Crap Figures
Hijacked from RadiantDreamer who ends up with a crappy figure. How many of you have ordered a figure only to find it being crap in terms of sculpt, paintwork or hit-by-bus face? We'll limit this discussion to original figures and not the pirated stuff.
The worst figure I bought was Yamato's Mine Blue.
Radiants original text below.
Source of the rant:
http://radiantdreamer.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time/
FINALLY. I’ve sold Ignis the White on Ebay. I’ve had Ignis for a while, but have been itching to get rid of her ever since aquiring her. I bought into the hype way back when she was announced, and when everyone and their dog tried to get one of these. At first, I was indifferent towards it, thinking “yeah, it looks nice, but it’s a big space hogger, and it’s out of my price range.
When I saw her available at play-asia, I jumped at the opportunity and bought her for a reasonable price. I was thinking “Yes! I finally get to own such a magnificant figure!”
The thing is, she seriously is a big space hog! She took one whole Detolf shelf! She definitely demanded presence. I can’t stop complaining about the problems with this figure. Get ready to hear my rant!
First off, the dress. It’s nice, but it’s also very heavy, and made out of an ABS/PVC blend. Super hard, and impossible to form-fit. Which caused her to not grip her dress properly (her left hand), and the mid-section of the corset wouldn’t tuck in properly either. Basically it was warped from the start. I probably could have heated it and bent it back, but it was a hassle all on its own trying to remove the damn thing.
Speaking of which, sometimes, Cast-Off “features” drive me nuts. I honestly don’t care about that option, but when it’s there, it actually becomes problematic, and a waste of effort if you ask me. Ignis has a full lingerie set underneath. You know, with the lace panties, the stockings, the garter belt and clips, the whole nine yards. But the thing is, I have no intention of displaying her like that! The big billowing dress is there for a reason. And to add to that, the top of her corset can be removed to bare her breasts! I could care less. But they keep falling off! Not only that, the “cups” are semi-transparent, meaning you can see nipple through them. That I did not expect, as it didn’t appear that way in the prototype shots. Anyway, I was displaying this at work, so I had to make it a little more “decent” by cutting a small piece of tissue and placing it as a layer between her breasts and her cups. Worked out pretty well. I ruffled the tissue a little so it looked like it was part of the design. It hid her gaping cleavage too.
In addition, I tried to take photos of her for some photoshop work. I tried and tried and tried, but it was impossible to get a good angle out of her. her blank stare forward threw off the angle most of the time. If I tried a bottom up 3/4, she looked like she was staring into space, and the billowing dress was literally a conic mountain. If I tried a top down 3/4, that little antenna hair would cut into her face, so it looked like it was picking her nose backwards or something. Overall, no angle impressed me. I think that the one I got had a bit of fault in the angle of the head. The prototype shots show her head slightly turned more.
Overall, the quality of this piece of plastic garbage was unbearable after some time. I should have expected as much from Orchid Seed. The color tone of the skin looked terrible - very plastic-vinyl-like. The spray-on eyes were terribly done, and the hair color was way too saturated. Overall, it didn’t work with the dress at all. I would say that the best feature is that arc of fabric going up her right side. Outside of that, everything else looked like garbage. I’m glad to have gotten rid of it, even at a loss. Goodbye, and good riddance!
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Otaku Webmaster
http://www.gamekult.com/blog/sbebiwan/
Wow, that's a serious grief against poor Ignis ^^;
While I agree at most of you complaints about her (the useless cast-off for me too, the production not so high quality), I'm still happy to have her, I love the dress and the global look. I had her at the regular price but I wouldn't have paid more for sure.
I don't really know if the limited colors have the same flaws but I see some prices for them going up to 500$ for the red version and I think it's very much overpriced for this quality even if there is "only" 200 pieces.
Diverse
http://teamblue.clanbluepanthers.org/
I hardly find the castoff useless...if I could cast her off. Can you inform me as to how to do it without breaking the figure in the process? I saw no possible clasps and all, I must be blind.
She takes up half a Detolf shelf for me, and fits in with 2 more PVC figures and a small figure, and can probably fit slightly more with the right adjustments. I have gripes with her face and how it is not like her in the eroge, and yes some parts of the dress, but I am still fine with her.
Service desk support
http://lookingglass.kokidokom.net
The upper body lifts off (be careful with left hand as the fingers pinch a hole to put it in place but there's room to pull off) then take out the 2 roses at the back of the hips which act as pins for the main dress part, then the skirt removes in 3 parts.
