Imagine my surprise when I found out AmiAmi was putting out a figure! After examining the preproduction photos, I decided it was worth putting a preorder in. A few weeks ago, she finally arrived and joins my collection.

The first thing that I noticed about Lucia was the build quality. AmiAmi did a good job creating a solid figure with very little indication of seams or manufacturing imperfections. The paint job is also well done with vibrant colors. The only thing that threw me off was the outfit, as it wasn’t one I immediately recognized from the game as her default.

I really like the way the hair is frozen in motion. It suggests a light breeze instead of a constant gust of wind. After all, it’s easier to play golf when the wind is light!

One of the interesting details that I noticed later on was her wristband. it looks like a watch of some sort, along with a signal bar. Maybe it doubles as a cell phone? Also, why is Lucia Delight printed backwards…? What a mystery!

Her club is actually not permanently attached to the base or hand. Friction pretty much holds it in place and is prone to getting dislodged when the figure is moved. The stylized name is a nice touch! I was sort of hoping for a club that fit her musical personality, like something from the mic set?

One of the things I never understood was how she could play golf in shoes like that. I’d imagine heels like those would affect your swing, especially if you’re in a bunker. Perhaps she only puts those on for the glamour shots…

Lastly, she came with a limited edition phone card with the concept art that the figure was based off. I have no idea what the value is on the card but it’s valid for the Japanese pay phone system. A nice extra to be sure!

One final shot of Lucia! Her dress is actually loose on the body, but there doesn’t appear to be a way to remove it. Somehow I don’t think she’d work as well as a castoff…

For more, see the post over at Japanator. Now that I have that out of my system, it’s time to move on. Yesterday, I went to the post office to pick up a package from Japan. Since AmiAmi is offering half off international shipping on all orders shipped in February, I put in an order for some of the di:stage figma display stands. Since my collection of figma is growing, I wanted to create a more dynamic display for them. This would require a decent number of basic sets…

…so I ordered 10 of them.

The packaging itself is pretty simple, showing pretty much all the pieces in the set. Each set contains a base, end caps, base connector piece, one figma mount, and several mounts for speech bubbles.

Assembly is extremely easy. If only one base is used, the four end caps can cover up each side for a clean look. Two bases can also be linked together either horizontally or at a right angle. I discovered that my existing figma shelf could hold 7 bases linked horizontally, leaving 3 that I can mount vertically.

Here’s a quick reminder of how the girls were lined up before…

And here they are after! I decided to give Shana and Haruhi more dynamic poses, with Drossel and Kagamiku looking up. What color panties are Shana and Haruhi wearing? I’ll probably tweak the poses of the Lucky Star girls on either side, but this will have to do for now.

The black bases don’t look too bad on the shelf, though I think I still would have preferred the clear version to allow light to filter through. Sadly, it’s the popular one of the two and AmiAmi is out of stock. I’m very happy with the purchase and look forward to doing more arranging when more figma arrive.

Now, what do I do with all these leftover parts…? >.<

The latest addition to the family include the Summer uniform versions of Kagami, Tsukasa, and Miyuki. They’d arrived from AmiAmi, “The biggest internet FIGURE shop in Japan.”

Unfortunately, Kagami came in damaged and one of her twin tails arrived detached. It seems that the joint there is somewhat flimsy and prone to breaking.

Fortunately, a quick email to AmiAmi support explaining the situation got me a good result. They’ll be sending me a replacement! Kagami is overjoyed at the news, but still mourns the loss…

With Kagami taken care of, I set to the task of opening the other two boxes. I’ve learned to check each joint on new figma for stiffness and make sure each one moves properly. Past experience has shown that some joints (shoulders in particular), require loosening up before they can be safely moved. In this latest batch, Miyuki’s shoulder joints needed some work.

I’ve learned that a short soak in warm water works wonders in loosening up those stubborn joints. After a few minutes, Miyuki was good to go!

It’s a joyous occasion as the three get acquainted, though Kagami is still a bit distraught over the loss of her twin tail. This was the first time I’d ordered from AmiAmi since their English site was launched and I’m happy to report that the experience was positive. They were quick to ship after payment was delivered, though there was a bit of a delay once it reached the US. It took a little over a week for the shipment to arrive from Japan, however it spent the next month in a half somewhere in the US Postal system before it was delivered.

