Figure Unboxing and Review: Edward Elric Exclusive version (Kotobukiya)

By TReina - Friday, February 23, 2018 - No Comments

Most of us would be very happy with the influx of figures from old classics, in this case, Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. While Good Smile Company has delivered Nendoroids of the Elric brothers, Roy Mustang and soon, Riza Hawkeye; Kotobukiya started the ball rolling with this scale figure of Edward Elric!

This figure comes in two different versions: a standard version and an exclusive version, where the standard version can be pre-ordered from most distributors, the exclusive version can be bought from Kotobukiya online shop only. This means that a proxy would have been required for overseas buyers.

In retrospect, the standard version comes without any interchangeable parts and the base is a slab of concrete (the top part) while the exclusive comes with Alphonse and the shadows Pride controls. If you are a fan of the series, it's mostly a given that you'll grab the exclusive version instead.

Fresh out of the box is our favourite blond shorty, Edward Elric! I'll have to say that most of the little details on this figure is memento of the show, especially the base, and the bright red cloak. However, before we go deeper into these details, let's look at a 360 of this figure first!

The way this is sculpted really adds a different dimension to the figure as it creates a stark contrast of light and shadows depending on where your light source is and how you wish to display your figure.

Likewise, we can see how delicately sculpted Edward's hair is, which really shoes how each strand of his bangs are positioned and how each tuft of hair goes to make up his braid. The other part which adds a sense of movement to the figure must be the cloak, which is billowing out behind him with the adequate amount of shading as well.

Alphonse is sculpted mostly accurately, with the painting showing how damaged he is. The cracks around his shoulders are evidence of how hard he fought.

One gripe I have is how low the blood mark in his armour is. It really should be much higher but I do understand that if it were any higher we might not be able to see it as clearly.

From the back, we can see the movement even more clearly as both the cloak and Edward's jacket are billowing out in the wind. The singed ends of the cloak also have a darker, murkier red.

Shading on Edward's boots are done really well and the chunkiness of it in canon is translated rather well into 3D. I love how Pride's shadows turn translucent the higher it goes which the "fingers" are really sharp to bring out that vicious side of his personality.

The transmutation circle behind is rather reminiscent of Hawkeye's father's research but sadly, I am not a hundred percent sure if it's the same one, or is it the one in Xerxes.

The faces on the cement... could this be a link to Envy?

But that's not all! The exclusive version of this figure comes with two interchangeable parts: the faceplate and the upper body, so let's have some fun now!

First, the faceplate!

The faceplate comes attached the the front hair part so pull the whole part out as such and slip the additional faceplate into the two peg holes and you'll see grumpy Edward turn into one with a confident grin!

I love this confident side of Edward and I like how he always manages to turn any situation better!

Now, let's change his upper torso to one that will showcase his automail!

To do that, you'll have to remove the end of his silver pocketwatch chain that goes into his pants pocket and after that, you'll be able to pull his upper and lower body apart. After which, you can just push the other upper body part into the peg and voila!

And here's a reminder to put the silver chain back into the peg on his pants!

The automail comes with a paintjob that really brings out the metallic feel of the material. Likewise, the many layers successfully conveys the weight of it as well. I love how all the screw holes and screws are sculpted, and we can even get a glance into the inside of the automail with all the red and blue wires. To me, this is well-worth the exclusive price!