Kureha (Kotobukiya) - STF '08 Loot #1

Alright!!! Exam period is over today. This day is the last day of exam and this officially ends the academic activities for this semester. I had a lot of hard time dealing with the subjects in this semester. But oh well, everything has already gone away like a wind. Anyway enough chitchat about this semester, here's today topic:

Kotobukiya Kureha.

Kotobukiya Kureha, loot number 1 from Surabaya Toy Festival 2008. As i've told you before, i got this figure with a nice deal. A JPY 300 lower than the normal price. I guess events like that help me getting figures in a good deal.

As usual, photographs on the backside of the box.

At first i didn't plan on getting this figure because i already have Max Factory's Kureha. But after seeing this beauty in the festival, i kinda interested and ended up buying this figure because of the great deal given by the seller.

No alternate parts.

After seeing figma with so many parts, i kinda forgot on how a fixed pose PVC figure doesn't have that many parts as figma. This Kureha is actually my first fixed pose figure after 2 consecutive figmas haul.

Kureha's parts, not really that many.

I never consider castoffability of a figure because i enjoy the fashion, not ecchiness. So i don't really care if you can take off her skirt and see her white panties. I like Kureha's clothes, it's like a combination between uniqueness, traditional, and sexiness (big breasts and visible cleavage). Anyway, she came with her bow, this time the bow has a golden colored string.

Watch out when she shoots you.

Her face looks kinda cute in this figure. In Max Factory Kureha, her face looks melancholic, giving beauty and elegant feeling. The best thing in this figure is the pose, yeah the pose. It's like a battle pose, elegant battle pose.

Still sexy even from the back.

I don't really know how to put her bow in her hand properly, so i just put her bow just like in the official photos. Even from the back you can see her sexiness, her big breast and her sexy butt, very nice. With her clothes flying like that it's actually pretty hard to put her on my desk since she consumes a more space on her front and her back.

Comparison with Max Factory Kureha.

The reason i missed Kotobukiya Kureha was Max Factory Kureha. I thought that if i had 1 Kureha, i don't think i should add more since i already had one and this Kotobukiya Kureha isn't that special. But oh well, in the end i bought it. Here's side by side comparison of the 2 Kureha(s).

More dynamic pose, that's the thing i can say for Kotobukiya Kureha. Max Factory Kureha doesn't have any dynamic pose. I'm not going to compare the quality of the sculpt and the painting since Max Factory always wins in these parts, just look at Kureha's collar. You can compare the quality of the painting there. Max factory Kureha gives a more realistic face. With that sad and melancholic expression, Max Factory Kureha wins. But Kotobukiya Kureha still has her own cute face.


Well, that's it for today. This day is still Friday so i guess there's still tiem to vote for ISML, so go for it! And don't forget to look forward to 2nd loot of STF '08, Liu Meifeng.
http://www.internationalmoeleague.com/
http://www.saimoearena.com/vote.html

Participate in ISML!

Sapphire match 4 result.

Japan Saimoe reached 3000++ votes in the final match. Why can't a International Saimoe match reach even a thousand votes?

Sapphire necklace standing.

I've been participating in this ISML events for around 1 month. And i think that ISML needs more voters. It's international level but the participants doesn'e even reach a half number of Japan Saimoe voters.

Konata vs. Rena, hard to choose.

Today (now) the Sapphire 5 match is still in going. Why don't you vote now? I had a hard time voting for Rena or Konata. Both of them are my favorite characters.

Overall standings.

So far, this event has reached half way from the tournament part. But it's not too late for participating. Better late than never.

Link:
http://www.internationalmoeleague.com/
http://www.saimoearena.com/vote.html

Surabaya Toy Festival 2008 - day 2

Sorry for the late update :P. I planned on posting this on Sunday, but with Mathematics exam and Computer graphics project, i had to delay the post. So here's the coverage for 2nd day of STF '08. The main event for the 2nd day is cosplay, nothing much new for the figures sold.

I couldn't get the photos of their action.

First, they called some martial artists to demonstrate some of their move. They also called some swordmaster to demonstrate some move using katana. I don't really know what's the point of calling some martial artists in this toys and hobby themed event.

C.C. and Haruhi.

The main event was Cosplay Cabaret Contest. In this contest a group of cosplayer have to perform a small drama. I didn't watch Code Geass, so i don't know about the characters, but the girl on the left called herself C.C. . I don't know if it's true or not, but it doesn't seem like C.C. i used to see in some illustration.

Hare hare yukai dance, very Haruhi indeed.

This group performed Hare hare dance in the last part of their drama. I guess this is the first time someone performed a Hare-hare dance in Surabaya open in public. There are no beautiful girls cosplaying here, so i guess the people here kinda ruining the image of the real anime characters. But i guess, they have the guts to show off in public.

Zero cosplayer.

Last year, 80% of the cosplayer were cosplaying Naruto s***. Almost all of them are Narutard. The rest were cosplaying tokusatsu things. In this year event, almost 50% of the cosplayer were cosplaying tokusatsu. The other cosplayer were cosplaying anime characters. Some of the cosplayer were wearing their own original costume.

C.C. is the best 9.

After the Cosplay Cabaret Competition, there's a small event called "Best Cosplay". Not all of the cosplayer participated in the Cosplay Cabaret Competition. In this best cosplay event, they were all called to the stage and perform some nice moves. In the end, the judge chose the best 9 from all of the cosplayer.

V-Gundam.

Some contestant of Gundam diorama contest already submitted their work. This is yesterday V-Gundam, with new custom made action base. I don't know how they made base like that.

Freedom Gundam.

Now this what i call creativity. The contestant used wax to create a unique effect. It's Freedom-Gundam. The winner of this contest was annouced at the last day of this event. Too bad i didn't come at that day, so i don't know who's the winner.

Mirei-san in a diorama. I wonder where'd they get that chair.

Events like these are rare. Only 1 event per year. Some of the participant came from other cities, or even other province just to open a stand and sells their collection here. That's why almost no new figure today.

Another treasure.

Here's some treasure i didn't notice yesterday. There are some good things around here like: Luca (AR2 MaxFact), Shuraki Needa, Shuraki Meifeng, Yuma maid, Komaki Ikuno, Nagato Yuki swimsuit ver. , etc.


In the end, i bought this. Liu Meifeng, Shuraki Trinity box 2. I never knew Shuraki before, and i don't know how they can be so popular. So i bought this with normal price, JPY 6800. It's a good deal i guess, looking at Liu Meifeng's price at PA.


This event was held in 6-8 June 2008, and it's in the middle of my exam period. I didn't come in the 3rd day because i have exam in Monday. So, this concludes my coverage about this event.

Surabaya Toy Festival 2008 - day 1

It's rare thing for a hobby themed festival to be happening around Indonesia. I heard that there are only 2 annual events held in Indonesia: Jakarta Toy Festival and Surabaya Toy Festival. Both festival held in 2 largest city in Indonesia.

What're they doing there?

Figure events in each country reflect the collectors in the country. In Indonesia, people don't really welcome otaku and Japanese anime lover like me. Well, this doesn't happen only in Indonesia right? I won't call these collectors otaku, since they have their own area of collection.

Oh! It's Surabaya Toy Festival 2008!

This STF '08 (Surabaya Toy Festival 2008) consists of many kind of toys, starting from Japanese PVC figures, Gundam, American toys, automotive model kits, and many more. There are things like Lego building kit or unique board game called Strategos.

Stand that sells cars kit.

This IS Indonesian toys event. Most of this event is dominated by American toys. Indonesian people tends to collect things like Superman, Batman, Ironman, Marvel heroes, etc. Around 40% of products sold in this event are American toys. Collecting car models is also one kind of collection. Around 2 stands sells car models (approximately 5%).

Gundam model kits SALE!

Next up is Gundam model kits. There are many Indonesian people who watch anime, but few of them really called otaku. Almost 80% of Indonesian people who watch anime, watch shonen anime just like Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, and Gundam. No wonder there are many Gundam model kits sold around this event, approximately around 25%.

Gundam Yen price X 95 = free shipment.

In the photo above, if you noticed, below my signature there's a sign mentioning "Yen X 95". Do you know what's that mean? You know that on Gundam boxes, you can see the Yen price beside its serial number. Multiply that Yen price with IDR 95 and that's your sale price. Note that a JPY price multiplied by IDR 95 equals a buying Gundam model kit without paying the shipment rate.

Nice figures sold.

And next up, things that i love the most is Japanese PVC figures. I have to mention that completely in order not to be confused with American figures. Almost at the same rate as Gundam, it's around 20% of this event products sold.

Shonen anime products, always try to evade it.

They sold things vary from Shonen old anime like Dragon Ball, Final Fantasy figures, and even Haruhi figures. As i mentioned above, most of Indonesian anime watcher only like Shonen s***s like Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece (too many narutard). You'll find a lot of those anime products in this event.

