Comments on: Wonder Festival 2008 Winter: industry news (updated)

By: Wonder Festival 2008 Winter | Asian Pop Culture | YeinJee

Wonder Festival 2008 Winter | Asian Pop Culture | YeinJee — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:46:35 +0000

[...] can view more pictures at Akibana, Akiba-Ch, Akibablog, Heisei and Dengeki. Mind that some of the pics are not safe for [...]

By: Work_Ethic

Work_Ethic — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:47:06 +0000

LOL- Okay, for some reason I thought she was going to be pvc…anyway, I will most likely keep an eye out for her on Yahoo. I really like her face and proportions……..

Thanx!!

By: Shingo

Shingo — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:35:16 +0000

>>Work_Ethic
We’ve heard no word yet about a PVC version of the Airu figure from Niθ and Kotobukiya; thus far she’s resin only. I’m still holding out hopes for a PVC though – it took 3-4 years for their Yomiko kit, but even she succumbed in the end, so there’s definitely a chance.

By: Work_Ethic

Work_Ethic — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:08:31 +0000

The busty catgirl with the airbrush- is she going to be pvc, or is she strict resin??

Thanx!

By: the_pseudokings

the_pseudokings — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:49:28 +0000

>>Shingo
Well I guess the fact that they want to put out a good product is the right place to start from. I will say I don’t remember ever seeing a picture of the Yuria that looked really sharp/detailed so maybe that is why she has the problems you noted. Obviously, there might have been a lot of drop off from the proto and I just never saw the proto pictured anywhere. I suppose I will take the same approach to the Elena and the Cyrille that I have toward the Happinet Kanu – cautious optimism, with a high likelihood of rolling the dice and hoping for the best.

By: Shingo

Shingo — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:16:09 +0000

>>the_pseudokings
I don’t know much about First Class beyond what I’ve seen of their Yuria 100-shiki (which I did end up buying). There are some issues there that have me worried (the casting job is “blurry” – soft around edges that should be crisp, the detail work isn’t great and the selections of paint and finish could have been better), but whether those problems will persist through their coming lineup is hard to say.

After meeting the staff at the event I came away favorably impressed that they were working really hard to do well by their product, and I’ll definitely be ordering the Elena when she’s announced (not sure about the other two yet). I hope they can pull of a level of quality similar to what was on display in the prototypes, but whether they will or not is still an open question, I think.

By: the_pseudokings

the_pseudokings — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:36:26 +0000

>>Shingo
That leads me to the 2 excellent new protos from First Class, Cyrille and Elena. Do you know anything about them/what to expect? I love the 2 sculpts/protos, but I myself am quite concerned about a brand new company, as I expect you are. Looking at the protos, they don’t seem too glossy or overly done with paint gradients to see ‘too good to be true’ for PVC, but there is some detail work (especially in the Cyrille’s paint scheme) that they really need to nail to pull these off. Thoughts?

By: Shingo

Shingo — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:18:31 +0000

>>the_pseudokings
I agree with you completely. ^^

The prototype looks exquisite, and I hope whatever staff and production facility ultimately produces the figure is up to the task of replicating it faithfully. I was probably too heavy-handed in my condemnation of Happinet based purely on the work of E3 from a few years ago, and I too eagerly await further details on this figure, so we can more accurately get a picture of what to expect.

Sorry to get carried away in a stupid argument. I am an eternal optimist when it comes to these things, and even if indicators look doubtful for a newcomer to the figure industry I’ll probably pick up whatever it is they’re making if I like the look of the original prototype. That’s definitely the case here.

By: the_pseudokings

the_pseudokings — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:51:37 +0000

>>Shingo
I’m sure everyone has preordered a PVC that didn’t turn out quite how they hoped. I also believe that being prudent is important, I’m just saying that some (really, really) bad TFs/capsule toys by a now defunct sub-line do not mean that you have to assume that such a good looking proto will turn out to be a terrible final PVC. Especially considering that the SMC line is pretty solid. ‘Kent’ is obviously fairly new to the figure game, and truly interested, so I think those of us with more experience should impart it, but try not to be too heavy handed about our opinions, especially when we don’t have all the details yet. For all we know they could be partnering with GoodSmile to make sure it’s a knockout. I doubt it of course, but until they officially announced…

By: Shingo

Shingo — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:58:23 +0000

>>the_pseudokings I'll probably still place the preorder, but I'm known for being stupid that way. I think it behooves a prudent buyer to think twice about purchasing from any untested maker before it's proven itself, and Happinet is no exception; that said, I'm reserving my judgement on the risk of this particular kit until all the details are out. If it's being produced in cooperation with another more experienced company I'd find it much easier to recommend.

By: the_pseudokings

the_pseudokings — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:36:46 +0000

>>Shingo
So no preorder on this particular Kanu of note for you then (when she becomes available to do so), Shingo?

By: Shingo

Shingo — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:35:15 +0000

While it's true that E3 primarily produced trading figures, they were really, really bad at it. Even at that scale there are gradations of quality, and they were among the worst (though their Shinobuden set wasn't atrocious). E3 died a fitting death and it's all water under the bridge now, but I'd still think twice about buying a figure marketed under the Happinet name alone until the final PVC version is on store shelves.

By: the_pseudokings

the_pseudokings — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:50:13 +0000

>>Shingo
Your link is to trading figures (or were they capsule toys?) if I’m not mistaken, so I don’t know if the comparison is really fair to Happinet. A lot of TFs and Capsule Toys, even from solid companies… kinda… suck. I’ve pretty much stopped collecting the little stuff because the ‘full size’ PVCs just keeps getting better and have for the most part left the little stuff behind.

By: Shingo

Shingo — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:51:26 +0000

>>Kent Regarding Happinet: I wouldn't trust them when they act completely alone, as some of the worst figure atrocities of the past few years have come from the (now defunct) Happinet spinoff E3 brand. That said, if they keep good company (as they have with Kotobukiya in their Chrono Gate lineup) they seem to be relatively trustworthy. Regarding your second question, the_pseudokings is correct. The first figure is a 1/4 scale BOME resin kit that will likely never see PVC release, and the second is an Idolmaster resin that will also likely never see PVC release. I'll try to track down the sculptor of the second kit for you.

By: the_pseudokings

the_pseudokings — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:43:03 +0000

>>Kent
Oh yeah, I’m pretty sure the Idolmaster figure is a GK and not attributed to any of the PVC companies.