Ruben77A long time ago I bought a pre-owned Kotobukiya Asuka Gothic Lolita (1/7) ITEM #302. It was a year or two after her initial release.
There was some notorious paint transfer on her legs, scratches in her shoes and in the base, she had a loose leg and a loose arm... apparently the previous owner was not very careful and liked to treat her just like any toy. The box was badly damaged.
So I had this idea of giving her to a friend who used to paint miniatures to fix those defects... then suddenly because of life we parted ways, and he disappeared for several years.
We didn't fight, he just went to another city, then got married, had children... we met again last year, and though friendship was still there, Asuka was not. I still have the original box and empty blister :P
A couple of months ago while I was lurking MFC (before I joined this site) I stumbled upon VICTORVIPER's review of this figure BLOG #16539, and I felt the urgent desire to have her again with me. A quick eBay search led me to a good price (U$50) for an unopened figure and I bought her without thinking it too much.
She arrived some days ago, and I was very glad to find she is an original figure, still in her 1st release box. :)
Since Victorviper's review is already a fine one, detailing her good and bad points, and with a good deal of great photos, I decided to avoid another review that would basically say the same (but with lower quality images) ^^¡ .
So instead, I just wanted to share a couple of additional photos, just to celebrate that Asuka is here again.
As I said before, I still have the box of the first Asuka I bought. When the "new" one arrived, I noticed there were a couple of differences.
Apparently, the old one came from Diamond Comics USA, and the box reflects that. The one I bought recently has the original Japanese box. You can see the differences in the following photos:
Small differences in the front of the box. Most noticeable the red "Warning, chocking hazard small parts etc." label on the US box.
The back of the box has more differences, being the Diamond Comics information the most noticeable. The Gainax logo is different in size. All the photos are also bigger on the US box.
The differences are not only in the language of the texts, or the size of the photos.
As you can see below, the US box had a yellowish (or grayish) tint, while the Japanese box is a bit redder.
Ant this pale color is not due to discoloration, since I kept the old box inside a closed room where I stored old memories.
When looking at the backside of the cardboard used as "scenery" to decorate the interior of the box there you can see another big difference. The Japanese cardboard is a fine good quality gray stock, while the US release used a cheaper (and more porous) yellowish material. The cardboard of both external boxes also shows that difference. The Japanese box uses a better cardboard.
Victorviper didn't show the old-fashioned twist-ties that held Asuka and the base in place. Here they are in all their horror:
But despite those metal ties, Asuka comes out easily. Just open the blister, remove a couple of tape strips, and Asuka is almost free.
A close-up of Asuka's head before removing her completely from the box. It clearly shows the biggest (and so far only) flaw my figure has: a small injector mark on her hair, and a bad paint dot just besides it.
Now, what you are about to see is the result of a figure being stored unopened for several years. (Slightly NSFW):
View spoiler
Even though the figure herself sits on the plastic covering the stairs when packaged, the thighs show small indentations on the contact points.
The soft PVC of her perfect and beautiful legs suffered from several years or of being stored. :'(
And now, photos!
Just a couple. I haven't managed to take good pictures, and there are already so many thousand photos of this girls, that mine wouldn't add much.
Here she is in all her glory. The figure is so well-crafted and so beautiful, that even a bad amateur photographer like me can take decent photos of her.
And here besides a 10 X 14 in. print I made a while ago of the source artwork.
And now a photo with the HGIF gashapon ITEM #3956 that appeared at the same time as this figure.
A closeup of both figures:
And whatever it happens to her, I promise I will never ever let her go to other hands again.
Thanks a lot for reading :)
Shine on!
[R.M.]
There was some notorious paint transfer on her legs, scratches in her shoes and in the base, she had a loose leg and a loose arm... apparently the previous owner was not very careful and liked to treat her just like any toy. The box was badly damaged.
So I had this idea of giving her to a friend who used to paint miniatures to fix those defects... then suddenly because of life we parted ways, and he disappeared for several years.
We didn't fight, he just went to another city, then got married, had children... we met again last year, and though friendship was still there, Asuka was not. I still have the original box and empty blister :P
A couple of months ago while I was lurking MFC (before I joined this site) I stumbled upon VICTORVIPER's review of this figure BLOG #16539, and I felt the urgent desire to have her again with me. A quick eBay search led me to a good price (U$50) for an unopened figure and I bought her without thinking it too much.
