with the Star Wars logo on the front and a rather limited window that shows off the statue’s portrait, as well as an arm socket. Yes, there is assembly required! The side panels show a shot of the statue as well as some of the line art. It’s not as flashy as the regular Bishoujo packages, but it works well enough for a Star Wars product. I will note that the packaging does its best to irritate my OCD. The front is clearly labeled as an ArtFX statue with no indication that it’s part of the Bishoujo line until you read the copy on the back of the box. Does it matter? Not really. What does matter is Koto equipped this gal with more than a few display options to embrace both her service to the Empire and her redemption. For the purposes of this feature I’m going to start out with my preferred method of display and then we’ll look at the other option.

Dayuum… check her out! Here’s living proof that Koto doesn’t have to show a lot of skin in a statue to make it sexy. Of course, a skin tight outfit and a killer bod does go a long way. Mara is wrapped in a two-tone blue bodysuit, which features all the usual little piping and wrinkles that they love to pack into these statue sculpts. I particularly like the um… ribbed padding on her inner thighs, the knee pads, and her high heeled combat boots. Yum! The use of both matte and gloss for the two materials also makes for a very dynamic contrast on this piece. Also, I’ll just go ahead and say it… that ass makes me want to cry.

In addition to the body suit, Mara sports a gun belt with a blaster sculpted into the holster and a snap down pouch on her backside. The blaster and holster look so good that I actually thought the pistol might come out. She also has straps on her biceps and a shoulder harness with a silver fixture clasp on the back. There’s a cloth scarf and a set of goggles, both of which are separate pieces and are added or removed by popping off the statue’s head.

The portrait here is exactly what I’ve come to expect from the Bishoujo line. Mara walks that line between cute and sexy. The face sculpt is quite soft and the paintwork on her lips, eyes and eyebrows is all immaculate. I’m also totally in love with how they did her flowing red hair. Just about every Koto Bishoujo statue goes for the windblown hair effect and they almost always nail it, but in this case, I think Mara’s hair just looks exceptionally well done. It also balances the composition of the piece quite nicely by countering her outstretched left arm. Mara’s right arm draws slightly behind her and the hand is sculpted to hold either of her lightsabers. The hilts on these are wonderfully detailed and they make use of a colored translucent plastic for the blade.

The statue’s base is a simple clear plastic disc right in line with what we’ve seen for the recent Chun-Li Bishoujo and the Tekken Bishoujos. It doesn’t waste any space as it’s barely larger than the figure itself and both the lightsaber and outstretched arm extend past it. The bottom of the base opens up and you can insert either a Rebel or Imperial insignia inside or you can leave it clear if you so choose. I’m not usually a big fan of these clear bases, but in this case I think the ability to display the emblem adds value. I’ve opted for the Imperial insignia and purple lightsaber for my regular display of this statue.

Of course, you do have options! Mara also comes with a removable, billowing cape that can be attached or removed by popping off the head. For this feature, I’ve chosen to go with the cape for the redeemed version of Mara and display it with the Luke Skywalker lightsaber and the Rebel insignia. Of course, you can mix and match all of this any way you want.

The cape is my big dilemma with this statue. It looks outstanding and it really adds a lot to the composition of the piece. It creates a lot of kineticism to the pose by pushing back away from her outstretched hand and it complements the flow of the hair quite nicely as well. The khaki color has some nice shading and I particularly like the little tears and fraying sculpted into the end. So what’s the dilemma? It covers up that fine ass, and I simply can’t have that. The sculptors at Kotobukiya no doubt poured hours, neigh possibly days into getting that ass so perfect and I will not allow it to be obscured by an additional garment, even if you could argue that it’s essential to the statue’s fully realized composition.

While I am still hemming and hawing over whether I need the Bishoujo Jaina Solo on my shelf, Mara Jade was a must buy the moment I saw her and she’s lived up to just about all my expectations. I will mention here that my particular statue has a stray mark of red paint on her left arm, just below the shoulder. It no doubt came from the hair and while it isn’t terrible, it’s worth pointing out because even with fifteen Bishoujo Statues under my belt, this is the first time I’ve ever had anything less than flawless paint. Honestly, I’ve seen far worse paint flubs on $200+ Bowen statues, so I’m not going to get all upset over it. At $55 Mara Jade is yet another example of what great value Kotobukiya offers in their products. She’s an absolutely gorgeous piece and she has an unprecedented amount of display options for the Bishoujo line. I can’t recommend her strongly enough.

Jan 27 2014

Marvel: X-Force Psylocke Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

I ended last week with Kotobukiya and we’re starting this week with the same! The difference is that this week I’m giving the Justice League ArtFX+ statues a rest and instead turning my attention back to Koto’s Bishoujo line. Koto has a veritable shit-ton of amazing Bishoujo statues on deck for 2014-15. From Marvel to DC to Star Wars and Street Fighter, this line is going to get a lot of my money in the months ahead. And if their most recent release, Psylocke, is any indication it’s going to be a damn fine couple of years. This release is Psylocke’s second outing for the Bishoujo line and that’s a rather sore point for me because I missed the first statue and now it sells for crazy prices on the secondary market. I try not to look for it a lot because I kind of want it bad enough to pay a lot more than I should, and so it’s best to try to forget it exists. This all-new Psylocke release, however, serves as a mighty nice consolation prize, even if I’m not usually keen on the X-Force costumes.

The box shares the same deco style as previous releases in this line, but it’s a little unusual as it is a landscape shaped box to fit the unusual orientation of the statue. As usual, there’s some great source artwork by Shunya Yamashita on the package and the windows give you a tease of what’s inside. The statue is wrapped in plastic and nestled between two plastic trays, so if you want to really get a good look you’ve got to take her out and unwrap her. Psylocke comes already attached to the base and the only assembly required is placing her katana in her hand.

I’m always impressed by these statues, but Psylocke here absolutely blows me away. Seriously, I don’t want to downplay previous releases in the line, they’re pretty much all great, but I don’t think I’ve been this amazed by a Bishoujo since Wonder Woman. To see what all the fuss is about, first and foremost we have to look at the composition because in terms of pose this is some of Koto’s finest work. Psylocke is poised close to the ground, with one leg bent back under her and the other stretched out all the way so that it extends well beyond the base. She has one hand on the ground and the other holding her katana aloft. This is absolutely gorgeous composition work, so much so that it feels like it belongs among one of their larger and more expensive Fine Art statues. Speaking of size, Psylocke scales perfectly with my other Marvel ladies. Her head is close to the same height as the kneeling Mystique and X-23, but with her katana stretched above her the total height of the piece comes close to statues like Black Cat and Black Widow.

Of course, composition is only half the battle, and doesn’t mean much without a solid sculpt. Again, in this department, Psylocke outshines most other releases. The contours and curves of Psylocke’s body border on pure poetry and the muscle definition in her shoulders and… um, groin, are superb. The straps on her thighs and biceps are sculpted so that they ever so slightly constrict her skin and the rumbling of the costume adds that extra touch of realism. Even the way her white belt rises up in a frozen flurry conveys the kinetic energy on display here. Her scabbard is tethered to her belt with sculpted ties and is punctuated with a little brass cap. Truth be told, there isn’t a lot of complexity to Psylocke’s costume, but it feels like Koto went above and beyond with what little they had to work with.

As for the portrait, I really like what they did here. Sure, you can argue that a lot of the Bishoujo portraits look alike, and I wouldn’t refute that. Psylocke here has slightly narrower eyes, giving her a more serious expression that better matches her action packed pose. It fits the statue better than the more frivolous portraits that Koto has used on some of the more cheesecake poses like Kitty Pryde or Sue Storm. I also dig that her face is looking straight up. The style with many of the Bishoujo statues is to have the girl looking slightly down and to the side. It’s part of the “pretty girl” motif, I get that, but it’s kind of nice to get a good look at the portrait from dead on for a change. Of course, Pyslocke’s hair is flowing outward with beautiful effect and the tips of her hair are partially transparent.

I don’t have a lot to say about the coloring here. The katana looks particularly good with a semi-steel finish on the blade, intricate paintwork on the grip and a bronze colored tsuba and ricasso. The X-Force costume is black and the high gloss contrasts beautifully with the soft matte plastic used for Psylocke’s bare skin. It looks good, but I would have so preferred this piece be her in the traditional purple costume. I suppose there’s always a chance that we could get a Comic Con recolor.

The base places Psylocke in what I think is supposed to be a Shinto Garden with a piece of sculpture off to the side. The base is textured to look and feel like stone with what looks like possibly snow covered grass. As mentioned, Psylocke’s leg stretches well beyond the base making her the least space efficient Bishoujo so far. She certainly demands a lot of real estate on the shelf, but she’s well worth it and she looks great in the front row with the taller statues behind her.

Psylocke retailed at just under $60, which is a pretty solid value. Sure, sometimes the Bishoujo’s go down in price, but they also sometimes go up. Because of the fluctuations in price, I usually gamble and don’t pre-order this line, but I was pretty smitten with this piece when I first saw it and so I dropped a pre-order straight away. She’s the 13^th Bishoujo statue in my collection and right now she’s definitely in league with Wonder Woman and Huntress in my top three favorite releases. That’s saying quite a bit since I’m not necessarily a big fan of the X-Force costume. This is just a case where Koto nailed the essence of the character perfectly in a breathtaking pose and followed through with a superb sculpt.

Jan 24 2014

DC Comics: The Flash ArtFX+ Statue by Kotobukiya

Today I’m taking a look at the next addition to my Justice League ArtFX+ statues by Koto. This time it’s The Flash and he’s been sitting around waiting to be opened since just after Christmas. I think it’s well past time I get him out and add him to the team! I should note that there’s no particular order in which I’m picking these up. I’ve just been going for whichever ones turn up at special prices online.

There’s the packaging. It’s the same style used for Supes and Wonder Woman only this time with a Flash motif. Once again, the clear illustrated plastic box makes for a great presentation, but it is rather fragile. I worry about it surviving in the long term, but I still think the tradeoff was worth it. Besides, the character art all matches up with the other statues so chances are you’re going to opt to display the boxes behind the statues rather than put them away into storage. On the downside, I’m going to have to find a wider shelf to display them all because I estimate I’ll only be able to get five across in the display case they’re in now. I call that a First World Problem!

As with Supes and Wonder Woman, the pose here leans more toward “museum style” than it does action scene, and yet with each release, Koto has managed to work a little inferred energy into the character’s stance. In this case, Flash is standing with one fist punching his open palm. It’s a great pose as it conveys a “Let’s do this!” attitude, as if he’s getting ready to go up against a wave of Parademons.

If you aren’t up to speed on this line, it’s the “New 52” look and I’m quite partial to The Flash’s current costume. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, many of the current DC costumes were expressly designed with 3D modeling in mind and it really shows in a statue like this one. Every single detail on this piece relies on sculpt rather than just paint. As a result you get all the cut panel lines, the texturing on the boots, the raised chest emblem and even the belt is raised. On top of that Flash features some superb musculature, particularly in his back. You don’t get to see the back detail on Supes because of the cape, but here with Flash it looks pretty spectacular.

The portrait retains the same anime style as we saw with Superman and, to a lesser extent, Wonder Woman. I don’t think it’s quite as apparent here either, but mostly because Flash is looking slightly down and his mask does cover a great deal of his face. It works for me, but I know some have been put off the style. Either way, the coolest thing about Flash’s head sculpt for me are the lightning bolts. They’re slightly bent to follow the curve of Flash’s head, but each ends in a razor sharp point and boy do they look amazing.

And then there’s the coloring. No doubt, one of the high point of these statues for me has been the jaw dropping metallic paint jobs. I was a little concerned about Flash because the statue substitutes the gold for the yellow in his costume. It’s really the first time Koto had to make a significant color change to make the metallic finishes work and it obviously makes Barry Allen’s costume look more like old school Wally West’s. In hand, it doesn’t bother me so much, probably because I’m just smitten by how gorgeous it looks.

Once again, the included base is a simple black metal square with “Justice League” printed on the front. The magnets in Flash’s feet allow him to stand up without toppling over and you can position him on the stand anywhere you want without having to worry about the placement of peg holes or posts.

So far this line has not disappointed and these statues just look amazing alongside each other! Koto continues to deliver fantastic display pieces for extremely reasonable prices. Flash retails at around $40-45, but like a lot of these statues, I was able to grab him for just under $30 and that’s quite a steal for the workmanship involved. Next week, I’m going to take a week off from the ArtFX+ statues to give the Kotobukiya slot to Bishoujo and then the following week we’ll swing back around to look at Aquaman!

Jan 17 2014

DC Comics: Wonder Woman ArtFX+ Statue by Kotobukiya

Last week I started checking out Koto’s ArtFX+ Justice League statues with Supes himself and since we are dealing with the “New 52” verse, I thought it fitting to move on to his main squeeze Wonder Woman. This is also where I resist the urge to comment on any recent casting announcements made by Warner Bros. regarding a certain Amazon for their Man of Steel sequel in fear of pissing off any fans of that movie or that casting decision. Oh, look! We have a statue to look at!

The packaging is similar to what we saw last time only now we get a Wonder Woman motif and her emblem looks particularly nice on the side panel. Everything I said about Superman’s box applies here as well. The printed art on the clear plastic looks great, and it’s designed that you can even display the statue pretty well while still in the package. On the downside it’s very fragile. Case in point, mine must have gotten bumped in shipment. The outer box is fine, but the inner tray was cracked at the bottom. The trays protected the statue just fine, but a regular cardboard box probably would have prevented any damage at all. I always keep my statue boxes and I’m rather concerned about these boxes getting scratched up or crushed over a long period of time.

Out of the package, WW looks gorgeous. I’ll get to her pose in a moment, but first I really need to gush about how beautifully the matte plastic used for her skin contrasts with the high gloss metallic paint used on her costume. Granted, she’s showing a lot less skin than the older and more iconic WW costume. Here she’s graduated to wearing full pants and a corset-style top leaving just her arms and shoulders bare, but the effect is still striking. I probably like WW’s “New 52” outfit least of all the Justice League member makeovers, but I do still like it. I miss the gold, I think the boots should still be red, and the darker blue and lack of colored stars mean that it’s not quite colorful enough for me, but Koto still did a wonderful job recreating the new look here and they even managed to include her short sword. Still, it’s the sculpting on the corset is what really grabs me. The eagle motif on top and the panel lining are both fantastic.

And then there’s the portrait. Koto is no stranger to sculpting some lovely looking ladies and Wonder Woman here is no exception. There’s still a bit of an anime influence here, but I don’t find it as overt as what we saw in Superman. She’s looking slightly down and off to the side, which is practically Koto’s trademark look by now, and sporting a stern and noble expression. The sculpted work on her hair is splendid and I love the way they carried it over to her face with paint apps. The tiny choker necklace and tiara tie the whole portrait together.

Like Superman, the pose here is very much “museum style” with just a hint of action. Wonder Woman is practically mugging for the camera with her left arm cocked and her fist is resting on her hip. Her right arm poised at the ready to grab her golden lasso. The way her back is arched is almost poetic and I think she looks best when positioned on her base at a slight angle with her left foot pointing forward.