Since the experience was positive, I’ll be glad to do business with them again in the future. Unfortunately for me, they’re offering half off on international shipping for all orders shipped in February. As a result, I’ve placed an order for several Di:Stage sets so I can better organize and display my figma. Hopefully this shipment will arrive faster than the previous one!

Character themed displays

The most common arrangement I have are shelves that are dedicated to one particular character. This sort of happened by accident, as I started to acquire multiple figures of the same individual.

Rin was my first attempt at arranging by character, given that Dollfie Rin was the perfect centerpiece to surround the others with. Of all the figures I own, Rin will probably always be my favorite.

Following Rin, I decided that Belldandy needed her display. Most of the figures came to me within the past year as a result of various sales from HLJ. The oldest of the bunch is the one in the very middle, which was one of the first figures I’d ever bought. I guess you can say that Belldandy is where it all began.

The Saber shelf was another shelf that happened by accident. After picking up Saber Lily and Saber Lily figma from Japan, I decided to rearrange and place them all in one place. I also tried to match the figma poses with their full-sized counterparts. The only thing that’s missing from this display is a Dollfie…

The Yoko shelf is another Dollfie-centered display. I’d actually planned this display in advance, starting with the Kotobukiya Yoko. Since Real Image Yoko was on preorder, I figured I’d stage the shelf before she arrived. Dollfie Yoko was a bit of an unexpected addition.

Series themed displays

In addition to grouping by character, the next category I like to use is a “sort by series” approach. This generally means grouping all the figures from the same series and/or manufacturer.

There’s no better example of this than the two shelves dedicated to my ARIA figures. People often ask me why there’s some obvious empty space on both of these shelves. The answer is pretty simple… I’m reserving the space for the other two figures in the series, in case I’m able to eventually track them down. Given that they’re several years old at this point, I’m starting to lose hope on finding the girls from Orange Planet…

The 1/4 scale Haruhi bunnies from FREEing are a prime candidates for being arranged together. Due to their size, it’s hard to fit all of them on one shelf. Mikuru has unfortunately been relegated to living on the shelf below with some other unrelated figures.

Misc figures

…and here’s Mikuru, sitting by herself away from the others. The expression on her face is pretty fitting for her circumstance… At least she gets to hang out with Shana (x2), Nadie, Haruka, and Iori. I don’t think they’d force her to do weird things like Haruhi would.

Here’s an interesting cross between a miscellaneous shelf, character shelf, and series shelf. The dominating presence is several different renditions of Narusegawa, but along side her are Haruka and Mitsuki from KimiNozo, Lena Sayers from Mai-Otome S.Ifr, an Sakura from Fate/Stay Night. I guess you could say there’s also a swimsuit theme going here…

…which brings me to the swimsuit shelf. There’s more Love Hina here, with Naru and Mutsumi representing. Kokoro and Kasumi from DOA and Fuuka from Yotsuba round out the bunch. The only figure that doesn’t fit is the figma of Konata…

…because she’s a duplicate and wouldn’t fit on the shelf with the rest of them. I guess you could say that Lucky Star is the dominant force here. The recent acquisition of the Summer Uniform set brings my figma count to 17.

Last but not least, here are the truly miscellaneous shelves. There really isn’t any real rhyme or reason as to why these figures are where they are, other than “that’s where I could find space for them.”

A couple of older figures, aside from Rose. I got her for a decent price from Play-Asia when they were clearing out stock.

Poor Holo, she’s by herself… for now.

A truly miscellaneous bunch. Most of these are probably too small to be in a display case (at least efficiently). If you’re wondering what those things are behind them, they’re laserdiscs of the original Tenchi Muyo! OVA.

Shana really is everywhere, isn’t she? I also like the uniqueness of the Onda Aka figure in the back, I found her at a convention and decided to bring her home.

I don’t even know how to describe this picture. Ropponmatsu is a bit top heavy and will lean forward. Eventually, she’ll fall on her face. If I leave her like that for awhile, she goes back to her original shape and can be stood up once again. That probably can’t be good for he figure…

There we have it, a complete tour of the figures currently in my collection. I may have a couple older figures in storage, but those would be far and few between. Dollfies will also eat up a significant amount of display real estate due to their height. I’ve had to remove one shelf out of each case where there’s a Dollfie, just so they can stand. The results are pretty satisfying, though!

I got two packages in earlier on, one from HLJ and one from AmiAmi. It was my first order from the latter, so was curious to check out their service level. So without further ado, let’s get to the goodies!

First up is a brand new Yoko figure from Max Factory. Called the “Real Image Ver.,” this is a 1/6 scale representation of everyone’s favorite sniper from Gurren lagann. Unlike the figures that came before, this one is a reimagination of Yoko and shows us what she might look like if she were a real person. The sculptor really did a good job with it and I’m very impressed with the details that were included.

I’m still not quite sure if she’s proportioned properly, but you just can’t say no to those eyes. She also comes with an interchangeable front hairpiece so she can be displayed with or without her sniper goggles.

I don’t know about you, but there’s something sinful about that gaze… Finish on the figure is excellent and I haven’t been able to find any noticeable seams or imperfections in the cast. Even the joint where the hair piece meets the head is extremely well hidden.

Details on the gun are pretty good as well, though nothing will approach the level of detail found in the one provided with Kotobukiya’s rendition of Yoko released last year. That one had interchangeable clips, required assembly, and a moving bolt!

I do have one slight complaint about the figure though; it is incredibly shiny. Yoko’s skin is the nice matte finish I’ve come to expect, however most of her clothing has an odd luster to it. While I can see that making some sense for the leather bits, even her stockings, arm guard, gloves, and bracelets are shiny. If translating this to an actual material, I’d say it would look most like vinyl or pleather. Last I checked, Yoko didn’t wear vinyl or pleather… it wouldn’t be easy enough to move in. It looks a bit tacky, to be honest.

My other concern is the way the figure is mounted and positioned. As you can see from the shot of the base, it’s only attached in one point. Given Yoko’s…top heavy stature and pose, I’m curious as to if this figure will suffer from leaning. I would have felt a little better if she had another support somehow, though that may have compromised the dynamics of the figure.

On a positive note, Real Image Yoko looks good alongside her counterparts on the “Yoko shelf.”

I quite like these real image version figures that have been coming out as of late. For me, it started off with the Saber figure from Gift. I still much prefer the realistic style head that she came with. To me they just feel a bit warmer than the traditional anime style. It seems that Max Factory is doing more experimenting with their upcoming Kagamine Rin and Hatsune Miku, which will undoubtedly be hits. Even though I’m mostly impartial to the Vocaloids, the Miku one quite strikes my fancy.

Also, I broke out a new piece of equipment for this session. I received a portable photo studio for Christmas and finally decided to try it out.

It’s a pretty simple set and comes with a collapsible light box, two high output daylight fluorescent lamps, and a tripod. I’ve only just started experimenting with it and you can still see the remnants of my previous lighting setup, though I hope to be able to add some color for future shoots. Sadly, I don’t think a Dollfie would fit in there…

Given that this was a startup, I didn’t set my expectations very high. The venue itself wasn’t extremely large, so space and attendance would be limited. With that in mind, I set off last night after work to sample the offerings.

The Great Wolf Lodge is actually a family resort/indoor water park. It has a hotel, restaurant, and caters to families with younger children. The con itself was contained in the conference area of the resort, meaning there was minimal disruption to the lodge’s normal activities. There were two smaller rooms for panels, a large room for main events, and a vendor area. There was also a small nook set aside for various game systems.

The above photo was what greeted us when we went through the front door. Registration was in the main lobby and was run pretty efficiently. The organizers must have had some experience in the past, or had figured out how to handle the traffic.

While the lobby remained mostly clear on the first day, it quickly became the center point of any mass cosplay photo op. It was the only space large enough that could hold people. Going outside was pretty much out of the question, as temperatures in Charlotte hovered around the 40 degree mark during the day and dipping below freezing after the sun went down.

