Treasure Festival in Kobe 1 - A Slap in the Face is what this is

Instead of Treasure Festival in Kobe, maybe they should've called it Griffon Enterprise in Kobe. There wasn't a single new resin/garage kit that stood out.

But with Hobby Complex 07 Tokyo so close by, I guess I should've seen it coming.

So yeah, I got nothing folks. Come back next week.

:\

Another Mai, a Sweet Revy and a Kiriko Hattori

Here are 3 upcoming resin kits that I believe most are keeping tabs on:



Series: King of Fighter Series
Character: Shiranui Mai
Scale: 1/4
Price: 33,600 yen (with tax)
Sculptor: Chorosuke
Manufacturer: Volks
Release Date: May 23, 2009 (Volks Hobby Round event exclusive)

When I read KOF4 Maximum Impact--for some reason--I thought Chorosuke was working on a sculpt of Jam Kuradoberi from Guilty Gears (think Guilty Gear's version of Mai Shiranui).

That would've been cool.

Anyways, the pose is very reminiscent of Cobra-Kai's version. It doesn't help either that her face is kinda plain (see?). I'm letdown.



Series: Black Lagoon
Character: Revy
Scale: 1/6
Price: 11,500 yen (with tax)
Sculptor: Fujiura Toui (Toy's Brand! Been wondering what he's been up to)
Manufacturer: RC Berg Ltd
Release Date: mid-July 2009 (Hobby Japan Magazine Mail Order Exclusive)
Pre-order Period: March 25 to May 30, 2009

I really like this Revy even if she is milder looking than the rest. I get the feeling that lately more and more sculptors are trying to make her look as evil/bitchy as possible by making her eyes as slant as they will go.



Series: Dai Shogun
Character: Hattori Kiriko
Size: 34cm
Price: unknown
Sculptor: Reflect
Manufacturer: Yamato
Release Date: May 6, 2009 (Hobby Complex 07 Tokyo exclusive)

This is the original art by Shunya Yamashita that the resin kit will be based on. I didn't like the resin kit version as much so I didn't use it.

Yamashita is a talented artist, perhaps too talented for most sculptors to keep up with. I feel that most of the garage kit adaptations of his art fail to capture his style. Even Reflect--who's based his sculpts off of Yamashita's art more times than I care to count--fails to get it "just right". But this is a more an issue of Reflect forcing himself to conform to Yamashita's style rather than the former lacking proper skills.

Popular artist Masamune Shirow is also not exempt from this problem (I have not seen one good kit based off his artwork), which is a real shame because I really wish someone could get it right.

If you are interested in ordering any of the three kits above, I recommend you check out Tokyo Hunter's blog for more information:

Mai
Revy
Kiriko

If I didn't care what my family thought about me, I'd pick up that Revy in a flash.


Sources:
- Joseph of Tokyo Hunter
- http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/event/hobbyround/hanbai.html
- http://www.rc-berg.co.jp/products/gallery_revy.html
- http://www.studioanima.co.jp/dai-shogun/charactor/kiriko.html

Give Me the Goods

And here's the final batch that I had stored at Shopping Mall Japan.



Well that'll teach me to buy a 1/8 kit. Rasetsu's Kousaka Tamaki was the first kit I pulled out of the box, and you would not believe the wave of disappointment that hit me as I realized I paid nearly $100 for this thing.

Luckily Vispo and Yukishiro saved it from becoming a total fiasco (the old dogs know a thing or two about product presentation).



After shedding a layer of dirty bubble wrap. It's surprising how much better everything looks (yes including Rasetsu).



Oh wow, what a deal this was. 50% off retail and 42 parts (less than $2/part)?

Definitely one of the more satisfying kits to simply pick up and hold.



It was a good deal. >_>



Moving on. I think I've made my feelings on this kit quite clear.

Though I must give credit where it is due - it was this kit that resulted in my purchasing the other four. Whenever I make an exception for a kit--after abstaining from kit buying for an extended period of time--I completely break apart and make all sorts of other "exceptions" (usually until I'm well on my way into my credit reserve).



She's my second Vispo kit after Diana. Sometimes I wonder how he does it (halberd/axe+clock+butterfly wings+goth maid+high heels+Medusa hair=???).



Yukishiro has hands-down the coolest packaging ever. I was a little turned off to be honest when I first saw all the parts laid out in a picture on Yukishiro's webstore (with no box in sight). It reminded me too much of the recasts that are currently circulating Yahoo! Japan Auction (i.e. also no box/packaging + cigarette box for size comparison).

See what I mean?

So frankly I did not expect it to come in a box, let alone one with such explicit design. You can't really make it out from the picture, but it is awesome. Take my word for it.

Misaki Serika - 1/6 Saber

Scale: 1/6
Parts: 16
Price: 10,000 yen
Sculptor: Misaki Serika
Manufacturer: Volks

On April 25th JST (in as little as 3 hours at time of writing), Volks will be accepting pre-orders for this resin kit. Act now if you don't want to wait until the end of June for the 2nd round of pre-ordering (tentative; could be even later).

Sculpts don't get much simpler than this in terms of pose, but for a character like Saber it suits her quite well.

Update (April 25, 2009 8:20am PDT): Volks is now taking the second round of pre-orders.

Source:
-http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/shop/list/detail.aspx?gdcd=FIGU-KIT-TGK001
-http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/index.aspx