Orchid Seed represented last week with their latest assay in the PVC craft, this extremely (nay voluptuously) endowed kit based on the cover illustration of Inoue Takuya’s Chichinoe+ artbook. How does this offering stack up against other recently released figures? Let’s just say I’m more than happy to return to the warm, fluffy pillows of large chested fandom after a brief flirtation with the other side…

Original Design: Inoue Takuya
Sculptor: Ishiyama Satoshi (WFS) (Amiami)
Source: Chichinoe + (plus) (artbook)
Scale: 1/6 (22 cm long, 9 cm high)
Materials: PVC
Release Date: April 26th, 2007
Production: Orchid Seed
Price: 6,800 JPY (tax included)
Current Availability: Hobby Link Japan (discontinued)

Inoue Takuya is one of the enduring legends of the two-dimensional bosom, known primarily for his work as compiled in the Chichinoe+ artbook pictured here and for his artistic direction on the Escalation eroge, likely one of the most traded CG sets of the decade. His recent work has included periodic Comiket releases of slim doujin volumes full of rather sparse line drawings; what else he’s been up to for the past five years is veiled in mystery (if anybody knows the answer to this I’d be delighted to hear it). In the interval his illustrations still inspire artists and sculptors striving to follow in his footsteps, and Orchid Seed is enamored enough to devote not one but two kits in their lineup this year to recreations of his work.

The Good

• A truly solid sculpt that pays fitting homage to the original illustration in both form and spirit. The lines are beautifully rendered and the kit is well cast, with minimal seam visibility and quality replication of the detail work on the lacy bits.

• The paint job of the skin and white fabric really shines, with nice shading work on both that brings a welcome sense of volume to the kit. The paint job is also what boosts it into the “ero” sphere, as without some strategically placed pink bloom she would arguably just be a really sexy 15+.

The Adequate

• The paint job on the hair and the skirt are functional, but lacking in shading they fail to come to life in the same way as the rest of the kit. The hair in particular is verging on “brick” status, looking from certain angles like a big yellow chunk of plastic (which it is, but it’s supposed to be saying “hay, I’m hair!” not “hay, I’m something you could use as a doorstop!”).

• The shading that graces the rest of the skin didn’t quite make it to the face, and I don’t care for the color they chose for her lips – these two elements combine to give her a slightly sallow, washed-out complexion. Not that anyone is looking at the face, but I do wish they would have paid a bit more attention there.

The Ugly

• No matter how you measure it, this kit is not 1/6 scale. It’s a decent 1/7, but calling it 1/6 as the promotional material does would mean that she is (22 x 6 =) 132 cm tall in that pose; give her another 18 cm when standing straight and that puts her at 150 cm, or 59 inches, just shy of five feet tall. A five foot tall woman with those proportions would look like a freak. Truth in advertising, people!

Overall Score: 8/10

In all fairness she might not quite reach the eightieth percentile, but after looking at her for long enough she’s one of those kits that I can’t mark down any lower. Not quite up there with Pachira in terms of raw quality, but she’s got it where it counts (yes, in the chest). All in all a kit I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to a fellow Inoue Takuya fan, or anyone with similar tastes in the bust region.