For Beginner Figure Collectors #03: Scale Figures
To All,
This week's tutorial is the third in this series and links to the previous two tutorials would be included at the end of this tutorial. For this week, we will be covering scale figures, which is one of my favorite aspect of figure collecting!
Scale figures generally come in 1/8 or 1/7 scale (sometimes even 1/6) though various other scales such as 1/4 and 1/1 are available.
Shinonono Houki (IS: Infinite Stratos) 1/4 scale
Kousaka Kirino (Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii no Wake ga Nai) 1/2 scale
Eren Jaeger (Shingeki no Kyojin) 1/1 scale
I'm sure that anyone who went to AFA2014 would remember the impressive 1/1 scales of Makishima Shogo and Kougami Shinya from Psycho Pass displayed in the exhibition section!
Actually there are also other 1/1 scales available (such as Eren Jaeger and Levi from Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan) but these two caost 1,600,000 yen each before tax, and the only way to acquire them would be through lucky-draw at 7-Eleven outlets in Japan. As expected, 1/1 scales are really rare and expensive...
Other than those scales stated above, there has also been the 1/10 Uniform (Sekai Seifuku Sakusen) line and the 1/12 Palm-mate series.
Shibuya Rin (Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls) Sekai Seifuku Sakusen by Megahouse 1/10 scale
Miyuki Kazuya (Ace of Diamond) Palm-mate Series by MegaHouse 1/12 scale
On average, larger scales do fetch higher prices. Having your favorite character right beside you, and looking as close as possible to their real height (larger scales) is too good to give up! Several companies that usually do scales are Good Smile Company, Alter, Kotobukiya, Max Factory, Union Creative, Aquamarine, and Wave.
Good Smile Company, Alter and Kotobukiya are my top three figure companies for scales! I like how Good Smile Company's customer service is really helpful, and how detailed Alter's sculpts usually are, and Kotobukiya's bases usually don't disappoint!
Meanwhile, Good Smile Company and Max Factory have recently collaborated to come up with Orange Rouge, which is a department catered to producing male figures. This is really a piece of good news for all female collectors out there who are intending to get more figures of their favorite male characters! Not too long ago, male figures were considered extremely rare and hard to come by! Just look at how many figures Asuna (Sword Art Online) has already, yet there is still none announced for Kirito (RAH doesn't cound here).
Alter and Kotobukiya have their own figure lines which are catered to producing higher quality figures (ALTAiR and ARTFX J respectively). I wonder if they were actually promoted as "higher quality" initially or did the collectors simply pick up on the higher quality trait and the branding just started circulating henceforth.
Mikazuki Munechika (Touken Ranbu) by Good Smile Company 1/8 scale
Matoi Ryuko Senketsu Kisaragi Version (Kill la Kill) by Good Smile Company 1/8 scale
Nanase Haruka (Free!) by Alter 1/8 scale
Natsume Takashi (Natsume Yuujinchou) by Alter 1/8 scale
Kusuiuri (Mononoke) by Kotobukiya 1/8 scale
Just look at that elaborate base!
Li Syaoran (Cardcaptor Sakura) by Kotobukiya 1/7 scale
Scales are much more detailed than Nendoroids, and this might be because it's so much easier to sculpt details on larger surfaces (Nendoroid Kashuu Kiyomitsu's unpainted red nails anyone?). The common take on scale figures is that dynamic poses such as Li Syaoran's pose would be more visually appealing than static poses such as Nanase Haruka's. I can't argue with that though I'm pretty sure the sculpt itself matters a lot as well. But hey, let's try to appreciate poses which we can see in everyday life too!
Though armed with intricate designs and beautiful paintwork, the drawback of scale figures lie with their prices and lack of joints for movement. Scale figures are usually fixed in a single pose, though exclusives might come with extra parts to vary the poses.
For the next 2 sessions, we will be examining Prize figures and Figmas instead, and perhaps you can consider them as alternatives to scales if you aren't prepared to spend so much on a scale figure but would still like something to remember your favorite series by!
From Your Fellow Collector,
Schedule:
- Where to get second hand figures?
- What to do if you have issues with your item or receive a damaged box?
- Storage of Figures
- Storage of Figure Boxes
- Maintenance of Figures
- Bootlegs- Sale of your figures
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