Plex D.P.C.F. Three Musketeers Roronoa Zoro

No catchy title tonight, just a big figure.  Plex is muscling up next to the P.O.P line when it comes to the One Piece figures.  Both are wonderful, and both are expensive.  I came across someone selling second hand the figure of the one Zoro I really wanted when it was announced.  So here is Plex D.P.C.F. Three Musketeers Roronoa Zoro 1/7 scale (a little over 9 inches tall!):

Zoro has many figures (all looking good) but the Musketeer line has him in the leather jacket/badass pose I find myself loving more and more. I must have a thing for tough guys with good hearts. (Who else is waiting for that Persona 4 Kanji figure to release?) Ok, the light is harsh in this shot so here are details:

The face and hair sculpt are excellent.  It really looks like the Zoro we know from One Piece (artstyle and attitude.)  You can see scuffs on the rifle. I know that comes from the previous owner and the post office smashing the box he was shipped in.  Paint scuffs like this are easy to fix, so I'm not bothered.  I read in many reviews Zoro figures that come new from Plex have excellent paint, so it's not an issue.

Firearm details: Some slight paint misses, but also easy to fix.  The molding on the guns are wonderful. It's nice that the rifle has a scope and the pistol in hand is actually cocked.  The guns were shipped off figure, and fitting them into their respective slots was difficult, but rewarding.

These are shots of the clothing details: like the jackets, zippers, belts, pants and shoes. I love the work on all the metallic features; they stand out nicely against the black. Buttons are well covered, and the loop for the third pistol even unhooks to allow the gun to slide out.

Base shot (he slid into his pegs nicely). Oh and I should mention, the dust collects like crazy on this guy. You do need the base though, he does topple over without it.  It's basic but I do love the hexagon shape/lettering on it.

Final thoughts? A worthy buy.  Plex does an amazing job, and I hear the others they have completed are also top notch.  Sadly Zoro is the only one who interests me, so I probably won't be picking up the other musketeers in this set.  Perhaps a P.O.P will catch my eye in the future so I can compare, but not right now. I'm going to save my money for the next punk in black that catches my eye.

Nostalgia for the New Year

Happy New Year and well wishes for everyone!  For tonight I'm posting something not figurine for once.  (Don't worry I have many more figure related posts in the future)  A gift from my family, I finally got my hands on something dear to my childhood. 

I'm sure everyone who enjoys anime as an adult can recall their first anime.  Mine was the rather random/campy/parody-ish action comedy of Samurai Pizza Cats.  I can't explain it honestly.  As a child it had bright colors, silly faces, robots, fights, pizza, princesses, a fake Tokyo and explosions.  How could it not be good?  Even as a adult I go back and re-watch episodes from time to time.  The added perk being the rather 'adult' innuendo/political humor it had that I missed as a child.  So when I actually got hand painted cels and background from the show, I was deeply touched.

Speedy and Guido were my favorite cats... er Samurai Pizza Cats.  They had great relationship that went from loving to loathing and back again.  They had each others backs in battle and otherwise competed for the attention of the female citizens of the 'doomed to be attacked' Neo Tokyo.  This set is a background, and 2 cels (one signed off on).  Obviously kept in excellent condition which I intend to continue. It may seem meaningless to some people, but the feeling of holding something from your childhood is just wonderful.

Here is a shot of the background, which is skillfully rendered.  The holes in the sheet are for the placement for photography during the actual animation process.  It's a pleasure to see the order number (of when a backround is used in a show) and all of the background intact.  It's like holding a little piece of history.

Here is a little bit of detail to show off the hand painted quality and to show how easily a background like this works with a little bit of zoom. Sadly I only barely recall the episodes, and through the years my brain misplaced where this location exists in the context of the show. (I recall it being a airport runway/hanger tarmac for some reason.)

Here is the cel of Speedy Cerviche alone. Front and Back.  The holes in the top were for setting the cels over the backgrounds. By the by, painting cels is a laborious task. (I've painted a few before.)

Guido Anchovy gets a turn next.  Front and Back.  Guido is the top cel in this set so it has the signature(or possibly a note) in the corner.  Usually these were either signoffs on completion by the artist after cels were used or after cels were sold/released.  They actually don't retain more value because of it, but that doesn't matter since it's endearing to have with the set.

An odd item most would say, but one of the gems of my collection. As for display, I actually leave them in an air tight box in my closet (out of sunlight or any potential spills/folds). I only handle them when I want to enjoy them or photograph them (as in this case). I hope this was a little different and interesting for an entry, and more will come in the new year.