The vendor area had about a dozen different sellers peddling various wares from swords to clothing. One seller had a small stock of bootleg CDs and DVDs, which was a bit disappointing. At bigger conventions this is usually more common, but with a smaller group like this, I wonder if it’s possible (or feasible) to police such things? Only one seller really had a selection of figures, although not extremely large. One thing that struck me as odd was the types of merchandise being sold. While there was your typical Shonen Jump and Final Fantasy paraphernalia, there was also a surprising amount of Sailor Moon goods. For a series that hasn’t been on air in almost a decade, that’s pretty odd.

Since there wasn’t a huge variety of newer stock, not much caught my eye. I did score one figure for my collection… Holo from Spice and Wolf.

At first I was wondering why she came with an extra set of arms. Once I got the box open, I realized that she was completely cast off-able, and could be displayed nekkid. Not quite sure about that…

In all, the first year of Ichibancon was a great effort. Hopefully, this year’s success will lead to future growth and return in subsequent years. One thing the organizers may want to consider is having a dedicated cosplay meet up area. That way, crowds don’t gather in the central area and cause trouble for folks trying to get from one side to the other.

I’ll be going back tomorrow afternoon for the last bit of the event. There is an Asian BJD panel at noon, and Rin will be attending it with me. Hopefully she’ll have the opportunity to meet others like her and share stories!

Before I go any further, yes, I did spend way too much money on toys when I was overseas. Fortunately, my plane ticket back was already paid for, so I couldn’t have wound up like Piro and Largo. Now, after some wait time, here’s the unveiling of the loot from Japan!

And what a pile of loot it is! Going from top to bottom, left to right, here’s what’s in that juicy picture:

• Suzumiya Haruhi no Yutsu PS2 game, with SP Haruhi Figma
• Figma Drossel
• Fujibayashi Kyo, from Clannad
• Figma Konata Izumi – Summer uniform version
• Fate/Unlimited Codes PS2 game, with SP Saber Lily Figma
• Natsuki Kuga, from Mai-HiME
• Saber Lily, by Good Smile Company (new release!)
• Yoko Dollfie
• Narusegawa Naru, from Love Hina
• Tales of Vesperia ~The First Strike~ 2010 calendar (from TGS)
• Original set of production notes from Mai-HiME, Episode 18
• Original set of production notes from Aa! Megami-sama II, Episode 9
• Original set of production notes from ARIA (unknown episode)
• Original set of production notes from ARIA the Natural, Episode 10
• Original set of drawing instructions for Karin (presumably used by artists working on the series)
• Production sketches for Kimi ga Nozomu Eien
• Original sketches, backgrounds, and animation frames for Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou ~Quiet Country Cafe~ OVA 2

Not pictured:

• AQUA vol. 1 (Japanese language manga)
• Lucky Star walking guide 2009 ed. for sights around Washinomiya (obtained from cafe at Washinomiya Shrine)
• Various swag from TGS
• Various swag from Microsoft Japan company store
• Do As Infinity’s new album, Eternal Flame
• Kuraki Mai’s new compilation album, All My Best
• Charms from all the shrines I visited
• Snacks (all of which have been eaten)

While most of the stuff I picked up is pretty standard fare (figures and such), a couple things in this pile really stand out as unique. First and foremost, Yoko. She was made available earlier this year as a limited item, and I managed to score a brand new one from one of the various Mandarake stores inside Nakano Broadway. She did cost me a pretty penny though…

My absolute favorite pickups though, were the various original storyboards and production sketches. These truly are one-of-a-kind items. Even with those as photocopies, there is evidence they were actually used in the creation of the show, as most of them carry doodles from their owners (the one for Aa! Megami-sama, for example, has “I want steak” written above Peorth’s head).

If you zoom in on the image on the right, you’ll see it’s for this scene… Pretty cool, huh?

I’d also picked up similar packets for ARIA and Karin.

Of all the ones I got, my favorite is the set of concept sketches for the Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou OVA. While the others were photocopies, these are all original pencil drawings from (presumably) the original artist, Ashinano Hitoshi. When I first saw the packet sitting in the display case, I thought to myself “I know who she is, but why?” Upon asking the shopkeeper, he started to say “Yokohama…” and my eyes immediately lit up. There were two sets of drawings here, both for different shots in the same scene out of Quiet Country Cafe OVA2.

These are relatively cheap collectibles, considering how much other things like figures and dolls cost. Each set of production notes cost around 1000-1500 yen and the YKK production sketches cost 4000 yen (it came with a lot of pages). For one-of-a-kind items, that’s a steal!

For more loot pictures, hit up the full gallery!

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I’ll eventually try to put together a Photosynth set from the pictures I took. I didn’t get a good 360 degree view from the observatories, so there’ll be some gaps. The picture above is of the Rainbow Bridge leading out of central Tokyo going towards Narita.

One of the other neat things in the lower observatory are the various “look down windows.” These probably aren’t for those afraid of heights, though I did see a couple of school kids jumping up and down on them. I did stand on it for a bit, but it felt a bit disconcerting…

After leaving the Tower, we headed back towards Shinjuku to have lunch with a Microsoft employee that worked in Tokyo. Since we both have similar jobs, I wanted to trade notes with him about the way our businesses are run. It sounds like we have a lot in common, despite working in different countries.

After lunch, it was off to Akihabara. I was really excited about this trip, and started getting nervous as we approached the station entrance. As the Mecca of the world, Akihabara is filled with stores specializing in garage kits, figures, video games, electronics, and anything else related to otaku culture. I didn’t get any pictures of the area since I was largely preoccupied with browsing, buying, and carrying the afternoon’s acquisitions. We spent a couple hours there today, which was more than enough to do some significant damage to our wallets. We’ll be going back for more tomorrow, as well as into Ueno and Nakano for more otaku shopping. Here’s what I came back with today:

I’ll leave it up to your imagination for now as to what I’ve bought so far. More on the loot later (probably when I get stateside).

Last year, Microsoft launched a shopping and price comparison site, along the same lines as Froogle. Initially called Live Shopping (and now branded as Bing Shopping), the site offered incentives for purchasing in the form of rebates. The rebate would be a percentage of an item’s purchase price and would be delivered to you 60 days after purchase. Lots of popular retailers joined this program, from Newegg to Barnes and Noble. The amount ranged from as little as 1% all the way up to 50% in rare cases, usually during a promotional period.

One of the retailers offering incentives is eBay. Unlike most other stores in the Cashback program, eBay isn’t accessible through the main landing page. Instead, it was triggered by specific searches in Live. The amount also tended to fluctuate, depending on if there was a promotion going on. It is currently at 8%, however it has also been as high as 35%. Since not too many people in the figure community seem to be aware of the program, here’s a quick guide on how to take advantage and save a little bit in the process!

To get started, there are a few things you’ll need:

• Live in the United States and have a valid mailing address (no PO boxes)
• A Windows Live ID (eg. a Hotmail or Live Mail address)
• PayPal account
• eBay account

The first step is to set up your cashback account through Bing cashback. Sign in with your Windows Live ID and click on the cashback account link in the left navigation menu. Follow the prompts to sign in and create your account. At this stage, I would also recommend setting up the association with your PayPal account through the "Reward Methods” section so you can get your monies easily. This is also critical for linking up with your eBay purchases.

Once your account is set up, you can browse the cashback site to familiarize yourself with the stores available, or skip directly to getting to eBay. Since eBay isn’t a listed merchant, you have to do a search at Bing.com to get the cashback link. There are lots of terms that will invoke it, such as Xbox, wii, Nintendo DS, and atari. Since all you’re doing is using the search term to get the cashback link to pop, it really doesn’t matter which you choose.

Usually the link will show up near the top, but sometimes it will be in the right sidebar. In the image above, you see a link for www.ebay.com, and the 8% cashback. If it doesn’t say eBay in the link, then it is a general cashback link that will take you to bing.com/cashback. Here’s an example of a cashback link that isn’t for eBay (sorry Sony):

Notice the difference? Once you click on the link, you’ll be brought to a search page on eBay showing items that match your search term. You can now use that session to search for any other item you want. When shopping, be sure to remember these criteria:

• You only get cashback for items that are listed as Buy It Now
• You must pay for the item via PayPal
• Only the item cost will be counted for cashback, any shipping and handling charges leveraged by the seller are not eligible
• Items from the “eBay International sellers” list do not qualify (i.e. must be listed on www.ebay.com, and not any of the regional sites)
• Eligible items will have a little $ icon next to the name

In the example below, I did a search for Mikuru. Notice how the first and third items are auctions and don’t have a gold icon next to the name. The second and fourth listings are Buy It Now listings and have the icon.

