Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier Exceed (NSFW)

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

There’s been some supposition that every figure I buy winds up in the bargain bin. I guess that’s partly a function of me buying a lot of figures and is also indicative of a curious trend in the figure hobby. In recent times we’ve seen VN02 Miku Hatsune, the first and the latest Black Rock Shooter figures, Dead Master, Vivio, and tons more figures receive huge price cuts and I’m not sure why so many high-profile releases are getting their prices chopped so hard. I’m sure this situation pleases collectors worldwide but I’m still a moron who pays full price for everything so I seldom get to partake of this happy occasion. I wonder what it says about the health of the industry. Regardless, here we have a figure that I’m sure won’t end up in a discount pile any time soon.

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

Kaguya Nanbu is one of the heroines of the Nintendo DS game Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier Exceed. I haven’t played it or its predecessor, being that I lack a Nintendo DS or any sort of modern portable gaming console – not even a smartphone. I’ve been meaning to pick up a PSP to play Persona 3 Portable but it’s not a high priority for me since I hardly ever play video games outside of my home. I had an original Gameboy, a Game Gear, and a Gameboy Advance and none of them ever got much use. I did really like The Hunt for Red October on the Gameboy, though.

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

This figure of Kaguya Nanbu comes from Volks and, being 1/8 scale, stands a bit under 22 centimeters tall. Like all of Volks’s stuff, she was an exclusive and thus required a proxy service to purchase; I went with Tokyo Hunter. Part of Volks’s Moekore lineup of PVC figures, she’s labeled “Version 2” as they did a figure of her a couple years back. Unlike her antecedent, she doesn’t have a detachable face and happily, she has a normal-sized circular base rather than the huge and clunky gimmick base the first figure did.

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

Volks makes some of the best figures on the planet. My top two favorite figures in my collection are both Volks figures, and it’s not likely any future figures from any manufacturer will ever displace them in my esteem. Unfortunately, this level of quality is restricted to their garage kits and does not extend to their PVC lineup. In fact, their PVC figures are relatively low quality compared to many regular figure manufacturers and that makes it harder to justify purchasing them, given the extra markup they entail. However, I’m a moron and a sucker for a nice ass.

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

And what a nice ass she has. Kaguya is the butt of a number of jokes regarding her impressive bust size but on this figure, her ass takes home the prize. It is huge, round, begging for a triple-X throwdown. She’s wearing one of those short dresses which doesn’t quite cover her up all the way and it looks great. It’s definitely the best part of this figure.

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

Speaking of things that don’t cover her up, the front of her dress is removable, like the first figure. Unlike the first figure, she doesn’t have an unsightly hole in her chest where the piece attaches. Actually, the piece doesn’t attach to her at all; it dangles precariously atop her breasts. It doesn’t fit very well, and I wonder whether Volks meant her to have her breasts hanging out all the time. Not that I have a problem with that, but it’s another accessory that I will probably lose so I’m going to toss it back in her box; my Kaguya will have to flash her tits to the world full time.

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

Kaguya’s tits are nice, though the paint on her nipples is very subtle. Too subtle – it’s as if Volks didn’t want her exposed tits to attract attention by making her nipples more prominent. I don’t really understand that; if you’re going to make the front of her dress so loose that you may as well leave it off of her, then you ought to make her tits stand out – don’t half-ass it by trying to disguise her nipples.

Admittedly, virtually all of Volks’s figures seem to have this issue. I’m not sure why Volks has this thing against nipples. Even their Dollfie Dream dolls seem to lack painted nipples. I don’t get it; what’s wrong with nipples?

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

Her ass is superlative and her breasts are, well, nice, but Volks missed out on an opportunity by providing very little detail to her back. A woman’s back can be a very sexy and erotic part of her body, but it’s not something that often gets much attention in anime culture. Usually the main erotic zones are the breasts and the upper thighs, but not so much the back. Unless you mean the back of the knees, I guess. That’s another thing I don’t understand but I haven’t watched that anime anyway. I guess maybe I should since I plan to order Max Factory’s figure.

At any rate, Kaguya’s back is exposed but not particularly well-sculpted. It’s lamentably flat, sculpt and paint-wise, with just a little indentation between where her shoulder blades are, even though the way her arms are squeezing her breasts suggests her shoulder blades ought to be more visible.

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

Kaguya’s face looks very different from her forebear. I like this version much more; she’s got a wry smile and a seductive sideways glance that perfectly complements her abbreviated attire. The old version … well, if I were to re-write that old review I’d probably be more critical of her face. Like a few other figures I own, Kaguya’s eyes have a glossy finish that is highly reflective, complicating the task of taking her picture.

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

Being the scantily-clad warrior princess type, she comes with a huge sword that is as intimidating as it is impractical. Getting it into her hand was not all that easy; most manufacturers who make weapon-wielding girly figures make it so that the weapon slides into the hand but in Kaguya’s case, her fingers and thumb are curled too tightly to allow that. I wound up pushing the weapon in sideways between her fingers and thumb and then rolling it into her grasp. I was a bit afraid that I might snap off her fingers but it seemed to work okay.

I kinda wonder how she avoids stabbing herself while swinging that thing. Maybe it’s the same mystical force that keeps her dress from riding up to her waist.

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

The paint job is serviceable; it looks okay and does the job, but it’s hardly a sterling example of craftsmanship. Her hair has the same flat look as version 1 Kaguya, as does her skin. Her nipples don’t look great, as I mentioned, and her eyes look rather decal-like, which is what they very well might be. On the plus side, her paint job is reasonably clean and they added a nice touch by giving her colored fingernails.

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

I like her pose a lot, as it shows off that wonderful ass and all the curves of her body. She’s a bit more full-figured than the typical female anime-style design, which is something I very much appreciate. Her thighs are a bit thicker, her ass is much more prominent than the norm, her hips are wide and her bust is big. Still, her pose does look strange from some angles, particularly towards the sides. She has a tiny waist that disappears in such views, making her body look bulkier than it is.

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review

Back in my review of the first figure, I said that I probably liked the character design more than the figure. That’s less the case with this second version of Kaguya, but I’ll admit that while I like this figure, it wasn’t nearly worth the money I spent on it. But then again, if I were going to do a cost-benefit analysis on every figure that I buy, I’d never buy another figure. So in the end, I’ll just say that I like this figure; Kaguya looks good, she’s got a great ass, and sometimes, that’s enough.

Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review
Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review
Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Taisen Figure Review
Volks Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Wars Figure Review
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68 Responses to Kaguya Nanbu from Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier Exceed (NSFW)

  1. Shashin says:

    Really like the figure; I’ve always liked Kaguya since I played the DS game she’s in. It’s a shame the little doujinshi exposure she gets tend to take her boobs to even more exaggerated heights. I can appreciate a full rack, such as she has here, but when they’re touching the floor with nipples the sizes of my fingers, that’s a bit too much for me. The figure is nice, though, excluding the few shortcomings you pointed out. In the second to last picture, you can easily see that the chest piece doesn’t hang on very well, and the back is definitely a disappointment. Still, if I were still buying figures and ever bothered with going through a proxy for them, I’d probably pick it up (though I’m sure I’d change my mind when I hear what you paid for it.)

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, I’ve seen some fanart of her with gigantic breasts and that’s not really my thing. Neige too.

      I try not to think too much about price; I think more of the opportunity cost than the monetary cost. Although admittedly, Volks’s PVC stuff is not difficult to find, even though they are not sold in stores outside of Japan.

      • Shashin says:

        That makes a lot of sense, and I’ve been doing something similar with dakimakura covers recently, ever since I missed out the Azusa cover I really wanted. I’ve put in a few special orders for covers I want but know will fetch a higher price on YHJ, and unfortunately for my bank account, I’ve been snatching up other covers left and right. My SMJ page shows I’ve purchased 10 covers in the last 20 days. Some of them I may have overpaid, but I got a relatively good deal on others.

        I won a bid for a Marks C79 cover for around 15000, and finally picked up http://kyounetsu.blog110.fc2.com/blog-category-14.html for 9000. It had been listed several times in the adult section the last month or so, and I figured it was about time to at least bid on it. Was honestly surprised when no one else bid on it at last minute. Paid a hefty price for the Illust Guerrilla Qwaser cover, but less than what it’s listed for currently, and I think it will be worth it. Then some other random covers.

        I overpaid for a あんこ工房 cover that was available on Mandarake for less, but I was able to pick up their Sora no Otoshimono cover for a good chunk less than the going rate on YHJ.

        Still haven’t picked up the Stray Moon C79 cover I’ve been thinking about (mainly because I haven’t seen anymore listed recently), but searching the circle on YHJ led me to an amazing doujinshi, Mosaic Girl. It’s a full color work with a good bit of everything; even a couple tentacle shots near the end. I downloaded it and liked it so much that I picked up a copy on YHJ.

        Anyhow, I’m getting way off track now, but I can certainly feel your position. I have been on another unfortunate splurge that I really can’t afford, but most of the items I acquired were at a fair and reasonable price (for dakimakura covers, anyway…) I probably wouldn’t have purchased all the items I did, and some I might have found cheaper later, but I’m fairly sure the items I really wanted would have either increased in price or have been impossible to find at a later date.

        • Tier says:

          Ten pillowcases in three weeks, that’s awesome. I think I’ve preordered three … wait, four. The Panty & Stocking one is at SMJ’s warehouse and I ordered this one from some h-game called Renai Saimin. Too bad it’s technically censored, but it’s a cute form of censoring so I’m not bothered. They’re supposed to ship at the end of this month and I hope they hit that schedule so I can get them shipped together. I also like Evening Call’s Saber pillowcase, and her feet are drawn correctly. Every pillowcase I look at now, I check the hands and feet.

          9000 yen is a good price for a pillowcase, all the ones I want are like 13,000. I kinda sorta liked this Fate Testarossa one but ehh … I’m probably gonna pass. I’d mainly be getting it to go with my Nanoha one. Speaking of which, I ought to write up a review for that one already.

          I like the Stray Moon one, assuming you’re talking about the one I’m thinking of. I thought about placing an order for it; as far as I know, it’s still available, though I don’t think it ‘s scheduled to ship for a couple more months and I’m not actually sure how the ordering process works.

          No problem with going off track, there’s not much to say about the figure review and I like talking about pillowcases and doujinshi. I’ve still got to come up with a want list for my doujinshi buyer; I ordered a few C79 things from Mandarake but I’m gonna get most of what I want from Toranoana.

          • Shashin says:

            Yeah, plus the one I ordered from Mandarake, so that marks 11. I really like Evening Call’s Saber case as well, but I’ve promised myself multiple times the last few weeks that I’d cut spending unless it were for one of the two cases I really wanted. Speaking of which, I just did my morning check, and the Azusa case is listed again; 25000 bid and no buyout, unfortunately. But I’ll be putting in a bid for sure.

            Yeah, couldn’t pass up a 9000 yen price tag, especially for a cover that originally retailed for 12000. I like that Fate cover, and that’s one thing I’ve noticed with H.O.P.; their covers always tend to have a great and fleshed out body design. I had seriously thought about ordering their Saber cover, but this recent spending spree has cut off that desire.

            That would be the one. The use of color is really hard to explain for me, but I like it tremendously. That and the design is nice and cute. I’ve gotten better at placing special orders for covers, but for whatever reason I just tend to wait for them to appear on YHJ.

            I really want to start ordering more doujinshi. I was going through some of my boxes and I’ve decided I don’t have nearly enough. It’s fairly funny that if I were to take all the money I’ve spent on dakimakura covers and spent it on doujinshi, I’d probably have a stack big enough to fill a room. To avoid stupid wire/shipping fees, when I ordered Mosaic girl, I looked at the seller’s other items and picked up all the doujinshi he had that I liked. Happily enough, it was a lot of Ishikei stuff that I hadn’t picked up yet and some other C79 stuff.

            One thing I am curious about on the covers I’ve ordered is this one: http://www.akibaos.com/img.php?img=20110103j06

            On the official page for it, it lists them as different versions. Combined with the relatively cheap price, and I’m worried that it’s a one sided cover. I hope I’m wrong, as I couldn’t find any differing versions on YHJ. Would be a bit of a let down if it is one sided, but I like both sides and probably wouldn’t have been able to choose easily if I had to go with just one.

          • The Endless General says:

            25,000 yen for a pillowcase……….that’s just……..insanity lol.

          • Shashin says:

            And having a collection of pillowcases some where near the hundred mark, that generally cost around 10000 yen a piece minimum, isn’t? 😛

          • The Endless General says:

            It certainly is lol. In that same mindset so is collecting figures really. I shudder when I count them and think of all the money that went into their acquisition lol. I don’t collect dakimakura simply because my mind refuses to accept the fact that I’d be spending 10,000 yen (minimum) on a pillowcase. I actually find the general subject matter pictured on them to be quite appealing; just not the price lol. Plus there is no way in hell I could buy both them and figures, and not be homeless……….so I choose figures lol.

          • Shashin says:

            Just as I’ve chosen dakimakura covers; though figures are laughably cheaper in most cases. Mass dakimakura collecting really is the hobby for the insane. I don’t even bother arguing that… especially since I only have one pillow; I guess I could see it to an extent if i had more pillows to go along with it, but even then…

            Still, I’m very happy with my collection, even if I do have pangs of regret every now and then. With the money spent, I could either have a massive doujinshi collection, an even more impressive figure collection, or even a bitching home theater with more video games than necessary. But I’ll pillowcases any day of the week.

          • Tier says:

            I’m picking up doujinshi here and there right now while I compile my want list. I really hope the stuff I want doesn’t sell out while I’m occupied with other things.

            I think that one is double-sided; at least, checking up the info page, it explicitly says “both sides” along with a pretty cheap price tag. Hmm … there’s some nice stuff that was sold at C79. I was going to try to cut back on pillowcase purchases but now I dunno if I can resist ordering one or two more.

            So I was looking at Dakemakura and I see this nice one of Katja, whom I’m kinda warming up to since I’m watching Qwaser now and enjoying it (Aoi was pretty hot, especially suspended). I like it, particularly since it has front and back views, and then I look at her feet and I notice they’re screwed up! What is up with that? It’s like an epidemic or something now.

          • Shashin says:

            I certainly know that feeling. And there’s good reason for it too; I’ve had stuff scooped out from under me before, and Mandarake is notorious for it especially. I don’t know how many times I have had an item sell out in the 5 minutes I thought about it. I really wish their website was either more consistent in updating, or better for non-Japanese speakers (as I think they get more items added at a time than we do, strangely enough.) I check the site multiple times a day, sometimes just minutes apart, and I’ve come back to see a set of dakimakura covers added that wasn’t there minutes ago, with half of them sold out already. If they have a cover I really want, I don’t hesitate a minute anymore.

            Yeah, that’s one of the reasons I thought it may have only been one-sided. I do like the design, not as much after looking at the picture I linked; it looks a bit off in scaling there, but it’s still a fairly attractive design. I could resist it at that price, even with deputy fees. Well, you’ll get no help from me in your attempts at resisting dakimakura cover purchases!

            Ugh, strange. I really like the cover too, and had thought about picking it up. Granted it doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it bothers you, but it’s still disappointing… and honestly, a fairly amusing trend we have going on here. I like her a lot too; I do need to continue watching the series. It’s still fairly good, but I think I’ve taken a break at around episode 11 or so.

  2. drakanity says:

    The reason I pre-order or buy a figure early is my fear that something may get sold out and hard to find. Then I have to spend time finding one in stock and/or pay a lot when the prices get jacked up like crazy. But I guess that really hasn’t been happening recently huh?

    I’m wondering if the manufacturers are actually producing a lot more? Or if it is like you said about the possible health of the industry. Although there are a lot more collectors I would say.

    When my friend started, I thought it was blasphemy to be paying that much for a figure. And that was when it was like 120 yen to a dollar lol. I started a bit later in 2007 so it was closer to 100ish yen per dollar. There weren’t as many shops and the community was very small. Now there are tons of shops and there is a much larger community. I’m actually quite shocked since I wouldn’t have expected these kinds of things to gain that much popularity.

    I was pretty excited about another Kaguya Nanbu figure (since I missed the first one), but I personally don’t find it to be as good as the first. Of course, I can only judge by pictures 🙁 But something just feels off. Nice that it is castoff though ^^;

    How much did it end up costing?

    • Tier says:

      That’s the same reason I preorder, and I also like getting stuff right when it comes out. I’m an idiot like that. That extends to video games too; I’ve got a shrinkwrapped copy of Mass Effect 2 somewhere around here that I bought right when it came out at full price.

      It seems like the production runs are larger than they used to be; back in the day it seemed like everything sold out very quickly. That’s still the case for a lot of things but you can also find many figures on sale without much difficulty. I’m also wondering if larger runs and limited manufacturing facilities are partly responsible for all the delays that we see.

      I agree; it feels like the figure collecting hobby has really taken off the last few years. I remember it used to be a weird thing, sorta akin to collecting dolls or something. Maybe that’s not a great analogy since I’ve been collecting dolls for a while and I attach no social stigma to that, but you get the idea. Now, it seems like there’s a billion figure news sites (all posting the same news) and tons of products to choose from. Maybe too many products.

      I’m not too familiar with the character as she appears in the DS games, but looking at them both, I’d say something feels off with both of them. I like this second one better now because looking at the first one, her face doesn’t look right to me now. The second one has its problems, but she’s pretty cute.

      She was 12,000 yen plus like another 3,200 yen for EMS shipping.

      • drakanity says:

        Wow, I do the same thing with games, although I generally never pre-order them at full price. <3 amazon. I always have like 10-20 unopened games that I was never able to get to. By the time I do, the price is 1/2 or 1/3 of what I bought it for.

        I guess figures are somewhat going the same route as games. Back then, you needed to pre-order the good games or it would be so hard to find. I remember Street Fighter 2 for the SNES was extremely expensive and was sold out at so many places.

        Now, it is rare to find any game (except maybe very limited runs of collectors or limited editions of obscure games) that sells out and is hard to find. It is rare when a game would sell more than retail.

        But I've been getting a lot better with both figures and games. I tend to not pre-order as many anymore. Only the must haves I do. The rest I wait for a bit.

        I actually found out about Kaguya Nanbu after I played the DS game. I enjoyed the battle system and humor, although the overworld/field graphics were pretty horrible. She became my favorite character, so I became interested in the figure. I'm hoping they bring the second game over to the states.

        Looking forward to your reviews of your orders (assuming you do them).

        • Tier says:

          Yeah, I remember walking into a Gamestop and asking for a copy of Panzer Dragoon Orta, and they didn’t have any. I think it took a week or two to get it in stock. Nowadays, I mainly preorder stuff to get the freebies that come with them. Or that are supposed to come with them; I preordered Magna Carta 2 at a local store because it came with a little artbook, and since I like Hyung-tae Kim’s art, I was looking forward to it. I went there on the game’s release day to pick it up and the clerks were completely clueless about the preorder bonus. I went home, furious, but when I looked at the receipt, I noticed there was an e-mail address to give Gamestop customer satisfaction feedback. I wrote a scathing message telling them how disappointed I was that I didn’t get my damn artbook, and a couple days later they wrote back apologizing and said they’d mail me one, and I got it a week or two later.

          I still preorder most of the figures I buy because I’m a moron, but I guess with Hobby Search revising their cancellation policy (and making it really, really lame now), I might be more circumspect about what I preorder.

          • The Endless General says:

            What makes it so damn lame is the fact that the cancellation extends for I think three days after preorders open; not when you place the order. That really sucks because now I have a few that I can’t cancel. Not that I planned on it, but I like having the option if something unexpected arises. I feel like a tool when I have to bail on an order, but if that’s what I have to do then that’s what I’m going to do.

            Sorry for the rant, but it annoyed me because I placed my orders before they changed their policy lol.

          • Tier says:

            It’s a little longer, it’s seven days, not that that’s any more helpful in practice. I think what makes this policy really lame is you basically can’t cancel anything now unless you’re the sort of impulsive person who preorders something as soon as they open and then suffer from buyer’s remorse immediately. I don’t know anybody who actually does that. It makes me kinda think I’ll buy more stuff from Amiami, since I’ve heard of people cancelling orders with them, even though they say they don’t allow it.

          • The Endless General says:

            I know there’s a few that I won’t cancel (Dizzy, Saber, Black Gold Saw) no matter what, but I’d still like the option for some of the others. I’ve suffered from buyer’s remorse, but certainly not immediately like you said.

          • Shashin says:

            >sort of impulsive person who preorders something as soon as they open and then suffer from buyer’s remorse immediately. I don’t know anybody who actually does that.

            Hi.

            I will say, that the Hobby Search changes are unfortunate. But it seems to be the industry standard. I agree with you both that their revision is retarded that it start 7 days after preorder start and not when you preorder; seeing as it essentially makes most items that people may have preordered unable to be canceled. I read their new policy before they implemented it and went and canceled everything while I still could, since I wasn’t sure how my finances were holding up – despite my excessive dakimakura spending, I really can’t even properly afford that.

            I’m testing AmiAmi’s tolerance level currently. I really don’t have much money to spare, and especially not for overpriced anime DVDs I had previously wanted. I’ve also had bouts of limited internet access and been generally busy the last few weeks, so I’ve missed two orders without sending word. Both have been canceled, and they haven’t sent me any other word. I think I have another batch in January, with DVDs and a game or two; not sure if they’ll send me a payment request for that one.

            So they are fairly forgiving for non-payment, as far as I can tell. I feel really bad for the way it’s gone down, as I should have at least emailed them explaining my situation, but I didn’t so I rightfully feel like a dick. Have no idea how they would be if you wanted to actually cancel/remove stuff from a combined order (like say, “I want this, but not this.”)

  3. Cantan says:

    There’s been some supposition that every figure I buy winds up in the bargain bin

    Really? What kind of horrible person would say something like that?

    She looks quite cute I have to say, but increasingly I’m buying figures for their facial attributes rather than their other features. Her smile seems really strange, almost flat then vertical. Don’t get me wrong, It looks pretty good in the opening picture, and generally from above, but some of the pictures from the same level and below look a little creepy.

    Am pretty tempted by this figure (particularly as I haven’t bought any for about 6 weeks, though a couple arrived recently) but I am increasingly turning to the bargain bin myself – guess I’ll buy if the price is right though.

    Gotta say, the opening pic is a peach imo.

    • Tier says:

      Who indeed! What sort of individual would make those sorts of senseless, baseless accusations?

      I get the sense they were going for the “:3” cat-like sort of smile. I like how it looks since it shows more personality than their first Kaguya figure. Man, I’m kinda bashing that first figure a lot now, I don’t know if I want to go back and read what I originally wrote about it. Back then I liked it better than Aschen Brodel but I think my position has flipped.

      You might be able to find it cheap at Mandarake or somesuch down the line; I’m not sure how popular she was. I haven’t seen any Japanese sites that have done a review of her, though maybe I’m just not looking hard enough.

  4. Cantan says:

    I didn’t say they were baseless! Think at least 3 of your 5 favourites for 2010 ended up in the bargain bins at one time or another (and the other 2 were released pretty close to the year end!)

    OK, got bored last night at bought her off ebay anyways. Paid an extra $20 on the amount you did, but she is something a bit different from a manufacturer I don’t currently have any figures from. Think she is cute in her own way. (also got a refund on a TV that Amazon just couldn’t get delivered, so had a bit of extra cash – will all be spent on DIY otherwise!)

    Have to agree that she does look a good deal better than the earlier figure. The sculpt, pose and definitely the face are better than the other. Mind you, I was initially more drawn to the Neige figure until I saw a few closeups. There seems to be something very strange about her face (and the cast-off aint too great either!)

    The old pre-ordering system seems a little unpredictable these days. I got stung on the original, Daiki normal face Kanu where all units were soldout on preorder and have had to preorder anim.o.v.e. Lily because too many retailers were starting to show similar signs. That said, many other figures I would expect to fly off the warehouse shelves have not, so maybe they is just an imbalance in the number of items shipped.

    GSC’s Hitagi Senjougahara was heavily promoted when announced and I thought would be much in demand but still seems to be in stock pretty much everywhere. Perhaps GSC is just producing far more units than some of the other manufacturers.

    • Tier says:

      I know, I was joking. Four of them hit the bargain bin as far as I know; I don’t think I ever saw Tamaki being discounted, she seemed to have sold out just as the big price slashing binge started up.

      Ha, so you bought her? She’s pretty cute and I like her but I’d like her more if she were a general release rather than needing a proxy service. Let me know if you think that Volks’s PVC quality is … hmm, middling, I guess. I want to say mediocre but that might be too harsh.

      I haven’t actually seen many pictures of Neige, partially since I wasn’t as interested in her (I think it’s the ears) but mostly because nobody seems to have her yet. I think Moeyo and Akibahobby had pictures of her though, so I’ll look for them there. I didn’t even know she had a castoff option too.

      Yeah, I’ve seen the same sort of oddities recently. I remember I had thought about ordering that Hitagi figure but she sold out pretty quickly about a month after her preorders opened up and I forgot about it. Now she seems to be available again. I recall Dead Master was sold out for a while and now she’s in Hobby Search’s bargain bin. Weirdness. I wonder if they’re making more units or if people are buying fewer scaled figures than they expected.

      Speaking of Hitagi, I wonder where Alter’s figure is? I remember they showed it off with Dizzy back at summer Wonder Festival and I don’t remember ever seeing it again.

      Amazon couldn’t deliver a TV? Was it a big TV? Were they sold out or was there an issue with the delivery process?

      • Cantan says:

        I’ve used ebay a few times this year, mainly to get older figures that were released before I started collecting: Alter’s Kanu, Ryomou & Meg (Burst Angel). The original Daiki Kanu etc.

        Guess it’s a feasible alternative to a proxy, though the figures tend to bit a bit more pricy that way – say an extra $20. Some actually turn out cheaper for me when the sellers make a mistake when working out the value of the goods for the tax declaration.

        Neige’s face reminds me a bit too much of some of the freakier Keumaya faces (a bit like that freaky Biker Asuka you have whose head appears identical to one of Keumaya’s goat girls) and when Kaguya’s cast-off is her top, Neige’s is only her skirt. Bit lame in my opinion.

        Warning – you might regret asking about the TV
        After some postal strikes in 2009 (happens every few years, think it must be the fire service’s turn next, or the teachers), Amazon decided to award the contract for large parcel deliveries to a subsidiary of a pest control company. Suffice to say that my next day delivery on my 40″ Sony TV did not happen and still hadn’t 2 weeks later. Amazon are out of stock so I can’t even get a replacement. Ironically I also ordered an HDMI cable at the same time which was posted separately through the national mail service – arrived next working day as promised, so I now have a cable with no TV to connect it too d’_’.

        Have had 3 large item orders through Amazon this year which have all used the same courier and I’ve had problems with all 3. Had to cancel the first one after the courier didn’t realise that leaving my front door wide open meant that I was in – pretty sure that they didn’t even knock because I was painting the room directly above the front door at the time, then just before this one my Dad’s Christmas present arrived on 31st December despite being ordered 2 weeks before the big day (Amazon were claiming all such items ordered up to the 18th should arrive in time). I have reached the conclusion that Amazon are incompetent; why else would they still be using the same service with no option to use an alternative?

        • Tier says:

          Yeah, eBay is sort of a last resort for me but I’ve picked up a few figures there, like Volks’s and Alter’s Fate T. Harlaown figures (really dumb move on the latter, since Alter announced a re-release about a week after I paid for it) and a Keumaya figure.

          Haha, I’ve actually got two freaky biker Asukas … I’ve never reviewed the second one, though i’m guessing it’s the one you’re referring to (the one with her ass up in the air). Looking at Neige, I guess she looks okay, I might’ve bought her if she could be had for a typical price but she’s probably not a figure I’d want to pay a proxy markup for.

          Uhh, a subsidiary of a pest control company? That sounds all kinds of weird. Admittedly, here in the US, one of the biggest military arms manufacturers (United Defense, now part of BAE Systems) was once a subsidiary of an agricultural machinery and pesticide sprayer maker (the Food Machinery Corporation). I dunno what is up with pest control system makers branching out into other industries. That is really sucky; I’ve had decent luck with USPS, Fedex, and UPS here. I don’t think I’ve had any packages misplaced or misdelivered (or undelivered) despite all the stuff I buy.

  5. I never did understand how Volks can screw up their PVC figures as much as they do. Often it’s the little things which get in the way of a great base sculpt (their Fate comes to mind). I wonder if it’s because they design them as GK in mind and are unable to get it right when they go to mass production. There is no way you could get me to believe that chorosuke is the sculptor of this figure from the end product!!

    And who would say such “senseless, baseless accusations” Indeed? *points at Tier!*

    I think the world economy is part of the problem, lower incomes, higher manufacturing and shipping costs and a strong yen make the figures more expensive than they should be but the manufacturers can’t push the price down and ppl aren’t as willing to pony up. They’d rather go for something cheaper like figma or nendos. Such is the fickle nature of the majority of todays buyers.
    So in the end, big releases get big price cuts because they simply won’t shift otherwise and the retailers have to shift the stock somehow. Lots of people will scream that they want a figure when they first see it until they see the pricetag!!

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, that’s something that mystifies me too. Their completed X-brand stuff isn’t great either, and that’s a charitable assessment. On the other hand, their completed Sengoku Rance a-brand stuff is amazing, and their 1/4 scale a-brand Meiya Mitsurugi is also very nice, though it has a big problem that the Hobbyfan recast does not have. And I guess their Dollfie stuff is high quality, too. I wonder why their PVC stuff isn’t nearly up to the same standards. I also wonder who Chorosuke is. Sometimes I have the feeling it’s not one person but a group of people, since he or they seem to do everything that Volks puts out, as far as scaled figures go, and the styles and quality vary so wildly.

      Yeah, it always comes down to the economy. And I guess it goes both ways – customers want to save money by buying less expensive products, and manufacturers want to cut costs. As you’ve said, Figmas and nendoroids use the same basic design so I’m sure they’re much cheaper to make than a scaled figure that needs a unique whole-body sculpt. There’s also the funny phenomenon where people start buying more expensive products – Dollfies – and I’ve seen a lot of people stop collecting figures so that they can buy doll stuff. Or they get money by other means (heh).

      • Nah, I’m pretty sure that Chorosuke is 1 person. When you step back and look at things, Volks don’t really churn out figures anywhere near as fast as the other companies, usually limiting themselves to reveals at big events, of which they have maybe 4 a year. And the 2 big names I’ve noticed in Volks are Chorosuke and Misaki Serika (tho there are others). When you consider that they only have to make the prototypes, then it’s not such a big stretch to think that they are just 2 people as opposed to a whole team.
        It’s just that when you look at the Kaguya Nanbu, she doesn’t looks like she was done by the same person who has given us such great 1/4 scale figures in the past and I don’t think scale has much to do with it! I’d love to see the original prototype to compare!

        And don’t get me started on dollfies! I have some respect for the serious collectors but there don’t seem to be many of those. Just lots of “me too” zombies.

        • Tier says:

          Yeah, that’s true and makes sense. I do recall seeing Misaki Serika’s name on Meiya Mitsurugi’s box; I think he/she was credited with “finishing work” or something like that. I’m not sure what that means (I wish it meant that they’d have thought out a better way of avoiding a big-ass seam on her leg -_-).

          Yeah, she does not, nor does Fate or the other Super Robot Wars figures. I don’t really get it; Kenshin is by far the greatest figure I own, Meiya ain’t bad, and their other 1/4 scale figures are amazing. Okay, Ayane’s neck is a little long but other than that, they’d all be among the best figures ever made if they got completed versions.

  6. Tier says:

    >> Shashin
    Yeah, that happened to me with Udon-ya’s Monster Hunter books. Fortunately they restocked them pretty quickly. Unfortunately there was this one Muv-Luv package I was interested in and that got snapped up by somebody while I waffled. It doesn’t help that with Mandarake, I’m almost always buying doujinshi so I wait until I want a bunch of books from a particular store to save on shipping.

    It’s a bizarre phenomenon; I didn’t think that this mismatched feet problem was all that common but that’s twice now in a couple of months. I guess that and the hands are something to keep a careful eye out for.

    • Shashin says:

      Yeah, doujinshi tends to restock fairly often, unless it’s a rare/limited item. Dakimakura covers, on the other hand, I haven’t been so lucky with. It’s a real shame too, as while some of their prices can be a bit high, they’re generally a good deal cheaper than their YHJ counterparts. They actually had a Marks Nymph cover the other day for half the price as as a different version of the Marks Nymph. Sold out fast, and I had just checked the site an hour before, at most. Funnily enough, the guy who picked it up posts over on Fakku and wanted the other Sora no Otoshimono cover I bought the same day. I recall we talked about dakimakura collections in the past, and how I probably had one of the bigger ones outside of Japan… well, this guy has even more than I do. Was pretty cool to find someone else to talk to about dakimakura covers, although I do admit to being just a tad jealous.

      • Tier says:

        I should probably look more often for dakimakura at Mandarake. The big problem is that I usually browse doujinshi either by the cover image or by the circle; I don’t know too many circles that make dakimakura covers and it’s hard to tell much from the pictures they have.

        That collection sounds badass. I’ve only got like, eight myself. Heck, sometimes I think I have too many figures but recently I’ve seen some figure collections on Tsuki-board that crush mine, like Gatts’s.

        • Shashin says:

          The main problem with dakimakura shopping on Mandarake is listing inconsistency. They’ll either keep the Japanese in the name or change it to “holding pillow cover”. I’ve missed more than one cover because I forgot to search both at the same time. I also check by circle every now and then when I’m looking for a specific item, but I do several more general search terms every couple hours, sorted by new arrival… and then browse the items for the day sorted by price (since dakimakura covers tend to be >10000 yen.)

          For the sample image thing, I can certainly feel you there. But Google Chrome helps out quite a bit: just highlight the important text, right click, and hit “search for “” on Google. Depending on how it’s listed on Mandarake, you might need to cut some stuff out, or add some stuff (if it was an English listing), but 90% of the time, you’re able to get a sample image out of it.

          I have no idea how many I have, but I figure it has to be fairly close to the 100 mark, if not over. My SMJ invoices are currently in the 60s, most of them being dakimakura covers. I’d say maybe 10-15 at most weren’t, but I also had a couple of special orders with multiple dakimakura covers (I think my original D-Stage order had 5.) Then there’s the covers I’ve purchased from Mandarake, Hobby Search, and AmiAmi.

          And that’s a fairly scary collection; I don’t even know how many figures I have, but probably only 20-40ish.

          Fake edit: I just checked Hobby Search and I clocked in at 31 shipped there. I can think of two from YHJ off the top of my head (black miko Kanu and Gigapulse Sousou.) Then probably another 10-30ish from AmiAmi, though I’m too lazy to check that.

          • Tier says:

            Gee, I should probably switch to Chrome. I, uhh, still use Internet Explorer. Heh. Technically I use Avant Browser but as I understand it that’s just a shell built on top of IE. I’ll keep that tip in mind if and when I switch to Chrome, which I have installed but haven’t actually used much other than for browser compatibility testing.

            That is hardcore. I’m not sure how many figures I have either; I’ve got 158 listed on my Tsuki-board profile but that doesn’t count E2046 figures. I’d guess I have maybe 170ish or so.

          • Shashin says:

            I never liked Internet Explorer; it was always such a pain in the ass to use, even before Firefox and such came around. The first time I used Firefox, I stopped using Internet Explorer entirely; I use it a bit more frequently now, since some foreign/stubborn sites still only support IE (really, in 2011?)

            I personally prefer Firefox, and Chrome pissed me off so much when I first started using it, because some things (which I no longer remember) just felt so damn counter-intuitive. It became my browser of choice because Firefox started crashing every couple hours with absolutely no warning. I still use it for Livestream and the like, when I need to block ads, or am visiting sites that have a history of malware.

            I think the scariest thing for me personally is that I’ve only been in the hobby since about March. That’s around the time I purchased both my first figure and dakimakura. Doujinshi collecting started in January. I also forgot Mandarake purchases, and my two E2046 purchases (though I’ve been impressed with their quality, I’ve decided to stop purchasing from them after my KOS-MOS arrived with another broken arm.) So I’d guess I’m probably at least at the 50 mark, possible a few over.

  7. Fabienne says:

    nice figure, I didn’t knew that she was an exclusive one.
    the white dress with the golden and black elements is very pretty.
    The playful and sexy face expression is also a very nice part of this figure.
    it appears that this figure has many angles where she looks very good,
    from the back and the side her pose also looks quite sexy.
    she has nice boobies as well and I like her light pink nipples ;D
    I would have liked it when ther scapulas were sculpted more detailed and the changeover between the black and the red haircolor looked less hard.to me.

    Your pictures are very nice again, I like kaguya-nanbu-07.jpg kaguya-nanbu-14.jpg and my personal favorite kaguya-nanbu-12.jpg

    • Tier says:

      I agree, she looks good from a number of angles, and also from above or below. The first figure also had that problem where her hair looked kinda funny where it changed from red to black. It would’ve been nice if they smoothed it out some so it didn’t look quite so plastic. Though admittedly, back when I dyed my hair, there was a pretty hard transition between my bleached hair and black hair, too.

  8. Glad the quality on this one is better than the first version. The paint work and finish on the first one was somewhat lacking – but I think I like the pose and face on the first figure, it felt more true to Kaguya’s character. The eyes on this Kaguya also seems a bit too big for me, her face sorta remind me of a chipmunk, not sure why.

    What would be a neat gimmick would be to make her nipples protrude out a little more, then use those as “stubs” to hold her breast piece in place. =D

    • Tier says:

      This second version definitely has a different feel than the first; the first figure kinda had a nice, kinda playful look to her, but this second one makes her look like a seductive bad girl, the sort of girl who’s going to either land you in trouble or kick your ass if you don’t do what she wants.

      I’m guessing it’s the “:3” sort of mouth shape she gots; I’ve never seen that before on a figure. It gives her a lot of personality but as you say, it also kinda makes her look like a rodent, which may not be a good thing XD

      Indeed that would be a good way to do it. I actually have a figure that does that; Hyper Nurse Victory Yuno keeps her harness on with a socket that one of her nipples inserts into. It works reasonably well despite her soft, squishy boobs.

  9. Tier says:

    >> Shashin
    Yeah, I don’t like IE either. I like Avant Browser, which I’ve been using for a few years but I haven’t updated it in months and it’s old and pretty slow now. I still much prefer the interface to Firefox, though; I don’t like how Firefox keeps tabs on one row and I don’t like how it keeps bookmarks in one column, so you have to wait and scroll if you’ve got a really long bookmarks list.

    Your pillowcase collection has grown huge pretty quickly XD It seems like these collecting hobbies go like that these days … it’s so easy to buy things online and find people who share your interests that it’s hard not to expand your collection really fast. Back when I was young, I used to collect collect football and basketball cards and I didn’t have a very large collection, because the only place I could get them was from the toy store on base in Korea (and they seldom had much), at a weekly card convention, or from friends at school. If I were still into that, I’d probably have a gigantic collection.

    Man, that’s crappy about your KOS-MOS figure. I’ve gotten a few figures from them recently and they’ve arrived intact, but it’d piss me off if a figure arrived in a damaged state, especially if I couldn’t easily repair the damage myself.

    • Shashin says:

      Yeah, I’ve yet to find a perfect browser, just ones that work for me the best. I use Chrome 90% of the time, and it still annoys me every now and then.

      It certainly has. I have a serious compulsive buying problem; it certainly helped that I had some money to blow, but now that I don’t have that money to fall back on, it’s hurting quite a bit. I never had it quite as bad as you, but I remember when buying whatever I was into at the time could only be done at certain stores. I’d bought the snap together Gundam models for awhile, and the only place I could find them was at Toys R Us. Probably could have found them online, but I was obviously a bit young for that.

      Yeah, it’s a real bummer. I haven’t had a chance to display either figure yet, as they’re both packed away in their boxes. Granted I haven’t really had a chance to display too many figures, but I’ve unpacked a few boxes and have some on shelves; I’ll probably hold off on those two for quite some time until I have the heart to put them back together.

      • Tier says:

        I got used to having to go through odd channels to get stuff when I was a kid. I remember buying bootleg tapes from street vendors because the PX didn’t carry much music from non-mainstream artists. I once paid a guy something like $20 or $25 to get a Snoop Doggy Dogg CD for me because it wasn’t out in Korea yet and I didn’t want to wait to listen to it. Heh, I guess I was using proxy services even when I was thirteen. Speaking of proxy services, my favorite doujinshi buyer seems to be operating normally now, since the postal embargo is over and he’s switched to some system called AlertPay to handle payment. I wonder if he had some trouble with Paypal. At any rate, hopefully I’ll be getting some C79 books soon.

        Yeah, whenever I damage a figure like that, I usually put off doing the repair because of how crappy I feel. I don’t think it’s too healthy for me to be this emotionally invested in my figures, but ehh … I bet there’s a lot of people out there who are more obsessive about their automobiles than I am about the condition of my figures so I guess my sentiment isn’t too unusual.

        • Cantan says:

          Yeah, I was never too impressed by the PXs. All I remember of them is crap food (and Gatorade) Calvin Klein boxer shorts & Oakleys… maybe that’s all a GI needs! Think I bought a set of golf clubs from one before I went to Uni… didn’t like golf!

          Uuugh the ebay seller put too much on the customs label… now I’m going to have to pay a shed load more for Kaguya. There is a reason I hate EMS (and there wasn’t an option on this purchase) – when I do have to pay import duty the carrier slaps a ludicrously expensive handling charge on it – far cheaper on SAL deliveries. Think I’ll have to leave it for a while – make the seller sweat for that stupid customs charge.

          • Tier says:

            I grew up near a pretty big base (Yongsan), so the PX there was fairly big. I’ve been in some small ones though … like the one down at the base in Cheju-do, it seemed like that one mostly sold health and sanitary supplies, food, cigarettes, and porn.

            Dang, that blows >.< It'd drive me nuts to have to even worry about that. I heard from another guy who had the same issue where he lives, and he didn't like ordering stuff from Hobby Search and Amiami much till they started up SAL service.

          • Cantan says:

            They may not be cheap… but the two items I’ve had from Otacute have got clean through Customs. They printed “see handling document” on the declaration statement and folded the handling document up in the clear plastic envelope thing – customs would have had to open it to look and they’re not that draconian (fortunately). Have animove Lily order from them too so I’ll see if it was a fluke.

            To be fair I have been to the PX at Heidelberg (or is it AAFES?) and that had a lot more stuff in it. Still wasn’t really tempted to buy – the old NTSC vs PAL thing didn’t help (though we used to have a VCR which played both)

  10. Shashin says:

    I think my dakimakura cover spending is about to wind down… until C80, anyway. I’ve purchased all but one of the C79 covers, I was looking for and managed to pay a crazy amount for one of the two I’ve been after for awhile. I’ll probably pick up the C79 cover when expenses die down, if it’s still available, but I just can’t afford the 24000+ price right now. I finished up my buying spree with a special order for an 8000 yen cover. I had seen it on Mandarake for 15000, and seriously considered picking it up, as it’s one of the C79 items I wanted. Check YHJ, and put in a maximum bid for 11500, which I lost. Then I said screw it, found the product page, and put in the special order for 8400 yen after tax. Even with SMJ’s fees, I’m thinking it should still weigh in a good bit cheaper than Mandarake’s pricing.

    • The Endless General says:

      Hey Shashin, how many figures do you have in relation to dakimakura covers? Just curious.

      • shashin says:

        I would have to do a count, but at this point I’m thinking I certainly have more dakimakura covers than figures… maybe a 2:1 ratio dakimakura covers to figures. Maybe a bit more than that. And I have at least 40-50 figures. Of course I could be overestimating dakimakura cover count, but I don’t think so.

    • Tier says:

      I keep telling myself I ought to wind down my hobby spending since I bought a lot of cool stuff last month, but I’m doing a really bad job of it. I commissioned a guy to buy me a ton of doujinshi off of Toranoana (like thirteen or fourteen books, I think) and I’m going to be buying more doll stuff, since I’ve got Sonico coming in a couple of months. And that doesn’t even include my usual figure and dakimakura cover expenses.

      That sounds like a good deal, SMJ’s web order fees seem to be reasonable for single, large-value items. I usually go with Yokatta for web orders these days though. Personally, I’m displeased that this one pillowcase I wanted got de-listed off of the maker’s website right before I was going to ask my proxy buyer to order it.

  11. Shashin says:

    I have to do it; I simply don’t just have the money anymore. But I just keep seeing good deals/items I really want. It’s tough. More doujinshi is always a good thing, as is doll stuff. I’m glad to see you consider dakimakura cover expenses a normal expense now, as you took such a long break between the twins and your recent covers.

    You know, I actually looked over Yokatta when you last mentioned them, and am I see understanding their fees correctly? Everything seems fairly low, and looks to be more low flat rate than scaling price based commission. I may have to start using them if that’s the case. That really sucks on the cover; which was it?

    • Tier says:

      I’m thinking I’ll put together a normal set of clothes for Sonico – if I can find stuff that will fit over her chest, and that looks like it may be a bigger problem than I anticipated – and I need to build more furniture for Simone. It was a real long time between dakimakura reviews though I hadn’t planned for it to be that long – I paid for the BRS and Nanoha ones all the way back in August and I had hoped to have gotten them in early November. You know, I don’t really remember many of the pillowcases that came out during C78, for some reason; I wonder if I missed out on any ones that I would have liked.

      Yeah, they go flat rate for web orders, which is why I like them. I recently preordered a 12,800 yen dakimakura cover and the total cost besides international shipping was 14,200 yen. I like using them for web orders or for YJA stuff that exceeds my SMJ deposit limit.

      It was the pillowcase of Takeda Shingen on the page that you linked earlier. It was really cute. Oh well, that’s the way life goes.

  12. armorknight says:

    How I would love to stick my cock in her ass and fuck her nice and hard. I’m really becoming more and more perverted lol.

  13. Untitled says:

    Hey Tier, I noticed in the comments that you mentioned this website. Is this a legit site that sells authentic dakimakura? I’ve recently got into the hobby of getting dakimakura since I got my first one off of Yahoo Japan. http://www.dakemakura.com/top.html

    • Shashin says:

      Not Tier, but I can answer that for you; yes, they are a legitimate dakimakura site. As far as I know, they’re a small group of artists that releases nothing but dakimakura covers. All of the covers they have on their site were done by their artists, and they don’t sell (as far as I know) the work of any other circles. You can find their covers on resellers such as D-Stage, usually for $10-20 more than what they offer the cover for on their site. They’re apparently willing to ship internationally too, if you can somehow manage to bridge the language gap, but I haven’t confirmed this myself; it was just according to FAQ on their page.

      I own one cover from them, and while it’s not of a character I know, it’s still a really nice cover. They also have a very large variety; I’m pretty sure the majority of the covers on their site can still be purchased, and they’re up into the 300/400s now.

    • Tier says:

      Thanks for the explanation, Shashin, and as he says, they are legit, at least insofar as I can tell. Some of their stuff shows up on White Canvas and other doujin stores and their prices are in accord with what dakimakura covers generally cost.

      • Shashin says:

        A lot of it was just based on a Google translation of their site, and me filling in gaps on other parts, so I could certainly be wrong. But it all seems like a fairly reasonable explanation of things. I guess worryingly enough, the only thing I can’t really speak for at all is their legitimacy as a direct seller. I don’t see why there would be any sort of problem, but the one cover of theirs I do have was purchased through D-Stage, so I guess it could be possible that purchasing through a doujin store is worth the extra money. I don’t think that would be the case, but as I haven’t ordered from them directly, I don’t know how good they are at meeting the order of individual buyers.

        • Tier says:

          Yeah, I’m curious about that myself. It’d be nice to save some money by not needing to go through a proxy but on the other hand, the language barrier seems to be a pretty big problem; at least, last I remember, their FAQ was kinda hard to understand.

          • Shashin says:

            Yeah, but it’s understandable. My Japanese is probably about as good as their English, if not worse. Though I don’t imagine it would be that hard if some acceptable payment arrangement could be decided upon. Especially considering they number all of their releases; should only have to email them a list of the covers you want, and material if it’s an option (think they only use 2WT, from what I’ve seen, making it even easier), then tally up the total and send it to them. Of course it would require talking with them beforehand, which would probably be the hard part and making verifying that all of their works are still available for purchase.

          • Shashin says:

            Re-reading the English portion of their Q&A, I don’t think it would be much of a problem. They take Paypal, which would solve the biggest problem (payment.)

          • Tier says:

            True indeed. Maybe I’ll try it sometime if somebody else doesn’t try it first; they’ve got a ton of nice stuff.

  14. Tier says:

    >> Cantan
    It sounds like they mighit be the way to go then, though I’ve seen some odd stories about their lack of package cushioning. I hope you get your Lily without having to pay an unexpected charge.

    • Cantan says:

      Just curious (because I know it’s not an issue for you), but what does Tokyo Hunter put on your custom labels, in terms of goods value? Might consider using him if it saves me the $60 extra handling and import costs I have just had to pay.

      • Tier says:

        Uhh … man, I have no clue. I don’t think I ever took a look and I pitched out the shipping box for Kaguya already. You might be able to just ask him directly though, he’s got his e-mail address available on his site and he’s pretty responsive in answering inquiries. Given the crowded nature of the Japanese proxy service market, hopefully he’d be a competitive option.

  15. Cantan says:

    My Kaguya finally arrived today… and I dread to think how much she finally cost. I begin to see what you mean about the paint job – overall I think the colour scheme is pretty damn good (can’t beat stark black-and-white imo), but the detail leaves a lot to be desired – rough edges, no shading, ropes which look like long trails of dog shit…

    But I kinda do like the figure (though I vastly overpaid). The pose is good and I do like the red tips to the fringe. Still think the facial sculpt makes her look like she’s a bit podgy mind!

    The amazing disappearing bra top thingy is a pain as is the death grip when you try to force the sword into her hand (was convinced I was going to break something – I probably wouldn’t have minded too much if it was that horrific bronze thing in her hair though).

    Unfortunately I can’t really display her due to her propensity to disrobe the moment someone breathes near her – guess she’ll have to join the ranks of those figures i don’t bring out too often.

    • Tier says:

      I’m not really sure why Volks’s PVC stuff falls short of some of the big manufacturers; they’ve definitely got a very talented sculptor (or sculptors) and some of their painted figures are really, really nice. The lower level of workmanship here is very blatant, though. I’ve got some other Volks stuff in the review queue that looks quite a bit better, though I’ve got to get their backdrops built before I can take their pictures. There is never enough time to do that … maybe I’ll do a preorder outlook post next week to buy some time, it’s a bit early for one but there have been a lot of nice figures that have gone up for preorder since the last one.

      Yeah, that sword was a colossal pain in the ass to get in her hand. I think I wrestled with it for like ten or fifteen minutes and I was damn near thinking “screw it, I don’t care if I rip her fingers off as long as I get it in her grip.” The bra top I don’t mind too much but it’s a really odd design decision by Volks … you’d think they’d let it hook into her sleeves or something to keep it from sliding right off.

  16. Cantan says:

    Received Neige Hausen today… and have to say that she’s not a bad figure.

    Sure her hair is monochrome and a bit lumpy and there are expanses of featureless skin, but she’s bright and brash, goes pretty well with Kaguya and again has a good colour scheme (also lacks the dog shit coloured ropes and nasty plastic thing which secures Kaguya’s hair). She was an impulse buy when I saw the two of them in HLJ, but I’ve bought worse… a lot worse. The other thing I like about these Volks figures are their weapons which are big, interesting and substantial. The number of figures I have with flimsy and ugly accessories is pretty high so these are a nice change.

    Kaguya has grown on me (probably as the memory of her astronomical cost has slowly declined). I like the colours the stance and the weapon. Her face is quite cute from some angles, horrific from others – it’s the shape of the head, and I always liked the fact that she had just dipped the ends of her hair in red paint – great look!

    Mind you Neige has a rather unattractive face from some angles – might need to tweak the layout of my desk a bit more

    • Tier says:

      Ah, that’s good to know. I’ve got one more Volks PVC figure on order (paladin Sasara) so I’ve got my fingers crossed that she’ll be good. It’s also good to know that HLJ came through with the order. It’s funny how they manage to get oddball things from time to time; they’re also the place I got my first vmf50 doll and for a while, the only other place for an overseas buyer to get one was Yahoo Japan Auctions.

      I’m liking Kaguya more now as well, though I definitely agree with you that her face and body posture looks bizarre from certain angles. Just looking at my pictures, she looks really weird from the side, which is probably why I didn’t take many shots of her that way.

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