Part 3 of this series has finally arrived!
Jargon in the Figure Industry!!
It seems there are quite a few of you out there who enjoy learning about these things, so on the days that I can’t get hold of any prototypes or release samples, I’ll continue to write up some relatively easy to understand terms in the figure industry! If you missed part one and two, you can find them below!
– Part 1 –
mikatan.goodsmile.info/en/2013/05/01/jargon-in-the-figure-industry/
– Part 2 –
mikatan.goodsmile.info/en/2013/05/08/jargon-in-the-figure-industry-part-2/
This time I’ve also included a difficultly meter with stars! (★)
I’ve also added this meter to all the previous posts! The more simple the term the less stars it has, while the complex terms will have lots of stars! Of course these were all just decided by me, so don’t take them to heart too much!
Today’s lecturer is once again Tori Bird!
He’s been appearing on the blog far too often recently, so I decided to cover him up with a GSC face this time! :P Thanks for your time as always, sensei!! (`・ω・´)
Just like last time, all the explanations are filtered by the Mikatan filter, so anything that’s too complex has been left out, but all the important info is still in tact! If you’re a part of the industry and think something isn’t quite explained right, let me know!
OEM ★☆☆☆☆
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An acronym of ‘Original Equipment Manufacturer’. This refers to products that are contracted by other companies and then released by them. Any product that is an OEM product is no longer sold as a ‘Good Smile Company’ product, it is sold under the name of the company who contracted and released it. Figures included with games or DVDs fall under this category.
OEM Product Examples: Nendoroid Yukari Tamura, Nendoroid Ryofuko-chan OVA Ver., Nendoroid Petite Hatsune Miku Christmas Piano Cake Ver and many more! |
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The ‘R’ is the outer curve that expands outward, referring to both the curves of the sculpt and the paint curves on eyes. The opposite is ‘reverse-R’, which refers to curves that bend inward.
Example Use: “While you’re making changes, try bring out this R a little more.” |
Tabs ★★☆☆☆
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The bumps the connect into holes in order to connect different parts together. Also known as ‘pins’ or simply ‘connectors’.
Example Use: ‘Let’s put the tab on the hand and the hole on the gun!’ or ‘The tab connected nice and firmly!’ |
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Another term that refers to the making of parts that connect one section of a figure to another, but are made from a separate material to ensure it does not change shape or become loose. This is most frequently done by placing a brass wire in the leg or other part of a figure, allowing for a very firm attachment to the base.
They’re similar to tabs in a sense, but tabs are made from the same material as the figure and are more about the ‘shape’, while insertion is more of a ‘process’ to stabilize the connection. Products Using Insertion: 1/8th Scale Ultimate Madoka, Homura Akemi: you are not alone (exchangeable head), etc. |
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Tooling refers to product made after the adjustments are done at the factories in China in order to transform the prototype into a mould for mass production. This comes before the previously mentioned T1, T2, etc…. These adjustments are necessary to ensure that the final product can come out of the Injection Moulding Machine without problems.
Extra Info) Before the tooling is done, the two parts on the left here are sent to the factory in China. The far left is a direct copy of the prototype and is used to create an initial mould. The second one is then made from that mould, after some adjustments have been made to ensure there are no gaps between the parts. This is then further adjusted and fixed up and the final version, which them becomes the ‘tooling’. This tooling is then sent to the manufacturing and production teams at GSC, where it is carefully checked to ensure that the sculptwork is still all in tact after the changes. So much work goes into perfecting just a single mould! Example Use: “The tooling has come back from China!” |
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A representation of a body pose with an asymmetrical balance of the central weight line in order to make it appear more dynamic, or alternatively relaxed. Posing figures such as figmas while keeping this concept in mind will result in very beautiful poses!
Example Use: “The contrapposto is really effective on this figure!” |
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An acronym for ‘Electric Discharge Machine’. This is a machine that takes 3D data and carves a 360 degree version of it, then by a series of rapidly recurring currents it melts copper into the shape of this carving in order to create a mould out of it.
When making a mould through the standard method of casting, it’s necessary to move the prototype a couple of times to get to all the areas, which is frequently a cause of problems. Using an EDM gives a very detailed, problem-free mould! Figures using an EDM: Nendoroid Kamui Kobayashi’s Helmet |
MYB (Miura’s Personal Vocab) ★★★★★
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Short for ‘Maji Yaba Bonbaa’, it basically means that something is in a really bad situation, and not much can be done about it.
Example Use: “That date of delivery is MYB! It’s insane!!” |
That’s all for today! ヽ(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ
But there is still much more to come!!
The EDM sounds like an amazing machine!! (`･ω･´)
I’ve never seen it for myself, but just thinking about a machine that melts copper down and creates a mould is incredible in itself… but to think that it first sculpts out a 360 degree model is rather intriguing! I’m quite interested to find out what exactly the difference is compared to a 3D printer – I’ll be sure to find out and report at a later stage!
But that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!! (・∀・)ノ゛