Collet from the Art of Tony Taka (NSFW)


Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

We all have our dreams, things that we hope to do, things that we hope to become, things that we hope will come to be. For me, this figure represents the culmination of a dream that I’ve dreamt for a long time. It’s one that I always wished would be fulfilled but never really expected to. After waiting for so long, after holding out hope for so long, my dream has come true: I can finally say that I own a figure with a realistically-sculpted anus.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

Collet, of course, is inspired by an illustration done by Tony Taka. This is the third time Native has collaborated with Tony, and unlike Nozomi and Kotone who are both 1/7 scale, Collet is sculpted in 1/6 scale. From her splayed-out hair to the soles of her boots, she’s about 21 centimeters long and about 9 centimeters tall at her highest point, which is her rump. Her base is the largest I own, measuring 25 centimeters in diameter.

Tony Taka Collet Art

The artwork does a pretty good job of suggesting but not revealing, with Collet’s drawers hiding just enough and her boobs hidden away from prying eyes. In 3D, though, there’s no denying that this figure is raunchy as hell. Her panties are basically a plastic flap loosely attached to her skirt, and nothing at all covers her breasts.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

She comes with a bunch of accessories, including three wrapped gifts, a big bag of presents, and a Santa hat. I completely forgot to take a picture of the last item but I suppose that’s not a big loss; it doesn’t fit on her head and it doesn’t look any different from any Santa hat you’ve ever seen. She also comes with a little munchkin figure. More on that in a bit.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

She also comes with a small postcard with the Tony artwork and an instruction sheet describing how to strip her of her clothes. They’re not difficult to remove; just pop off her head to remove her shawl and disconnect a clasp on the side of her skirt to take them off. It’s quite a bit easier to get her skirt back on than it is to get Kotone’s bikini bottom on her.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

And here she is, as she was meant to be seen. Oh, the shame.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

Collet has to have one of the nicest backsides ever sculpted out of plastic. And as mentioned, it is correct.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

Actually, the rest of the figure is superb. Everything about this figure radiates quality. The face is gorgeous and is easily identifiable as Tony’s handiwork. The hair is particularly outstanding; her tresses are curved in lovingly-detailed tendrils that sweep across the ground. Actually, I guess that does highlight one flaw, her hair doesn’t actually rest on the ground, although it’s flattened on the bottom as if it were intended to do so.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

Her garter belt is beautifully rendered with a floral pattern. I don’t have any experience with suspenders or stockings but I have some doubts that garters would curve over her butt like they do here, unless they’re glued to her skin.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

Her boots have these little snowmen on the soles – very cute.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

The paintwork is excellent, as is readily discerned. My figure does have a tiny chip in the paint on the lock of hair protruding over the left side of her face, which is a bit annoying since it’s in a highly visible location, but oh well. I can deal with it, since it can be easily fixed; I’ll mix up a bit of paint and paint over it later.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

The base is covered with some sort of soft, fuzzy material. It does a very nice job of approximating snow, but I wonder if it’ll easily show dirt and dust.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

One strange thing about Collet is that she comes with an extra figure. I have no clue who this little dude is supposed to be. She’s wearing headphones and appears to be wearing some sort of cat outfit. She also comes with a little cup and a fish. How very odd.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

LITTLE DUDE: I wonder what secrets are hidden in this place?
COLLET: Get away from me, you freak!

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

LITTLE DUDE: Maybe there’s fish in here!
COLLET: Auuugh!

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

Native’s put out a number of high-quality figures but I think Collet is their best work thus far. She’s big, she’s stunning, and she raises the bar for risqué figures. Collet is outstanding and I’m very happy to have her in my collection.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

Candy canes do not come with this figure, but I bet you can get them cheap at Wal-Mart or something right now.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

I feel a bit like a pornographer, taking some of these shots.

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

Native Collet from Tony Taka Review

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62 Responses to Collet from the Art of Tony Taka (NSFW)

  1. Blowfish says:

    “I feel a bit like a pornographer, taking some of these shots.”

    And you liked it! Admit it!
    Kudos for showing her backside! I thought the only one with enough cojones to do this is foobarbaz but youre not afraid of female anatomy either.

    I have high respect for Native to actually sculpt this.Theres nothing more annoying than barbie gentialia with a castoff figure that goes completley blank.

    The Fish Joke is soooooo old but yet so satisfying since its a cat XD

  2. Mindlessmars says:

    This is an amazing work of art. I’ve been looking forward to seeing this figure for a long time. Thanks for giving your audience such great shots.

  3. Lenneth says:

    oh she has nothing covering her front either. If she could be displayed covered up I would be a bit more interested in getting her because her sculpt is amazing. I like the cutie little figure too (even if shes a perv!)

  4. Tier says:

    >> Blowfish
    I admit it! I deny nothing. I have absolutely no shame. Actually, I’ve got an even more perverted figure in the queue for reviewing. One of my goals when I kicked this site off was to feature perverted pictures, since many figure blogs stay on the side of tastefulness and I thought I could carve out a little niche for myself by doing that. I can’t match that one guy who uses the condensed milk, though.

    Native is one of my favorite manufacturers now XD They’d be indisputably my favorite if their figures were easier to get.

    >> Mindlessmars
    You’re welcome, and thanks for the kind words XD

    >> Lenneth
    I have the feeling that this figure might be just a bit too racy for a lot of people. XD Like Blowfish, I have to praise Native for committing resources to making superb figures that are never going to have mainstream appeal.

    I like the passive, unperturbed expression on the little cat girl’s face … I’m going to have to think up some ways to use her in for some other photo shoots.

  5. DaSaru says:

    I am actually at a blank on what to write here..my mind is filled with NSFW. lol.
    I actually wonders how the heck did she trip to end up with her panties like that. ;P
    I thought she’d be at least covered up top since the illustration didn’t even show a hint of breast there..but not complaining. XD
    Is that “floating” on her toes as well?
    Nice figure and nice of Native to put extras like the presents.
    And very detailed pics you have. πŸ˜€

  6. Leonia says:

    This is a sensual and sexy figure. I like Tony Taka illus but I can’t imagine this figure in my room (so sexy). Nice picture! Congratulation.

  7. softz says:

    Hey pornographer, πŸ™‚

    I love this post and also the fish joke. Indeed, this is a very nice figure. Her pose is alluring. However, she was not available in my usual play-asia online shop.

    Anyway, since you mentioned it, I can’t wait to see more of your perverted reviews. Bring them on! HOHOHO πŸ˜‰

  8. Aka says:

    “my dream has come true: I can finally say that I own a figure with a realistically-sculpted anus.”
    lol! Best opening to a post I’ve read in a long time, builds, then ends with that line.

    Sexy figure, Native seems to be building themselves a good niche area. Their quality seems to keep increasing with each product, and I can’t wait for their Naruku Hanaharu Shoujo S figure, I think that’s one I may try and get. This Collet was on the border for me, I liked her from the start but couldn’t quite push myself over the edge to buy her. Maybe I’ll have enough courage in the future to buy an Ero figure.

    Oddly taking the pictures and posting them onto a website I think is the easiest part of the whole ordeal for me. Physically owning the object though is so much more difficult, real people right next to you see it and can judge you right to your face (lol what kind of friends do I have…).

    -Aka

  9. Divine Fang says:

    It seems like you have a very good unit there. Mine suffers some paint job irregularity on both her body and removable santa outfit. I also find my Collet’s hair have very minor bumps although they are not really visible under my room lighting condition. I was actually quite surprised to find Kotone Ousaka, perhaps at 1/7 to have better quality control as compared to 1/6 Collet.

  10. Ashlotte says:

    Such a fantastic body sculpt…Nice soft white skin flowing with such curves…Geh like Aka said I might have to take the plunge and grab Natives next figure provided it isn’t exclusive like this one.

  11. Iced says:

    Your posts…are seriously amazing. And I’m not even talking about the pictures (even though they’re awesome in itself!). I mean, come on…the first paragraph? Props to you, man. xD

    Personally, I think Collet’s really cute, and her face looks amazing next to the original illustration, but in the end, she’s not somethin’ I’d have on my shelf. xD The fact she’s not covered up on top really surprised me. Girl, how’d you let yourself out like that? o_O
    And I also heard about her coming with the little dude (Pichika) and what’s funny is that I’ve been searching for its origins forever. ^^; And now that I’ve found out she comes with this figure…I’m just like, why?! XD

    I can only imagine what it felt like to take these shots ^^; Or own the figure itself, lol

  12. Tier says:

    >> DaSaru
    It’s easy to be a pervert when looking at this figure. XD I was wondering the same thing about how her clothes got disarranged like that; Tony surely does have a great imagination. Her toes are mostly on the ground; her right toes might be a little bit off of the floor but it’s harder to tell than her hair, since her hair is so flat on the bottom.

    >> Leonia
    Indeed it is! I need to find a nice, prominent place to display Collet, but her base is so big that it’s difficult to make room for her.

    >> softz
    I think I missed my true calling. Looking at this site’s access stats, I notice that my hentai figures are very popular in terms of views but not as popular in terms of comments, which makes me think that people enjoy looking at porn but not talking about it so much.

    >> aka
    Thanks XD Shoujo S is looking fantastic too; Native should offer a subscription plan for their figure releases, I’m buying pretty much everything they chuck out now. A few years back, I remember wanting an Ignis figure and I went with Orchid Seed’s version because you could expose her breasts. Looking back, that seems positively quaint compared to some of the figures you can get nowadays.

    My friends actively encourage me to buy porno figures so they are not perturbed at all by their perversity. XD I think they find it funny that companies actually manufacture these sorts of things.

    >> Divine Fang
    Ah, that sucks to hear. I didn’t notice any problems like that on mine. It seems that Native rushed this figure to get it out before Christmas, I wonder if the manufacturing process was less precise because of that.

    >> Ashlotte
    Unfortunately it seems to be, at least Tokyohunter writes that it’s website-exclusive like all their other figures. That’s the most annoying part of buying their stuff, but their stuff is good enough that I’ll overlook the additional expense.

    >> Iced
    Thanks XD Taking myself seriously will never be found in the mission statement of this blog. A girl has to know how to make an entrance these days, and there’s no better way to do it with one big bag of goodies and two smaller bags of goodies hanging out.

    Ah, so the little dude has a name! Yeah, I have no idea why they tossed her in, but she’s pretty cute. She came in this little pouch which I thought was just another prop, but then I opened it and she tumbled out and I was like, “What the heck is this?”

  13. Aka says:

    It’s unfortunate that all Natives figures seem to be some form or limited or exlusive release, it makes it harder to buy, though slightly easier to justify higher prices.

    Some of my friends encourage me to buy porno figures, and I’ll likely give in eventually. I did manage to purchase “Razor Cock” as I’ve uh lovingly declared her name to be (Aludra).

    But the majority of my friends are “normal” or there abouts, and figure collecting seems strange to them, let alone porno figures.

    Woe is me, I need to find more perverted friends I guess, or convince the ones I have that they are really perverted people already.

  14. Blowfish says:

    I just dropped by to tell you that I finally placed my first order for a highly suggestive and hopefully detailed figure a few days ago.

    I felt quite competetive to earn your ranks of beeing a perv.I doubt that the quality will be great but she has essentially all the components that make me happy XD

    Oh and as for Natives work…Im always bedazzled when I see the figure reviews of them but Im still hestitant to use a proxy service.This could be dangerous since it opens a whole new world to spend your moolah on

  15. meronpan says:

    saw her over at foo bar baz last week, definitely an attention grabber ^^; naughty and well executed, nice get πŸ˜›

    was surprised when you mentioned she was a 1/6. for some reason it didn’t feel like she was that large from the pics

  16. Tier says:

    >> Aka
    You should totally do that; there’s nothing wrong with perversion (plastic, animated or printed-material perversion, anyway). The more people that accept this truth, the happier the world will be. None of my friends are really big figure collectors, but all of them own a few.

    >> Blowfish
    That’s awesome XD I’m looking forward to seeing it!

    Yeah, there’s a lot of proxy services out there, and a lot of people say good things about Tenso and Goody Japan and stuff, but I stick to the ones I’ve used (Shopping Mall Japan and M-World Service). I figure they’re like car mechanics, once you find one that you trust and does a good job, you stick with them even if there are other ones around.

    >> meronpan
    Thanks XD She surely does raise eyebrows. When I saw the prototype pictures, I figured she’d be 1/8 scale, but I was shocked to read that she was 1/6. It’s one of the many reasons this is such an awesome figure πŸ˜€

  17. Aka says:

    >> Blowfish

    I’ve used Tokyo Hunter, expensive but a reliable proxy service. Willing to negotiate on prices as well. Eitherway there’s no need to be afraid of using them.

    >> Tier
    My friends aren’t big into figure collecting either. One collects tons of Transformers though. He’s the one who told me I had to collect something instead of computers, so it’s his fault entirely I collect (ok not entirely). Anyway, I’m sold, if I find a good way to get Shoujo S, I’m so getting ‘er.

  18. Marcucho says:

    I only tell you……. woooo!!!!!!!!!!!! jakjakjakjak no manches!!1 this figure is my dream ..but its never comes true my mother would kill me when see it jakjakjak.. this figure es la onda!! la deseo..i want it!! aaaaa!! im confused…. buy or not buy ..is the question…jakjak

    congratulations..!! yea!! excellent pictures…. can you upload somes of her bubs!1!!!!! aaaaa!!!jajajajjaa thanks…

  19. Tier says:

    >> Aka
    A commendable decision. I went through Tokyohunter since that was the easiest way to get a preorder in, but I’m sure it’s not the cheapest way.

    >> Marcucho
    “Buy” is the only answer! If your mother really loves you, she will understand and accept who you are instead of wringing your neck. Besides, if it comes down to this figure or your mother’s love, you can always get a different and new mother later on through marriage but once Collet disappears from the market, she is gone for good.

    Foo-bar-baz has the hookup for boob pictures here. He’s got some really detailed close-up shots.

  20. AS says:

    Tony’s artwork is always sweet to look at. Seeing his artwork come to life in a figure is even more sweet. Don’t find many themed figures too. I like the little snowman on the bottom of the boot ^^, details xD.

  21. Tier says:

    Indeed! I hope he and Native continue their partnership. I also wouldn’t mind seeing some of Tony’s fan art get the figure treatment, like how Shunya Yamashita’s does.

  22. Marcucho says:

    jajajaja thanks Tier!!! jakjak yes! i have to buy!!! but.. i think there aren´t market to buy, she is out stock!!!!!!!aaaa dammmit!!! if you know about chance…tell mee!!! please!!!! jakjakjak— your right i can get a new mother , she will understand jakjjakjak..

    thanks for photos , here you have a web page with a dangerous photos too!!!! check it!!

    http://tyo-dai.com/091224/091224.html
    wooooo!! madre mia jakjakjak !!!

    well i love this figure.. jak

    SAludos tier.. see you..

  23. Lylibellule says:

    The figure by excellence. I think she’s gorgeous. Yet she’s very bold. My perverted side like this and i’m waiting for it as well. She’ll join other Native figures on my shelves.
    Oh so you felt like a pornographer…. LoooooL. It’s not surprising seen her intimacy.

    The small character shipped along is so cute.

  24. Guy says:

    Dude, I’m so envious of you, I so want this figure. Definitely the best figure of the year, and that also probably means of the decade πŸ˜›

    The anus is not exactly anatomically correct, as where’s the slightly red area of the sphincter, hm, hmm?

    Her face, hair, her spine line, all so beautiful. I too thought the snowmen soles were a nice touch. Catgirl is catgirl, not cat dude. I guess they just wanted to give you something cute you could display safely? πŸ˜€

  25. Tier says:

    >> Marcucho
    I think a few US retailers are supposed to get Collet in stock within a month or two. Kid Nemo says their preorder cutoff date was back in October but it appears that they might still be taking orders.

    It’s the condensed milk guy! He’s got the Giga Pulse dog too! I can’t compete with it. Unless maybe I get some condensed milk and an alien xenomorph or something …

    >> Lylibellule
    I have the feeling that Native’s customer base is small but very dedicated XD I normally don’t let little chibi characters, but this one is really cute.

    >> Guy
    I probably ought to cancel my original preorder (with Toylet) but I’ve got the feeling that this figure’s value is going to quickly increase, so if they actually do get her in stock, maybe getting a spare figure wouldn’t be a bad thing.

    I’m a big pervert but I have to admit, I’ve never done a comparative study of anuses XD

  26. Guy says:

    Well, I am just interested in many things, including anatomy, and well, that’s not a proper anus, sorry πŸ˜‰ The sphincter is also closed usually, there’s no hole like that.

    Hey, how much did she cost you? Maybe I’ll be able to take one off your hands. Unlikely, as she’s way expensive, but let me know πŸ˜‰

    And yeah, my blog, and my commenting, are scheduled to resume πŸ˜‰
    Did you miss me? πŸ˜€

  27. Tier says:

    I got her off of YJP, so I had to pay the usual proxy service fees. Altogether, I think she was around 16k yen, not including EMS shipping.

    It seemed like a lot of people disappeared right after (American) Thanksgiving. I figured everyone must’ve taken off for the holidays early.

  28. Guy says:

    Ah, no, I had school, and a girlfriend.

    Also, I don’t celebrate either Christmas or Thanksgiving, being neither American or Christian, heh.

    Yeah, Tokyohunter got her on eBay right now for $160, if only I had money…
    He also had 3 copies of Haru-Usami Devil on G-String for $100, he didn’t sell them, you may email him and get them, or wait till he relists them.

  29. Marcucho says:

    God will hears my prayers!!! jakjakjak

  30. Tier says:

    And if not, there is always eBay! Or Yahoo Japan.

