Ok,

Now this is a very random thought based pretty much on the fact that Elfen lied is my favourite Anime of all time, I will be adding a page dedicated to all things Elfen Lied. Now the concept is to bring pictures of Elfen Lied figures/collections and even cosplay to show how great Elfen Lied and the fans are.

What people need to do is basically email me pictures of their figures/stuff etc (please no NSFW stuff!), make sure you send your name (for the photo label)  and blog/web link! Email to the following address:

Daemon_Inks@hotmail.co.uk

I will initially add content to the fan page end of each month but if people get really into it, I will update on a more regular basis!

Thanks for reading

DiStudios

I spent most of yesterday scouring the pre-order sections of my favourite online sellers and as a result the 2010 bill is starting to rise. However this momentary joy was marred by further delays of two of my figures. Queen’s Blade Listy/Risty and yagyu Jubei are still M.I.A with only promises of “one more week and they will ship”. Now I am not going to name my supplier but needless to say the service that has been provided by them in the last three months has dropped a lot.

On to happier news.

Ali Azif from the Demon Bane range by Orchid Seed. Now this is a great sculpt, especially when compared to the bland Metatron (my one’s light sabre broke), it’s a very dynamic spell casting pose seated on a base shaped like a spell book. While I know nothing about the Demon Bane range, the fantastic sculpt alone justified its addition to my pre-order list.

Shipping April 2010

"Hadouken!"

Continuing with the scantily clad theme, Amanda Werner from Yamato is the next figure to be added to my Pre-order list. No particular reason other than I like the look of it.

Shipping April 2010

"Pink hair, guns, horns and lots of junk in the trunk"

Hattori Hanzo by Alter completes the list of newly added pre-orders. Even though I still have not received my Yagyu Jubei I am speculating that this range of figures will only rise in popularity through 2010.

Shipping February 2010

One effective looking Maid

So the line up for 2010 expands which each day I look on the net, but again very select choices. I have to admit that I am quite excited by the Hyakka Ryoran range of figures (Yagyu Jubei and Hattori Hanzo) there are a lot of really cool designs that will translate into some very nice figures for 2010.

The above figures are available from the usual retailers (see affiliates and banners).

Thanks for reading

DiStudios

Ok so it seems there is a lot of hate for this figure. When compared to Freeing’s 1/5 release of Kenshin the latest Rance pre-order does seem to come up short.

So what are the major draw backs of this figure that I can pick up on? Well the three main issues i can see from the proto photo are:

1. Rough looking sculpt (based on proto photo) and bland colour scheme

2. A distinct lack of accessories…not even a rice bun?!

3. The cost factor. Like it’s predecessor the 1/5 scale dictates a sell price of over $135-$145 USD base.

"No rice bun! No sale!"

Now the question is, are all of these factors valid or is it the case of a poor proto shoot? From collecting Wargaming miniatures from various random companies, there have always been incidents where I have ordered something based on a poor photo and had it turn out quite nice. At $140 USD am I willing to take the risk?

YES

Perhaps the one redeeming factor that this figure has at this stage is tha fact that its castable (I only now realise the wave of disgust I probably just created with that comment…) while not a major draw as you can get far nicer figures that are also castable/cheaper/more accessories/all of the above, the point is at least its an option.

"1/5 Scale bewbs..all of sudden things aren't looking so bad"

Joking aside, I think there are probably a lot more accessories then we the buyers will realise. As mentioned (I need to redo the photo-shoot to show this) Kenshin had a lot of cool little accessories such as the rice bun, removable armour plates and helmet etc which made for great photography, while Senhime here seems to be a bit of a plain Jane.

I do actually like the sculpt, perhaps mainly for the figure pose and a fetish for strong female characters, who knows and whilst I will be the first to admit that from initial shots it does not seem great, I think there will be more to this figure when I unbox it.

Just need to wait for six months now to find out…

Senhime is available for pre-order now from your usual on-line retailers. Those willing to take the plunge should not be hard pushed for time as the communities initial response is one of “Meh”. Although as per usual this is not to say that it won’t sell out.

Thanks for reading

DiStudios

]]> http://distudios.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/vocaloid-hatsune-miku-18-pvc/ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:27:13 +0000 DiStudios http://distudios.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/vocaloid-hatsune-miku-18-pvc/

By now almost all the Otaku world knows what a Vocaloid is…except me. All I know is that I have made a pre-order for something I feel is a stunning figure! I am fairly late to the game with one as most people have already done some form of review on “Hatsune Miku”.

