Monthly Archives: July 2011

Shot Breakdown – Super Sonico

written on July 30, 2011 by Tier

Back when I talked about photographing Gotou Matabei, I talked about trying to establish a mood. That’s not an approach I take for every figure, though. Quite often, I’m just trying to make them look pretty. Such is the case with Orchid Seed’s Super Sonico. She’s dressed provocatively but has a surprised, perhaps even timid expression, and I didn’t have any great ideas for photographing her until I bought David Hobby’s Lighting in Layers DVD set. One of his shoots positioned the model in front of three tall, rectangular panels, and I really liked the geometry and texture of the backdrop. I decided that a 1/7 scale version would work pretty well for me, too.
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Posted in Shot Breakdown | Tagged photography, super sonico | 14 Comments

Charlotte Yeager from Strike Witches

written on July 24, 2011 by Tier

The love that some people have for certain anime character traits can be a funny thing. There are entire communities dedicated to some particular aspect, like flat chests, or glasses, or the tsundere archetype, or tentacle violation. Equally funny is the fervor with which some people will champion their chosen fetishes. There are some people who will lash out with unbridled hostility if you dare attack their favorite things. I’m definitely among their number – insult my doll collection and I will hate you forever.

Nonetheless, I will go ahead and simply say it – I really don’t like animal ears on anime characters. They bug the hell out of me. No, I don’t know why I feel that way – one may as well ask why my favorite food is my favorite or why I hate certain sports teams or musical groups or waking up early or why I go absolutely ballistic if somebody driving slower than me passes in front of my car. It’s just the way things are.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/8 scale, Alter, charlotte yeager, Figures, gun, Review, strike witches | 36 Comments

Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion (Volks Figure Figure Version)

written on July 18, 2011 by Tier

The child-soldiers of Neon Genesis Evangelion comprise some of the most recognizable characters in anime, and figure makers show no signs of jumping off of the Rei and Asuka gravy train. Thus, here’s another figure of Rei. Plugsuit, wreckage, blank stare, blue afro, you’ve seen it all before. Actually, wait – you probably haven’t ever seen this figure. Imagine that.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/6 scale, bodysuit, Figures, neon genesis evangelion, plugsuit, rei ayanami, Review, volks | 83 Comments

Shot Breakdown – Gotou Matabei

written on July 12, 2011 by Tier

There’s a couple of ways you can take figure photos. One uses traditional studio lighting techniques; you place the figure in front of a nice solid or patterned background, place your key light offset by maybe 30 degrees or so and your fill light on the other side, and trip the shutter. If you do it right, you can make a picture that clearly illuminates the figure, showing it off as it is.

Another way to shoot a figure is to manipulate the lighting and setting to achieve a desired effect, and this is how I prefer to photograph figures. Many times, I’m trying to convey a mood or establish an atmosphere rather than show how the figure looks. I readily concede that my pictures aren’t that useful for assessing what a figure looks like or whether it would be a worthwhile purchase, but that’s not what I’m trying to do; my goal is to make my figures and my pictures look as good as I can.

I should mention that a third way to take a figure picture is to take it outside. Definitely a valid approach, but I don’t think there’s anything intrinsically impressive or beautiful about a figure photo taken outside, and as I’m not very good at it, it’s not something I’ll be talking about here.
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Posted in Shot Breakdown | Tagged gotou matabei, photography | 33 Comments

Super Sonico from Nitroplus (Bondage Version) (NSFW)

written on July 8, 2011 by Tier

Every now and then, you will see a whole bunch of figure makers schedule figures of the same character or from the same series all at about the same time. This happened with Ignis a few years back, when Alter, Orchid Seed, and Max Factory dropped their figures within a few months of each other, and with Haruka Takamori, when Alter, Volks, and Kotobukiya all released figures that looked very similar to each other, all at about the same time. And now it’s happened with Sonico, although Orchid Seed’s Sonico looks very much different than Yamato’s Sonico. Both of Yamato’s Sonicos, actually.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/7 scale, Figures, guitar, hentai, nitroplus, Orchid Seed, Review, super sonico, thong | 29 Comments

Preorder Outlook XII

written on July 5, 2011 by Tier

For the past few weeks, it seems like there’s been nothing up for preorder but re-releases and recolors and figures from series that already have a ton of figures like Strike Witches, Bakemonogatari, and K-On! Some of the recolors are attractive, except I already have the originals, or I’ve got them on preorder. But there have been a few interesting figures that have gone up for order in the last few days, so now is as good a time as any to take a look at them.
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