I was making really good headway into the Senshi Forte Part 13 review when I realized that I don't have a booklet at hand. That is part of the soul of these figures for me so I had to find a cheap extra from the capsule variant and order. First World-problems, etc. Since this means that the review is on hiatus for a bit I dug up something from the archive instead. Bon appétit!
I don't get around to reviewing as many character figurines as I'd like but hope to grow that section of the blog over time. Today's item is a bit of a rarity I guess, although it is hard to find much information about it. The B-Club brand will be familiar to kit builders looking for rare conversion parts or even rarer garage kit-style resin kits of unusual suits, vehicles or even spaceships. There are also a number of prepainted figures of various characters available, some of which are incredibly hard to find although prices aren't always that painful. This 1:7 scale figure of Sayla in her E.F.S.F. uniform, manufactured by Popy in 2004, is possibly a limited edition that was exclusive to the Bandai Museum but I haven't been able to confirm it. I purchased the figure a couple of years ago for a modest sum of ¥3000.
Polystone figures are quite brittle and easy to damage but as long as you have the original box available it should be safe and sound. The cardboard box contains tightly fitting styrofoam protection that wraps elegantly around the figure, which is also protected by fine paper to help avoid paint scratching or chipping.
So just what exactly is Polywhatnow? Well, it is a compound material where resin is mixed with powdered stone. The feel of the figure is almost like porcelain but rougher to the touch and fairly lightweight. I saw someone comparing it to pumice and I can see where they are coming from. While it wouldn't survive much abuse it should avoid issues like warping or oily residue which is the fate of many plastic figures as they begin to age.
Overall the quality of the figure is really on point but the end result goes into uncanny valley. The proportions and colour choices are really on point and is a fine representation of the cartoon character but... there is something really strange about this pose. What exactly is going on here? Sayla looks lost in thought staring into the empty sky while failing to fully rest her hands on her knees and just what the hell is that base supposed to be? When was the last time you encountered someone sitting like that?
Sayla's expression sits somewhere between "was that really my brother I saw?" and "This lecture is boring me to tears.". I have to say though, the more I study the detail of the sculpt and paint applications the more impressed I am. If this had been a Converge figure for example, the uniform paint would have bled onto the neck and the gold trim would have been all over the place and so on.
Interestingly, this very figure also has a smaller sibling in the Gundam Heroines Selection 1 series (there was only one set) also made by Popy in 2005. While I didn't include it in the picture here that figure comes with just the same type of ugly base.
Overall the Sayla figure carries a kind of vintage quality to it in way of the artistic style - it feels very much in tune with the artwork from the original Mobile Suit Gundam series artwork. This becomes really evident when you compare it to more expressive and idealized figures, such as this MegaHouse RAHDXG.A.NEO figure from 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment