Square Enix has revealed a video prototype of a 1/6 scale statue of Terra riding on a Magitek Armor from Final Fantasy VI produced by Japanese statue maker Prime 1 Studio.
The League of Legends Store in China opened preorders on a new Ahri figure. The figure is a part of Riot's Unlocked Statue line which portrays their characters in a somewhat cartoony fashion resembling their in-game models.
Ahri has been released as a figure before in their larger, more realistic premium line based on her A New Dawn cinematic design which was met with mixed reviews.
Historically, merchandise such as figures appears later in the American store and we expect to see her available sometime soon in the future.
UPDATE (12/4/20): Ahri is now available from the US Store:
https://merch.riotgames.com/en-us/product/ahri-unlocked
On July 15th, Hasbro started crowdfunding on their HasLab platform for Unicron as a part of their Transformers: War For Cybertron toy line.
Standing at over 2 feet tall in robot mode and weighing 19 pounds, Unicron is the largest Transformer toy to date. Hasbro has also promised a range of additional features including the recently announced detachable head with interchangeable faceplates.
The ball jointed doll (BJD) community received some rather interesting attention last year with the announcement of the Smart Doll, a robotic doll that would interact with your phone. Originally started as a joke by popular anime blogger and entrepreneur, Danny Choo, the popularity of the doll has led to the creation of a non robotic version. How does the Smart Doll compare to other leading doll lines such as Dollfie Dream? How does the Smart Doll really feel like or handle?
We stopped by Danny's office, Mirai Inc. in Tokyo to find out.
Good Smile Company has announced that they are now taking pre-orders at their online shop for new figures including fan-favorite Vocaloid Hatsune Miku, Armin Arlert from Attack on Titan and Shinobu Oshino and Nadeko Sengoku from Bakemonogatari. The figures will be shipped between June and July of this year, with pre-orders closing soon.
Anime blogger and entrepreneur Danny Choo has announced that he is working on releasing a robotic doll dubbed the Smart Doll based on his character mascot, Mirai Suenaga. Originally posted as an April Fools joke, apparently the joke generated enough buzz for several robotics experts to join the cause.
According to Danny's post, the Smart Doll will contain: "about 24 servo motors, a CPU board, bluetooth and touch sensors." The initial production models will run off external power plugged into the back of the neck with future models currently conceptualized to be charged via a USB mobile battery.
Features currently planned include reactions to users who pat her head via touch sensors, an idle mode where the doll will look around and shift its body, dance to existing sequences made in the popular program Miku Miku Dance, move via Microsoft Kinect, and preprogrammed gestures and movement including Android and iOS remote control.
Currently as the doll is still in the development, there is no price; however, Danny has mentioned that the Smart Doll will be cheaper than the price of standard dolls on auction sites. I am assuming he is referring to Volk's Dollfie Dream line (which is probably also what the Smart Doll's exterior is based on) which normally sells for around $1000 with the more expensive dolls selling for $2000 on Yahoo Auction.
The first version of the prototype is expected to be completed by June and we'll do our best to get a hands on preview at Anime Expo in July where Danny is most likely to bring with him.
Good Smile Company has finally released additional information regarding the highly anticipated Belldandy figure from the popular series Ah! My Goddess.
The figure will be release as part of figure maker Max Factory's 25th anniversary. The figure was originally a garage kit but due to the complexity of the kit, making a faithful PVC rendition would have proven too difficult. From the delicate curves of the wings, to the thin strands of hair, if I could only pick 1 figure to own, this would be it!
She will be available for preorder starting on February 22 for a whopping 19,800 yen, probably one of the most expensive PVC figure to date! Check out additional images inside.
With a rough total of 195 new figures at the latest Winter Wonder Festival 2013, there is a lot to cover. Fortunately, we've taken the time to look through most of the new releases and picked out the best ones we think deserve the spotlight and your precious pre-order dollars.
Not surprisingly, Good Smile Company ranks in as #1 for their sheer number of new figures. Granted more than half of them are Nendoroid and Nendoroid Petit series, but they've covered good ground and haven't left their non-Nendoroid fans in the dark.
Max Factory has 26 new figures, most of them are figmas, while Kotobukiya previewed 11 new figures for their line up. (Warning: This post is very image heavy.)
Shown previously as a prototype earlier this year at several hobby events, Kongiku from the cult hit Wii game, Muramasa: The Demon Blade is up and ready for preorder.
Like Alter's earlier release of Momohime, Alter did an excellent rendition matching the pose relatively exact. The sculpt looks fantastic and I really like simplistic base with the stones and flora. She will be released later next year in late February 2013.
Although this 'top heavy' kitsune will probably never make it to my shelf, I would be very interested if Alter decides to make a figure of the 'bottom heavy' Yuzuruha also from Muramasa. Anyone else want to see a Yuzuruha figure?
Gallery of the figure inside.
Medicom Toy will be releasing an updated version of their Kyubey plushie from the popular anime series, Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
From the product photos, this new Kyubey appears to have a few new improvements including a sleeker overall body shape, fluffier tail and ears. Fans who have not already made a 'contract' and purchased this fellow can do so in late December for 3800 yen.
Full product picture inside along with the first version for comparison.
We have seen previously figure maker Yamato picking up highly popular garage kits and turning them into mass produced PVC figures like with sculptor Bubba's Velvet from Odin Sphere. Yamato is back again, and they will be releasing Cerberus Project's Elin from the MMORPG TERA as part of their SIF EX line.
Absolutely love how they were able to recreate the pearlescent shine of the dress. Sculpt on the hair also looks relatively clean and sharp and overall is very faithful to the original garage kit.
As usual, the actual production model may look different and we'll have to wait and see!
More pictures inside.
Probably my top pick from the Summer Wonder Festival 2012, Good Smile Company will be celebrating their 25th anniversary by releasing a fully painted 1/10 scale version of their iconic Belldandy figure from Ah! My Goddess!
Although we can't really tell, the model they have on display probably (again we are not sure) isn't going to be the final product and appears to be the original kit, might even be the famed original that has been seen at the Good Smile Office display cabinet. As a note, the original kit was released in 1997 while figure maker Volks released a painted version later in 1999 that was less detailed.
Definitely I am going to preorder this, any other takers? We'll update as soon as we get more information, but since it's scaled at 1/10 and is a PVC, I wouldn't expect it to be too expensive hopefully.
More pictures inside.
I am a sucker for cute things. Even worse off I am also a sucker for Accel World goodies, so as soon as Good Smile Company released their version of Nendoroid Kuroyukihime. I was INSTANTLY sold.
Just look at dress! How elaborate and detailed it is! It has everything from the butterflies climbing up the dress, to the the folds on the fabric. Even the umbrella is embellished a little.
More info and photos inside.
Figure maker SkyTube will be releasing a figure of Date Wingfield Reiko from the ero game Fault!! Tony Taka fans will instantly recognize his trademark style in the figure. Apart from the eye candy, this figure's jersey, uniform, and bikini top are completely castoffable.
This looks to be a solid figure and will be released later this year in October. For more photos check out the mini gallery inside (note NSFW).
As a note, SkyTube is an offshoot of figure maker AlphaMax and produces mature figurines similar to Max Factory's Native figure line.
Anime fans from the 90s rejoice! Good Smile Company has put their best foot forward and made a return to anime from the good old days. Like a blast from the past, pre-orders for Nendoroid Sakura Shinguji from the popular series Sakura Taisen is open! Any serious anime fan from the 90s will remember this monumental Japanese franchise. From Visual Novels, to Dating Sims to Tactical Role-Playing Games, Sakura Taisen has done them all.
Alter unveiled a full colored prototype of the voluptuous Selvaria Bles from the hit video game and anime series, Valkyria Chronicles earlier last week at the Autumn MegaHobby Expo. The figure was originally unveiled earlier this year at the Winter Wonder Festival as an unpainted prototype. Fans will be please to know Raita Honjou (the original character designer for the series) designed the figure, while Toshiyuki Yagyu did an excellent job in adhering to Raita's voluptuous style with the sculpt.
Long term readers will be aware my past rants on Alter's plain display bases, but this one is simply amazing! I am a little concerned how her hair will look in the final product as it appears her hair may be semitranslucent.
You can take Selvaria home later next year in April for roughly 8,800 yen. For now, check out all the gorgeous photos we've gathered online.
Fans of the popular Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt anime will be thrilled to learn that one of the top figure makers, Alter, has unveiled a stunning colored PVC sample of Panty Anarchy at the recent Autumn MegaHobby Expo 2011. Panty is in her signature pose after transforming into her angel outfit. Little else is known about the figure, but it will be released later next year in 2012. This is probably the best looking Panty figure shown so far based on resemblance and sculpt, and only time will tell if Good Smile Company/ Max Factory decides to top them.
Alter has also revealed an unpainted prototype of Kneesocks from the same series and I would expect a Stocking and Scanty figure to be announced sometime in the near future. Any takers?
Figure maker Good Smile Company released the complete colored photos of Shinobu Oshino from the hit series Bakemonogatari earlier this week. Based on the cover art for the 6th volume of the Blu Ray release, Shinobu cutely sits on top of the rest of the cast from the series buried in donuts. In a rare twist, I have to say I think the figure is better than the original art, especially the face! What do you guys think?
She will retail for 7800 yen and be released next year in March 2012 and most likely will be on my preorder list.
Alice and Clara are definitely special. Being the popular junior high idol unit known as ClariS, they have been made famous by singing the opening songs for popular anime series such as Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai and Puella Magi Madoka Magica. In tandem with their recent single release, Good Smile Company has created the vessel for their Nendoroid debut.
More information and photos after the jump.
Figures from the series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha seem to never stop releasing, maybe because most of them are either insanely cute and/or well sculptured. In any event, this time around Kotobukiya has released yet another Nanoha centered figure. It is a 1/8 Scale PVC figure of Nanoha in her School uniform. Struck in a moving pose, this figure is sure to attract even the not-so-hardcore fans.
Nanoha is casted here as if she is just on her way to school; with a slice of bread in her mouth, Yuuno (in Ferret form) sticking out from her bag and a fluttering skirt, this is a must buy in my book. The face carries a surprised but very cute expression. Promo photos show a very decent paint job on the demo model; however, we shall see how she turns out on the mass production line. Kotobukiya has their hit and misses, hopefully this one will turn out to be a hit.
Scaled at 1/8 for a retail price at 5,800 yen, this figure is actually on the expensive side. There isn't much complexity to the figure and it doesn't come with an elaborate base. With the current exchange rate, this is an expensive buy. Several online retailers should have it for a little bit cheaper, so check your favorite web retailer. Even though this figure is slated to be released in January of 2012, pre-orders have already started.
More photos after the jump.