Motochika aka Aniki!

My last post about Aegis failed to mention another figure that I bought with her.  Since shipping from amiami can be on the pricey side, it made sense to get another figure as well.  I checked the sales and found a the one Sengoku Basara character I wanted for myself: Motochika Chousokabe.  Here is a look at my random purchase of Revoltech's Sengoku Basara Motochika Chousokabe:

The box and the packaging are standard for Revoltech.  Not much to say, other than this is how the box should look if any one is concerned with that. I have another coin and parts box to go along with the Layton ones.

Fresh out of the box is the figure that has everything I love: a pirate samurai thug. He is really well sculpted and painted.  I've been getting a lot of recent figures with really good paint lately.  The best details are on his armored parts.  The most range can be found in his knee, ankle and elbow joints.  Plus he has the Revoltech hands that I find so expressive. His best accessory is the anchor weapon with bendable chain. 

Here are the Side and Back Views.  He really is ready for battle at any angle.  I guess the parts that are odd about Motochika mainly have to do with his hair and this back cape.  I've heard people were really bothered with his hair on this sculpt, but while being a little too metallic looking, it isn't bad.  I more wonder why his eye patch doesn't go around properly.  This was a choice made to make change the faces out easier (he has the blank expression and the smirk) but I think Revoltech could've pulled it off better. It wasn't a deal breaker for me. 

That bottom cape though! I almost just glued the thing on because of how often it falls off.  The rest of this parts move well (some too stiff compared to layton) but that cape is just annoying.  I love how it was modeled and really adds to his appearence, so I want to have it on. Since that is the only thing I take issue with, then overall it is a really well jointed Revoltech.

Balancing is a little difficult, but ultimately not bad at all!  Motochika has quite a variety to his poses and can achieve some crazy bends while hold such a large weapon.  I enjoy the little action bases that Revoltech uses, because there is no distracting pole or base.  This figure is even strong enough to balance while the chain is toppling over the edge of a shelf.  Too cool.

This is where Motochika stays in my room.  I can't help but enjoy that smirk and thumbs up.  I recommend him to anyone who is a fan of the character. He is on sale right now on amiami, which is great after the revamp the site has done recently.  I'm very much pleased with this purchase. And boy what an odd duo Aegis and Motochika make, haha.

Chogokin Aegis

As I may have hinted in an older post, I have a thing for demons, monsters, and androids. While I will never see the Tima I long for, another android stole my heart: Aegis from Persona 3.  I know she has had many releases in figure and plush form, but I missed all of them.  I was holding out for a figma Aegis (aka saving up the money) when Chogokin came out with their own version. I figured it would be even more out of my price range.  Then something odd happened.  After seeing reviews and images from other people, I went ahead and took advantage of the amiami sale and got an Aegis of my own.  So how does she stand up to my longing desires?

I have to admit, I love this box and package set.  It saves a lot of space while taking care of all the TINY parts.  Since this is my first Chogokin, I have no idea if all the boxes are this size or if they adjust depending of the character.  I heard this is a smaller box for them usually. Let's break her out!

First impressions: Cold! (probably from shipping in December) the die cast metal parts were cold to the touch, and then she has this really nice weight to her.  Something about an android figure actually being metal is so appealing to me.  I can't explain it, nor recreate it in the photos.  No wonder people prefer their robot/android figures from Chogokin. 

I love how they handled the white parts of her body, they are smooth without having a slick sheen. The gold parts are eye catching in the way I always pictured Aegis. Plus they payed close attention to the joints and how they were designed for the android.  I love this detail of her; with these joints the range of positions for the arms and legs are incredible.  They also included a nub stopper so she could be posed without the massive base, so I tried that out first.  It works very well.  But since they included such an impressive base I want to use it for the display.  The nub will only come into play if I pose her for scenes later on.

Another reason why I went with this aegis over other versions, was her face and hair.  This version of aegis has a more spot on face and hair color/style compared to the figma. This is however my own personal opinion.  I just loved how much the face and the hair matched the artwork of aegis rather than in game versions.  Here is how to switch the faces out.  I love this way because the hair has no seam lines and all the parts match up perfectly.  I guess Chogokin know how to machine a machine.  I love her angry fight face so that the one I settle with for these pictures:

Here is the basically saucer sized base.  I do believe it has to be this big because of the sheer weight of aegis.

