Let’s talk a little bit about lust. If you collect anything, chances are that there is a holy grail item, something that you greatly desire but is nearly impossible to acquire. Maybe it’s an out-of-print edition of a book, or a rare and valuable trading card of some favorite athlete, or a pretty, limited-run postage stamp. These treasures add a definite zest to collecting, igniting passions, squelching common sense, and obliterating the checking accounts of collectors fortunate enough to add these things to their troves.
For me, Volks’s 1/4 scale Uesugi Kenshin statue is the prize that I’ve had my eyes on for years. I never expected to own her; for one, Volks’s wares are notoriously difficult to purchase outside of Japan, and for another, Kenshin was sold only as a resin kit. There was no way I could afford the model, and I do not have the requisite equipment or skill to assemble and paint it anyway. My only hope would be to buy a prepainted recast – and E2046 hasn’t stocked this item in a long time – or for a prepainted, preassembled kit to magically present itself. The late, sorely-missed Heisei Democracy mentions that such an item was in fact sold at the winter Wonder Festival in February 2008 – for an astronomical price.
So time passed, and I didn’t think much about this Kenshin figure, since there was little point pining away for something unobtainable, until one day, on a whim, I spent some time browsing through Yahoo Japan’s listings. And I saw this figure. There were a lot of reasons to hesitate – the price was insane, I would have to go through a middleman which means an even more insane price in addition to requiring a considerable amount of faith in someone a hemisphere away, and the possibility of losing the auction, which presents its own unique set of problems. But hesitation never really entered my mind; after all, this figure is it. This is number one, my prize, and who would deny that magic had occurred? All it would take to acquire this figure would be to meet the price. But Gott im Himmel, what a price.
Besides the cost, there was, of course, the issue as to whether the item was authentic. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about placing such a large bid if the item were fake, and lacking any comprehension of Japanese, my ability to verify that this item was what it appeared to be was necessarily limited. Google Translate did decipher enough of the listing to convince me that the seller was advertising an authentic item, and a quick check of his selling history showed that he specialized in selling limited-edition Volks items (principally Dollfie merchandise from their various doll events). That wasn’t much to go on, but given that some of the doll clothing he was selling was even more expensive than Kenshin, I figured I had all the assurances that I was going to get.
The two deputy services that I’ve used are M-World Service and Shopping Mall Japan. SMJ requires you to place a deposit which restricts your maximum bidding limit and so I could not use them. I’ve commissioned M-World Service several times and they’ve always been great, but I still felt a twinge of anxiety. After all, this was a pretty big sum of money, certainly the most cash I’ve ever dropped on a figure.
So how much did Kenshin cost?
Including the commission fee, Paypal fees, and shipping, just a bit over $765.
Yeah, I’m crazy as hell.
In one context, that’s around what a Dollfie costs, and those have of late become almost commonplace. In another context, for something that in my view is at the pinnacle of the hobby, the financial hit isn’t too bad; if I collected wristwatches, or automobiles, or Neo Geo games, I’d have to spend much more money to assuage my craving.
On the other hand, that’s a helluva lot of scratch to drop on anything. I could have bought a half dozen other PVC figures. I could have bought two of Daiki Kougyou’s 1/4 scale Saber figures and had them form a beach volleyball team. I could have finally purchased a Playstation 3 and replaced my first-run Xbox with an Elite unit.
And yet, you can’t defer a dream forever, can you?
Uesugi Kenshin is the leader of Uesugi House in AliceSoft’s superlative pornographic strategy game Sengoku Rance. The game has been almost completely translated by Yandere Translations, leaving only text that could not be written in English because of technical reasons. They’ve done a marvelous job, and having played through the game a couple of times recently, I think it’s the best game I’ve played all year. Kenshin is one of the more powerful offensive captains that you can recruit, and is also the only female love interest that completely flusters the title character. She is honest, straightforward, and fights for justice and peace.
Kenshin is also quite fond of eating.
Looking at this figure, I’m satisfied that this is an authentic item. The quality is undeniable and looks almost exactly like the sample images provided by Volks. Kenshin also comes in a huge clamshell box reinforced by metal rivets in the corners and secured by a metal latch. That’s enough to convince me that this figure is realer than Real Deal Holyfield.
In person, the first thing you might notice is her size. As I mentioned, Kenshin is sculpted in a colossal 1/4 scale. Including her base, she stands a mighty 39.5 centimeters tall. Add in her hat – which I forgot to take pictures of – and her height increases to 50 centimeters. This is a huge, huge figure, one of the largest I own. Kenshin positively dwarfs Saber Lily, who isn’t all that small a figure herself.
Kenshin needed a small amount of assembly after unpacking. The trickiest thing to position was her sword, which is large and heavy and supported by a thin metal rod. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about gluing down parts since I like being able to re-pack figures in their boxes if I have to transport them, but I didn’t have much choice here. She also has a hat, which I don’t like much; it makes her look like a Klansman, which I don’t find all that attractive. You can check out her hat here, in the images towards the bottom, if you are curious.
I have a few of Volks’s PVC figures, and their quality has been uniformly questionable at best. Happily, Kenshin deviates from this track record. Her paint job and sculpt are bloody incredible. I particularly like her eyes; they’re locked in a piercing gaze framed by long lashes, her head slightly cocked. I’m not sure why her clothes are falling off, but they look amazing anyway.
Her pose evinces confidence and sexiness in equal measure. Her hair swirls to the left, which along with her disrobing add a strong sense of dynamic movement to this figure.
I wonder what she’s doing with her left hand?
Another aspect of this figure that I love is that she has relatively realistic body proportions. Her head isn’t oversized and her limbs aren’t unnaturally skinny. Her neck is large enough to support her head and while she has a slender, sexy physique, she still looks like she can throw down in a fight.
I also like the details of her anatomy, including how her toes are individually defined, how there’s a small roll of flesh in her side where she is tilting her body, and how the lower part of her rib cage is hinted at.
Wait, what did you think I was going to talk about when I said “anatomy?” Y’alls are some perverts.
I’ve had this figure for only a day, but I think it’s already my favorite. And why not? I’ve been looking at it and looking forward to it for years. Sometimes you don’t always get what you desire, but when you do, it’s one helluva happy time, and I’m still sitting here saying, “Daayum.”
she’s breathtaking! and it boggles the mind that she’s twice as tall as saber lily! given the cost of the kos-mos kit i was thinking you had paid more like $1200-$1500 on her ^^;;
again, congrats ^__^ it’s always a treat to see 1/4 executed with the polish/detail of a 1/7 or so.
i too wonder why her clothes are falling off. that’s usually not something that happens while wielding one’s weapons like that ^^; not that i’m complaining.
Thanks! The scary thing is, if she did cost four figures, I still might’ve bought her. I think I actually got her at a discount, since my bid was 48000 yen and Shingo reported that her WonFes price was 58800 yen. (Man I miss Heisei Democracy.)
I’m not complaining either XD Maybe she’s trying to win over Rance with both her sexiness and her martial prowess?
Nice get indeed, 1/4 Kenshin is without a doubt in my mind, a goddess descent upon mankind within my collection. I have the Gathering version and she is just as breathtaking. I think you landed a good deal on her actually lol. For a painted resin originally retailed for 58800 yen, you did well. I should do a photo shoot for her within the next couple of days just for comparison sakes.
‘DAYUUMMM’ indeed, man!
Really, really nice get. At first I thought you were getting the recast one, but hell man, I’m speechless right now.
It also makes me wonder, does the original cast and the recast really have that much difference? Coz I pre-ordered Kos-Mos recast, since I can’t afford the original one T_T
again, really really nice get man!
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>> Wolfheinrich
Yeah, this is without a doubt the most amazing figure I own. I’ll be looking forward to those pictures; I’ve looked at the ones on the E2046 page (when I was hoping they’d do another production run) but they have this real big watermark on them which makes it hard to see some of the detail.
>> dou2
Thanks! If you’re buying a prepainted version … probably not . I have no experience building models, but if you’re building the figure yourself, I’ve heard on good authority that the original kits are much easier to work with. The major distinction between original and recast kits is ethical, and that’s not a subject I spend much time debating. (For my part, I’d rather buy the original if possible.)
You,Sir are truly a hero among us figure collectors.
