Looking back to this kit’s announcement in June I can’t quite recall what attracted me to her – wait, it’s coming. Oh yeah, it was the yellow KEEP OUT tape. I just can’t stay away from that stuff… I’m not much of a Masamune Shirow connoisseur beyond Ghost in the Shell and I don’t own any of his Intron artbooks, but toss a figure like this in my direction and you’ll get my attention every time. Read on for a look at a nice, unpretentious ero kit:
Original Design: Masamune Shirow
Sculptor: Unknown
Source: Intron Depot #4 (artbook)
Scale: 1/8 (19.5 cm tall)
Materials: PVC
Release Date: October 27th, 2007
Production: Beagle, Goodsmile
Price: 6,090 JPY (tax included)
Current Availability: [KNC] [HLJ] [HS] [TL] [AAA]
Support HD!: [PA] [YA]
Without access to the artbook I was sadly unable to dig up the original illustration this figure is based on, but the sculptor has done a great job of conveying what seems to be a sufficiently Shirow-esque vibe (said from the perspective of one not too familiar with his recent work, admittedly). The pose isn’t particularly dynamic, but presumably this is a reflection of the original illustration and not the sculptor’s choice; I’m upset that neither the figure box nor official site description lists the name of the sculptor so we could understand where this fits in with his or her body of work. Shame on you Beagle!
My initial impression of the production work on the kit was that it felt cheap, but as I examined her further I realized that she has a lot of subtle elements worth appreciating. Cast-wise the kit is very nicely composed, with no visible seam lines beyond the bangs and no offset parts (though the torso might be a bit askew). Details such as hair, creases and folds of the costume, and rivets are nicely preserved.
The paint job is surprisingly intricate as well. The skin of her hips, thighs, back, and breasts is covered by a faint metallic sheen, reminiscent of the armor worn by pilots in Muv Luv; this contrasts with the skin of her shoulders and face, which is obviously bare. A semigloss black finish is used for the bulk of the leather of her costume, while a metallic gloss is used for her shin guards and belt, and a black matte for the strap hanging from her back.
Detail work is superb where present, with realistically painted rivets and decals on her gun and shoulder. Shading is absent on her clothing, but is subtle and effective across her skin. The nipples are rather abstract due to the film covering them, but I don’t find it to be an unpleasant effect.
In hindsight what probably gave me the impression of cheapness was the base, which looks and feels like a piece of cheap plastic (which it is). Overall this is a nice kit however, and while it doesn’t stand out from the crowd I’d say it’s worth the purchase for Shirow fans or fans of sexy science fiction-themed figures in general.
Overall Score: 8/10
+ decent sculpt faithfully recreates Shirow sexiness
+ wide variety of paint finishes and accurate detail work bring depth to the kit
o rather boring pose
o smallish scale reduces the impact of the kit
– gun at her breast can’t be removed from holster
– base looks and feels cheap
– sculptor uncredited
If you’re interested in picking her up and you’d like to support HD, the space pirate (arr) is currently available at Play Asia. For the budget-minded she’s also still in stock at both HLJ and Hobby Search.
I think it goes along well with the earlier released Police SSAT figure(http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-8x-49-en-70-1q1e.html). I manage to buy that one cheap at a local store.
I received this one last week, decided on the Blue version over the read simply for the nudity (although I thought there would be a bra type thing as a cover-up option).
Overall pretty happy with it, does pretty much what it says on the tin so to speak, nothing more, nothing less.
I’ve got both the red and blue versions on order through HLJ and am super excited about them because… dun dun dun, I am a massive Shirow fan XD
Have been since 1997.
This particular lady is infact quite close to the original image, once I get the artbook back from a friend I’ll do a scan for you.
I have to confess to picking this one up almost entirely due to the nekkidness factor; it’s a bit embarrassing, as I think Shirow’s recent work is worth a much more thorough appraisal than I’ve been able to give it. I do think the figure stands well enough on her own merits, happily.
>>Zeb
It would be great to see the original picture if you have it available!
Though I love Shirow work as an ilustrator and as a mangaka this is not (for me) one of his best designs.
I always wonder why there isn’t any figure versions of his last works,specially the Wet Girls posterbooks (I dream every night of some Hellcat and Hellhound figures)
Maybe Shirow isn’t as popular in Japan as before (apart from anime adaptations) which is a pity.
Oh,it was “GalGrease” and not “Wet Girls”,my bad.
Anyway,if somebody doesn’t know that series of posterbooks should take a look.Highly recommended.
His recent calendars are amazing but i dun see them becoming PVCs as their designs are kinda intricate.
I’m basically 100% sure this figure is sculpted by Yoshimasa Nakao. He was the founder/operator and chief sculptor at Vice before they went under, and this figure was show a long time ago at shows as an upcoming Vice release. On top of that he sculpted basically everything Intron/GITS from Vice in the past (I have tons of it) and this figure absolutely has his signature style of Shirow accuracy.
Checked my artbooks and found that this figure is from an artwork from Intron Depot 3 page 59. I checked the web and finaly found one picture. Google for it: “intron depot 3” “page 59”
I don’t know if there is another artwork with her. Shirow tends to reuse figures in his artworks.
