Monthly Archives: March 2014

Thalia from ORI Infinity

written on March 31, 2014 by Tier

Ostensibly, one of the best things about reviewing stuff is getting free figures from manufacturers. Not that I would know for myself; in the first five years of this website I’ve never gotten a review sample. Personally, I think I prefer it that way; as nice as it is to get free stuff, they tend to come with strings attached, whether explicitly defined or merely suggested. I run this website purely as a hobby and as such I don’t like taking on unnecessary work or responsibilities.

A few months ago, a representative of E2046 asked me if I would be interested in reviewing their figure of Thalia. I was a little hesitant to accept, being that I take great pride that this site is completely independent and is, at least in my perception, detached from the larger figure-collecting community, which is how I like it. However, I find it difficult to turn down free stuff, even if strings are attached, and in this case, the only obligation I would undertake would be to photograph and review the figure, which I’ve been doing for years, anyway. Therefore, I agreed that I would review Thalia; they shipped me the figure and here she is.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/6 scale, bodysuit, E2046, Figures, ORI, Review, thalia | 31 Comments

Preorder Outlook XXXIII

written on March 28, 2014 by Tier

A number of figures have been announced recently, including many that we saw at last month’s Wonder Festival, so let’s take a look at some that I’m considering ordering. Most of them are very pricy, which unfortunately seems to be the norm nowadays, and for some reason most of the ones listed here have ship dates crammed into August. Happily for me, I’ve got some credit card points and a larger-than-expected tax refund to draw from, and that should cushion the checking account shock a bit. Meanwhile, let’s get going with the post.
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Posted in Preorder Outlook | Tagged Figures, Preorder Outlook, Random Thoughts | 35 Comments

Velvet Batrass from Shining Ark

written on March 17, 2014 by Tier

In the anime figure world, Tony Taka is clearly the man of the moment, with Kotobukiya’s Daisy having generally received positive acclaim and with Native having recently put Touko on the Can up for preorder. Recently, however, it has been Alphamax who has shown the most enthusiasm for bringing Tony’s artwork into the three-dimensional world. In the last few months they’ve released not one, not two, but three figures based on his illustrations, including Iris, Rikka Himegami, and Velvet, the figure we’re looking at today. Velvet stands out a bit from her Skytube counterparts in that she is not an ero figure – unsurprising, being that she comes from a PSP game – and that she’s nominally a bit smaller than her catalog cousins. Nonetheless, I’m a big fan of Alphamax’s recent work, and I had high expectations for Velvet; happily, her quality is well in keeping with the standards set by her forebears.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/8 scale, alphamax, Figures, pirate, Review, shining ark, swimsuit, tony taka, velvet batrass | 30 Comments

Cyril Brooklyn from Pieces 2 (NSFW)

written on March 7, 2014 by Tier

And it’s back to figure reviews – delayed due to an annoyingly persistent case of the flu. Winter’s end cannot come too soon. Today we’ll be looking at Cyril Brooklyn, a character that comes from the artwork of renowned artist Masamune Shirow. Shirow is best-known for creating the series Ghost in the Shell, and his style is perhaps most closely associated with that of the 1980s and 1990s. It seems appropriate, then, that this figure is manufactured by Arcadia – the reincarnation of Yamato Toys, who were well-known for their Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Macross Plus, and Macross 7 toys. Figures based on his illustrations are not all that common, but fans of his art now have this one, the previously-released Iris Hallett, and the upcoming Daiki Kougyou figure of Nanal Grahambury. It’s not exactly an embarrassment of riches, but it’s nice to see his work get some love from the figure makers.
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