No seriously thats simply beautiful that you chased your grail and grabbed it without hestitation!
I dont have a holy grail like that
Haha, thanks XD Any other figure I would’ve thought twice about forking over cash, but this figure was definitely my #1 most-wanted figure.
I am speechless! This figure is an meveille, splendor. I understand that you wish so.
I’m glad you were able to obtain this figure, even if the price is quite prohibitive.
Your pictures are beautiful, as always. I love how you play with light.
Sorry : not “meveille” but “This figure is a wonder!” ^^
Very nice purchase. And at a fairly good price for a fully prepainted version! The unpainted original was around 42,000 yen so I expect a fully painted one to be at least 70,000 yen or so!
Volks Moekore PVC figures may be a little questionable and random in terms of quality but from what i’ve seen of their resin kits, they are beyond reproach! I have a FSS, 2 try-GK and one FigureFigure kit from volks and they are all beautiful!
Good thing that they don’t have any issues with international credit cards or services like Tenso.com!! I just get them to ship to my tenso address so I don’t have many problems ordering from them (done it 3 times already)
And if you want totally crazy, just wait till tonight! Finally lifting me self emposed embargo and doing a Oct loot post. Some interesting stuff coming up!
Amazing. This figure is really beautiful. The quality is better than my Nanoha Volks’s figure O.o It’s really impressive and she isn’t small xD Thanks for this beautiful review, it’s the first about this figure that i see
I’m overwhelmed, jealous and completely in love with Kenshin. Going trough all that trouble to get her, that’s a real collectors spirit! Congrats! This must be the best figure I have seen so far.
As for the price, it sounds crazy first but considering her quality and scale it’s not that over the top imo.
Even some PVC 1/8 scale figs cost around 120€ and this figure is worth a dozen of those.
Oh and great pics btw \o/
You’re crazy dude, but that’s why we love you
.
Anyway, you wander off, and I am left not knowing if this is PVC or GK. I take it GK, but then, you speak of Volks’ PVC figures, and then talk of this one… So PVC or a GK someone painted?
As for the astronomical price it got at WF08, it’s true it’s astronomical, but it’s what people had to pay for 1/4 Kos-Mos as well, now that was an epic figure. The pre-painted charity figure was so stunning.
As for costs, that is a very major display. And no, you can’t deter a dream forever, you can always give up on it
Then again, quite often, the hunt fulfills the dream, fuels the imagination, and is much more important than satisfying one’s desire. Now you’ll need something else to track down!
And as for me, I don’t put down this much money on any one figure, but between the time I posted my last Monthly Haul post and now I’ve dropped another $70 on miniatures…
My problem is not “The one that got away”, because I have an endless amount of them, but that I want so much, and I have too many eBay saved searches which keep showing me when stuff I like comes up. I must cancel them, as I’m going to pay for Saber Alter Maid on Sunday. My crazy is not a one-item crazy, but eBay addiction
>> Lylibellule
Thanks!
>> gundamjehutykai
When I first saw the auction, I thought it was for an unassembled kit since I knew the garage kit cost around $500. Then when Google Translate told me that the auction title said “Finished 1/4 Scale” I felt a little bit better. I’m still always a little bit nervous when I bid on a YJA item though.
Looking forward to seeing your loot! Being able to order direct from Volks has to be pretty nice; they’ve got a ton of stuff that I’d buy if it were easier to do so.
>> Leonia
Thanks! I wonder how many prepainted units Volks sold? As far as I know, they only sold this item at the February 08 Wonder Festival so I can’t imagine that they’ve sold that many. The only other pictures of this item that I’ve seen were sample shots over at Senaka Blog.
>> hikky
Thanks! And I agree; this has to be the coolest figure that I own and was definitely worth the price.
>> Guy
Yeah, it’s a resin figure. I edited the opening statement to clarify it a bit (I shoulda also mentioned that I have one other prepainted Volks garage kit [Metatron] and like their Super Robot Wars PVC figures, its quality isn’t spectacular either).
I’m actually having some trouble thinking of what I should lust after next; most of the stuff I really want hasn’t been released yet, and it’s not nearly as much fun waiting for a preorder as it is trying to track down something rare and desirable.
That reminds me that Saber Maid’s deadline is coming up. I guess I need to make a decision on her pretty soon.
Well, it’s sad to hear their GK are not as awesome either. The La Campagnella have a couple figures I really want, but not for GK prices, especially pre-painted, so will hope for a PVC release. They kinda look like some Kotokubiya figures, from Tears to Tiara.
Also, since I’m ordering Saber Alter Maid, you can just pass on buying her and wait for one of my less than stellar photoshoot reviews. I guess I try to shore up the less than stellar photos with above par verbiage. You should comment on my blog on my success or lack thereof
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Hi,
Thank you for posting photos of such a nice figure.
BTW, out of curiosity and being a layman, I’d like to ask this question. Did the box specifically mention which country the item is made in?
When I read your post (regarding authentic) and saw an advertisement on ebay (regarding hong kong/china version of PVC selling at a cheaper price), it dawned on me and I realized that all my PVCs are made in China. Is that a common situation? Being new in this PVC hobby, this made in Japan or China issue is making rather uneasy.
Any opinions or thoughts from you (a veteran), since you have so many figures, will be very much appreciated.
Thanks.
>> Guy
I think I know what figures you’re talking about. One annoying thing about Yahoo Japan Auctions is that a lot of the sellers don’t show the item; they might just show one of the manufacturer’s publicity photos and if you’re lucky, you might get a picture of the box (and if you’re unlucky, all you’ll get is a picture of the box). So admittedly I only have a sample size of two figures to assess the craftsmanship of Volks’s prepainted kits, and Kenshin probably shouldn’t be counted because of her price.
I’m pretty sure I’m going to pass on Saber maid, so I’ll look forward to your pictures XD
>> softz
The packaging for this figure doesn’t explicitly say where it was manufactured; I did find an assembly instruction guide in the box which lists Volks’s telephone and fax numbers but no country of manufacture. I don’t think Volks made many units of Kenshin, so I would guess that the resin kits were cast in Japan.
I think that a lot of authentic PVC figures are manufactured in China although I’ve never actually thought to investigate where they’re actually built. The stigma against Chinese figures is due to rampant piracy. A lot of the figures (PVC and resin) on eBay are bootlegs, particularly the ones that seem very cheap. Generally, if the price seems too good to be true, it’s probably a poor-quality fake.
You have gotta a helluva figure! If it’s something your heart desires, no price is too much.
I don’t worry at all about Yahoo Auction Japan items being fake. Never came across any fake ones. The only ones you need to worry about are nendoroids and those are from overseas sellers that try to mingle in the japan community. ^^”
And on proxy services, have you tried goody japan? highly recommended by yours truly…they are one of the cheapest and most reliable.
Indeed! It is a good thing that I don’t collect Nendoroids then.
I haven’t tried them yet … I haven’t had any major problems with either SMJ or M-World, although I did have a funny experience with the latter with Kenshin (he waited until the last moment to place my bid on Kenshin, but Yahoo Japan’s system must’ve glitched and he didn’t get a reminder e-mail so he forgot to bid. Fortunately the auction just started back over when the time expired. I guess in retrospect it wasn’t so funny at the time.)
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Posted 1/4 Uesugi Kenshin Gathering version~
http://tcwenterprise.com/wordpress/2009/11/08/14-uesugi-kenshin-e2046-gathering-version/
Hi, I just had to congratulate you on your purchase. That figure just looks incredible and the comparison picture next to Saber Lily just makes it even more clear how amazing it is. 765 bucks is not something I am ready to spend on a figure yet, so for that, I salute you.
Thanks! Kenshin cost a pretty penny but she was more than worth the cash XD
Absolutely amazing. I would luv to see a size comparison be Uesugi Kenshin and the 1/4 Meiya. Also, I approve of your craziness. Wish I could be that crazy, but my resourses are sadly needed elsewhere.
Thanks! Yeah, I think that my insanity was definitely temporary and that a purchase like this is a once-in-a-while sort of deal. Meiya looks to be about the same size as Kenshin, after a quick eyeball check, although the figure looks larger since she’s propped up on a large pylon. I’ll see about taking a group shot with them; I might have to move my computer monitor or something since I’m not sure if they’ll actually both fit in the area that I take pictures in.