Big Ol' Cat Face

I really can't help myself when it comes to monster hunter cats.  Why do they keep making such adorable figures of them?  I Confess, I never played a Monster Hunter Game ._.  I LOVE the monster designs, and the concept does seem like something I would be into, but I have two fears.  One would be I would hate the game, and two would be I would like it too much and lose even more time.  So I stay in a safe zone of the figures they bring, one of which I may get more of in the future.  So here are some shots of my Monster Hunter X  Touma Airou trading figure:

My random box got me a yellow chef! Adorable.  The boxes have a nice layout but some of the pictures are fuzzy.  But anyway, it doesn't matter! I got me a chef, and man is he cool, I totally want to spring for another one of these.  They aren't hard to find, and most anime figure shops online have them for nine to twelve dollars. 

These guys come in parts and need assembly.  It's straightforward since each part can only fit into one hole and they don't have any points of articulation.  Naked Airou is sporting some nice painted designs if you prefer that, and his sculpt is nice and balanced.  It better be too, since the head is solid.  Their design using the tail as a tripod puts some people off, but I find it very clever. The Paint is REALLY good on this one as well.

The clothing literally slips on when the arms and head aren't attached.  It's quite easy to do, and it allows you to mix and match the outfit.  (the green sash fits on other figures too which is cute)  Honestly with so many little complete parts it looks best all put together, especially my favorite part: that big paw hat.

Chef Airou is really fun to mess around with.  If you dig this design and want a nice solid 3 to 4 inch figure I say take a chance with one of these random boxes. If I end up getting another one soon I'll be sure to post the pics!

Late Night Post

I was able to do something today that I never did before, a Gundam kit.  I can't brag about a snap together kit, but hey, it's a start.  I always wanted to try one though, and maybe get to something more advanced later on.

Gundams were on sale for Black Friday at my local hobby shop, so this  eight dollar kit became five bucks. Which isn't bad for a starter kit.  I chose Raider Gundam from Gundam Seed, mostly for the design.  I prefer Gundam Wing things usually.  This is a 2003 Bandai kit, 1/144 scale model. So hopefully he turns out at least 5 inches? please? Hard to tell when the box is only 7 inches high....

Parts! and yet no Purple parts! Boring! But that's fine, it's expected to paint some portions of these so actually having color parts and stickers is really a plus. Thank you also for the GIANT pictures next to the Japanese instructions. Good job kit.

The ball joints are a nice feature for such a small figure.  So far the foot rotates quite nicely and the parts all fit really smoothly.  I was ready for a lot more pull and tug to make parts fit. The weird part? No joints in the knees, which makes me wonder why so much attention to the feet then?

Bandai is not disappointing me so far with it's sculpt work. Pretty soon arms, legs and weapons are complete.  And hey, a 2 inch zelda gashapon for comparison on the legs. 

Am I done yet? He's pretty fine like this right? ... ok no.  Time to put ALL the parts together.  Bye Bye stumpy.

Woah that flash hurts, but hey it's too highlight all the parts.  Pretty much Raider is lacking in posing, but you can adjust his wings and his weapon and his head pretty far.  It is something a little extra to the overall design, so I'm pleased.  The stickers were difficult, but not impossible, and do add a little sparkle to his otherwise deadpan face.  The shinning point of this kit is how well everything fit.

He needs more paint for sure, which I will get to at another point, for now he can just be how I finished him and guard my PS3. Now for a better final shot:

With some touch ups of silver paint, he looks a little more lively. This was a really fun little bit, something way to easy for usual model kit kids, but really a nice way to make a good figure of character. The plastic is a little lighter and cheaper than other figures but what else could I expect for my fiver? Making it over five inches was also a bonus for Raider. I'll have to scope that shop out again in case another Gundam catches my eye in the future.   Nerd awaaaay~

Nohohon? Nohohon!

NO HO HOOON.  I love these guys.  I can't deny the little face or the slow bob of the head in sunlight.  For those unfamiliar, Nohohon Zuko are also known as "sunshine buddies" in English.  Made by Tomy company in 2002, these specialized bobble heads were promoted as "relaxing" for the office, and typically bought for businessmen.  The trend became a boom and whole new lines of luck buddies, fruit/veggie buddies, and character buddies were created year after year.  Even imitations and special edition buddies can be found.  If you want an original, you gotta get a Tomy.  When this one went on super sale for an import store going out of business, I nabbed it fast.

There he is! Well it.... not sure if it's an anything, but adorable.  This guy is about four and a half inches tall (12 cm) closer to five with the base. They add design elements on the bases and make good use of the space. Modeling and colors are spot on too.  Some people say they dislike the censor bar for the light activation, but I disagree.  It's centered, neat, and it's the whole purpose to the eco friendly bobber.  The screws in the back are a little unsightly though.

If you prefer it not to bob, they have a pictorial on/off switch located underneath.  Really a sweet touch that falls in line with the design of the nohohon's in general. Mine is a 2008 Career Buddy (it supposedly boosts luck in your workplace and is soooo meant for business dudes). Anyway a true one will show the years and the tomy name, plus a serial number.   But what are the extra holes for in the corners?

The optional base. Basically the way this one was packaged, a plastic dome with the label was on top of the extra base.  I believe the idea was for when you give it to Mr. Business dude all he has to do is peel off the dome and set his buddy up right away.  It even has a hole in it so you can reach the on/off switch without removing it.  I leave it on for the sake of having it, plus it adds an extra inch to the height.  Not all Nohohon's come with this base though, some come with a key chain, or a larger base anyway. Specialty ones don't seem to have fun extras though : /

What drew me to this one was literally the coloring (God I love that lightblue/pale green/white combo) and the style of the extra character and flowers.  They really pop off of the blue base, and add balance to the main nohohon.  They are really molded out, and not thought of as just extra bits, but main portions of the relaxing scene.  The tiny flower bud and the wiggly feet on the mini really add life and character to an otherwise static bobble head (as cute as it may be).

So why this guy over a normal figure or plush?  Because I never do see too many reviews of them, and they are really charming.  The variety of them is astounding! I am very sure anyone can find one in a color combination and style they love.  This guy in particular stays out by my alarm clock so I see him in the mornings.  It's a nice gentle figure to wake up too.

Finding a Nohohon for yourself? Actually it's pretty easy. Most Japanese import stores, specialty model/toy stores and auction sites online have them. Price wise?  Well, when they first debuted they were 1000 yen.  Anymore it's depends on which one and who's shipping.  I've found them from ten bucks all the way to 200 for the limited edition Christmas or Lucky Wedding Nohohon's. If you get one, put up some pics!

I love a Good Mech

Just to keep things rolling around here, a new post. As I stated before, these entries are more to recount my tales and spoils as a collector, rather than a reviewer.  So my latest is from a trip to Onicon, which was a lovely anime convention. 

I find I hunt for four very specific things in dealer's rooms: Art Books, Random Boxes, Plushes, and Figurines.  More often than not I come out with a few random boxes and a plush.  Onicon did me one better with a figure I completely didn't expect to like as much as I do: Evangelion-01 test type model.

This is my first Sega Prize Figure because wellllll... lets face it, you don't hear the best about them from reviews.  When I would encounter them, they would either 1) not be any character I care for OR 2) look kinda off in some way.  Never poorly drastic, but also never worthy of a second look.  Onicon brought something I had not seen before, Sega Prize 01 and 02 from Evangelion.  The damn thing just called out to me in color, form, and design.  I had to get one.  Which was easy enough, since I saw four vendors with them!  Did they all get the same shipment at once? Conspiracy perhaps? Anyway take a look:

Damn man! Lookit them gams! All kidding aside, seeing 01 in such a tight, ready to spring action pose was pure delight.  The tension is welled up in his hand clutching his blade, and the taught fingers on the other.  It's rock steady on this classy hexagon base, and fits perfectly.  I love a figure when you can't see any supports.  Another plus for this Sega Prize vs others is the hard pvc they use.  It gives the purple portions a nice gloss.  I should also mention, he's a whopping 8 inches tall (slightly over 20 cm). Now for some details:

Head, mid, base, and back shots.  Standard shots to give viewers the idea of the overall sculpt and the paint.  EVA 01 always seemed to pop off the screen being strong, lean, and bright.  I guess in my eye that's what I see in this figure.  Oh, and to be fair, the paint does bleed slightly into some black areas (like in the back shot).  But overall, it's very minimal, all the sections are filled color wise and the sculpt doesn't have any nicks.  I think I scared the poor booth owner.  I starred into the package for a really long time) trying to determine if the paint would be as bad as people claim on Sega Prize figures.

Here is a shot to give you a true sense of the colors.  Which are three of my favorite colors on one badass Mech.  Personally, I dig the hands and feet on this figure.  Nicely done Sega Prize team.

Speaking of which, Why out of all the tons of Evangelion figures would I choose 01? Not only is it my favorite in the show, but overall I tend to like mechs out of sci-fi generes more than the human characters.  If I could have a dream figure it would be android Tima in the final scenes of Tezuka's Metropolis.  Yeah, I'd pay good money for that.  Expect more non-humans in the future posts is all I'm saying.

Oh yeah final thoughts?  At least keep on eye out for Sega Prize figures in the future.  You never know when one will actually surprise you. Plus they also made the 02, which would be a good set with 01.  It looked just as nice in fact, but the 01 is just closer to my heart.

Where to buy your own? I was searching online for a bit and couldn't turn any up. So I don't actually have anywhere to guide people.  I expect soon they will be popping up at random with the usual sega prize tag of 25 to 40 bucks. Keep an eye out.

My weakness: Gaming Figurines

I identify as a "gamer" the same way I do as a general "nerd," so nothing brings me great pleasure quite like video game figurines.  While looking for something to post this week (I've been away for work and oni-con) I noticed a majority of my figures are video game related.  So the best way to start off these entries would be with the figurine that stays right by my desk: Revoltech Professor Layton (Kogepan get outta there) 

Layton was a game I picked up about a year after it's release (Professor Layton and the Curious Village).  After finally picking it up used, I was hooked. (So good that I pre-ordered/will preorder following titles)  It's rare these days to find a game with the degree of intelligence and charm that the Layton world possess.  Revoltech responded with a figure that embodied the Professor to an astounding degree.  I simply had to have him, and my best friend actually got him for me as a birthday gift. (I was so moved!)

So here are standard shots of the box and pieces, but he's so popular you can find these online everywhere:

Generally I shy away from figures with joints.  The joints can be unsightly and difficult to manipulate, or worse, break from wear and tear.  Revoltech seems to understand these concerns (at least from most reviews I've read) and does nice work hiding most and making their figures easy to pose.  I find the same with figma, but I digress.... Since I keep Layton close I change his pose once a month. Sometimes with new accessories, or switching out the variety he already comes with.  Do a google search of revoltech Layton. Seriously.  People have given him some fantastic poses and even alterations.  Here's my few to add to the growing number of Layton internet photos:

The hands are maybe his most expressive part, since they can hold objects and turn in multiple directions.  I actually look forward to getting more Revoltech figures and switching parts with Layton. It seems to work well haha.

Basically the bottom line is Revoltech Professor Layton is well painted (no missed sections or bleeding anywhere), well formed, and easily one of my more entertaining figurines in my personal collection. Highly recommended!

As for how to get your own Layton? It's difficult since a lot of figurine stores are sold out of him, you can still snag one at amazon ---> http://www.amazon.com/Revoltech-Professor-Layton-Figure-086/dp/B003479MIW/ref=sr_1_80?ie=UTF8&qid=1321306542&sr=8-80

Or try your luck on ebay, which isn't impossible, but beware, fakes are notorious on there.  I don't recommend waiting for your local anime convention for him though, the last few I attended didn't have him.  Keep a lookout though, he would be a great deal without shipping charges.