Figure news from over the weekend, including prize figure scoops from the Amusement Expo 2008, an update on Volks’ Muv Luv trading figures, a castoff look at Medicos’ Queen’s Blade trading figure set, a Gurren Lagann action figure from Kotobukiya, a review of the Tony-desigend, T’s System sculpted bloomer girl figure from E2 magazine, and more! Wonder Festival in six days and counting…



The big hobby news from this past weekend comes from AOU 2008 (aka. Amusement Expo 2008, aka. All Nippon Amusement Machine Operator’s Union 2008 Amusement Expo, aka. a big room with lots of arcade stuff on display). The expo scooped the release of several new prize figures due out later this year, a roundup of which can be found here courtesy of Dengeki PlayStation online (Note the soft breast part on Sega Prize’s HiMM figures, and their POP Wonderland Alice). More detailed looks at a couple of them are linked below:
- Gundam 00‘s Wang Liu-Mei from Banpresto (GA Graphic, Akiba Hobby)
- Code Geass‘s C.C. from Banpresto (Akiba Hobby)
- Akihabara Channel has some great English-language coverage as well!
Preorders for some of these figures have gone up at Be-J and elsewhere; we’ll be keeping an eye out for wider availability.

Volks updated with further information on the release of their MODEL OF ENTERTAINMENT COLLECTION Age Ultimate Characters 01 trading figure set from Muv Luv. The six-piece set will go on sale in advance of its official release at Wonder Festival this coming Sunday (February 24th), at 7,000 yen for an eight-piece box. Wide release of the set is expected in late March or early April, with individual units retailing at 924 yen (tax included) or an eight-piece box for 7,392 yen. Preorders will begin online on Monday, February 25th, at Volks’ shops, mail order, and online as well as other general online retailers. General release status is currently unknown.

In other Volks Wonder Festival news, if you have 58,800 yen burning a hole in your pocket on the 24th you can buy this 1/4 scale, prepainted Uesugi Kenshin kit from Sengoku Rance which is now on display at the Volks shop in Osaka (note that this is the same kit they were selling at last summer’s WF, only this version is pre-painted). It’s times like this that I wish I were independently wealthy…

Medicos’s Queen’s Blade trading figure set has been reviewed over at Ascii.jp, where they scoop the castoff status of each of the three figures in the offing (though with their typical blurring censorship). Expensive for trading figures, but possibly worth it. :3

We don’t know when it’s going on sale yet (Update: this page says it’s due out in March), but Kotobukiya has unveiled a poseable Gurren Lagann action figure they’re calling “Tengen Kadou” in this special page now online to advertise it. It’ll retail at 3,990 yen and 12.2 cm tall, and just looks generally badass – I’m glad Konami doesn’t have the monopoly on G-L figures anymore, it’s great to see what other makers are doing with the property. We’ll keep an eye out for a release date on this one.
The E2 limited, Taka Tony designed, Miyazawa Takeshi sculpted “blue bloomer girl” shipped recently, and Moeyo’s got the review. I haven’t been too hot on T’s System sculpts recently, but this is one I really wish they’d put up for general release… barring that eventuality it seems Yahoo Auctions may be our only hope.

Finally, from the “awwwww” department, comes word that Max Factory president “Max” Watanabe was promoting the release of the new Nagato Yuki Figma action figure on Valentine’s Day last week in Akihabara along with his daughter (can we call her mini-max?). They were handing out chocolate wrapped with a Figma logo label, and I can’t think of a more effective marketing technique – who wouldn’t take Valentine chocolates from such an adorable father-daughter combination?
countdown to
6 days!
Thanks heaps for the update! Does this mean that the Age Character Collection should be available from sites like Play-Asia and HLJ? I can’t seem to find their A3 Senjutsuki anywhere though I read somewhere that those are restricted solely to Japan.
No problem! The precise wording used on the page is:
■受注
2008年2月25日 ボークス各店・通販隊・Webにて受注開始!
After a bit more research it seems I was too swift to declare it a general release. I read “通販隊” as “mail order shops”, when it appears that’s the official designation for Volks’ proprietary mail order service; it may be that the only way to get the set is through Volks (either their stores, mail order, or online order). I’m not completely sure about this but that’s how it’s currently looking.
Sorry to disappoint. ;_;
The Uesugi Kenshin kit is such an incredible sculpt. Too bad it’s forever out of my reach ;_;
wow that kenshin looks very nice. If I could afford it I’d love to get it, but then I wouldn’t be so brave to display it so prominently in my home!
@Shingo:
Cheh, I was afraid that’d be the case. Hopefully I can get Celga to make an order for me when the date rolls around… I’m guessing they’ll be blind packaged which is gonna be a pain in the ass. I only really want Meiya and Takamura Yui.
Ah well, much thanks for all your help anyway. I don’t know why Volks insists on being so “restrictive” with what is some really awesome stuff >_<
Ahhhhhh- the Blue Bloomer girl looks great!! Sigh…..good thing she is not within reach since I don’ts gots the monies!!
Is that Volks 1/4 Uesugi event limited? I hope not.
I would love to get my hands on 1 to go with my 1/4 Yamamoto. It’s a beautiful piece. Hopefully, it will see a general release.
Else, it will be like the Yamamoto and we’ll see lots of bootlegs flooding the market. And that’s bad.
p.s. My 1/4 Yamamoto is a bootleg. I was conned into buying it for S$500 from a local Singapore shop, thinking it’s an original. Lesson learnt: Always check with trustworthy webshops and sites like HD first.
p.p.s. Anyway, that shop had closed down already. Conned customers will never go back to the same shop again. 8)
I would almost buy the Uesugi if it had a general release, almost.
received the Tony “bloomer girl” today and …. she is sweet :) But to be fair: is no Good Smile quality…but then little is ;)