  31. Iced says:

    Heheh, all the better for the readers, isn’t it? x3
    No problem! I’m glad for your reviews. They’re like a huge breath of fresh air for me. ^^
    You’re right, haha. It’s getting harder for characters to stand out these days. And when they do…well… I usually don’t understand the appeal. Like with what’s going on with BRS at the moment. I mean, I love the song to pieces, and her design is pretty cool (nice boots!), but I still don’t understand why she’s so popular. xD Is that all there is to it? Thankfully, Native made this figure work. x3 It’s a little surprising that she looks so good actually. I guess my expectations have just been lowered from all the bad ero figures I’ve seen… @_@;

    Yup~ Just translated from foobarbaz’s page ^_^ I agree though, she is super adorable!
    And really? She came in a little pouch? Haha, that’s adorable xD

    Sorry for the late reply, btw! Things have been a bit busy for me.

  32. Tier says:

    Yeah, I don’t quite get how BRS got so popular so quickly. I need to figure it out though, since if I can come up with a character that can sell that much stuff in such a short time, I can get rich real quick. I think it’d be an interesting academic study, trying to figure out why certain anime characters get so popular.

    I think it’s really cool that Native’s making awesome ero figures since as you say, there are some really crappy ero figures out there. Orchid Seed’s done some nice ones, although I guess they’re mostly more ecchi than ero. I hope Native does another tentacle figure, I missed out on Emuko and I’m not sure how I feel about her face anyway.

    Yeah, I figure holidays are over, it’s back to reality now XD Me, I’ve still got Christmas lights up, I’m not ready to shift out of holiday mode yet.

  33. Wolfheinrich says:

    Damn I am falling behind on the blogroll, this is really something! Nice ero photography~ I like it! Might have to figure out a way to get my hands on this one… may be…

  34. Tier says:

    You totally should, this one is amazing. It’d be awesome even in 1/8 scale, but seeing this in 1/6 scale makes it epic awesome.

  35. Iced says:

    It sure would, huh? xD

    Yup~ I recently saw Native’s Shoujo S figure and she looks really nice as well. :’D
    They did a tentacle figure? Haven’t seen that one… XD

    Lol, well since then I’ll have guessed you’ve already taken them down D8 Seriously…my replies are always really late, haha.

  36. Tier says:

    They sure did! foo-bar-baz did a review of it … I guess I should mention that this link is NSFW but if you’re looking at this post, I guess you’re not likely to be concerned about that.

    I actually still have all my lights in place (in my room, anyway, I just strung them up around my figure shelves). Looking at bright colorful Christmas lights makes me happy for some reason. So on one hand, I can achieve happiness via sparkly lights, and on the other hand, I could conform to social pressure by taking down my lights like everybody else. I think I’ll leave my lights up a little bit longer.

  37. Iced says:

    Lol, to be honest, it IS a bit concerning to me, but in an entirely different way. XD Internet, how indestructible you have made me (well okay, not really)…but seriously, it’s kinda scary that I’m not really bothered by these things anymore. ^^;

    But that figure…man, what an awkward pose!! o_O; She’s so scantily clad, too. I’ve never understood scantily clad armor; those two concept just don’t go together in my mind. XD
    I think the quality of her looks really good, but I agree with you; I’m not such a fan of her face. ^^; The color of her eyes look really nice, though! ^^

    Go for it, dude! Kick society to the curb and…wait, that’s not right. XD But good for you~ You’re doing something that makes you happy, even though other people would normally take it down. I agree though, who says you can’t hang up sparkly lights? I wouldn’t mind having them on all year~ ^^

  38. Marcucho says:

    hi!! tier i need your advice, i could found a person who can get collet for me , i bought him some figures in the past, by the price that he told me about collet is 290 dlls , for me is very escexive and expensive, i really know the figure is shiper, what is your opinion?

    thanks, tier

  39. Tier says:

    $290 US dollars? That seems really high to me; I paid less than that for mine and I bought Collet from Yahoo Japan Auctions so I had to pay for international shipping, a deputy service commission cost, domestic shipping to the deputy service, and Paypal’s fee, not to mention the dollar to yen exchange rate is abysmal right now. Also, there’s a few up on eBay and none of them are even close to $290; if you don’t mind buying from eBay, you might look at this auction; I’ve bought from this seller recently and he’s pretty good.

    Edit: a few US retailers seem to still have preorders open: RACS has a preorder page up, so does Kid Nemo. Toylet has it listed but says that a prospective buyer should contact them to inquire about availability. I have no idea if any of these retailers will get Collet in stock or if they will even be cheaper than going through eBay, though.

  40. Marcucho says:

    Tier! thank you very much for your help! i apreciate it a lot.. yes i agree , that price is so expensive, i will try with other seller that you told me.. thanks!!

    i hope can buy her..

    Gracias.

  41. Shashin says:

    Good review, it makes me more confident about purchasing it earlier today. Now as long as everything goes well with the retailer (Toyslogic) I’ll have this thing in my hands in a few days.

    As for the comments on BRS above, I’ve never really been much of a figure person, and didn’t even know what BRS was until a month or two ago. But when I saw the BRS Canon figure, I was just mesmerized and I had to have it. I think it’s a beautiful piece, and I’m happy to own it, even if I haven’t bought into the BRS craze.

    It’s also opened up the door, and I’ve taken an interest in other figures. I’ve been looking into getting the two from Shoujo Material, as it’s easily one of my favorite hentai works. I’ve placed a pre-order on the S figure, and have been looking around for shops with the M figure.

    But that’s enough off topic chatter. Thanks for the review and pictures, and I hope I’ll be joining you as an owner soon. ^^

  42. Tier says:

    Thanks! BRS is definitely a distinctive figure and I don’t doubt that she’s brought at least a few new people into this hobby. You may be able to pick up Shoujo M from an American retailer (assuming you are in North America, anyway); Native’s figures are oddly widely-distributed in the United States even though they are website-exclusive in Japan.

    Good luck with amassing your collection! It really is a fun hobby XD

  43. Shashin says:

    Yeah, it is pretty fun. Now I just need some shelf space to put everything. My BRS figure is currently sitting it the box it arrived in, because I have no place to display it.

    I’d say the only problem I have, other than the hurt on the pocket book, when getting into this hobby is not knowing which sites to trust and which not to. Obviously all the cheap figures from Hong Kong on eBay raise a few flags, but I’m sure there are other sites that are more than capable of disguising their goods as the real deal while also ripping one off for a pretty penny.

    Three sites I’ve looked into, that I haven’t seen mentioned elsewhere (like HLJ, 1999.co.jp’s English site, J-List, etc.) are EntertainmentEarth, Toyslogic, and Bigbadtoystore. What bit I was able to find on the sites makes me think they’re reputable enough, but I’m not exactly looking to throw away money without some prior research.

  44. Shashin says:

    While it may be good for my pocketbook, I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to secure this just now. πŸ™

    I put in my order on the 25th, and since then the figure has been shown as about 10% in stock on the site. I just checked my account and the order is still listed as “Processing”, which I’ve read means that they haven’t gotten to the order yet. I clicked the figure link from my order history, and it’s now listed as sold out.

    It was listed as in stock just a few hours ago, but I’m assuming their system updates every few non-weekend days. I just hope my order got through and was the one to bring it to sold out, but I’m not too hopeful.

  45. Tier says:

    I’m running out of display space too. I’m making space the Asian way, which is when you run out of surface area, start building upwards.

    I’ve ordered from Entertainment Earth and BBTS before and both are good (Entertainment Earth is fairly expensive, though). I think I might’ve ordered from Toyslogic once and they seemed to be okay; Toylet was the same but I don’t buy from either of them all that often. Otakufuel is a great US-based store but their stock is relatively limited and they close down preorders quickly. I used to order from Kid Nemo a lot but they got really lax about updating estimated ship dates and sending out shipping notices so I don’t buy from them much now. I’ve ordered from Animewild and Tisinc99 (Treasure Island) before and didn’t have a problem, but both stores have really sketchy reputations, from what I can tell.

    Hmm … maybe flip them an e-mail and see what’s up? If they don’t have it, there are a few up on eBay and I think I saw one listed on Mandarake a few weeks back.

  46. Shashin says:

    Yeah, I just sent them an email a couple hours ago. With my spending the way it has been the last few days, I’ll only be a little upset if my order is dropped. I’ll be sure to pick it up eventually, and Mandarake has gotten a few in the last few days, as well as other Native figures I’ve been looking into.

    In my limited experience, I’m thus far pretty happy with HobbySearch. Especially with their sale going on now that puts their prices pretty close to AmiAmi, with the added points benefit. If I plan to continue ordering figures, dakimakura, and whatever else catches my eye, then as long as I keep up to date, I shouldn’t miss out on anything I really want. Hopefully.

    The only thing I’m worried about when ordering from Japanese shops would be customs. I’ve been lucky that none of my doujinshi boxes have been opened, as even if there wasn’t any loli or tentacle rape in a box (I’ve ordered a very small portion of both overall), but it still wouldn’t be fun to explain.

    As I plan on bunching all of my shipments together by month, if I have a giant package with $400+ worth of figures in it, I wouldn’t be surprised if they crack it open and charge me. It’s bound to happen sooner or later, I guess; I just hope that when it does, I don’t have anything too questionable in the package.