I still wait for the galgrease and galhound artbooks. Seems like Shirow canceled them. Is there something new lately?
This is my first pair of Shirow figures (red and blue, missed out on the earlier ones) and as a old Shirow art fan, I have to say it’s very accurate
to his earlier works, design wise.
As for his newer works, I cannot say as I’ve basically stopped buying posters/manga/illustration books unless they’re released on CDs/DVDs due to SG’s tropical climate. (my collection of posters/manga/artbooks are now yellowed or has fungi patches due to the high SG humidity. :( ) Unfortunately, I stopped at Intron Depot 2.
As for the figure, I am surprised at the excellent trim paintings, especially the metallic buttons (no smearing at the edges. WOW! If only other companies have such dedication to their releases… :)
I should be getting this next week, only downside is the size with those long legs she would look nice at a 1/6 scale.
But I was actually looking for Ghost in a shell Motoko figure but none fit the bill except this figure.
Here is a link to the artwork:
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/6627/introndepotpirateez1.jpg
>>the_pseudokings
Thanks for the heads up on Nakao Yoshimasa, I’ve never been much of a Vice collector and wasn’t aware of his work. After a bit of hunting I came up with 中尾佳正 as the kanji for his name and an Amiami search for anyone interested in tracking down more information. It seems like he’s also responsible for several classic superhero sculpts and a Misato x Pen^2 with garage kit circle Alpha in addition to his work for Vice.
>>uncensored
Thanks for the detailed information! I’m not aware of any new Shirow material, but I don’t track his stuff very closely.
>>blacklotus
I was surprised at the level of detail on the rivets as well, complete with scratches – really brings the metal finish alive.
>>Priss
I’m with you on the Motoko, I’ve been looking for a really nice kit of her for awhile now but of the many that have come out none have quite grabbed me enough to inspire a purchase. Here’s hoping to see more of her in the future.
>>Baldulf
Awesome, thanks! It seems the sculpt really is spot on, a great rendition of the original illustration.
>>Shingo
Yamato (and later Organic) brought a lot of Vice stuff over to the US at reasonable prices over the years (much of that time you could really only get Yujin, Koto, Yamato & some Kaiyodo stuff in the US and only through Diamond – the comic distribution monopoly). I’ve always been a big Shirow fan, so I took an interest years ago and found out who was doing these figures that were surprisingly accurate to the original art, especially considering that Shirow’s work is very distinctive.
The Star Ship Police figure that comes up on the Amiami search is quite nice, and there was a very nice 1/8 Motoko Aramaki from GITS2 also by Nakao/Vice/Beagle awhile back (though I doubt you can still find it on any JP sites). The Motoko does show up on some US sites still, the pictures for some reason are always terrible, but as I have the figure I can tell you that it is very nice. Her skirt is castoff (I know they basically all are nowdays) and she has camo panties on underneath which is an interesting look, the small window box is quite nice as well.
>>the_pseudokings
I see, that’s interesting. I’m aware of Diamond’s distribution of a variety of figures Stateside but don’t keep very close tabs on what’s in their lineup… it’s interesting to see what makes it over there and for what prices.
I wonder if Beagle figures will continue to be distributed by Diamond, and if so whether they’ll actually credit the sculptor on the box for this one. =_=;;
>>Shingo
I believe that Organic is technically the current US distributor for Beagle (could be wrong) and most things that Organic bring to the states are carried by Diamond (who I hate… for the most part), BUT as the Space Pirate is a GoodSmile collaboration and AAA is their US distributor, who knows. Got mine preordered that’s what really matters.
Basically all “US release” versions of things are the original JP packaging, with a sticker for the distributor on them, and therefor if the sculptor is not credited in JP, it’s basically a lock that they won’t be in the US. There are some repackage jobs (mainly from Koto), but not many.
WOW- I’m a huge old school Shirow fan. And this figure looks amazing! I have a few of the SSAT Police (?) and boy- this one is top teir. I love the sleak look of the clear playtex (?) over her skin. The paint job looks great. I didn’t order this but now I am giving it very serious seconds thoughts……
Just got mine today she is awesome better than Orchid Seed’s Cover Girl PVC. Very detailed. She has her nails painted too butI do think her nipples are weird
>>the_pseudokings , I should have mention I was looking for the anime version of motoko. The figure you specified looks like the manga version right. so far the closet figure to follow the anime looks like a drag queen
http://www.hlj.com/product/WAVNF-64
>>Priss
I’ve always liked the original Shirow manga look better for Motoko personally, so I didn’t think about the Anime version. That 1/10 Wave version is disgusting I absolutely agree. This is probably the best anime style Motoko I’ve seen in recent memory:
http://www.hlj.com/product/ALP88029
It’s less than a year old, so you might still be able to find it somewhere, just not HLJ.
The use of ativan in the prehospital setting….
Ativan. Ativan halucinate. Ativan vs xanax. Ativan and celexa. Ativan side effects. Ativan and seizres….
Uprima….
Availability of uprima. Uprima….