Alter – 1/8 Mercedes PVC

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Alter - 1/8 Mercedes PVC

  • Character: Mercedes
  • Series: Odin Sphere
  • Scale: 1/8
  • Height: 230 mm
  • Material: PVC
  • Company: Alter
  • Price: 7,800 yen
  • Date: Feb. 2010
  • Link 1: Official Site
  • Link 2: Hobby Search

Alter appears to have done an excellent job of rendering Odin Sphere’s unique, painterly style into 3D space with their new Mercedes figure.  I’ve never even played the game, but I’m tempted to pick up this figure after seeing the elaborate detail in the preview shots.  I did find the pose kind of odd at first, but I eventually realized that Mercedes is shown in flight with her crossbow acting as a cleverly-disguised support peg.  All in all, the design looks very smart and well executed.

Alter – 1/8 Akiyama Mio PVC

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Alter - 1/8 Akiyama Mio PVC

  • Character: Akiyama Mio
  • Series: K-ON!
  • Scale: 1/8
  • Height: 200 mm
  • Material: PVC
  • Company: Alter
  • Price: 6,800 yen
  • Date: Nov. 2009
  • Link 1: Official Site
  • Link 2: Hobby Search

Alter appears to be the first out the gate with a K-ON! figure (at least that I’ve seen).  I’m surprised it has taken this long with the buzz surrounding the series.  The Alter/Mio combo is the best I could have hoped for.  That said, I find myself a little disappointed with what they came up with.  I’m thinking that it’s probably my preference for Mio’s stage outfit over the school uniform, but this figure just doesn’t scream “buy me” like it could.  For now, I’m probably going to hold off and hope for more quality K-ON! figures in the near future.

Good Smile Company – 1/8 Canaan PVC

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Good Smile Company - 1/8 Canaan PVC

  • Character: Canaan
  • Series: Canaan
  • Scale: 1/8
  • Height: 200 mm
  • Material: PVC
  • Company: Good Smile Company
  • Price: 8,800 yen
  • Date: Jan. 2010
  • Link 1: Official Site
  • Link 2: Hobby Search

Good Smile Company recently announced this figure featuring the character Canaan from the series of the same name.  The dynamic pose is something I’d expect to see more from Alter, but I expect that GSC will execute this rather well.  I normally find the use of pegs (see Canaan’s left leg) to support mid-air poses a big turn-off, but the lone peg I see here is minimal enough that I probably wouldn’t be bothered by it.  The detailed base helps to distract from the peg supporting Canaan, so I’m really hoping GSC doesn’t go with a plain base for the final product.

Yamato – Non-scale Velvet PVC

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Yamato - Non-scale Velvet PVC

  • Character: Velvet
  • Series: Odin Sphere
  • Scale: Non
  • Height: 250 mm
  • Material: PVC
  • Company: Yamato
  • Price: 9,800 yen
  • Date: Dec. 2009
  • Link 1: Official Site
  • Link 2: Hobby Search

Yamato recently announced their rumored PVC version of Dice Caramel’s Velvet garage kit.  I would much rather have seen Dice’s killer Kotona sculpt receive the PVC treatment, but this nicely-detailed Odin Sphere specimen will have to do.

I’m not sure how they decide a figure is “non-scale”, but I’m pleased to see that she’s in the large-scale range.  250 mm tall seems comparable to other 1/6 offerings.

My experience with Yamato is limited to their 1/8 Motoko Aoyama (Love Hina) figure, which was cheap in every sense, so I’ll be curious to see if this premium-priced figure can match the fit and finish of the top-tier manufacturers.

Kotobukiya – 1/6 Tamaki Kousaka ~Allurement~ PVC

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Kotobukiya - 1/6 Tamaki Kousaka PVC

  • Character: Tamaki Kousaka
  • Series: To Heart 2
  • Scale: 1/6
  • Height: 210 mm
  • Material: PVC
  • Company: Kotobukiya
  • Price: 8,400 yen
  • Date: Mar. 2009 (released)
  • Link 1: Official Site
  • Link 2: Hobby Search

Kotobukiya has what looks to be a quality large-scale ecchi figure that does *not* include a cast-off feature.  What’s not to like?!

I actually had Tamaki on order, but RightStuf canceled my order so she’s back in the watch list until new funds free up.

Konami – 1/8 Celica Mizushiro PVC

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Konami - 1/8 Celica Mizushiro PVC

  • Character: Celica Mizushiro
  • Series: Beatmania IIDX
  • Scale: 1/8
  • Height: 18 cm
  • Material: PVC
  • Company: Konami
  • Price: 5,985 yen
  • Date: Aug. 2009
  • Link 1: Official Site
  • Link 2: Tokyo Hunter

I’m interested in this particular figure mostly because the goth-punk catgirl character design manages to push all the right buttons.  The Konami factor is an unknown element to me, but the preview shots look spot-on.  The real downer here is that Celica is a Konami Style online store exclusive, which makes getting her annoyingly difficult (and thus costly) outside of Japan.

Resinya! – 1/6 Galett Fey Sowauge PVC

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Resinya! 1/6 Galett Fey Sowauge PVC

  • Character: Galett Fey Sowauge
  • Series: Shina Dark
  • Scale: 1/6
  • Height: 210 mm
  • Material: PVC
  • Company: Resinya!
  • Price: 8,858 yen
  • Date: Nov. 2009
  • Link 1: Official Site
  • Link 2: Hobby Search

Here’s another interesting figure from a series that’s unknown to me.  It’s nice to see a good action shot and what looks to be a fantasy theme.  The large scale is always a plus.  I don’t have much experience with Resinya! works, but what I see here will probably be enough to make me bite on this particular figure.  I’ll be interested to see if they try to preserve the look of the base shown in the preview with the final PVC version.

Alter – 1/8 Yagyu Jubei PVC

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alter_yagyu_jubei

  • Character: Yagyu Jubei
  • Series: Hyakka Ryoran
  • Scale: 1/8
  • Height: 220 mm
  • Material: PVC
  • Company: Alter
  • Price: 7,800 yen
  • Date: Aug. 2009
  • Link 1: Official Site
  • Link 2: Hobby Search

Here’s an amazing looking figure from Alter for a character and series that I know absolutely nothing about.  Not too much to say other than it’s Alter, so I expect the final product will look pretty close to the preview seen here.  This is another advertised 1/8 that’s fairly large at 220mm.  I’m liking the trend toward larger figures that we’re seeing of late.

Good Smile Company – 1/8 Black Rock Shooter PVC

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1/8 Black Rock Shooter PVC (promo image)

  • Character: Black Rock Shooter (Hatsune Miku)
  • Series: Vocaloid
  • Scale: 1/8
  • Height: 290 mm (including base)
  • Material: PVC
  • Company: Good Smile Company
  • Price: 9,800 yen
  • Date: Aug. 2009
  • Link 1: Official Site
  • Link 2: Hobby Search

This upcoming Black Rock Shooter figure from GSC looks awesome.  Despite officially being a 1/8 scale figure, it’s rather large at ~290mm, which is a good thing in my book.  Normally, this would be an instant get for me, but my 2009 budget is already shot.  I’m hoping to pick it up some time early in 2010, instead.