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  48. Tier says:

    I usually buy from either Hobby Search or Amiami; Amiami’s a bit cheaper but since I have to manually send them the payment, I usually get figures a day later than if I order from Hobby Search. That seems like a silly reason to buy from a store, but little details like that are important to me.

    I’ve been fortunate not to have to pay customs charges yet, and in fact I didn’t even know what customs are until I heard some people living outside of the United States complaining about the fees they had to pay.

  49. Shashin says:

    For all of my April preorders, Amiami would probably be cheaper with their half off shipping, but I’m not going to bother switching them all over now.

    For everything I’ve preordered past April, there isn’t a guarantee that Amiami will still offer a similar deal, and I want to make sure I preorder items with sufficient time. That’s the main reason I went with Hobby Search for all of my other orders.

    The figures are generally within 500 yen of each other, with each site being cheaper for a few. If Amiami said that anything preordered now would be eligible for 50% off shipping when it is shipped, then I’d consider going with them, but for similar prices, what’s essentially 5% back, and the ability to cancel a preorder should something happen, I couldn’t see myself not going with Hobby Search for the majority of them. I did preorder a few items with Amiami that were already closed, as well as order a few semi-adult items (shame neither site allows you to purchase the truly R18 material; damn you Paypal!) that Hobby Search considers R18.

    As far as customs goes, I don’t really mind if I have to pay some fees every now and then. I’m more worried about a package being delayed, and if some righteous inspector decides something I have is illegal.

  50. Tier says:

    I’m pretty glad that they extended the half-off promotion another month, since I’ve got a bunch of stuff preordered there due out this month. Then again, it wouldn’t surprise me if all of it got delayed a month or two.

    The adult good things is sorta annoying, since I’d buy a bunch of manga from Hobby Search if I could, and they curiously don’t list the Kanojo x Kanojo x Kanojo pillowcases on their English site but Amiami does.

    I’m starting to be concerned about what might happen if someone does open up one of my packages; fortunately for me, I don’t have a big loli fetish and that seems to be one of those things that trigger a response, so hopefully none of my stuff will cause alarm.

  51. Shashin says:

    Yeah, I decided to order a Cospa pillow from Amiami that’s set to drop in April. Had they not extended it, I’m sure that shipping would have been more than the pillow itself.

    It’s definitely a pain, and just increases my hate for Paypal. They both may have different reasons for pulling adult items too, but I’m sure the majority of it stems from Paypal’s policies. I think Hobby Search is just taking absolutely no chances when it comes to those policies, while Amiami is deciding to push it a little.

    I’m not all that into loli, either. The loli items I do have had me on edge until they arrived safely at my door. I only own one straight loli book, purely because I couldn’t resist the cover; the actual content is far less appealing. A few of the loliish doujinshi I own, I ordered because I was fond of the characters from whatever series they came (the Needless doujinshi I own for example). Of course some loli also sneaks into a book or doujinshi without you really know it, and I’m sure that some might question my copy of Shoujo Material, but I really don’t have anything past that.

    Of course, it only takes once of someone opening up your mail, and seeing something they don’t like. I don’t worry too much about it, as I do try to avoid ordering anything loli, but I decide against myself sometimes, and sit on the edge of my seat until I’m in the clear.

    Obscenity laws are an absolute mess, though; I almost wish that someone would challenge them. Of course there is the Christopher Handley case when it comes to our hobby, but as far as recent cases go, there is also that of Max Hardcore. Both leave a bad taste in my mouth, and I lost some of the little respect I still have for our government.

    It’s also a bit funny, as it’s based off community standards. I listed to a (old) podcast with an Obscenity lawyer when this was all the rage a few months back, and while his focus was representing the hardcore porn industry, he basically said that the best way to protect yourself, short of abstaining from questionable material, is to find where it’s available in your local community, as whether or not you get in trouble is based upon community standards.

    I find this funny, as I think that our lovely friend Ai would make a good case as to what our community standards are. Granted the fifth episode was never brought over, but I do believe the third episode has some loli content; not to mention all the other themes that I’m sure a court would have a fun time watching. Granted it would be a guarantee you walk away, but if I ever find the DVDs available locally, I’m picking them up not just out of my love for Ai.

    And actually on topic, I’ve yet to hear back from Toyslogic yet. I attempted to call them up a few days ago, but I was met with a painful static on the other end. Regardless of what happens with my Collet, I probably won’t ever place an order with them again.