She arrived some days ago, and I was very glad to find she is an original figure, still in her 1st release box. :)
Since Victorviper's review is already a fine one, detailing her good and bad points, and with a good deal of great photos, I decided to avoid another review that would basically say the same (but with lower quality images) ^^¡ .
So instead, I just wanted to share a couple of additional photos, just to celebrate that Asuka is here again.
As I said before, I still have the box of the first Asuka I bought. When the "new" one arrived, I noticed there were a couple of differences.
Apparently, the old one came from Diamond Comics USA, and the box reflects that. The one I bought recently has the original Japanese box. You can see the differences in the following photos:
Small differences in the front of the box. Most noticeable the red "Warning, chocking hazard small parts etc." label on the US box.
The back of the box has more differences, being the Diamond Comics information the most noticeable. The Gainax logo is different in size. All the photos are also bigger on the US box.
The differences are not only in the language of the texts, or the size of the photos.
As you can see below, the US box had a yellowish (or grayish) tint, while the Japanese box is a bit redder.
Ant this pale color is not due to discoloration, since I kept the old box inside a closed room where I stored old memories.
When looking at the backside of the cardboard used as "scenery" to decorate the interior of the box there you can see another big difference. The Japanese cardboard is a fine good quality gray stock, while the US release used a cheaper (and more porous) yellowish material. The cardboard of both external boxes also shows that difference. The Japanese box uses a better cardboard.
Victorviper didn't show the old-fashioned twist-ties that held Asuka and the base in place. Here they are in all their horror:
But despite those metal ties, Asuka comes out easily. Just open the blister, remove a couple of tape strips, and Asuka is almost free.
A close-up of Asuka's head before removing her completely from the box. It clearly shows the biggest (and so far only) flaw my figure has: a small injector mark on her hair, and a bad paint dot just besides it.
Now, what you are about to see is the result of a figure being stored unopened for several years. (Slightly NSFW):
View spoiler
Even though the figure herself sits on the plastic covering the stairs when packaged, the thighs show small indentations on the contact points.
The soft PVC of her perfect and beautiful legs suffered from several years or of being stored. :'(
And now, photos!
Just a couple. I haven't managed to take good pictures, and there are already so many thousand photos of this girls, that mine wouldn't add much.
Here she is in all her glory. The figure is so well-crafted and so beautiful, that even a bad amateur photographer like me can take decent photos of her.
And here besides a 10 X 14 in. print I made a while ago of the source artwork.
And now a photo with the HGIF gashapon ITEM #3956 that appeared at the same time as this figure.
A closeup of both figures:
And whatever it happens to her, I promise I will never ever let her go to other hands again.
Thanks a lot for reading :)
Shine on!
[R.M.]
Kommentare14
I surely have learned, and won't let her go again! ^^¡
The gashapon is very fine for it's size (and age). Great detail and nice molding. Actually I was thinking on writing a review of it, but I don't really know if that would be a good idea.
I really like the gashapon too, please do a review! ^^ We need more reviews about small stuff too! I also did a review about a gashapon once btw: BLOG #13037
I couldn't resist. ^^¡ That's a photo I was waiting for ages to take !
She's lovely in any incarnation :)
My own copy of this figure developed an issue where she would stick to the base, so now they're separated by a small piece of plastic wrap :P I don't think her thighs have indents, though, and she still looks great overall, especially for her age (IIRC, mine is the US release, the same as your first Asuka).
Oh, and I don't miss those old twist ties in modern figure packaging at all.
Thanks a lot for your comments. :)
Considering how heavy is this Asuka, those ties certainly help!
My own copy of this figure developed an issue where she would stick to the base, so now they're separated by a small piece of plastic wrap :P I don't think her thighs have indents, though, and she still looks great overall, especially for her age (IIRC, mine is the US release, the same as your first Asuka).
Oh, and I don't miss those old twist ties in modern figure packaging at all.
That gashapon Asuka looks surprisingly good, too!
Thank you!
I surely have learned, and won't let her go again! ^^¡
The gashapon is very fine for it's size (and age). Great detail and nice molding. Actually I was thinking on writing a review of it, but I don't really know if that would be a good idea.
That gashapon Asuka looks surprisingly good, too!