Let’s talk a little bit about lust. If you collect anything, chances are that there is a holy grail item, something that you greatly desire but is nearly impossible to acquire. Maybe it’s an out-of-print edition of a book, or a rare and valuable trading card of some favorite athlete, or a pretty, limited-run postage stamp. These treasures add a definite zest to collecting, igniting passions, squelching common sense, and obliterating the checking accounts of collectors fortunate enough to add these things to their troves.
For me, Volks’s 1/4 scale Uesugi Kenshin statue is the prize that I’ve had my eyes on for years. I never expected to own her; for one, Volks’s wares are notoriously difficult to purchase outside of Japan, and for another, Kenshin was sold only as a resin kit. There was no way I could afford the model, and I do not have the requisite equipment or skill to assemble and paint it anyway. My only hope would be to buy a prepainted recast – and E2046 hasn’t stocked this item in a long time – or for a prepainted, preassembled kit to magically present itself. The late, sorely-missed Heisei Democracy mentions that such an item was in fact sold at the winter Wonder Festival in February 2008 – for an astronomical price.
So time passed, and I didn’t think much about this Kenshin figure, since there was little point pining away for something unobtainable, until one day, on a whim, I spent some time browsing through Yahoo Japan’s listings. And I saw this figure. There were a lot of reasons to hesitate – the price was insane, I would have to go through a middleman which means an even more insane price in addition to requiring a considerable amount of faith in someone a hemisphere away, and the possibility of losing the auction, which presents its own unique set of problems. But hesitation never really entered my mind; after all, this figure is it. This is number one, my prize, and who would deny that magic had occurred? All it would take to acquire this figure would be to meet the price. But Gott im Himmel, what a price.
Besides the cost, there was, of course, the issue as to whether the item was authentic. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about placing such a large bid if the item were fake, and lacking any comprehension of Japanese, my ability to verify that this item was what it appeared to be was necessarily limited. Google Translate did decipher enough of the listing to convince me that the seller was advertising an authentic item, and a quick check of his selling history showed that he specialized in selling limited-edition Volks items (principally Dollfie merchandise from their various doll events). That wasn’t much to go on, but given that some of the doll clothing he was selling was even more expensive than Kenshin, I figured I had all the assurances that I was going to get.
The two deputy services that I’ve used are M-World Service and Shopping Mall Japan. SMJ requires you to place a deposit which restricts your maximum bidding limit and so I could not use them. I’ve commissioned M-World Service several times and they’ve always been great, but I still felt a twinge of anxiety. After all, this was a pretty big sum of money, certainly the most cash I’ve ever dropped on a figure.
So how much did Kenshin cost?
Including the commission fee, Paypal fees, and shipping, just a bit over $765.
Yeah, I’m crazy as hell.
In one context, that’s around what a Dollfie costs, and those have of late become almost commonplace. In another context, for something that in my view is at the pinnacle of the hobby, the financial hit isn’t too bad; if I collected wristwatches, or automobiles, or Neo Geo games, I’d have to spend much more money to assuage my craving.
On the other hand, that’s a helluva lot of scratch to drop on anything. I could have bought a half dozen other PVC figures. I could have bought two of Daiki Kougyou’s 1/4 scale Saber figures and had them form a beach volleyball team. I could have finally purchased a Playstation 3 and replaced my first-run Xbox with an Elite unit.
And yet, you can’t defer a dream forever, can you?
Uesugi Kenshin is the leader of Uesugi House in AliceSoft’s superlative pornographic strategy game Sengoku Rance. The game has been almost completely translated by Yandere Translations, leaving only text that could not be written in English because of technical reasons. They’ve done a marvelous job, and having played through the game a couple of times recently, I think it’s the best game I’ve played all year. Kenshin is one of the more powerful offensive captains that you can recruit, and is also the only female love interest that completely flusters the title character. She is honest, straightforward, and fights for justice and peace.
Kenshin is also quite fond of eating.
Looking at this figure, I’m satisfied that this is an authentic item. The quality is undeniable and looks almost exactly like the sample images provided by Volks. Kenshin also comes in a huge clamshell box reinforced by metal rivets in the corners and secured by a metal latch. That’s enough to convince me that this figure is realer than Real Deal Holyfield.
In person, the first thing you might notice is her size. As I mentioned, Kenshin is sculpted in a colossal 1/4 scale. Including her base, she stands a mighty 39.5 centimeters tall. Add in her hat – which I forgot to take pictures of – and her height increases to 50 centimeters. This is a huge, huge figure, one of the largest I own. Kenshin positively dwarfs Saber Lily, who isn’t all that small a figure herself.
Kenshin needed a small amount of assembly after unpacking. The trickiest thing to position was her sword, which is large and heavy and supported by a thin metal rod. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about gluing down parts since I like being able to re-pack figures in their boxes if I have to transport them, but I didn’t have much choice here. She also has a hat, which I don’t like much; it makes her look like a Klansman, which I don’t find all that attractive. You can check out her hat here, in the images towards the bottom, if you are curious.
I have a few of Volks’s PVC figures, and their quality has been uniformly questionable at best. Happily, Kenshin deviates from this track record. Her paint job and sculpt are bloody incredible. I particularly like her eyes; they’re locked in a piercing gaze framed by long lashes, her head slightly cocked. I’m not sure why her clothes are falling off, but they look amazing anyway.
Her pose evinces confidence and sexiness in equal measure. Her hair swirls to the left, which along with her disrobing add a strong sense of dynamic movement to this figure.
I wonder what she’s doing with her left hand?
Another aspect of this figure that I love is that she has relatively realistic body proportions. Her head isn’t oversized and her limbs aren’t unnaturally skinny. Her neck is large enough to support her head and while she has a slender, sexy physique, she still looks like she can throw down in a fight.
I also like the details of her anatomy, including how her toes are individually defined, how there’s a small roll of flesh in her side where she is tilting her body, and how the lower part of her rib cage is hinted at.
Wait, what did you think I was going to talk about when I said “anatomy?†Y’alls are some perverts.
I’ve had this figure for only a day, but I think it’s already my favorite. And why not? I’ve been looking at it and looking forward to it for years. Sometimes you don’t always get what you desire, but when you do, it’s one helluva happy time, and I’m still sitting here saying, “Daayum.â€
she’s breathtaking! and it boggles the mind that she’s twice as tall as saber lily! given the cost of the kos-mos kit i was thinking you had paid more like $1200-$1500 on her ^^;;
again, congrats ^__^ it’s always a treat to see 1/4 executed with the polish/detail of a 1/7 or so.
i too wonder why her clothes are falling off. that’s usually not something that happens while wielding one’s weapons like that ^^; not that i’m complaining.
Thanks! The scary thing is, if she did cost four figures, I still might’ve bought her. I think I actually got her at a discount, since my bid was 48000 yen and Shingo reported that her WonFes price was 58800 yen. (Man I miss Heisei Democracy.)
I’m not complaining either XD Maybe she’s trying to win over Rance with both her sexiness and her martial prowess?
Nice get indeed, 1/4 Kenshin is without a doubt in my mind, a goddess descent upon mankind within my collection. I have the Gathering version and she is just as breathtaking. I think you landed a good deal on her actually lol. For a painted resin originally retailed for 58800 yen, you did well. I should do a photo shoot for her within the next couple of days just for comparison sakes.
‘DAYUUMMM’ indeed, man!
Really, really nice get. At first I thought you were getting the recast one, but hell man, I’m speechless right now.
It also makes me wonder, does the original cast and the recast really have that much difference? Coz I pre-ordered Kos-Mos recast, since I can’t afford the original one T_T
again, really really nice get man!
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>> Wolfheinrich
Yeah, this is without a doubt the most amazing figure I own. I’ll be looking forward to those pictures; I’ve looked at the ones on the E2046 page (when I was hoping they’d do another production run) but they have this real big watermark on them which makes it hard to see some of the detail.
>> dou2
Thanks! If you’re buying a prepainted version … probably not . I have no experience building models, but if you’re building the figure yourself, I’ve heard on good authority that the original kits are much easier to work with. The major distinction between original and recast kits is ethical, and that’s not a subject I spend much time debating. (For my part, I’d rather buy the original if possible.)
You,Sir are truly a hero among us figure collectors.
No seriously thats simply beautiful that you chased your grail and grabbed it without hestitation!
I dont have a holy grail like that 😛
Haha, thanks XD Any other figure I would’ve thought twice about forking over cash, but this figure was definitely my #1 most-wanted figure.
I am speechless! This figure is an meveille, splendor. I understand that you wish so.
I’m glad you were able to obtain this figure, even if the price is quite prohibitive.
Your pictures are beautiful, as always. I love how you play with light.
Sorry : not “meveille” but “This figure is a wonder!” ^^
Very nice purchase. And at a fairly good price for a fully prepainted version! The unpainted original was around 42,000 yen so I expect a fully painted one to be at least 70,000 yen or so!
Volks Moekore PVC figures may be a little questionable and random in terms of quality but from what i’ve seen of their resin kits, they are beyond reproach! I have a FSS, 2 try-GK and one FigureFigure kit from volks and they are all beautiful!
Good thing that they don’t have any issues with international credit cards or services like Tenso.com!! I just get them to ship to my tenso address so I don’t have many problems ordering from them (done it 3 times already)
And if you want totally crazy, just wait till tonight! Finally lifting me self emposed embargo and doing a Oct loot post. Some interesting stuff coming up!
Amazing. This figure is really beautiful. The quality is better than my Nanoha Volks’s figure O.o It’s really impressive and she isn’t small xD Thanks for this beautiful review, it’s the first about this figure that i see 🙂
I’m overwhelmed, jealous and completely in love with Kenshin. Going trough all that trouble to get her, that’s a real collectors spirit! Congrats! This must be the best figure I have seen so far.
As for the price, it sounds crazy first but considering her quality and scale it’s not that over the top imo.
Even some PVC 1/8 scale figs cost around 120€ and this figure is worth a dozen of those.
Oh and great pics btw \o/
You’re crazy dude, but that’s why we love you ;).
Anyway, you wander off, and I am left not knowing if this is PVC or GK. I take it GK, but then, you speak of Volks’ PVC figures, and then talk of this one… So PVC or a GK someone painted?
As for the astronomical price it got at WF08, it’s true it’s astronomical, but it’s what people had to pay for 1/4 Kos-Mos as well, now that was an epic figure. The pre-painted charity figure was so stunning.
As for costs, that is a very major display. And no, you can’t deter a dream forever, you can always give up on it 😉 Then again, quite often, the hunt fulfills the dream, fuels the imagination, and is much more important than satisfying one’s desire. Now you’ll need something else to track down!
And as for me, I don’t put down this much money on any one figure, but between the time I posted my last Monthly Haul post and now I’ve dropped another $70 on miniatures…
My problem is not “The one that got away”, because I have an endless amount of them, but that I want so much, and I have too many eBay saved searches which keep showing me when stuff I like comes up. I must cancel them, as I’m going to pay for Saber Alter Maid on Sunday. My crazy is not a one-item crazy, but eBay addiction 🙁
>> Lylibellule
Thanks!
>> gundamjehutykai
When I first saw the auction, I thought it was for an unassembled kit since I knew the garage kit cost around $500. Then when Google Translate told me that the auction title said “Finished 1/4 Scale” I felt a little bit better. I’m still always a little bit nervous when I bid on a YJA item though.
Looking forward to seeing your loot! Being able to order direct from Volks has to be pretty nice; they’ve got a ton of stuff that I’d buy if it were easier to do so.
>> Leonia
Thanks! I wonder how many prepainted units Volks sold? As far as I know, they only sold this item at the February 08 Wonder Festival so I can’t imagine that they’ve sold that many. The only other pictures of this item that I’ve seen were sample shots over at Senaka Blog.
>> hikky
Thanks! And I agree; this has to be the coolest figure that I own and was definitely worth the price.
>> Guy
Yeah, it’s a resin figure. I edited the opening statement to clarify it a bit (I shoulda also mentioned that I have one other prepainted Volks garage kit [Metatron] and like their Super Robot Wars PVC figures, its quality isn’t spectacular either).
I’m actually having some trouble thinking of what I should lust after next; most of the stuff I really want hasn’t been released yet, and it’s not nearly as much fun waiting for a preorder as it is trying to track down something rare and desirable.
That reminds me that Saber Maid’s deadline is coming up. I guess I need to make a decision on her pretty soon.
Well, it’s sad to hear their GK are not as awesome either. The La Campagnella have a couple figures I really want, but not for GK prices, especially pre-painted, so will hope for a PVC release. They kinda look like some Kotokubiya figures, from Tears to Tiara.
Also, since I’m ordering Saber Alter Maid, you can just pass on buying her and wait for one of my less than stellar photoshoot reviews. I guess I try to shore up the less than stellar photos with above par verbiage. You should comment on my blog on my success or lack thereof 😛
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Hi,
Thank you for posting photos of such a nice figure.
BTW, out of curiosity and being a layman, I’d like to ask this question. Did the box specifically mention which country the item is made in?
When I read your post (regarding authentic) and saw an advertisement on ebay (regarding hong kong/china version of PVC selling at a cheaper price), it dawned on me and I realized that all my PVCs are made in China. Is that a common situation? Being new in this PVC hobby, this made in Japan or China issue is making rather uneasy.
Any opinions or thoughts from you (a veteran), since you have so many figures, will be very much appreciated.
Thanks.
>> Guy
I think I know what figures you’re talking about. One annoying thing about Yahoo Japan Auctions is that a lot of the sellers don’t show the item; they might just show one of the manufacturer’s publicity photos and if you’re lucky, you might get a picture of the box (and if you’re unlucky, all you’ll get is a picture of the box). So admittedly I only have a sample size of two figures to assess the craftsmanship of Volks’s prepainted kits, and Kenshin probably shouldn’t be counted because of her price.
I’m pretty sure I’m going to pass on Saber maid, so I’ll look forward to your pictures XD
>> softz
The packaging for this figure doesn’t explicitly say where it was manufactured; I did find an assembly instruction guide in the box which lists Volks’s telephone and fax numbers but no country of manufacture. I don’t think Volks made many units of Kenshin, so I would guess that the resin kits were cast in Japan.
I think that a lot of authentic PVC figures are manufactured in China although I’ve never actually thought to investigate where they’re actually built. The stigma against Chinese figures is due to rampant piracy. A lot of the figures (PVC and resin) on eBay are bootlegs, particularly the ones that seem very cheap. Generally, if the price seems too good to be true, it’s probably a poor-quality fake.
You have gotta a helluva figure! If it’s something your heart desires, no price is too much. 🙂
I don’t worry at all about Yahoo Auction Japan items being fake. Never came across any fake ones. The only ones you need to worry about are nendoroids and those are from overseas sellers that try to mingle in the japan community. ^^”
And on proxy services, have you tried goody japan? highly recommended by yours truly…they are one of the cheapest and most reliable.
Indeed! It is a good thing that I don’t collect Nendoroids then.
I haven’t tried them yet … I haven’t had any major problems with either SMJ or M-World, although I did have a funny experience with the latter with Kenshin (he waited until the last moment to place my bid on Kenshin, but Yahoo Japan’s system must’ve glitched and he didn’t get a reminder e-mail so he forgot to bid. Fortunately the auction just started back over when the time expired. I guess in retrospect it wasn’t so funny at the time.)
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Posted 1/4 Uesugi Kenshin Gathering version~
http://tcwenterprise.com/wordpress/2009/11/08/14-uesugi-kenshin-e2046-gathering-version/
Hi, I just had to congratulate you on your purchase. That figure just looks incredible and the comparison picture next to Saber Lily just makes it even more clear how amazing it is. 765 bucks is not something I am ready to spend on a figure yet, so for that, I salute you.
Thanks! Kenshin cost a pretty penny but she was more than worth the cash XD
Absolutely amazing. I would luv to see a size comparison be Uesugi Kenshin and the 1/4 Meiya. Also, I approve of your craziness. Wish I could be that crazy, but my resourses are sadly needed elsewhere.
Thanks! Yeah, I think that my insanity was definitely temporary and that a purchase like this is a once-in-a-while sort of deal. Meiya looks to be about the same size as Kenshin, after a quick eyeball check, although the figure looks larger since she’s propped up on a large pylon. I’ll see about taking a group shot with them; I might have to move my computer monitor or something since I’m not sure if they’ll actually both fit in the area that I take pictures in.
Proving my foolishless with regards to money yet again; I preordered Hobbyfan’s pre-painted Kenshin. The reason this is foolish is because if release dates hold true (not likely, but possible) then i’ll have to pay for Kenshin, Kos-Mos, Dead Master, and I believe one other………all in November. Ouch. I believe it’ll be worth it though because I like Hobbyfan’s color scheme a lot better than E2046’s, and she’s a little cheaper. Plus she comes with magnetic parts to give her some measure of decency when guests are present lol. I figure I’ll never own Volks’ version, but this one is a more than suitable replacement.
I didn’t know Hobbyfan had preorders opened up for Kenshin. I wonder if this review had any influence on that? It’s one of the more popular reviews on this site according to my stat tracker so I suppose it’s possible. Even considering the price, I think it’s a great purchase, Kenshin is a fantastic figure and hands down my favorite in my collection.
I actually stumbled upon it while looking for something else. I checked Hobbyfan via the link you have in your review of 1/4 scale Meiya on the off chance that she might’ve been restocked. No such luck. I did, however, see that they had preorders open for Kenshin. I had to think for a bit, but the fact that she was cheaper than E2046’s (which I had been contemplating buying), and that she had a better color scheme made the decision easy. I think the big part is not having to pay overseas shipping costs lol.
It could be possible that your reviews have influenced sellers. They’ve surely influenced some of the things I bought lol. My favorite one would have to be either Daiki’s Kanu (since that’s what made me buy my first figure; she was just too awesome to pass up) or Cobra Kai’s Fate (since it was hilarious lol). I did enjoy the review of Kenshin too though. It’s definitely a tough call.
Yeah, these big-ass figures cost a helluva lot to ship over the ocean. One of my recent figure purchases cost like $120 to ship, heh.
I’m always glad to learn that I’ve helped people spend their money wisely XD
Lol, I’ve always believed that money spent on something you love is money wisely spent. When I die I want my army of figures to attest to how much I enjoyed my life lol.
True indeed, and that would be an epic memorial. If I have any money left over when I die (which is hopefully a long, long ways away), I’m going to will that all of it be used to construct a mausoleum containing my corpse, watched over by my entire figure collection.
Wow. I don’t mean to knock the attention to detail, grace, and overall awesome beauty of this figure/model. It’s just impossible to deny!
However, your writeup and story of how this was the Holy Grail for you and how you desired it for a long time, and how you came across it and what you had to go through to get it (and pay for!) was soo entertaining to read, that I was disappointed when you stopped your story :P. I enjoyed the passion in your story almost as much as I enjoyed the pictures :).
So in the comments of the Dark Magician figure, is this the Kenshin figure that is your #1 now? Ahh, I understand now, if that’s the case :). I was a little unsure about your #2 favorite, as there were several Senhime models when I did a search. Could you link your #2 here if you get a chance? Thanks, Tier!
Thanks for the kind words XD I always enjoy writing reviews where I have something more to talk about than just how the figure looks. Yep, Kenshin is definitely my favorite figure; she’s huge, she’s naked, and she’s gorgeous. My #2 favorite figure is this Senhime, though I’ve actually got a different version of it that I’m planning on reviewing soon, just as soon as I can figure out how to construct an appropriate backdrop.
E2046 actually has a version of this figure up for ~$320. I’m thinking about picking it up maybe in November/December (slow months.)
A good plan, you should not even think about it. The money can be recouped down the road but Kenshin’s greatness is enduring.
And while on the subject of E2046, I really wish they kept a constant inventory of their Gathering figures; there’s at least 3-4 that I’d purchase in a heartbeat given the chance. This Kanu figure especially:
http://www.e2046.com/product.php?products_id=9048
There appears to be an authentic Volks one on Yahoo Japan right now if you’re really interested in it. Although I think the minimum bid is like 60k, heh.
I, on the other hand, am GLAD that E2046 doesn’t maintain a constant inventory on all of their figures. I just plopped down $311 on my first 2 figures and I have found another 18 figures I put on my wishlist from there. Thankfully only one is in stock so I can’t actually go and buy them all . If they were all in stock…. oh the humanity!!! It’d be such torture to have to decide which one to buy next, and then also not be able to buy one right away.
Need the bank account to sort of recover a bit, I wouldn’t want the girl to freak out when she notices we aren’t saving anymore but are instead going negative ;). In time….. in time…….
You have a good point, but at least you’d have the option to try and show some self control and pick them all up over the course of a few months…. probably wouldn’t work out too well, but at least you’d have the chance. 😛
And yeah, Tier, thinking I’ll pass on the authentic for the time being. >_>
Yeah, 60k yen is kinda expensive XD I’ll not mention this one doll that I bought very recently though …
Hehe, yeah, it’s always fun and perilous to one’s checking account when you just start getting into a hobby. I’m juggling hobby expenses with figures, dakimakura covers, doujinshi, and doll stuff now, and not doing a very good job of it. It’s a good thing that I don’t really buy video games or electronic gadgets now.
At least it’s good that the main concern is her reaction to the bank balance … I think a lot of girls would freak out as soon as they noticed that a bunch of big-eyed, underdressed figurines appeared in the living room XD
I’ve managed to find a new and amazing diversion that has kept me from checking the Hobby Search webpage 500 times a day. I haven’t really gamed much at all since I got into the hobby (also because I’ve been generally busy), but I bought MineCraft about a week ago, and it’s easily one of the best games I’ve ever played; it truly is addicting.
Definitely part of the reason all of my figures are currently in boxes. I’d gladly take any decent woman who wouldn’t be freaked out if I openly shared my dakimakura collection.
I have no clue what that is, but the Wikipedia article makes it sound like a pretty fun game. I think I might pick up Civ 5 soon, though I’ve never really gotten into the Civ franchise much. Alpha Centauri is one of my favorite games though, so I’m sure I’ll like Civ 5.
Civ 5 is great. I just picked it up last weekend (around the same time I bought the figures, so extra reason to take it easy for a while on my bank account). Time flies when playing it, so it’s definitely immersive, which is what I like when I play games. I ended up staying up till 5:30am before I could finally make myself quit for the night. Beware of Civ 5. Do not buy it the day before you have to get up early for something important!! 😛 Also make sure things are cozy with the girl first, and tell them you plan on some alone time. Finally, get cups of water and make yourself a peanut butter sandwich while the game is installing/downloading (I downloaded from Steam), so you save yourself an interruption or two.
Yeah… this reminds me actually. Though I could get away with displaying them at home, I had planned to display them at work (more game/statue fans and people who would appreciate it, plus better lighting in my corporate style office building. But I haven’t figured out how yet.
Any ideas? Do you guys display them in acrylic/plastic/glass cases, or just display them in open air? Wouldn’t dust be a problem? Or just use cans of air to spray the dust off every so often?
I’m also worried a little about security. Though I doubt people would steal them… they aren’t easily replaceable if I did find one missing one morning.
These are things I haven’t figured out yet, as I will admit my decision to make the purchase was made quickly and without much hesitation.
The figures I would be displaying are not cheap to me – $311 – Dark Elf and Dark Magician from E2046, if this could change the advice any of you may dispense to me.
I display them at home, mostly on shelves, though I do have one Detolf display cabinet. The Detolf is sorta the de facto favorite display case, mainly because it’s big, looks reasonably decent, and it’s really cheap. It’s also heavy as hell and shoddily-constructed, like most stuff from Ikea. I don’t bring any of my toys to work since I work in a cubicle and anyone could jack my stuff off of my desk when I’m not around. I had this intern here over the summer and some motherless fuck swiped his earphones. They were crappy little earbuds that probably didn’t cost more than five bucks, but somebody stole them after he went home anyway. I figure if someone’s a big enough asshole to do that here, I’m better off not keeping any figures around at work.
My figures get pretty dusty. I’ve been planning on cleaning them off, they’ve got multiple years’ worth of dust on them. Usually I just wipe them down with a damp paper towel and blow them off with a little air blower (I’ve got one of those rocket blowers that I bought mainly to clean off my camera stuff).
Civ 5 sounds great, I need to get this game. Unfortunately for me, I’ve got so much blog stuff to do that I’ve got no time for other hobbies, but with a bunch of holidays coming up, hopefully I can make some time to get some video game time in.
I’m glad figure collecting is the only horridly expensive hobby I have lol.
It is definitely healthier for the bank balance XD Don’t ever get into big-ass dolls, that stuff will break your checking account. I mean, 3,800 yen for a pair of doll-sized panties? Is it more ridiculous that it costs so much or that I bought not one but two for my big-ass doll?
It’s basically an exploration and fort building game. It’s the type of game that I’m sure a lot would hesitate to try (mainly due to the graphics), but once they do, they get completely sucked up into it. For the money (~$15), I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for something to waste time. It really reminds me of one of my favorite PC games, Dungeon Keeper.
I love Civ IV, and Civ 5 looks even better by all means. For me, it’s not a matter of if I’ll pick it up, but when.
Maybe I’ll try it out … hopefully I can install it at work, because my job truly is boring. I never did play Dungeon Keeper but I seem to recall that people liked it a lot. It sounds like it was one of the last well-regarded EA games before people starting hating EA.
It’s really enjoyable, and you shouldn’t have a problem playing it at work. If you buy it (there’s a couple of free modes that I haven’t tried), the game comes in a small .exe, but I’m pretty sure you can also play it in your browser.
I know Peter Molyneux was a big part of Bullfrog, then EA acquired them. Pretty sure they released Dungeon Keeper after that happened, but I’m thinking that was his last game with the studio before he left. EA was fairly awesome in the 90s; I remember playing the hell out of the Road Rash games especially. Then they decided they wanted to be assholes, and buy out everything while making most of their games suck. They’ve been better recently (and all the hate has rightfully been on Activision), but I think it will take them a few years to build up a reputation again.
I might give it a shot, then. EA was one of my earliest favorite game companies, since I loved Wasteland and The Bard’s Tale games as a kid. I still count them as my favorite games, and I occassionally play Bard’s Tale III on an Apple II emulator (I’m having a tough time building experience in Unterbrae, though). I wasn’t all that thrilled when they bought out Bioware, and none of their sports games enthuses me anymore, which is kinda odd since I’m a big football fan and I played the hell out of NCAA 2003. I think I had a dynasty go like twenty seasons in that game.
Yeah, I most certainly have fond memories of EA in the early 90s, but the last 10 years has been mostly crap. The day they bought out/closed down Westwood was the day that I started to really hate them. Them buying Bioware was certainly a scary thought when it happened, and I’m still waiting to see what they do with it before I make any judgement.
I was always more of a 2k guy (don’t follow college), and I remember my asshole feeling quite sore the day I heard of a partnership between EA and the NFL.
I wonder what the last EA game I played was. I guess it was technically Dragon Age, though I played that all of five minutes (just long enough to name the dog). Mass Effect 2 is still in its shrinkwrap. It might’ve been Burnout 3 on the old Xbox; that was actually a really fun game. I heard that they made the subsequent games less of a circuit racer and more of an open-world thing, though, which doesn’t really sound that fun to me.
That exclusivity thing really pissed me off, and I think that’s one of the big reasons I haven’t played a Madden game since. I liked NFL2k5 a lot, and if 2k Sports (or whatever they’re called now) were still making NFL games, I’d probably buy them.
I couldn’t say myself, but I’d assume it’s mostly because I haven’t really played many games in the last year or so. It might have been Mass Effect, which I played ~1 year ago.
Agreed. If I’m ever in the need for an NFL fix, I just boot up 2k5; Madden be damned, I say!
I got my tentacle mouse pad from Amiami today (as well as another from the same company), and while it’s certainly nice, it is a bit disappointing. The tentacles are great, as is the artwork, but I’m disappointed with where the bulge is located. in this case, I’d much prefer it in the breasts, possibly with some bulging tentacles, but instead it’s place in the thigh/leg area. Still really nice though, and I can legitimately say I have a tentacle rape mousepad.
I got mine too (pic here if anyone wants to see it). I expected the bulge to be at the bottom, since that’s the only place it could be while still functioning as a mousepad. Mikoto’s backside sure is comfy for my wrist but I’m leaving it in its box for now; I’m thinking it’s probably too expensive to use it for its intended purpose, so I might just display it someplace instead.
Wait, so people actually buy these things to use as mousepads? I’m unable to process this information. Really though, I hadn’t even thought about it logically in that case, and I was just buying it because I really liked the design.
I know I was somewhat disappointed with my first oppai pad (one of the Soniko pads) because the image wasn’t very clear. I haven’t really been overly impressed (though they have improved in quality) with any of the pads I’ve purchased since then. Though I was really happy when the Qwaser pads tried to stay true to the show; the blue haired chick’s boobs are about two times as big (and bulgy) as the red haired chick’s. That was definitely a pleasant surprise.
Apparently so! At least, I would assume that if nobody did, then nobody would make them. I really wish that they’d just make posters or wallscrolls instead, since it seems kinda ass-backwards to buy dakimakura covers and such to hang up on a wall because there’s nothing else. In a pornographic sense, anyway.
Somebody really needs to make some figures of the Qwaser characters. Somebody good, I mean. I recall hearing that Taki Corporation had some involvement with the show and now that they’ve gone tits-up, hopefully somebody decent can step in to do that.
That’s a fair point, and pretty much why I continue to buy the pads despite not using them. Dakimakura are a bit too expensive to casually display, I think (though with as many as I have… I could line my entire wall!)
I’m sad to say that the E2046 Kenshin sold out before I was able to pick up mine. I was feeling like I had a good shot at it too, since it was expensive and they had three left… but I guess that will teach me to buy stuff when I want it, and not to wait. 🙁
I’ve seen a few in the Amiami bargain bin, and I thought about picking them up, but they don’t look like good figures. I’d definitely take one of the blonde chick, if it were a decent looking figure. Thought about the one in the bargain bin, but the face looks so fake, with the eyes painted on, or something. Hard to explain, but it doesn’t look good.
Yeah, I’m a sucker for buying goods that I won’t use for their actual purpose. Like this mousepad, or this one paper sleeve (I think that’s what it is; it’s kinda like a folder but it’s way too flimsy to be used as such) that I bought solely because it has Lisa from Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball on it. Or the deck of DOAXBV playing cards I’ve got. They’re too thin to be used as playing cards anyway, I guess.
Ouch, yeah, that’s pretty sad. They haven’t sold the prepainted version of that figure in some time; I’ve had it on my wishlist for years, and I was sorta surprised when they announced an additional production run. On the other hand, Hobbyfan seems to still be taking orders for Kenshin, you might check there if you really want it.
Yeah, I would really like a figure of Teresa, I’ve got this thing for combat nuns. Not sure why that is. Maybe it has something to do with my penchant for playing as paladins in RPGs. But yeah, most of them range from meh to a big bag of WTF, so I’m not too enthused by what’s out there now.
I love the look of this figure and the 1/4 Yamamoto Isuroku. I couldn’t afford a pre painted version, but I see no assembled kits on E2046 for under EUR 100. Any insight on those? I’m tempted to grab those and paint and assemble them myself.
I have zero experience building figure kits myself, though I do have a few E2046 recast kits. I’ve been meaning to buy an airbrush to try painting and assembling them but that’s something I keep putting off. I think their kits are decent quality, so if you’ve got some skill and putting them together and want to give it a shot, I think that might be a good alternative.
A properly forged Japanese katana costs around 200 to 2,000 depending on what type of forging you want to use, traditional steel folding (Japanese blacksmiths must fold that steel by hand, no wonder it’s 2,000 US dollars) or more economical Western machine forges (300 dollar for a normal length Katana. Not a bad price).
So be assured. In terms of item collection and beauty seeking, 799 US dollars isn’t that bad a price when it is your number 1 priority.
holy smokes!!!! That’s a very large figure for a large price too. The figure itself is stunning indeed, froms the anatomy to the details but not something that you could display proudly outside. I guess the figma will be the cheapest and most available figure offer for her.
Quite probably; I might order the Figma as well but I’m not sure yet.
Seeing this post reminds me that I really ought to take new pictures of Kenshin, as it’s my favorite figure in my collection. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to do so soon.
Found this while doing some research, so I’m a little late to the party.
Never had much time for these kinds of things as a kid and always wrote them off as fodder for perverts and anime fags. This, on the other hand, is absolutely incredible and easily worth what you paid for it, if not a great deal more.
It’s a shame it’s so rare (and so naked), as I’d love one for my office. Maybe someday…
This figure would be one hell of an office decoration for sure. I’ve actually seen it for sale from time to time, even recently (and of course, there’s always the recast route).
But man, if you don’t like perverted anime stuff, you sure did come to the wrong website.
Well, you know how it goes…
One minute you’re looking for information on the Sengoku period and the many figures that made it such an interesting time, the next minute you’re staring at (literally) hand-crafted tits.
Google is a hell of a search engine.
True indeed. The internet is a magical world, you never know where you’ll end up if you go exploring. I’m guessing you might’ve come across several other curious pop-culture adaptations of the various personalities of the Sengoku era.
I wonder what she’s doing with her left hand?
Sir, I think her left hand must be holding her huge Katana sword, with Tsuka (handle) upward and Saya (scabard) downward. 🙂
Just wanted to say I finally got my Kenshin after seven long years. It’s the kit and I can’t wait to make it. Even living in Japan it was damn hard but I finally did it. Now comes the hard part.
That’s a very lovely figure you got. How detailed is the sculpt of her genitalia if you don’t mind me asking? Been wanting an Uesugi figure and I saw the Native version for her for sale on a site. What are your thoughts on that version or what figure would you recommend me to get of hers that is cultured but is not too expensive? I can say that the max I Would pay would be around 30 000 yen but a little more if the figure is really good.
This response is really, really late so apologies for that. It’s not really that detailed; I don’t think many Volks statues from this era were that intricate in that respect. I actually did not recall that Native made a Kenshin figure but I would think that’s your best bet; it’s the only Kenshin figure that I can remember being manufactured within the last eight years or so. I remember FREEing did a 1/5 scale figure of her about a decade ago, and Griffon Enterprises did at least one of her as well, and you might be able to find them at secondary sources like Mandarake.