Further scans from Hobby Japan were uploaded to 2chan last night after I went to bed (initial HJ July ’08 scoop here). I’ll fill in the details as soon as possible, but for now the scans are reproduced below: Update: Most of the details are now up, including information on a wide release of the Shiragami Ikkitousen trading figure set, Asakura Ryouko and Vocaloid Rin/Len Nendoroids, Organic’s Kawazoe Tamaki, and more:

Otherwise only available via mail order from Hobby Japan magazine, Alpha Omega’s Excellent Model CORE Queen’s Blade Shizuka (limited edition) is now in stock at Play-Asia. This is likely one of the few opportunities to obtain the figure without paying obscene markups at auction, so those interested who weren’t able to place preorders earlier have another chance now. She’s likely only available in very limited quantity, so quick action is advised if you don’t want to miss out.

Our review of the regular edition Shizuka can be found here. (no more)

2chan’s mokeiura board represents once again with an early glimpse of this month’s issue of Hobby Japan magazine. We bring a rundown of the most exciting bishoujo figure news appearing in this July issue, including the announcement of a new Excellent Model CORE Queen’s Blade figure, three new Figma action figures from Nanoha, Lucky Star, and Ikkitousen, an epic Ivy from Soul Calibur 3, and a whole lot more:

Three minor bits of figure news today: first is word from Kotobukiya that their plug suit Ayanami Rei will be reissued in September at 7,140 yen, 1/6 scale (20 cm tall), and with a sculpt from Shirahige Tsukuru. Preorders for the reissue should be open soon.

Next, online shop Ganbo Store has announced that preorders for a limited color version of Happinet’s armored Kanu Unchou will open officially at noon on May 22nd. We can infer from this that regular edition preorders will open around that same time as well, and we’ll be keeping an eye out for those in the next week or two.

Finally, Hobby Japan is reporting that their magazine-limited Jingai Makyou Didii will be shipping on May 21st. Those who ordered via Play-Asia or another proxy service can expect their deliveries to ship around that time. (no more)

Update: preorders are now open at Amiami for Alice, Mellona, Ibuki, and Mika.

Original Post: Two slight movements on the Alice scene over the noon hour today: first is a Moeyo! Akibajin Blog post that scoops the resin sample of the adult Alice (“Boost” version Alice) we saw yesterday in the pages of Hobby Japan. She’s apparently now on display at the Kotobukiya store in Akihabara, and he’s got a photo gallery with some great close-up shots (though this one casts a discouraging light on her castoff prospects).

Second is an update at the official Alter x Megahouse collaboration Alpha Omega brand homepage, which presents a listing for the Excellent Model CORE Queen’s Gate Mon wo Hiraku Mono Alice (Arisu) finished PVC model that we’ve been tracking for the past few months. The page confirms information we’d previously reported on the figure (August release at 5,775 yen, Akatsuki sculpt, 1/8 scale, 14.5 cm tall, castoffable), and now that she’s online we can expect preorders to commence very shortly – likely later in the day today. This post will be updated once the first preorders are spotted.

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Scans from advance copies of this month’s hobby magazines appeared on 2chan’s mokeiura board earlier today, and as usual we bring a summary of the latest bishoujo figure news from their pages translated here for your perusal. Highlights include a new Yamachichi sculpt of Queen’s Gate Alice (adult version), the first full-body color look at Mellona, an awesome Dozle Zabi from the original Gundam (definitely not a bishoujo), the prototype for an Oinarisama Tenko Kuugen from FREEing, release information on Figma Mikuru and Izuki, followups on several of the figures we’ve been tracking over past months, and more!

Scans from the pages of Hobby Japan were once again leaked to 2chan’s hobby board a few days before the magazine’s official release on the 25th. We’ve parsed the information here, providing a glimpse of things to come that includes a new Ramba Ral from Megahouse, a CAPCOMANIAX Melting Neuron Felicia, several Queen’s Blade updates, a Sengoku Rance Suzume from Kotobukiya (oh, the timing), Kyon and Nanoha Figmas, the first in Art Storm’s Yamashita Shunya line, and a whole lot more.