Shonen anime trading figures.

Using trading figures as display is a great thing, since opening PVC figures from the box is bad mistake. Look carefully and you'll know that the trading figures they display are Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Dragon Ball, Final Fantasy, and Shonen series like that. Once again, Shonen anime has great influence in Indonesia.

Secret treasures.

That's the bad thing for me, but inside this event there's always a treasure can be found inside. I found some interesting things like Metamo Yuki, Queen Blade Airi, Nendoroid Tsuruya, figma Haruhi, Nendoroid Haruhi, Nendoroid Mabinogi Nao, Saber maid, etc. In photo above, you'll see a very great treasure like Shuraki vol. 1, Rider maid, and Kotobukiya's Kureha. I went to this event just to find secret treasures.

Some figure diorama display.

Sometimes diorama is important in displaying figures. You know, i like to try making diorama for my figures, especially for my photoshot. But it's hard to made, i guess. Anyone can give me tips and trick to make a diorama for figures?

Shuraki Char Rousemann (correct me if i'm wrong).

This is the best treasure i found in this event, Shuraki Char Rousemann figure. Too bad, because of its rarity, the store sold this figure overprice. From the real price JPY 6800 to a whacking JPY 9000. That's a total rip off, but in the end someone bought it. Now that's a real otaku (or collectors?).

Nendoroid Al Azif.

Another secret treasure i found is Nendoroid Al Azif (Demonbane). Cute as always, a Nendoroid like this can steal people hearts, even for non-otaku people. The real price is JPY 3500 and they sold it around JPY 3750, but with a little bargaining you can get this exactly at JPY 3500.

Gundam Exia and GN ARMS Type. (correct me if i'm wrong)

I'm not collecting Gundam model kits, but i guess i'll show you this. A HG kit for Gundam EXIA in whatever mode and whatever mounted weapon (just like METEOR unit i guess). Looks cool, but my brother said no for this.

Hyper mode G Gundam and Master Gundam.

Are these what you call secret treasure? Two classic Gundam model kits. Hyper Mode God Gundam and Hyper Mode Master Gundam. Both of them are covered in gold. But once again, my brother said no to these things. He has his own choice i guess.


Let's go for in-depth coverage:

Ironman figure.

I watched Ironman movie last month, and i know Ironman is cool. The figure is also cool, with cool whacking USD 650 price. I guess this things for a real collectors. I can use that money for other things XD.

A little closer look at Ironman.

I wonder if this Ironman will sold out in this event. Looking at the price, no one will buy him except a real crazy collector. Cool enough to show off, i guess.

Silver Surfer.

The silver surfer from movie Fantastic Four : The Rise of Silver Surfer. I didn't watch that movie since i don't really like Fantastic Four. Movies like that are only place to show off great CG graphics. But silver surfer does look really cool.

Fraulein Revoltech Tohsaka Rin.

Oh a Fraulein Revoltech Tohsaka Rin. After seeing this, now i know how they work. Many people comparing this series with figma. Of course, figma win the match, from the quality of the movement, number of alternate parts, overall quality, and not to forget the characters. Almost all popular characters are made to figma figures.

Saber cleaning up the toilet.

Saber maid (but not from GSC) in a diorama. She's having though time clening up toilets. This diorama does look cool. The lighting itself gives Saber a totally different look compared to normal look. With that look and maid outfit, it made a weird but great combination.

Gundams in diorama.

This event also held a Gundam diorama competition. Some contestants already put their diorama in the event, so i can see some of it. Sorry for the blurry photos, i kind of in hurry this time. So far as i lived, i haven't seen a diorama that has a story in it.

nu Gundam (?).

This is another painted (?) Gundam model kit. As far as i remember, this Gundam is nu Gundam. Please correct me if i'm wrong. I'm not into Gundam series, but i love seeing cool Gundams. It's a kit for contest, looks like painted kit to me.

Bugati car model.

Next up is car models. Before i started my otaku life, i like seeing cool cars. Watching movies like Fast n Furious series made me want to try those cool cars, eventhough it's just a dream. But fortunately, i can forget that dream and change my direction into Japanese figure collecting.

Audi R8, an exotic cars.

Exotic cars like this only exist in special place. I heard that if someone wants to buy a Ferrari Enzo, that person has to fulfill some requirements like: bought at least one Ferrari car, got an invitation and offers from Ferrari, and some others requirements. So if you can't get the real cars, then get the models! I do play some car racing games, so i know what's great and what's not.