I should mention how tight all of the parts are.  Sometimes you really have to push or pull to make things fit, twist, or turn.  Once they do however, they are really solid.  Sometimes I can feel figma or revoltech joints kinda slip, but with these parts that's never the case.  The hands in particular have this sickly POP sound when you put them on or take them off.  This isn't a complaint though, I actually really like this feeling.  Everything is so study that I don't have fears of parts breaking.  I've just never felt that in a figure before.

Her body joint twists and turn with ease, and her neck has a lot of motion as well.  One can see this in the shot where she is looking kind of behind her rifle arm.  You can also see her shoulder metal joints can open up and slide over the gold rims of her shoulders. Giving her arms the same kind of insane range.


The Rifle happens to be my favorite accessory, so I choose to leave it on her for display.  I really love the rocket punch arm as well, but they set that thing on a hair trigger.  Just posing her today with it I managed to fire it at my house plant, my lamp, and once at my face 0_- *  So I will leave the safer bullet hand and rifle for now. 

Speaking of hands, Aegis comes with four sets, I switched them up quite a bit for the shots for everyone to see.  It helps to recreate a lot of the motions Aegis would have in battle, and you sure can with how much air she can get off of the base.  She really is a treat for anyone who love the robot girl destined to fight shadows.

She really went above my expectations.  It's worth the amiami.com sale if you don't have an aegis and want one (I saved 40% from the normal price, which I forget at the moment).  I know Chogokin also came out with a heavy armor set for her from the fes version of the game.  It's expensive and while it would be nice, too expensive for myself (like 30$ for the armor and extra pieces). I'd rather have a Chogokin Metis 0.0;

So in the end I have nothing but praise for Chogokin Aegis, and recommend hitting up amiami.com for purchasing your own.  I'm gonna go pose Aegis some more, nerd awaaay~

The King, King Kazma

I don't have much to say to start this entry off.  Only that I have quite a love for Summer Wars.  I really enjoyed Madhouse's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, so when Summer Wars was announced I was excited.  They surpassed my expectation and it holds a special spot among my DVDs.  King Kazma was a standout character to me, and I couldn't be more pleased with the figma representation.  Rarely do the chracters I love get figures, so this was an automatic must get. Here is Max Factory's King Kazma figma:

These are the shots of how I typically pose Kazuma.  I love the flag they included in the parts, so I can't help but always have it out.  It's large, beautifully painted and designed (it has ripples like fabric).  Pus Kazuma has string enough joints that he can really whip it around in any direction.

As with any figma, he is extremly posable.  I have to admit, I initially had trouble with the hole and peg in his back for the stand.  There was a chuck of plastic that was prohibiting the peg to work, making it impossible to use the stand.  Luckily a sharp exacto knife got it out and everything works fine.  Thus leaping and running moves are possible now.  He also comes with a alternate hand sets, and angry face (which I prefer not to use so I didn't film it, maybe next time), and a tiny Kenji Avatar (such a great bonus).

The other great part? Kazma can actually balance without the stand.  This shows great design when a figure can do this.  As my first figma, I must say I really dig what they do for posable figures.  After having spent time with Kazma, jointed figures don't bother me like they used too.  Thats quite a drastic change for me!  Honestly this is a really popular figure, so finding it in online shops and in reviews is very easy.  If this entry has peaked your interest, take a look around the internet for one of your own. 

I'll be posting again soon, with new things, as always.

Short Post with Short Figures

I promise future posts will have more variety of nerd merch, but I'm still on a figure kick.  Specifically Monster Hunter figures.  These are the typical airuo and I was lucky enough to get no repeats.  I wanted a little trio (I like groups of figures) and each has a specific color scheme and expression, so I'm pleased with the variety in these random boxes.

This is the box for the 1st series of Airuo by capcom, and basically they are really noticible at conventions.  They show the variety of the figures, and even tease at a mystery one (which is really cute by the way). As for my three:

Like I said, I ended up with a nice variety.  My favorite is the white one, but the other two are so pleasent that I really can't deny their charms either.  Now these do tend to go between nine and twelve dollars per random box.  It's a lot for a figure thats slightly over an inch tall.  If the size turns you off, then I don't recommend them.  If you do however want a really detailed miniature, with expressive faces and well sculpted details, I don't know of any other minis that are this nice.  For such a small size, they really pack a lot in their accesories, the terrain base, and the extra elements.  The flower alone on angry airuo is amazing.  Plus these are really easy to keep out.  Mine stay by a lamp in my room and fit into the scenery rather well:

Would I consider getting more of these in the future? Yes.  The second series is out and has even more variety (more costumes and colors) so I may just wait for one of those at the next convention. For now I'll settle for the ones I have.  Nerd awaaay~