This is a 1/8 scale Pvc figure from Max Factory sculpted in a very dynamic position which almost screams “broken pegs” or “lean!” The figure has been formed with what looks to be green tinted clear plastic for the hair which could make for some awesome photos with a bit of light play. This figure is not for the faint hearted, cashing in at around $135 USD online. Despite the premium price tag, I expect pre-orders to max out fast as this piece has the quality of Max Factory and the popularity of the Cult of Vocaloid backing it up. Due to ship August 2010 (?) with Pre-orders available now.

Thanks for reading

DiStudios

Great dynamic sculpt, but is it a lean/peg break risk?

Great detail as expected from Max Factory, note clear plastic hair

"Up-skirt shots the key to sales success!"

]]> http://distudios.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/end-of-year-round-up-2009-2/ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:36:47 +0000 DiStudios http://distudios.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/end-of-year-round-up-2009-2/

Wow another year passing!

I have to admit 2009 was a very hot and cold year for my figure collection. I got messed around a lot with orders being cancelled or details being lost etc. This resulted in the loss of a Celina Mizuno order (DDR Limited addition) and a major delay to my autumn orders.

Also in time-honoured tradition, my laptop blew up (applause!) so I ended up investing in a Macbook. Right now, the remaining orders that need to ship are (Photos below): Queen’s Blade Risty, Yoko (Gurren Lagann) Real version and Yagyu Jubei (delayed again..). On the plus side I have worked on setting my room up to a little more figure friendly for the new year! The two cabinets I invested in this year filled reallllly quick and I have had to find additional space to display the rest of my collection. As a little warning, there are plans on consolidating the pictures of my wargames blog to this blog, just to give people more stuff to look at, as two separate entities I am not doing enough to make the blogs interesting. One of the main reasons for this is that I have discovered some Anime related wargames and these may appeal to figure collectors/wargames collectors/crazy hybrids with not enough time (ie me!) so keep your eyes peeled O_O

Figures waiting to ship

"Anyone this cheerful when they kill must be disturbed!"

"What lovely eyes you have..."

"Girls with Guns!"

Just a small word of warning, over the next few days I will be copying most all of the old Miniatures posts from “Red Metal Panic” to this blog, so if people have seen thoses posts before, I do apologise its all part of the consolidation.

Plans for/new years resolutions 2010: Add lights to the display cabinet, photograph more of the collection and add to the gallery, stop buying little toy soldiers that I will never paint!

Thanks for reading

DiStudios

Wow another year passing!

I have to admit 2009 was a very hot and cold year for my figure collection. I got messed around a lot with orders being cancelled or details being lost etc. This resulted in the loss of a Celina Mizuno order (DDR Limited addition) and a major delay to my autumn orders.

Also in time-honoured tradition, my laptop blew up (applause!) so I ended up investing in a Macbook. Right now, the remaining orders that need to ship are: Queen’s Blade Risty, Yoko (Gurren Lagann) Real version and Yagyu Jubei (delayed again..). On the plus side I have worked on setting my room up to a little more figure friendly for the new year! The two cabinets I invested in this year filled reallllly quick and I have had to find additional space to display the rest of my collection. As a little warning, there are plans on consolidating the pictures of my wargames blog to this blog, just to give people more stuff to look at, as two separate entities I am not doing enough to make the blogs interesting. One of the main reasons for this is that I have discovered some Anime related wargames and these may appeal to figure collectors/wargames collectors/crazy hybrids with not enough time (ie me!) so keep your eyes peeled O_O

Just a small word of warning, over the next few days I will be copying most all of the old Miniatures posts from “Red Metal Panic” to this blog, so if people have seen thoses posts before, I do apologise its all part of the consolidation.

Plans for/new years resolutions 2010: Add lights to the display cabinet, photograph more of the collection and add to the gallery, stop buying little toy soldiers that I will never paint!

Thanks for reading

DiStudios

Hadn’t done one of these in a while, so I figured now would be a good time to post a figure photoshoot. I picked up this particular iteration of Yuki Nagato at Ikasucon 2009. She has some other options for arms and torso and accessories, but I didn’t feel like messing with that.

I thought the leaves and pumpkins made a nice setting for this iteration of Yuki, considering the witch costume. Don’t you think it works well, too?

For some reason I couldn’t seem to get many shots that weren’t a bit washed out-looking in her face and such. I wish this one had come out better, since the angle came out good, and it could have better shown how bright her eyes are.

This one gives you a better look at her eyes, as well as her skin tone and hair coloration.

This shot’s just kind of silly.

This is the best shot I managed to get of her. All in all, she’s a really nice figure.

I did take her hat off for some pictures. Most of them didn’t turn out, but this one’s good.

A parting shot.

If you’re curious about this figure, her Tsukiboard page is here: http://myfigurecollection.net/figure/54_nagato_yuki

If you’re a fan of Yuki Nagato, I’d certainly recommend this figure. It’s an especially nice one if you want her in a canon outfit as opposed to the Extravaganza version that Max Factory also put out, which is just an outfit based on some official art, or any of the other figures of her in things she never wore. I paid about $60 for her and I don’t regret it in the least. She’s over 2 years old, now, though, so she may not be easy to find outside of con dealer rooms. I’ve seen her at least twice at cons since I got her, though, so she shouldn’t be too hard to track down, either.

Not the original image, but this was on the box anyway XD

Bwahahaha, ok, the dangers of working at an anime shop are finally showing XD If I hadn’t been working here, I wouldn’t have known that almost all the figures were being taken to some anime fair, and Kureha would’ve left and my wallet would’ve been saved, but alas, I’m not so lucky (or my wallet isn’t anyway; I’m happy with the figure =3). Erm, to make it clearer, what I mean is that one random day when I went to the shop to work, I found the owners packing stuffs up, and they told me that if I wanted any of the figures, I had to tell them then and there, so yeah, instincts took over and before I knew it, I was buying this lovely Kureha and taking her home =)

Thank goodness its a small box >_> I'm already dreading Fate's box whenever it arrives >.<

Not much to comment on the box… I like the symbol carved at the sides of it, but I kinda forgot to take pictures of that ^^;

I wonder why they made the face so pale o.O

side 1 = sexy leg

Side 2 = even sexier leg XD

love the hair and the ribbon >.<

I’m kind of used to figures full of life, so Kureha feels a bit dull in comparison. Now, it’d actually be kinda weird if that weren’t the case though, ’cause Kureha herself is that much of lively character. You can just look at the array of expressions she has in the game and compare them to, say, Seena or Houmei, and it’s pretty easy to spot. Clalaclan is also like that, but I suppose its all got to do with the character type XD Kureha is one of the few soft spoken characters that I like, so yeah ^^ (and no, it has nothing to do with Hocchan being her seiyuu >.<)

As for the pose… Well, unlike the other 2 figures that were made of her (by Max Factory and Presiden Japan), this one isn’t based off any picture from the Shining Wind illustration book, so I suppose some flaws were bound to appear. Particularily this one:

Over-sized right boob much XD?

While the left boob is perfectly shaped and has no issues, the right one is clearly too big and, well, weird =/ One could argue its the pose’s fault, but really, no matter what one does with her boobs, they’re not gonna stretch just like that XD Not to mention… What the hell is Kureha doing trying to expose herself like that anyway o.O? Not that I can’t see it happening >_>; I mean, from my experience, it’s always the quiet ones that do the most outrageous stuff =x

Getting a pantyshot from one of the posters might as well be easier >_>

SERIOUSLY what’s with the skirt being “blown” inwards O.O?! WHAT kind of non-ero wind is that >.< It’s like, Seena shows off too much panty and Kureha shows off too little o.O Which reminds me~

1/7 vs 1/8 >.<

When I put the two figures beside eachother, I realised that I might have acually been grateful to Seena’s pose after all XD I mean, if she’d been standing up straight, she’d have looked huge XD Or Kureha would’ve looked tiny, all the same :p Funnily enough the bases are similar in shape too, but I prefer Seena’s ’cause it has the Shining Wind logo on it ^^ Having a non-white base for a change is nice too though~

WAY too much.

Imagine living life filled with anime goods. A life where everything you bought meant something and had value. Nothing would become dusty or dirty. You know this really doesn’t happen so why go through all the trouble buying so much?

It really wasn’t until I had a part time job my freshmen year of college did I really dabble in the buying anime merchandise thing. Earning money was both a blessing and a poison since I really only bought anime merchandise. I bought a mass of stuff with that first paycheck because it was very impulsive. Overall over the course of having a job, it felt good to spend money and it didn’t feel wrong since I bought things I thought I valued after a while. I see the things I buy as a reflection of myself. The avid figure collector is stupid. Buy for the love of the character and not to spend money. Does anyone even buy figures for the sake of? I’m sure they’re out there. I prefer to make very selective buys. I think most people do too actually.

But is there a time when buying too much is too much? Yeah definitely, and it’s those type of fans that we see the most of for whatever reason. Probably as a way of showing off but is this really something to be proud of? I halfheartedly want to buy more stuff myself because even I can’t help but think that more = how much of a fan you are. Not to mention, I just want to subscribe to magazines to keep up to date on things in Japan. I just can’t seem to get the motivation to try and read out of date magazines that I currently have.

But whenever I do get that kind of impulse to buy random crap it’s probably better to just hold back. I think a figure or two a year is fine. If at least they’re things I enjoy. I haven’t had a job in a while though because of the economy. I resorted to selling some of my English manga over the summer. (I’m still trying to sell them!) So I was at least able to buy Mitsumete Knight. I enjoyed it so I don’t regret buying it.

I doubt I’ll ever part with any of the stuff I currently own, and I guess that is where the line is drawn. I believe that making precise worthy buys is good but even those kinds of buys add up after a while. I haven’t gotten to the point where I think I could ever sell the old things I own, but at least I’m a hoarder and not an impulse buyer.

【Name】Onegai Teacher
【Size】approx. 20 cm
【Material】PVC
【Selling Price】SGD60.00 (inclusive of postage)

Interested buyers please place your orders via email (infosanime@gmail.com) by 17 Oct 2009, Saturday.

【Name】Yamadaya Angel Girl
【Available Since】May 2007
【Size】Height 26cm x Length 28 cm x Width 7 cm
【Material】PVC
【Selling Price】SGD75.00 (inclusive of postage)

Interested buyers please place your orders via email (infosanime@gmail.com) by 17 Oct 2009, Saturday.

Please feel free to leave a message or email me if you have any queries.

【Name】Yamadaya Bunny Girl
【Available Since】November 2008
【Size】Total height approx. 450mm
【Material】PVC
【Selling Price】SGD80.00 (inclusive of postage)

Interested buyers please place your orders via email (infosanime@gmail.com) by 17 Oct 2009, Saturday.

yum yum ??

Bwahahahaha XDDD Bwahahahaha XDDDD *tries calming down* Woohoo ^^

Okay, I’ve been meaning to post about this awesome job I found for myself at our local anime shop (site’s in Spanish btw), but I kept getting lazy ^^; But with what happened today, I just had to share this XD

The place at a glance ^^

First off, let me say that Spanish people are usually really stingy, but I suppose otakus are different wherever they are XD So here we go, advantages I get at the shop as an employee:

1- 10% discount on manga (be it the ones in Spanish (or Catala) or the ones in Japanese).

2- The most adjustable prices they can manage for me on figures.

3- I get to read whatever manga I feel like while on the job when there isn’t anyone (which is almost always really lol).

4- See that TV screen in the picture? It’s connected to a PC, and I get to put whatever I want :p (Kudos to anyone who can guess what PV I was playing when I took that picture! If you know me, it shouldn’t be too hard to guess lol).

5- There’s net in the place, I can surf or even get on MSN or whatever whenever I want (yes, we’re talking on the job here XD).

6- People who come in are at least somewhat knowledgable about anime/manga, and we’re not talking about Naruto or Bleach here, so I get to chat with people about things I’m interested in, which is quite rare usually =3

7- I get to admire all sorts of awesome figures ^^ (Although, I gotta admit, I DO feel like taking them all home sometimes >.<).

And that’s about all I can think of atm XD (I swear I didn’t put 7 up on purpose!!!) Dunno if there are other interesting stuffs I get to benefit from, but I’d say that’s enough for now :p Salary is also pretty nice taking into consideration the working hours: From 5 pm – 8 pm  on normal days, and 10:30 am – 2 pm + 5 pm – 8 pm on Saturdays (Sundays are off of course). They’re really flexible with working hours, and take into consideration my Uni lessons and stuff It’s really rare to find people who’re actually so permissive here =x

Anyway, so about the thing that happened today. It actually started yesterday. As usual, the shop was mostly empty, so I went to look around in the inner store, to start memorizing where stuff was in general. Then I came across some Code Geass figures and while trying to organize them, I saw something that caught my attention~ I always check the shop’s site, and I pay particular attention to the CG stuffs they get (I’m currently wondering whether to get the C.C. cosplay they have lol Although npal says I wouldn’t fit the role T-T) so I was pretty sure that single figure I found there wasn’t on the site. Thought it was weird (what with the figure looking so nice and all) and mentioned it to the shop owners. Apparently they couldn’t even remember getting that figure XD