Ball-Jointed doll.

I don't know what's this. You can call this doll, or figure, or whatever you want. Big scale (1/3), cute, and it's called ball-jointed doll. I guess it's just like a figma, you can move the body parts, with joints shaped like ball.

Lego kits.

Ever see these things? Lego building kits. Normally it's for kids under 14. But the completely built things are beautiful and nice to see. The car on the front is Speed Racer cars, old anime that has been remade into a nice movie.

Great Saiyaman cosplayer and the MCs.

For today, no special cosplay events, just MCs talking each others and promoting this events and the rundown. They were wearing some Japanese clothing, accompanied by Great Saiyaman (hey, i still remember the name, it's actually Son Gohan).


Well, that's it for today coverage. This event goes in 3 days starting from June 6th, 2008. So there will be more coverage tomorrow. I hope i can forget my Computer Graphics and cover more of this events :P. Oh yeah, not to forget, the loots from this event :

The loots (Kureha's mine, the others' not mine).

I bought Kotobukiya's Kureha with JPY 5500 bargain price. Normal price is JPY 5800, they sold at JPY 5750, and i did a little bargain and i got it with JPY 5500. Nendoroid Al Azif isn't mine, it's my girl's loot. She got it with normal price: JPY 3500. At first the store sold at JPY 3750, but with a little bargaining, we got it at JPY 3500. And the last is my brother's loot: Strike Noir with bargain price. Normal price for Strike Noir is JPY 4500, but with event discount and connection discount, he got it with JPY 4050.

figma Nanoha - Mid year figure haul part 2

Another HLJ Box.

Yesterday i got this thing, and again it's from HLJ. I used EMS this time because of long wait (almost 1 month) using SAL. Actually, this figma Nanoha was shipped at May 28th, and Reinforce Zwei was shipped at May 14th, but this figma Nanoha came earlier than expected. Yay for EMS XD.

figma Nanoha Takamachi - barrier jacket version.

What's inside? It's predictable. It's figma Nanoha. That's EMS for you dude. You can track it, so you'll know what's coming and what's not. This figma Nanoha box is bigger than figma Haruhi box. Sky and pink color for the box background, that's Nanoha color theme.

Official photograph on backside of the box.

As always, backside of figma box is always full of official photograph. You can see all of them even before this item is released.

Once again, elite packaging.

The packaging figma gave is, once again, rather special and elite. With some manual, and background for the box. In figma Haruhi, the background carton is a reflective silver colored carton. But this time, there's a Nanoha, sky, and magic circle. I can't use that as a reflector.

There are always many figma alternate parts, make you want to play with them.

As always, so many alternate parts, make you want to play more with the figma. Starting from Nanoha itself, 5 pairs of hands, a pair of flier fin, 2 faces, 2 front hairs, the Raging (or Raising) Heart with those 2 modes (i forgot the name, someone please remind me), and a plastic bag to keep all of them from separated and lost.

The white devil has arrived.

Finally, completed figma Nanoha. Took me some time to get her in shooting pose. I put the flier fin on, so i have to make her flies. Same as nendoroids, playing with figma is always fun. If you're a figure collector, i recommend you to buy at least one figma. Try to have fun with them, and you'll know why it's fun.

This whole June and July would be a paradise for me. While doing my exam and projects, more figures will come :

- Reinforce Zwei - Alter (waiting for arrival)
- Fate Testarossa - Alter (waiting for arrival)
- Elwyn - Kotobukiya (waiting for arrival)
- Mikuru maid cafe - Alter (preorder)
- Nanoha instructor uniform - GSC (preorder)
- Chua Churam - Alter (preorder)

I'm waiting for HLJ to open preorder for figma Fate and figma Konata. The preorder for these 2 figures has been opened, but usually it's cheaper in HLJ.

ISML - Amethyst winner: Hiiragi Kagami

Omedetou gozaimasu, Kagami-sama.

I think i'll post news about ISML (International Saimoe League). And here's the first news:

Voting in last Friday was last round for Amethyst necklace, and we have a winner. Hiiragi Kagami is the winner of amethyst necklace. I know i like Kagami, and i like it when she won. The next voting in Monday will be the first round for the next necklace, Sapphire. So don't forget to vote and keep updated.

For more details, go directly to the site:
http://www.internationalmoeleague.com/
http://www.saimoearena.com/vote.html