  52. Tier says:

    Yeah, I don’t really see the correlation between possession of obscene materials not featuring actual humans and criminality, and the most annoying part is that this is one issue that receives bipartisan agreement so it’s not like I can vote for candidates in favor of extended free speech. Well, I guess I could vote Libertarian, but I’m not libertarian, so that’s out.

    That’s rather annoying. I tend to buy mainly from Japanese sites who can generally guarantee stock, but I always hate it when retailers can’t give you an answer on whether they’ll be able to fulfill an order or not, particularly for items that are strictly limited edition like figures.

  53. Shashin says:

    Obscenity is bullshit; everyone has different values, and as long no harm is done in the process, I don’t really care what someone is into. That’s the main reason child pornography illegal; the children used in the production are arguably harmed. With the example of lolicon, even if there was scientific proof (there isn’t any) that viewing it lead to the abuse of actual children, it’s still taking the rights away of the many for a few people who may take it too far. Granted “the many” is probably still probably a misunderstood few, but the point remains the same.

    I have two problems with Toyslogic at the moment:

    1. Using an outdated inventory system. Granted I don’t know the exact details of their system, but from what I understand, their stock updates every few days, obviously excluding weekends. They have a vague counter on their website, and when I ordered it still showed about 10% stock. Most sites these days will update immediately (going from available to sold out, possibly leaving some room for error), and some even give an exact figure of how many of an item they have in stock, and update as orders are put in.

    Not the case here and my order is still processing. Granted they have a banner on their site saying they’re going to conventions so all orders would be delayed to this week, but it has still been eleven days since I put in my order.

    2. Touched upon it a bit in point one, but the response time is pretty abysmal, even if these are special circumstances. Order is still processing, and I haven’t received an email reply back yet.

  54. Tier says:

    Yeah, I think that thought crime is a really peculiar thing. I remember thinking how moronic the legislation that Joe Lieberman tried bringing against the video game industry during the whole Night Trap/Mortal Kombat thing back in the early 90s, and how various groups tried to ban or censor rap music at various times. Seems like every mode of cultural expression I like has come under assault from decency groups at some point.

    Yeah, I tend to always buy from Japanese retailers these days … the only American retailer I’ve never had a problem with is Otakufuel, and they don’t stock much stuff. Okay, I guess I never had a problem with Toylet either, but their shipping costs were huge (almost as much as EMS shipping), and besides that they’ve got an absolutely hilarious name that is hard for me to take seriously.

  55. Shashin says:

    Pretty much. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for putting some regulations on what children are allowed to purchase, but I think more responsibility should be placed on the parents. It’s their duty to regulate what their children are into, and if they can’t do that properly, they have no right to get upset when they find their son playing Grand Theft Auto; they probably bought it for them in the first place.

    Not to say that’s entirely related with the issue at hand, but it’s a similar principle. Violent video games, music with strong language, hell, even lolicon and tentacle rape anime cause no harm whatsoever. Chances are the people who peruse (the latter, anyway) such things aren’t flaunting about, “using” it irresponsibly, so if that’s what they’re into, all the power to them. Attempting to take away the right to view a harmless subject that a person happens to be into is just wrong.

    I finally got an email from Toyslogic (though not a response to email I sent them), saying my credit card was charged. Actually, thanking me for my order, there isn’t a mention of a charge, but it has been put on my card. It’s a good thing I decided not to pay some SMJ invoices yet, as I’m dangerously close to my credit limit (would have been entirely my fault if I had gone over, but it has been two weeks since I’ve placed an order.)

    As it is, I’ll probably never order from them again, unless they have an amazing price for something I must have (unlikely) or I’ve exhausted all other options (also unlikely), and though I seriously doubt it will be the case, if they end up not having Collet in stock, there is going to be absolute hell to pay.

  56. Pingback: Tentacle Armada » Blog Archive » Shoujo S from the Art of Hanaharu Naruko (NSFW)

  57. Steve Chen says:

    If I get a little extra cash, I plan on getting her. Occasionally our mutual source (where you get doujins) sells her, only waiting for the right price that is.

  58. Pingback: PVC Figure Activities Nov. 2011 | Wolfheinrich's World/Dollfigure.com

  59. gl0wstix says:

    My god, this is wonderful. Where can I buy this?

    • Tier says:

      Collet was one of the easier-to-find Native figures but I’m not sure if any stores still have it in stock. You can try Googling to see if anyone still has her. You can also check Mandarake, they have a few. I’ve also got an extra Collet that I’ve been looking to sell.

  60. Pingback: Go Figure – Collet from T2 Art Girls! (NSFW) | My Poor Excuses - PoorX.com

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