This lead to that and in the end they said they’d put it up on sale, so I said I’d buy it myself (I was feeling as if I’d found a hidden treasure for myself really XD) and out of the blue the dude shoves it into my hands and says he’s giving it to me for FREE XDDDDDDD Danny Choo’s no better now :p I also get given figures for free!!! Well, I honestly doubt it’ll happen again, and the figure is hardly as great the ones he gets, but whatever, free stuffs are nice =3 And even though the figure quality isn’t exactly the best, the pose is just pure win XD Oh, and did I mention that I couldn’t find it on any of the usual  figure sites o.O?? I know it’s probably around somewhere, just no idea where :p

Not exactly a very attractive box, but that's no reason for not remembering it o.O

Honestly, I think that now, with this job, I’ll be doing a lot more figure and manga reviews XD For example, I was reading Battle Club (I think that’s the name, not sure) today, until someone came in and I rushed to put it somewhere hidden (had a rather suggestive cover lol) XP I managed to get through the first volume and part of the second, so I’ll prolly be reading some more tomorrow~

Yummy ^^

I’d like to put up more pictures, but it’s nighttime already and the lighting in my room is kinda crappy. Not to mention that the figure itself isn’t really that awesome quality-wise, so it’s not really worth it =/ But a couple more won’t hurt XD

Epic pose alright XP

One more sexy ass added to the collection ^^

Yes, the picture quality is crap. I’m using my phone again >_>; I was supposed to have graduated from that and bought a new cam, but my dad took it and traveled… Yay -_- Also, because of the lighting, I had to use night mode, so it only made things worse >.< Oh well, nothing to do about that… Now that I have a job, I might be able to buy a cam of my own, but figures + Nana goodies come first XP

Don't you suddenly have this urge to order Pizza Hut now? ^^;

Back in December I wrote a post about figures I want but don’t exist, I had written, “I know there are some out there of Haruka (Nogizaka) already but I want one of her not in a maid outfit but in her school uniform wearing her delicious pantyhose. Honestly, the first moe character that gave some good pantyhose fanservice which doesn’t really happen much at least in the shows that I watch. It is always this zettai ryouiki bullshit.”

Oh man! Oh man! Oh man! This might just be the first figure I spill my 1,000s of lives all over. Least it’s coming out in January so by then I should have some money to get it, I think. Wow, it’s like a dream come true!

Cool Subaru is cool XP

Okay, I’ve been playing too much WOW lately, I kept putting this off ^^; But here it is at last, my review on Alter’s new masterpiece; Subaru Nakajima, from the awesome Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS series~ It took me time, but I’m finally sharing this figure’s awesomeness with you guys ^^

From the front

Side 1

Side 2

From the back

Originally, when Alter was releasing the StrikerS series one by one, I had only wanted the 3 aces. I really don’t like Subaru much in the anime, so even though the Teana figure looked nice, I wasn’t sure I wanted it if it meant no Subaru beside her (kinda silly having the 3 aces and only one Striker beside them =/) but then Alter had to release this beauty, and I knew I had to get it no matter what, regardless of how much I like Subaru XD

Close up

not-so-close

You could say that I love every single detail in this figure XD It’s seriously not an exaggeration :p The only thing I might not like much is that piece on the kuckles, it looks kinda badly cut and stuck =/

I love how the eye got kinda covered lol

My favorite angle =3

lol at the ribbon XD

The way the whirls from revolver knuckle get kinda entwined with the ribbon is really nice =3 When I was placing the ribbon in its place, I was kinda skeptical (I really don’t like it in the anime -_-;;) but after I changed the wrist thing from the plain one, to the one with the whirl thingies, it looked pretty cool ;p

Darn shorts >.<

Were the wings always this big o.O?

"The girl become a striker" lol

I think my face went kinda pale when I saw that tiny pole as the only support -_-;; Sure it’s plastic, and the skates are also plastic from the bottom, but I still get scared it might start leaning too much or something >.< Oh yeah, I mentioned when I first got the figure that it looks really lively, to the point of making you think it’s gonna move any minute… Honestly, I think I got that feeling because of how much the figure keeps shaking ^^; I had to put it in front of the fan for a bit, and it just wouldn’t stop shaking o.O No wonder I got the impression it was about to move XP

CHARGE!!

All in all, I’m really happy with this figure ^^ Almost as much as when I got Hayate’s XD (In case you didn’t know, Hayate is my favorite Lyrical Nanoha character. Damn, she might even be my all time favorite anime character XD So obviously nothing beats the delight of when I got that figure :p) I don’t know how long I kept admiring it lol Seriously, it even made me say that Subaru looks beautiful XD I’d never say that about the 2D anime version XP