Also, you you can check for cashback status at the top of the page. There will be a small banner at the top indicating “Microsoft cashback,” the percentage, and a link to more information on the program. Once you purchase the item (and everything was done correctly), you will get an email from Bing cashback indicating the status. For most eBay purchases, the rebate is instant, and you will receive the credit deposited to your PayPal account right after making your payment. This is especially useful if you’re buying multiple items, as you can then apply the credit towards your next purchase. For the merchants listed on the cashback site, a 60 day waiting period is required, and you must have a minimum of $5 rewarded in order to withdraw it.

Hopefully this quick guide will help you save a little bit on your next figure purchases. Happy buying!

1. Microsoft has teamed up with various internet merchants to offer rebates on products purchased via the Bing landing page. There are a few ways of discovering what stores are available, and a mostly complete listing is available at http://cashback.bing.com.
2. As an alternative to the Cashback page, searching on bing.com will also net links. eBay, for example, works in this manner. By doing searches on strings like xbox, a link will often appear telling you what percentage you can get.
3. Cashback on eBay is only valid on Buy it Now items and must be paid for using PayPal. Shipping charges don’t qualify for Cashback.
4. Most eBay purchases now give you the rebate immediately after purchase in the form of PayPal credit. Most retailers require a 60 day waiting period before it is deposited.

At present, Bing Cashback for eBay is at 8%. Last week, it was at 10% and was at 16% a few weeks prior. Last year, it was as high as 35% (guess how much stuff I bought at that time…. >.<)

Enough plugging, on to the goods!

I went a bit crazy this week and picked up a few beauties. I’d been eyeing the Mikuru bunny for some time now, and finally decided to jump on getting one. I’d also been searching for the Max Factory Naru after seeing several reviews raving about her beauty. Unfortunately, the same search that found me that Naru also got me to an auction for the EPOCH Naru statue. For the price, I just couldn’t pass her up and put in a bid.

First up, FREEing’s 1/4 scale rendition of Mikuru. I won’t spend too much time on her tonight, as there are plenty of other photo reviews of the awesomeness that is the FREEing bunny. Nonetheless, she will find herself at home among her friends in my display case…

Moving right along to the EPOCH Narusegawa figure. She’s of a claimed 1/8 scale and probably has the most packaging out of any figure I’ve ever purchased. Opening the cardboard box reveals a Styrofoam block. Naru was resting inside a mold and wrapped in tissue paper.

The other neat thing about this particular rendition was that she came with a pretty impressive stand. Not only was it very detailed, but it was also extremely heavy and had a nice message on the back.

Somehow I wonder about that “only 600” message…

She really is quite the beauty, though one of the things on this particular sculpt that stood out was that she didn’t have a flat stomach like most other figures I’ve seen. She actually has what appears to be ribs and muscle detail in the stomach area! She also has a rather sharp angled face, which caused some interesting challenges for lighting.

Next up is the Max Factory Narusegawa. In comparison, the Max Factory is a much more “traditional” figure with semitranslucent hair, several option pieces, and a normal stand.

Even though this particular sample didn’t include the original packaging, she still arrived in good condition with all her accessories. The only thing that seemed to have happened during shipping was the slight crushing of her antennae. They’re pretty pliable, so I was later able to pull them back into position. She comes with several options for display, including castoff-able shorts to reveal leaf bikini, ribbons for said bikini, and a shirt she can hold in her hand. The material used for her hair is also translucent, so it has some nice effects when placed under lighting.

After having a chance to experiment with the accessories, I came to the conclusion that the shorts weren’t a very good fit (seams on the sides) and she looked better displayed without them.

I’ve ultimately chosen this last configuration for how she’ll be placed in the display cabinet (ribbons attached, and shirt in hand). After quite some time of passive searching, I finally managed to find this gem of a figure for a decent price! Since I bought two Narus, I now have grounds to have a complete shelf dedicated to this beauty of Hinata! I assure you, it really is a coincidence that all of them are in swimsuits…

For more photos (trust me, there are more), check out the full album!

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