I have 2 versions, the red and white (curse myself for missing the black one) and I don't regret it. It's not as earth-shattering as others made it out to be but it is still very impressive for a PVC. I agree about the comments about the skin, but the eyes were done wuite nice and the hair colour really is qupposed to be quite saturated and bright. Even resin kits depict ignis like that.
But as it stands, Ignis will remain in my collection of 7 PVC figures with no plans for expansion.
Diverse
http://teamblue.clanbluepanthers.org/
Ahha, thanks for the help.
Student, Tech
Sorry to hear that bud, I actually like my Ignis. Despite the annoying pieces of the dress, she looks very good when I display her. As long as your happy though, freeing up space and earning an extra buck in the process. ^^
Studio Photographer
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nyxin/sets/
I don't think Ignis looks that bad but she wasn't good enough for me to warrant a purchase (for me anyway). I saw her many times at a friend's house though and he absolutely loves her even though I thought she would've had better details. She is very huge though. I doubt I would have room for her even if I did get her lol.
browsing the nets
http://otakuposts.blogspot.com/
seems like i made a good decision by not buying her. She seems to be very big figure and displaying her would turn out to be a problem.
software manager
http://wawawawasuremono.com
sorry you had so much trouble with her ^^;; i must say, kind of refreshing to read a negative review for once... most of what i write and read is (probably overly) positive ^^;, so a little perspective is always nice. better luck in your future acquisitions ^_^;
hikikomori
agreed; a mini-rant:
Hype is artificial. Disappointment is real.
I enjoy informative, critical reviews. Nothing is perfect. Reviews I see tend to be cautious about any negative bias... all that does is hurt wallets :D
Well, superficiality lends itself to emphasize positives, so it doesn't necessarily bother me that reviews mostly let nicely-angled pictures speak for themselves, and without pictures, I wouldn't be purchasing anything. It would be the same reasoning why you would keep a figure though, by admiring the intent and design or whatever aspect was well-executed.
Video Game Developer
http://radiantdreamer.wordpress.com
Nice take on it. I think a lot of the problem is that some people refuse to admit they made a poor purchase, and feel the need to justify it by giving it a good review online. Then it becomes bragging rights against the have-nots, who end up drooling over it because they can't get their hands on it.
Reviews do help, though I wish people were a little more critical these days.
Hikikomori in the making
http://supermariabros.deviantart.com/
Remind me to keep to nendoroids and other small figures...
security/3d graphic artist
http://www.kennethleishman.com/
Rize is a space hog too.. so i understand, and i guess we've all had sub-par painting on some of our figures. Cast off is a nice thing to have brings some playability to a figure.. :D
Admin
Ignis' wedding dress is an engineering marvel in the world of figures. How they made it such that it'll all fit simply and nicely together boggles my mind and I doubt even esteemed figure companies like Max Factory dare such a feat.
It is true that Ignis' face did not live up to expectations. Her overall look, though, is pretty much spot on from the epic scene in Jingai Makyou.
Her cast-off is pretty easy to do, though GoodSmile Company still holds the prize for figures that are easy to take apart (except Shuraki Meifeng and Char, which made me swear up and down). Kotobukiya Mirei-san is another example. It was near impossible to change her right arm. After tugging uselessly with a set of pliers and swearing like a sailor, I had to stop before I damaged it.
As for my figures that take the most space, it belongs to 1/4 Freeing Nagato. She is so tall (due in part to the bunny ears) I had to remove one glass panel in my detolf cabinet, so she actually occupies two detolf sections.
Me.
http://eltworld.wordpress.com/
I too had a terrible time with Meifeng to the extent that I have scarred her right arm permanently. It's not very obvious but it bothers me. Needless to say, I took responsibility and promised to marry her for life... ^_^
To me, it's great if a figure has cast-off capability but if it is to the extent that we collectors had too much difficulty doing it and damage the figure in the process, it's no good at all.
CEO MIrai Inc
http://www.dannychoo.com/profile/eng/
unfortunately some of them make cast off features just to get more sales ToT
Service desk support
http://lookingglass.kokidokom.net
meifeng sure felt that way. I didn't have much issue with char tho. After adding a layer of varnish to the inside of the clothing to stop paint rubbing off, that was the end of problems. Rize wasn't fantastic either but not as bad as meifeng.
Mishiro was the easiest of the lot, but at a cost to the actual figure underneath.
Video Game Developer
http://radiantdreamer.wordpress.com
I noticed that too! Actually the majority of figures nowadays that feature removable skirts are basically them just being lazy and not gluing the sections together. I'm sure many older figures can be cast-off as well if it wasn't glued in.
Student of LIFE!
well most of the figures i buy now i inspect thoroughly since i've been fooled twice into getting a bootleg, and because of this inspection i usually buy ones i really like. i don't really have any figure here i don't like so I'm pretty happy. congratulations on selling it BTW
aspiring to become a doujin and graphics artist cum lawyer
http://aki7.bottled-wish.info
wow was that an original figure by the way of description >.>;;;;;; but alas, it may be because of unfortunate luck....sometimes its unfair to pay a hundred bucks for a figure that looks way crappy.
grats on selling it :)
Video Game Developer
http://radiantdreamer.wordpress.com
thanks guys. It actually is original, which is rather unfortunate. I've had bad luck with Orchid Seed figures more than once now, so I think I'll be avoiding them from now on.
already left the world
If the figure i bought look's crap, I either just "retire" it or leave it on display until I find a better replacement. (since i have no ideas how to sell it)
Yah~ i'm looking for a great Haruhi Suzumiya figurine. Any suggestions what should i get?
Konami's Haruhi looks kinda crap, especially her hair.. :(
Motivational Speaker
I've only seen pictures of her like the one you've taken so my opinion is still she looks ok. But I understand where your coming from with some of the cast-off options today. Some are just not needed and the ones the fit with the figure are hard as heck to get off. Take one of my Kanu figures, who's top is not only made of rubber it seems but it has to slide under her hair to come off/on!
Polytechnic Junior, Bronze Lifesaving Trainee, Mech Designer In-training.
http://thehangerbay.wordpress.com/
I should be glad that Bandai has a monopoly on the model market (where giant robots are concerned)?
Service desk support
http://lookingglass.kokidokom.net
are you kidding? There's Kotobukiya with their SRW and armoured core lines (amazing attention to detail but can't pose at all)
and for the more adventurous, there are volks resin and plastic kits for the five star stories mecha. bandai just churn out the most famous ones, gundam! One could argue that they have a dominant share since they started first, but it's far from a monopoly. good thing too!
Retail
By picture I think it looks like a good figure. But you know more then me because you had it.
PS I don't care about Cast-Off figures.
Engineering computing
Danny - worst figure Yamato's Mine Blue????
I don´t think so, I bought the Mine blue (white bikini version) and is cute.
I bought:
Kasumi c2 ver (MAX FACTORY)
Naru Narusegawa (MAX FACTORY)
MIREI-san (KOTOBUKIYA)
Non-Non (YAMATO - CREATOR´S LABO)
Mine Blue "white bikini version" (YAMATO - CREATOR´S LABO)
Arisa (YAMATO - CREATOR´S LABO)
Nida (GOOD SMILE COMPANY)
Halloween Girl (ENTERBRAIN)
Al Azif (ALTER)
Onimusume 2 ver (KAIYODO)
Maya Natsume (KAIYODO)
Jungle Emmy (KAIYODO)
Other (ORCHID SEED, BANDAI, SEGA, WAVE, GRIFFON, ATELIER-SAI, BANPRESTO, WANI BOOKS, SOLID WORKS)
The best manufacturer for me (by rating):
1.- MAX FACTORY
2.- KOTOBUKIYA
3.- ALTER
4.- YAMATO
5.- GOOD SMILE COMPANY
6.- ENTERBRAIN
The low quality manufacturer for me (by rating):
1.- BANDAI
2.- KAIYODO
3.- ATELIER-SAI
4.- ORCHID SEED (some)
5.- GRIFFON (some)
The worst manufacturer for me:
1.- TAKI CORPORATION
The all manufacturer, nobody is perfect.
Engineer
http://lovelyduckie.com/
I have many Kotobukiya figures and love them but I mainly buy Kotobukiya because it's cheap for decent quality, especially the U.S. release versions that are typically only $35. So if Kotobukiya is at 2 overall as a manufacturer I'd agree to that, but if it's 2 for quality I'd have to disagree. I also think Megahouse deserves to be on there too. Also Yamato is a bit high for my personal tastes as well.
Student
http://anime.tedfox.com/
no money no figurine 'nuff said
hurhur but seriously, it looks pretty decent to me though guess i need to brush up on figurine 101... hah
Working in a public service
http://fridzouillecover.free.fr/
I have no problem with all my Ignis (the white and black) but I think too the castoff option is useless. I love those version in married dress and I wait for the Red version this week ^^
Video Game Developer
http://radiantdreamer.wordpress.com
What sold me on purchasing Ignis the White in the first place was the fact that it was an elaborate wedding dress. I don't have a wedding-dress figure, so this was a good option at a fairly affordable price (by the time I had bought it, that is). So it's a shame that I had to be disappointed and sell her. Well, in future there might be a more appropriate wedding-dress figure for me to purchase that's not so aggressive-looking.
Online Shop
http://wildarms.egloos.com
It seems picture on the box and actual figure look different. Actual figure does seems to have a blank stare while box pic seems to have more definite stare.
Student, Otaku, She-Geek(Sheek lol)
http://meimi132.wordpress.com/
I would have been happy to take her off your hands. I'm gonna take photos of her or anything, so the angel stuff wouldn't bother me. And she wouldn't be the worst figure in my collection by any means. She'd be bulky, but impressive on my dresser with the rest. I wouldn't have tried casting off in the first place lol, when I finally get my fauna I dont think I'll bother taking everything off and putting it back on, too much faff lol.
Dropping computers, starting all over again at Journalism
http://xspblog.com
tl;dr rant... :P
But I had luck so far... no problems with figures.
My worst figure isn't even because of quality... it's just because I don't know the character, and she loooks kinda plain.
And I can't even complain, because she came free with a magazine.
Oh, my first of all figures was an american company made Vash from Trigun. It's kinda crappy compared to my other stuff, but not too bad.
Student
http://anime.scripts.mit.edu/miteiru/
What do you do when you get a bad figure?
Sell it to another unlucky otaku! lol spread the love
Admin
That's the spirit.
I've been picking up some really nice mint-in-box figures that are out of circulation at very reasonable prices. An example would be Max Factory Etna sculpted by Bubba for less than its MRSP.
Student
I had this too and I haven't displayed it ever since I got her.. I once thought I got a fake one, so it appeared to be the original one only not at good quality.. I found the black version of her is better looking and better painted. It's named Nimbus..
Art student
http://ohcirnine.wordpress.com
Is the Rei Ayaname BMX Trick figure any good?
None
I was shocked recently upon receiving the Max Factory Mizuho Kazami from Onegai Teacher. I've had great luck with Max Factory in the past which was all the more distressing. It was impossible to fit her glasses on her head. The Pocky stick that she was supposed to holding up to her mouth couldn't be positioned properly. Her shirt was an absolute disaster; the plastic, I guess, was supposed to be transparent white but had more of a gray industrial, dirty window look to it; the seems at the shoulders of the sleeves had a huge gap; the cuff on the left sleeve was completely separate; and there were scuffs all over the shirt. She is displayed on my highest, out-of-the-way shelf now.
It's possible I got a Chinese knock off, but I didn't order from China (I never do) and I usually order from dealers I've had good luck with in the past. Anyone else have this experience with this figure?
Admin
Is this your Mizuho sensei?
http://sector6slumjunkshop.blogspot.com/2006/09/17-kazami-mizuho-by-max-factory.html
I have a feeling you got a pirated version.
You can always compare yours against this one:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/figuephoto/2575265159/in/set-72157605596343915/
or this one (the rare green version)
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t194/authenticfigurebox/misc/mizuhoreal3.jpg
As you can see, both version have the pocky stick positioned correctly. The white version has clean lines and good details.
Admin
On second thought, the one at sector6 is probably the authentic one.
student
http://sector6slumjunkshop.blogspot.com/
yep, definitely authentic:p
None
Photos are kind of hard to use for comparison, but there are some differences. The shirt is definitely "whiter" in the pics and the shoulder join is much better than my figure. The glasses included with my figure have the arms which will not allow the glasses to be placed on her head.
The sculpt seems to be the same and the box, if it is fake, is perfect. Seems like a lot of effort for a fake. :)
Art student
http://ohcirnine.wordpress.com
How do you guys spot figure fakes?
Engineer
http://lovelyduckie.com/
Fakes overall tend to be shorter and if the seller has posted a picture of the actual figure they're selling make sure to compare it to the prototype pics to see if they match. If the seller only posts prototype pictures ask to see actual pictures of the figure you'll be buying. Check the seller's feedback if you go through a few pages and one of the feedback reviews states that they were sold a bootleg steer clear of everything they sell. Also simply do not buy from Hong Kong on eBay for PVC figures. NOT all sellers in Hong Kong sell fakes...but so many do that I don't feel it's worth the risk unless someone you trust recommends them.
I bought fakes that I then replaced with real figs and I took a comparison photo. The real ones are on the left.
Yuna FFX-2 (Square-Enix)
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd284/lovelyduckie/Yuna-1.jpg
Haruhi Max Factory (sorry this pic is a bit smaller)
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd284/lovelyduckie/HaruhiFakeandReal-1.jpg
大学生徒
http://ichinichijuu.blogspot.com/
Rofl Orchid Seed is terrible. As is anything I've ever seen from Taki ><.