Speaking of bases, you get the exact same base that came with Superman. It’s a simple black metal square with “Justice League” on the front. The magnets in Wonder Woman’s feet help her to stand up, which is a good thing because she’s hard to keep standing without the assist. The magnet system also ensures that you can position her anywhere on the stand. She looks particularly nice when sharing a stand with Supes.

I was already sold on this line with Superman, but with the acquisition of Wonder Woman I was further assured that there was no turning back now. She’s an absolutely gorgeous statue. Initially I had some minor doubts about the scale on these pieces. 1:10^th scale seemed a bit too close to the action figures and I tend to associate Koto’s work with 1:8^th scale and above. Those doubts, however, are starting to fade and I’m thinking that these statues are going to be the perfect size for assembling the entire team on my shelf. Wonder Woman originally retailed at around the $40-45 mark, but I was able to pick her up off of Amazon for just under $30. A very nice deal for a very nice statue! Next week, we’ll check out The Flash!

Jan 7 2014

DC Comics: Superman ArtFX+ Statue by Kotobukiya

Anyone who’s kicked around FFZ for a while knows that I have a long standing love of Kotobukiya and their Bishoujo statues. Well, late last year I started to branch out thanks to some irresistible pics of the Justice League ArtFX+ statues posted by this konsummate kollector of all things kool. I’ve already pre-ordered the first offerings in their Avengers line, which is due to start hitting later this year and now I’m busy piecing together the Justice League and some of the other DC statues. I’m kicking off my look at this line today with the Man of Steel himself, Supes!

The packaging is artsy and gorgeous. While the Bishoujo statues come in proper boxes with windows, these pieces come in a box made of windows. Yes, the entire package is made of clear plastic with printed graphics, all surrounding a set of plastic trays with the statue nesting inside.

This packaging definitely has its ups and downs. On the upside, it’s a beautiful presentation, complete with art that links up with the other boxes to make for a great looking backdrop behind your statue display. Also, if you take the plastic wrap off the statue, you can return it to the package and still get a pretty good look at it while it’s inside. It practically makes its own display case.

On the downside, the thin plastic packaging is fragile and very susceptible to scratches and whatnot. Statue boxes are among the few packages I hang on to, and I worry about how durable these will be to store over time. It also means that if you’re buying these sight unseen from an online retailer, you better make certain that they’re known for their careful packing. In the end, I think the good outweighs the bad here. I’m prepared to go the extra mile to be careful with the boxes in exchange for what is a truly fantastic presentation.

So, obviously we’re dealing with “New 52” Superman and that’s perfectly fine with me. While I do have some issues with a few of the character re-designs of the current DC Universe, I have no problem with any of the core Justice League. In fact, I’ve really grown to love Supes’ new costume, particularly when it’s presented as well as it is here. Superman stands at about 1:10^th Scale, which makes him smaller than Koto’s Bishoujo pieces but a little bigger than your average DCUC or DC Collectibles action figure. I’ll be honest, I would have probably liked to see these in the 1:8^th Scale, but it’s a trade off because the smaller scale doesn’t gobble up as much space and yet they’re still big enough to host plenty of detail. Clearly Koto knows what they’re doing, so who am I to argue?

The sculpt is truly excellent. One thing DC did brillaintly was design the new costumes with 3D modeling in mind. If you look at the early “New 52” comics there are explicit notes about how everything should be raised and three-dimensional. As a result, every detail of the figure is sculpted in rather than just painted. You not only get all the musculature, but a great 3D effect in the boots and cuffs as well as the belt and the S-logo. When you add that to the sculpted panel lines of the outfit you get a detail that really stands out no matter what angle your looking at. The cape is sculpted in stiff plastic and hangs down off his shoulders perfectly. It can be seen from the front, but it isn’t obtrusive, nor does it flare out to the sides to take up extra space on the shelf. It’s a nice compromise. As for the pose itself, the statue assumes what is mostly a traditional “museum-style” pose, but his fists are clenched and his arms slightly bent as if he’s poised for action. The stance allows him to stand among his fellow Justice Leaguers with a degree of uniformity, while at the same time offering a feeling of excitement and kineticism.

The portrait maintains a great deal of the character’s comic feel but there are also some heavy anime overtones in the portrait. I’m really happy with the pose that Koto went with here. I know a few collectors who have taken issue with the Asian overtones of the portrait, but I’m not one of them. I don’t think it’s at odds with the some of the Jim Lee line art and quite frankly I think it works quite well in conveying the more youthful look of the “New 52” Superman. Either way, the expression is great. Superman looks determined and resolute and there’s a lot more detail in the facial sculpt than my poor camera can adequately capture, particularly in the brown and the cheek bones.

As nice as the sculpt here is, I have to say it’s the paintwork that really makes this statue pop on the shelf. The high gloss metallic paint gives Supes’ costume that luscious new-car shine that begs to be admired under the light. The tones of red and blue, with a hint of gold, complement each other splendidly. Naturally the glossy outfit contrasts beautifully with the matte flesh tones used for the head and hands, as well as the matte red plastic used for the cape. I still take this statue off the shelf at least once a day just to turn it over in the light and admire the beauty of the paintwork.

Superman includes a square black base with the “Justice League” logo on the front. It’s a metal base with some heft and the statue uses magnets in the feet to help connect him to the base. It’s not a very strong connection, not enough to pick up the stand with, but it does keep him from toppling over. It also allows for you to move him about the base or even pose two statues on one stand. It’s a clever system that Koto has used for many of their ArtFX+ statues and it allows for multiple options when displaying the team.

I’ve frequently remarked that Koto offers some of the best values in statues and that’s certainly the case here as well. While Superman’s MSRP clocks in at around $40-45, I was able to pick him up for just under $30, which is a pretty comfortable price for such a striking display piece. If you aren’t quite prepared to make the jump from collecting action figures to pricier high end statues, this would be a great way to go, as I really think this is one of the finest portrayals of this version of the character in statue or action figure form. He’s a great stand-alone piece, but I wasn’t been a big fan of Superman’s stand alone book last year, but I have enjoyed the character in the Justice League book, so the real draw for me is going to be displaying him with his comrades. I’ll try to be checking out one of these beauties each week until I’ve run through them all!

Nov 1 2013

Transformers: Revoltech Megatron by Kaiyodo

Hello and welcome to Transformers Thursday on a Friday. Today we’re doing something a little different as it is neither a Hasbro product, nor is it an actual transforming robot. I have some social commitments tonight, which involves having a pastie and getting drunk at The Pub, so I was looking for something rather quick and dirty, thus I decided to pull Revoltech Megatron off the shelf. I don’t collect Revoltech figures, and I’m not terribly big on Transformers that don’t transform, but I got this guy as part of a Lot of figures and I’ll confess that I do dig him. He came to me without any packaging and missing all of his extra bits, so keep that in mind as we take a quick look at him today.

And there he is… Lord Megatron in Revoltech form. The Revoltech line centers around Kaiyodo’s proprietary system of articulation which is supposed to offer up a degree of super articulation. I actually featured a Revoltech figure about this time last year and while I liked the design and sculpt, I was not overly impressed with the articulation or quality. The jointing looked rather ugly and they had a habit of falling apart if I looked at them funny. That and this one are still the only Revoltech figures I own, but in my travels I’ve had the opportunity to play around with some others and I still find the line to be a mixed bag. Megatron, here, is actually a lot better about staying together than other figures I’ve fiddled about with.

From the neck down, the sculpt here is pretty good, although the ball joints do mar the character design a bit at the hips and shoulders. Megatron continues to be that one frustrating character in Transformers that is yet to get a suitable animated style update. Takara screwed the pooch with their Masterpiece version with some third-party attempts hitting closer to the mark. And while not perfect, this Revoltech figure may be the closest I’ve seen to a proper Sunbow style figure. Granted, it’s a lot easier to make him show accurate when he doesn’t have to transform.

In addition to the exposed ball joints, I think the figure’s head is severely undersized and the face sculpt is a big departure from show accuracy. Sadly, it’s enough to make the figure look severely off. On the other hand, they really nailed everything else quite well and I’m particularly happy with his fusion cannon. The metallic silver finish on this guy looks really nice, and while he could have used some red in his lower torso, the deco works very nicely for me right down to the Decepticon insignia stamped on his chest.

Probably the most frustrating thing about this figure is his size. At a little over 4-inches tall, he’s not much bigger than your average Star Wars or GI JOE figure. That means he won’t scale properly with any of my Deluxe Transformers. That means that unless you’re going to pick up the other Revoltech Transformers, he’s pretty much a stand-alone figure, and the Optimus Prime that goes with him is one ugly figure. That’s just my opinion, your mileage may vary. He does, however scale fairly well with Fansproject’s Causality figures. While you could argue that Megatron should be taller than the Stunticons, he still displays nicely with them at about the same height.

Prices on this guy tend to be all over the place. I’ve seen him sell from $20 up to $50. He’s a cool little figure, if you can pick him up at the lower end of that spectrum, but I don’t think he’s worth hunting down. I seem to recall him coming with extra hands and an extra head, none of which is essential, so he’s still worth buying loose at a deep discount. He’s just one of those odd-ball figures in my collection that doesn’t fit anywhere and yet I dig him just a little too much to let him go.

Oct 18 2013

DC Comics: Huntress Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

DC’s Huntress is getting a lot of attention this year. She’s got her own thing going with Power Girl in World’s Finest. She finally got a figure released in the DCUC style, DC Collectibles has shown off her forthcoming entry in the Cover Girls of the DC Universe line, and of course Koto immortalized her in PVC in their Bishoujo line. It’s that last one that we’re here to look at today. It’s been over a month since I last featured a statue here on FFZ, so let’s go…

If you know the Bishoujo statues, then the style of packaging here should come as no surprise. Huntress comes in a satisfyingly large white box with plenty of the original artwork by Shunya Yamashita. There’s a window on the front panel with smaller windows on the top and side panel to let some light in. Of course, the statue comes wrapped in plastic and nestled between two plastic trays, so you won’t get the full effect of this piece unless you open her up and unwrap her.

The back of the box has a little copy about Huntress herself and a photo of the actual statue from front and back. Oh, look, Harley is also available. That’s one that is still missing from my collection. I’ll have to fix that sooner or later. The statue comes already attached to her base, all you need to do is put her staff in her hands. You carefully pull it apart and feed it through her hands and re-attach. Now we’re ready to check her out.

Oh, myyyy. Huntress is one sexy statue and rather than beat around the bush, I’ll just go ahead and say I think she’s some of this line’s best work to date. The coloring, the sculpt, it’s all so amazing! I don’t know where to begin, so let’s just start with the pose. Huntress is doing her best imitation of The Captain Morgan Stance, with one foot propped up on her base. Her butt is thrust out to the back and she’s clutching the staff with both hands. Gulp! Her right hand crosses under her chest to help prop up her ample ta-ta’s and her head looks slightly down with a rather sly grin. And now, I’m going to take a moment to spritz a little cool water on my face. What can I say? Huntress does it for me.

While this is certainly not an action pose, Koto managed to convey a wonderful amount of kineticism in the cape and hair. Sure, a lot of Bishoujo statues have windblown hair, but here the garment and hair work together to create a great level of energy in this piece. Also the way she’s holding her staff makes her look like she’s either about to receive an attack, or perhaps she’s just bested some thugs and is pausing to admire her handiwork. Either way, the pose here is just an amazing blend of posturing an action.

I really dig the portrait here. Sure, it’s fairly typical bishoujo fare, but the hair is truly well done, particularly the way her bangs hang down over her mask. As always the paint apps on the face are perfect.

The detailing and coloring on her costume is also superb. The glossy black and metallic purple look fantastic against her pale matte skin tones and there’s just a little bit of white to make the figure pop. The costume includes sculpted pouches around her hips and thighs, belts and buckles on her boots, and knee armor. Even the treads on her boots are sculpted even though you can’t really see them other than from the side. I love when the sculptors put that kind of attention into those minor little details! If you want me to level one gripe against this piece, it’s that the absence of her trusty crossbow feels rather conspicuous, but the pose with the staff is so well balanced, there’s really no place for it, unless they sculpted it hanging on her hip.

Huntress’ base is a simple black disc with a nicely sculpted gargoyle. There’s not much more to say. The gargoyle offers a little bit of environmental context and I’m glad the base is not clear. It’s also designed to match well with Bishoujo Batgirl’s gargoyle base. My only complaint here is that Koto really seems to be making these stands a bit too large. Huntress really eats up a lot of shelf space for a 1:7 scale statue.

When Huntress was first released earlier this year, my local comic shop sold out of her before I could make the trip up. As a result, I had this statue in my Amazon Wish List for a couple of months before finally seeing that she dropped below $50 and pulling the trigger. In retrospect, the fact that I waited so long seems crazy, because she truly is so damn amazing. It was a little tough to muscle her in, as my statue shelves are getting a little congested, but I was happy to rearrange things a bit so she can stand beside Power Girl as companion pieces.

Sep 2 2013

Lineage 2: Elf Statue (Second Edition) by Orchid Seed

I know precious little about the Lineage franchise apart from being vaguely aware of it as an online PC game. I do know that I dig the art and character design that I’ve seen in it almost enough to tempt me to give it a try. If it weren’t an online game I would have certainly experienced it by now, but WoW notwithstanding, I’m not a big fan of MMORPGs nor do I have the time needed to devote to starting a new one. Nonetheless, I am a big fan of PVC statues and hawt sexy elves, and I’ve noticed some of these at my local indie game shop in the past. Surprisingly, they sold out rather quickly, but I recently pre-ordered one online and since then, I found this one at a good price on another site.

The statue is brought to us by Orchid Seed and this is the first one of their products that I own. The box has a pinkish hue and a large window on the front to show off the statue and a smaller one on the top to let some light in. The side panels show off one of the other Elf statues in this line, while the rear panel shows different shots of this particular piece. The First Edition of this piece featured different colored hair and different accessories. Inside the box, the statue comes between two plastic trays. The figure itself comes fully assembled, but detached from her base and her two staves are beside her. Everything is collector friendly so you can pack her back into the box for storage or MIB display. Plugging the statue into the base is a little frustrating. The pegs don’t fit all that well and I thought I was doing it wrong because of the position of her feet. It turns out that her stance is just a little awkward, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

Taking a step back, you can disassemble the statue by removing the arms and the head. This allows you to remove her half-jacket for a different display option. The cut for the neck is disguised by her choker and the cuts at the biceps are disguised by her arm bands, so if you like the bare shoulder look, it works quite well. It’s also as good as any place to start if we want to get a good look at the base figure.

This is a really beautiful sculpt on every level. The pose has her with one hand fussing with her long pink hair and the other down at her hip so as to hold one of her staves at her side. Her hair is parted on the sides to show off her sizeable elf ears and she’s looking downward. She has one hip thrust to the side and one foot in front of the other. The placement of the feet is the only thing that I can nitpick here. They’re just set at an awkward ankle, which makes it look to me like she’s staggering. It actually looks fine from certain angles, but from dead on I just get the impression that she’s having trouble walking in those shoes. Speaking of shoes, let’s check out her costume, and to do that I’m going to pop her jacket back on.

Yes, the jacket and skirt are made out of very soft, pliable plastic. I actually find it easier to get the jacket back on than it is to get it off. The skirt is a separate piece as well, which could be removed if it was able to clear her hips or chest. Both pieces are excellent sculpts and feature some really nice gold decorations and lace finery. The jacket covers an equally ornate corset top and it is a Japanese statue so if you were so inclined to peek under her skirt you’d see a set of ornately sculpted and rather flimsy panties. The outfit is rounded out by an ornate choker collar and a pair of high heeled sandals. I’m really impressed by all the work that went into the ornate deco of the costume. As beautiful as the girl is, it’s the finery in the outfit that really makes this statue shine.

As mentioned, you get two staves, which can be placed into her left hand. You just pull the end piece off and then reattach it once it’s in place. Both staves are beautifully sculpted. One has a blue orb and the other has an ornate face. I love them both, but I’m probably going to stick with the demon face one for my regular display.

The base is a simple clear disc tinted pink. I’ve said my piece about the foot pegs, so I won’t beat a dead horse. The base has a nice frosted deco etched into it along with “Elf Second Edition” toward the front. It’s simple but elegant.

I’ve avoided these statues in the past because they do run higher than I’m used to paying for my 1/7 scale PVC. It’s hard to justify spending over $100 when I can get my PVC statue fix from Koto for about half that. Nonetheless, I have a soft spot for sexy elves, and I was able to pick this little lady up from Entertainment Earth for $65, which seemed like a good opportunity to introduce myself to the line. It’s also a steal when you consider that the First Edition has surpassed $150 on the secondary market. She’s definitely a beautiful piece and I’m looking forward to getting the next release when it comes out later this month.

Jan 25 2013

DC Comics: Bishoujo Power Girl Statue by Kotobukiya

It’s been over a month since I last checked in with Koto and their awesome line of Bishoujo statues. Yes, I still have some older ones to look at, but Power Girl just arrived on my stoop yesterday, and I was plenty anxious to check her out. Giggity! Surprisingly, she’s actually my first Bishoujo statue from the DC side of the fence. I pre-ordered her a ways back, completely forgot that she had been released, and found that she was sitting around in my Pile of Loot, so I quickly gave the go-ahead to send her on her way to me. I love Power Girl. Even though I’ve converted to reading my funnybooks exclusively by way of digital device, she’s one of the few DC characters that I still have complete runs of bagged and boarded and I’ll still buy any books she appears in if I come across them at the comic shops.

Yep, Koto does packaging well. Looming space concerns make me really picky about the packages I save, but I never toss a Koto package. Besides being collector friendly, the Bishoujo packages feature the gorgeous concept art that I simply have to keep. If you’ve purchased these statues before, you should know what to expect in terms of packaged presentation. Power Girl comes in a white box with windows on the top, front and right side panel. The left panel has a huge color illustration inspired by the work of Yamashita Shunya. The back panel has a comparison of concept art to statue and a great blurb about Power Girl and the statue on the bottom. And, Oooooh, The Huntress is coming soon! Giggity! Ok, that’s the last giggity, I promise. Of course, despite the three windows she’s still wrapped in plastic, you really need to open it up and remove her from her plastic trays to get the full effect. So let’s go ahead and do it.

Some Koto statues require minimal assembly, but Power Girl comes out of the box all ready for display. While many of my favorite Bishoujo statues have been based on candid action shots, there’s something to be said for an obvious pose. I really liked the sultry and gratuitous stance Koto used for their vastly underappreciated Ghostbusters Lucy statue, and I’m totally digging the one they used for Power Girl every bit as much. I just love the fact that she’s blatantly mugging for the invisible camera, tossing her hip to one side and flexing her arm. She’s just the right mix of Kryptonian muscle and curves and the pose is coy, sexy, boastful, heroic… it’s brilliant.

Kara’s been made over with the typical bishoujo face with big blue eyes and a sweet little smile. She’s turning her head to the side, but her eyes are looking straight at the invisible camera. Her short blonde hair is ruffled by the wind and looks awesome, with one strand protruding upward. I’m really glad Koto didn’t go with the transparent effect for her hair. It works sometimes, but I don’t think it was necessary for short hair like this.

Power Girl’s outfit consists of her white skintight one-piece with her iconic boob window, blue gloves and high heeled boots, a red cape and a red belt that hangs off her hip. The metallic gold belt buckle and cape clasp round out the package nicely. Koto went in an interesting direction with her one-piece as the glossy finish and exaggerated seams make it look like it’s intended to be leather. I’ve always imagined it was just spandex or cloth, but I’m seriously digging on this look and I’m not some freak with a rubber fetish… at least not one that I was previously aware of. The boots and gloves have the same great glossy leather finish. The sheen of Kara’s outfit really contrasts beautifully with the soft matte flesh tones. And with her legs, cleavage, and flash of derriere, Kara’s showing an ample amount of skin. Much of my Koto collection happens to involve a lot of black and drab outfits, so it’s nice to have Power Girl to add some color to my shelf, and I absolutely adore the coloring on this statue.

For the base, Koto went with a silver textured disc that looks like it’s supposed to be stainless steel. The texture is cool and it’s embossed with “Power Girl” in case you couldn’t quite recognize her… um… face. It’s a simple, clean looking design that compliments the statue’s bright, beautiful colors.

And that’s the Bishoujo take on Power Girl! Back when I first started collecting this line, there were certain Marvel and DC characters, which I thought were a perfect fit. My beloved Power Girl was one of those and I knew Koto would get around to making her sooner or later. She’s a lot simpler than some of the other statues I’ve looked at, but there’s a certain minimalist elegance that works well for this piece. There was no need to complicate her with an elaborate base or diorama set up, because she does just fine all on her own. She’s also packed with personality that strides both the familiar character from the comics and this new bishoujo version. Well, done, guys… she’s outstanding! Now, I’m kind of anxious to pick up the Supergirl or Wonder Woman to go with her.

Dec 12 2012

Marvel: Bishoujo X-23 Statue by Kotobukiya

Today’s item was one of those rare instances where I heard that Koto was doing the statue before I actually saw the prototype. My first thoughts were that they overreached with this one. There are plenty of Marvel ladies that are well suited to this line, but Laura Kinney’s history features some hardcore shit and her character is built on a foundation of pain, suffering, and tragedy. Could Koto and Shunya Yamashita successfully pull this one off and give X-23 the cutesy bishoujo makeover? Let’s find out…

If you own any of these Koto statues, then you know what to expect from the packaging. X-23 comes in a white window box adorned only with some examples of the original character art and some shots of the statue on the back. The box is shorter than many of these usual packages to conform to the statue’s crouching posture. You can get a pretty good look at the goods through the window, but as always, parts of the statue are wrapped in protective plastic and nestled between two clear plastic trays, so you can’t really get the full experience until you remove her from the box.

Before getting to the statue, here’s a word of warning: X-23’s claws are pegged into sockets and they can fall out, probably so that if they are stressed they will detach rather than break. Two of my statue’s claws fell off while taking her out of the package. I didn’t realize it and thought I was dealing with a QC issue of missing claws. Fortunately, a little search of the carpet turned them up before FigureFeline could snatch them and carry them off to his bottomless lair of plunder behind the sofa. Apart from the removable claws, the only other thing you need to do is plug the statue into the base. Doing so required me to stretch out her legs a bit so that each of her feet wound up in the appropriate place on the stand. It was a little more effort than is usually required with these statues, but all worked out fine in the end.

As mentioned, X-23 is posed down on one knee. She’s the same scale as any of the other recent statues in this line and she has a satisfying heft to her, but her posture makes the statue a lot shorter than most. I think it’s a great pose for the character as it manages to convey a little poise and action at the same time. She has all four of her knuckle claws extended. Her left claws are touching the ground, while her right hand is cocked at the elbow and ready to strike. Her right foot has its claw extending from her boot. She looks like she might be recovering from a strike and getting ready to pounce back into action again.

Moving on to the details… let’s start with the head. X-23 is an interesting statue because rather than going for overall cheesecake, most of the cutesy element is confined from her neck up. I think the sculptor did as good a job as possible melding the spirit of the Bishoujo line with X-23’s character, which in itself was no easy task. That having been said, something was definitely lost between the original artwork and the final sculpted effort. For starters, the artwork featured eyes with more personality and character, whereas the final product’s eyes have more of a generic anime look. The artwork also featured an interesting little smirk on her lips and the final went with more of a cutesy little smile. Ultimately, I see more of X-23’s attitude in Shunya Yamashita’s art than I do in the statue; nonetheless what’s here is still plenty good. X-23’s hair is sculpted in a nice, dynamic wind-blown fashion and features that cool translucent effect at the edges.

From the neck down, it’s hard to argue with anything this statue offers. X-23 is wearing skin-tight black pants, high, chunky boots, and a black sports bra-looking affair. The black finish on her clothes varies from matte on her boots and kneepads to high gloss for her top, pants, and sleeves, and all of it contrasts beautifully with her light skin tone. She has excellent sculpted detail in her abs, and I love the way her shoulders hunch up suggestively. Other great little touches include the silver skull emblems and individual buckles, along with the intricate treads on her boots, the medallion hanging from her choker, and her gilt chain belt.

X-23’s base isn’t one of the more intricate designs we’ve seen in the line. It’s a simple grey circle designed to look and feel like concrete. It’s a wonderfully rough and realistic texture that balances out the soft leather and skin of the figure itself.

While it may sound like I had issues with this statue, I still think X-23 is another solid effort by Koto and I’m very satisfied to have her in my collection. Keep in mind, I’m not a hardcore fan of the character, but rather a casual fan by way of my love of all things X-Men. My guess is that this statue will be better received by Bishoujo collectors rather than diehard fans of the character, finding themselves considering a place for it in their X-23 collection. But then I could be completely off base on that. She’s been available for a little while now, and set me back about $50 shipped. It wouldn’t feel like a Bishoujo feature without me mentioning how I think these are some of the best valued statues on the market… and hey, I just did!

FigureFan Zero

Action Figure Reviews, Toys & Collectibles…

Tag Archives: imports

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