The April ’08 edition of Hobby Japan has once again reached the hands of intrepid 2channers a few days early, and this issue is particularly rich with items sure to be of interest (and sure to be on display at Wonder Festival on Sunday): includes a new “Capcomaniax” line of Excellent Model figures from Megahouse, scoops on the next two CORE Queen’s Blade figures, repaint versions of two others, the latest from Goodsmile and Max Factory, news regarding the next round of Shuraki releases, details on Yamato’s sexy Ringo and Griffon’s sexy Ryofu, an elven archer from Yamashita Shunya, and much more – read on for pictures and item descriptions:

Online bookshop Mangaoh posted a listing last night for a rather surprising item: Queen’s Gate – On wo Kaesu Mono Iroha, (“Iroha – She Who Repays a Debt”). This is the same Iroha featured in the Samurai Spirits – Tenkaichi Kenkyakuden SNK fighting game, and Queen’s Gate is the recently begun crossover franchise to Queen’s Blade that brings characters from other settings into the Lost Worlds combat book system (Moetan‘s Nijihara Ink and the original Niθ-designed Mon wo Hiraku Mono Arisu were the first two entries). I wasn’t expecting to see a bona fide fighting game character emerge in the series, but given her popularity Iroha certainly makes sense as a selection – I wonder if this means we’ll finally get a castoffable Iroha kit from Megahouse (probably not). According to the Mangaoh entry she’s scheduled to make her queenish debut on April 18th, at the standard QB price of 1,500 yen (64 full color pages, hardbound). Queen’s Gate Iroha cover image below:

The March 2008 issue of Hobby Japan magazine will be on store shelves tomorrow (January 25th), but we’ve got an early look at it today courtesy of 2chan’s hobby board. Several interesting items to scoop today, including a castoffable Queen’s Gate Nijihara Ink (of Moetan fame), a look at the next Queen’s Blade character, a Volks PVC series featuring characters from Alice Soft’s upcoming Choukou Sennin Haruka (Beat Blades Haruka), several new PVC items from Griffon, and a bunch of Wonder Festival preview news. And more! Details below:

A few random figure news items from yesterday, starting with this: the black uniform version of Alter’s Kanu Unchou PVC that we scooped in December is now available for preorder. It’s an exclusive Hobby Japan online shop release, so if you’re looking to score a copy proxying may be the only way to go. Next, the official Goodsmile blog updated with an informal profile of the Kemeko Nendoroid from Kemeko Deluxe that we scooped in the figure fallout from C73. It turns out the freakish chibi Kemeko is actually a “human”-shaped robot in which Em-Em rides; stay tuned for further updates on this and the companion 1/8-scale Em-Em figure from Goodsmile soon. Finally, Max Factory action figure brand Figma aired a commercial last night (viewable here) along with the first episode of ARIA The ORIGINATION that featured their Nagato Yuki in a brief stop-motion animation version of the Haruhi dance. (no more)

Some bits of figure news coming over the desk from yesterday evening: first is news that Hobby Japan’s online arm Hobby Channel will be offering a 700-piece limited edition run of a black school uniform variant of Alter’s Kanu Unchou PVC from Ikkitousen. She’s set for release in April at specs similar to her regular edition counterpart (1/8 scale, 21.5 cm tall, 7,140 yen) and preorders open at the Hobby Japan online shop on January 7th. See below for more news:

The February ’08 edition of Hobby Japan magazine has leaked four days before its scheduled publication! 2chan’s mokeura board brings the goods, and we bring them to you – a representative sample of the new goodness to come in the next couple of months, and updates of some items we’ve been watching. Warning: this post is not for the faint of heart or those offended by epic-class broad backsides. Or shota. =_=;;

We’ve already scooped the bulk of what was new in this month’s issue of Hobby Japan, but after getting my hands on an actual copy of the magazine last night I noticed a few other odds and ends that might be of interest. Includes updates from Witchblade, Kimikiss, Code Geass, Queen’s Blade, Bible Black, and Nitro+ character designer Niθ; details below:

Hot on the heels of this morning’s Hatsune Miku Nendoroid leak comes further scoopage from the as-yet unpublished pages of the January ’08 issue of Hobby Japan magazine! On the Queen’s Blade front we get our first look at Megahouse’s Shizuka in color (scooped back at Wanfesu), along with the news that she’s due out next spring at 5,775 yen and is castoffable. We get looks beneath the clothing of both Airi and Nix as well, with Nix revealed as a lower castoff. We have word that an Izuruha figure will accompany a box set release of the four volumes of Ru Li Lu Ra manga (details in the next HJ issue). Word from Goodsmile as well that they’re producing a Kuonji Shinra figure from Kimigashu (no details yet), and a look at the MMS Yoko action figure coming from Konami in December. Last but not least we have Akashiya Moka from Rosario to Vampire coming from Shueisha on May 23rd at 5,000 yen, and what for me is the heart-stopping revelation of the issue: the Orchid Seed Ishiyama Satoshi-sculpted Witchblade Shiori kit scooped at the Miyazawa Model Exhibition is coming out in resin at Hobby Complex 02 this Sunday, November 25th. Holding my breath until the PVC announcement… visual evidence below:

Hobby Japan posted a reminder over the weekend that the preorder deadline for their mail order limited Didii PVC from Nitro+’s Jingai Makyou is rapidly approaching. Along with a few new pictures of the kit both clothed and cast off comes the news that all orders must be postmarked by November 12th, setting a hard limit for those of us thinking of procuring the kit at anything close to a reasonable price; She’s still available for preorder from Play Asia for those interested, though preorders are likely to end at some point before the 12th so the PA staff can fill out the necessary forms and run them to the post office. I need to do the same here soon… (no more)

The official site for Queen’s Blade spinoff series Queen’s Gate is now open! Based on the Lost Worlds series of combat game books from Flying Buffalo Press, Queen’s Gate serves as the portal between the Queen’s Blade series and the creative works of other brands joining in partnership to release other characters in the Lost Worlds format. The first two installments are Mon wo Hiraku Mono Arisu, designed by Niθ of Nitro+, and the POP-illustrated Magical Girl Pastel Ink, heroine of the Moetan anime and English otaku phrase book series. Both combat artbooks are scheduled for release on November 30th at 1,500 yen each, and like their Queen’s Blade counterparts will be hardcover and full color. We’ll be keeping an eye out for further news on this series – could Maritan be next? (no more)

The December ’07 issue of Hobby Japan magazine had an advertisement for a third anthology volume of manga based on the characters from the Queen’s Blade series of combat artbooks. It’s set for release on November 24th, which is at this point all we know about the book (other than that the cover will be penned by [ERO] Jibril and Nanael character designer Kuuchuu Yousai); past volumes of the anthology have included work from artists such as F.S, Rebis, and Kokuryuugan, and as such are basically officially sanctioned borderline ecchi doujin compilations. We’ll be keeping an eye out for a list of contributors coming online in the next few weeks. Cover image from the advertisement below:

We’ve already covered most of the exciting news from this issue of Hobby Japan thanks to some early leaks (Cattleya in color and various Lineage II and Queen’s Blade items, etc.), but now that the magazine is officially on sale one final item caught my attention: Goodsmile and Comic Gum will be teaming up to bring this previously mail order only Ryomou Shimei PVC to us in full and wide release (though in an alternate color). Sculpted by French Doll of circle Cerberus Project, this black version of the original blue-trimmed kit is slated to go on sale in January of next year at 1/7 scale (28 cm tall) and 7,800 yen retail. Magazine scan below:

2chan’s mokeiura board is a gift that just keeps on giving, tonight divulging further scans from the as-yet unreleased December ’07 edition of Hobby Japan. In addition to Cattleya in color we have further Queen’s Blade news: the Medicos Entertainment trading figure set that has been listed on the official QB site for months is finally in color with a release date of mid-February ’08 (Nowa and Reina shown here); also Griffon keeps hammering away at their resin / cold cast lineup with a new Nix and designs for several other kits in the pipeline. In Lineage II news we have word that Yujin is releasing a capsule figure set of the game’s female characters at 300 yen each, and word from Goodsmile that preorders will be opening soon at their official online shop for the reissue of their Dark Elf female mage. Finally, news is in that Toy’sworks is planning the release of a Manabi Straight trading figure set, due out in late February. All this and more can be seen in the images below:

The December issue of Hobby Japan won’t be officially released for two more days, but images are surfacing from it around the net already including this most delicious item (scooped here last month): Megahouse‘s Queen’s Blade Cattleya PVC, now in color. The set (complete with her son Rana) is due out in February of ’08 at 7,350 yen; if Cattleya alone is your flavor, word has it that she’ll be available for sale as a separate item as well. While no castoff configuration has been officially confirmed as of yet, several elements of both figures are looking mighty suspicious at this point… Hobby Japan scan below:

Izuruha is one of those figures that Hobby Japan puts out on a regular basis to sell their magazines. The only way to get them is to clip out a stamp from a page of the magazine, tape it to a card with your name and address and send it in, thus guaranteeing that you spend an additional 780 yen for the magazine above the price of the figure (and exorbitant postage). I’m guessing they did quite well by this particular piece of promobait, as nothing beats a full castoff for drawing the eye to an unknown character with a vaguely seedy design; I was among the legions hooked in by the promise of leggy PVC, so here’s the HD take on what is admittedly a very nice item indeed:

First scooped back in April, the Megahouse-produced Hobby Japan mail order limited Izuruha PVC figure from the Ru/Li/Lu/Ra manga and TRPG was finally released over this past weekend. Back when she was announced much hype was made over both her full castoff and the fact that the body portion of the kit is made from a single cast piece of PVC (meaning no seams); I shot her this morning for our HD review, and she’s looking great. I mention this now because checking over at Play Asia it seems they have her in stock, though at a rather steep premium; this may be the only way for fans outside of Japan to procure her, though, so if you’re interested now’s the time. Preview below:

Amiami has preorder pages up for the two inaugural entries in the Queen’s Gate series of combat game artbooks, based on Hobby Japan’s Queen’s Blade series (which in turn is based on Flying Buffalo’s Lost Worlds combat books). Queen’s Gate is a spinoff series of Queen’s Blade that features the work of famous artists and brands brought into the Lost Worlds game system and artbook format. First scooped at HD back in July, the two characters now up for preorder are the Nitro+ / Niθ-designed Mon wo Hiraku Mono Arisu and the Pop-illustrated Mahou Shoujo Nijihara Ink, heroine of the otaku English phrasebook and anime series Moetan. The pair of hard cover, full color 64-page combat artbooks are scheduled for release on November 30th at 1,500 yen each; we’ll keep an eye out for preorder availability on sites that ship internationally. (no more)

Megahouse Holstein Hanako-san castoff confirmed, Alpha Omega C.C. and Karen in color, Queen’s Blade Nix and Airi castoff configurations revealed, Queen’s Blade Reina action figure and cell phone game announced along with first interior shots of the newest QB character books, Gurren Lagann Yoko coming in resin from Wave, ero-ero Hobby Japan limited Jingai Makyou Didii figure mail order begins. Pictures below:

Nanashi over at 2chan’s Mokeiura board posted what has to be a scan from November’s issue of Hobby Japan magazine (on sale tomorrow), providing positive photo identification of a prototype for a Megahouse Excellent Model CORE Katorea (Cattleya) PVC figure from Queen’s Blade. We’ll check out the details in the magazine tomorrow, but here at HD HQ the celebration begins tonight – for the fan of improbably busted figures that I am this is something akin to the Holy Grail. Thanks to MK for the tipoff! Picture below:

Better late than never, here are a few highlights from the August 25th release of Hobby Japan‘s October 2007 issue: WAP‘s Rumble Fish Garnet, the one I ranted about back in our coverage of Wonder Festival 2005 Winter, is coming to PVC! 5,040 yen, this winter, from Movic. In other news: a pair of Witchblade figures from Toranoana, a crazy detailed Saber Alter from Solid Theater, a Figma Kanu Unchou from Max Factory, and Kohaku / Touno Akiha from Sol International and Megahouse. Pictures below:

Back when we reported on the contents of the current issue of Hobby Japan, what we failed to mention was that along with HJ’s mail order offering of Ignis the Black a Jingai Makyou side story novel began serialization in the magazine as well. Yesterday Akiba Blog picked up that story and more, bringing news that “Makimoto-san“, a character appearing in the February 2006 initial novelization of the game, will be appearing in next month’s iteration of the story. While the Akiba Blog article only mentions that she’ll appear within the text of the serial novel, the side by side presentation of a photograph of Yume no Kagutsuchino Koukoku‘s Makimoto-san sculpt (along with her apparent disappearance from the sculptor’s site) raises the hope that we’ll see her incarnated in figure form at some point in the future. Pictures of novelized Ignis the Black and Makimoto-san below: