May 29, 2012 by Kahotan

Nendoroid Saber & Rin Tohsaka : Cheerful ver. & Nendoroid Luka Megurine : Cheerful Ver.

Some pre-release samples have arrived! (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ

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Today I’ll be taking a look at two separate Cheerful JAPAN! products that were sold to help relief efforts in the Touhoku region after the tsunami and earthquake last year.

As of the 9th March 2012, the Cheerful JAPAN! project has raised an incredible 209,700,356JPY!
(This isn’t the final amount, just as calculated up until the 9th March. The final amount will be announced at a later stage!)

A big thank you to everyone who supported the project!

007

The 8th product in the Cheerful JAPAN! series:

Nendoroid Saber & Rin Tohsaka : Cheerful ver.!

The eighth product to join the Cheerful JAPAN! project is a set of two Nendoroids of TYPE-MOON’s popular characters – Saber and Rin Tohsaka, both wearing adorable cheerleader outfits, and ready to cheer on for everyone who needs it!

　　　　　／￣￣￣＼
　　　　　／　　 ::＼::／＼　　　”The stomachs and back sticking out the
　　　／　　｡<一>::<ー>。　　 outfits are so cute! Just look at Rin!!!”
　　　 |　　.:｡ﾟ~（__人__）~ﾟj　
　　　＼、　　　゜　｀ ⌒´,;／゜
　　　　／　 ⌒ヽﾟ　'”‘”´(;ﾟ　｡　
　　　/　,＿＼　＼／＼＼
　　と_＿＿）_ヽ＿つ_;_ヾ_つ.;.

002

This is how the packaging looks!

You can see hoe nicely the two of them match up just by looking at them in the packaging! They each come with pompons that match their image colors, lazy expressions and sitting parts – plus they also come with a Cheerful JAPAN! banner they hold up together!

This version of Saber features a braided ponytail which is fitted with a Nendoroid joint. Rin’s twintails are also as always fitted with joints allowing for a wide variety of poses from both of them!

009

Takashi Takeuchi’s illustration of a younger version of the two girls!

Takashi Takeuchi specially drew this illustration for the Cheerful JAPAN! project, and a postcard of the illustration is included with the Nendoroids! A rare bonus indeed!

The Nendoroids can take the exact same pose as the two from the illustration! The postcard can be found between the inner cardboard of the package, so make sure you don’t accidentally throw it away!
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Aren’t they just adorable!?

When you put the lazy expression on both of them along with the sitting parts they look too cute next to each other!! It’s so relaxing to look at them!

Saber is also holding a tambourine, but that is in fact included with a different figure…

004

The 9th product in the Cheerful JAPAN! series:

Nendoroid Luka Megurine : Cheerful Ver.!

The ninth product to join the Cheerful JAPAN! project is this Cheerful Ver. of the popular Nendoroid Luka Megurine!

She comes with all the optional parts from the original Nendoroid, along with new parts such as pink pompons and a tambourine to cheer everyone on! Luka also comes with all new ponytail hair parts!

　　　　　　　＿＿＿_
　　　　　　／＼　　／＼　ｷﾘｯ
.　　　　　／　（ー）　（ー）＼
　　　　／　 ⌒（__人__）⌒ ＼　
　　　　|　　　　　|r┬-|　　　　|　　
　　　　＼　　　　 `ー’´　　／
　　　　ノ　　　　　　　　　　　＼

She comes with ponytail hair parts!

Plus the little Nendoroid Petite sized Octo-Luka comes with an orange sun cap featuring the Cheerful JAPAN! logo so that he can cheer as well!

003

This is how the packaging looks!

Everything that came with the original Nendoroid Luka is also included, along with all the new ‘Cheerful’ extras!

Plus some of the arm parts that were a single part have been separated into upper arm and hand parts for even more options!

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A singing face and tambourine!

She comes with both the ponytail and her standard long hair and you can either hairstyle with any expression! Plus the tambourine really suits her singing face nicely!

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The Double Lariat expression!

She looks even better spinning around with the ponytail! The visor that the Octo-Luka wears us Nendo Petite sized, so you can also put it on some of your favorite Nendos! (･∀･)ﾉ

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Switching parts around!

One of the funnest things you can with Nendoroids is switch around the parts! I think this is the first ever Nendoroid body to show off so much skin, so it might be fun to use it with some other characters! 😛

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The 8th product in the Cheerful JAPAN! series:

Nendoroid Saber & Rin Tohsaka : Cheerful ver.!

And the 9th product in the Cheerful JAPAN! series:

Nendoroid Luka Megurine : Cheerful Ver.!

They’ll be shipped out to everyone who ordered tomorrow! (`･ω･´)ゞ
Contact the Good Smile Online Shop if you have any queries about your order!

Anyway, that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!! (・∀・)ノ゛

(C)2002-2006 TYPE-MOON
(C)三月八日/アゴアニキ/Crypton Future Media,Inc.

May 28, 2012 by Kahotan

Nendoroid Ichika Takatsuki

The prototype shelves!

　　　　＿＿＿_
　　　／　　　　＼　　　
　／　　＼　　 ,＿＼　　 “Prototypes have been really hard to find recently…
／　　（●）゛（●）＼　　 they keep disappearing all over the place!”
|　 ∪　　（__人__）　|　　
/　　　　 ∩ノ ⊃　　／
(　＼　／＿ノ　|　 | 　　
.＼　“　　／＿＿|　 |

They’re not just going to China – but all over to live broadcasts and exhibitions! As soon as I see one I get a hold of one, I really need to make sure that I make use of the opportunity!!

002
　
So on that note, let’s take a look at this lovely Nendoroid:

From, ‘Waiting in the Summer’:

Nendoroid Ichika Takatsuki!

From the same staff that brought the famous ‘Please Teacher” series comes ‘Waiting in the Summer’, and from that lovely series comes a Nendoroid of the 3rd year high school student, Ichika Takatsuki!

As you can see, she has a stunning body!!

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This is how she looks from the back!

Ichika has a sort of layering to her hair, which is recreated in figure form by piling multiple parts up on the hair! It gives the hair a lovely layered appearance!

The tied up part of her hair on the left is also fitted with a joint allowing you to move it back and forward!

004
　
Posed brushing her hair back!

The arms can be disconnected at the sleeves of her uniform, so you have a very wide choice of poses. In the picture above she is lifting up her arm, but you could lower her shoulder, or spin the arm around completely for a completely different effect!

She also comes with her suitcase-shaped transmitter!
This also comes with a little bonus, which I’ll show a bit later! (`･ω･´)

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An embarrassed face and the ray gun!

She looks very distressed along with embarrassed! She also comes with the ‘ray gun’ they used for shooting a film. You can pose her holding the ray gun looking all embarrassed that she is being filmed!

The two puppets!

These two puppets only ever appeared in the main character, Kaito Kirishima’s delusions – but Ichika comes with them as an extra! They both measure just 3cm in height – so tiny, but still such incredible quality!

You simply need to connect the puppet’s backs onto the bent arms to let her hold them like this!

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The suitcase transmitter can open up!

The suitcase-shaped transmission device can be opened up just like it did in the show, and the inside is all carefully sculpted as well – the top even features the green circle.

You can even place the mysterious Rinon inside the case!

　
From, ‘Waiting in the Summer’:

Nendoroid Ichika Takatsuki!

She’ll be up for preorder from tomorrow! (`･ω･´)ゞ

If you have any preorder or sales queries, be sure to contact our partner shops!

But that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!! (・∀・)ノ゛

(C) I＊Chi＊Ka／なつまち製作委員

May 25, 2012 by Kahotan

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver.

　　　　　　　　＿＿＿_
　　　　　　　／　　　　＼
　　　　　／　　＼　　／＼　
　　　　／　　（●）　　（●）＼
　　　　|　　　（__人__）　　 |　＿＿＿＿＿＿＿_
　　　＼　　　　｀ ⌒´ 　 ,／　| |　　　　　　　　　　|
　　　　ノ　　　　　　　　　　　＼　| |　　　　　　　　　　|
　／´ 　　　　　　　　　　　　　 | |　　　　　　　　　　|
　|　　　　ｌ　　　　　　　　　　| |　　　　　　　　　　|
　ヽ　　　 -一ー_~､⌒)^),-､　　| |_＿＿＿＿＿__|
　　ヽ＿＿＿＿,ノγ⌒ヽ)ニニ-￣　　　| |　　|

We’ve taken a complete look at how she was made!

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All done at NicoNico Super Kaigi!

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…and completed in just two days!

Well, 12 and a half hours to be exact!

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After some adjustments, she debuted on WonHobby News Watch!

If you missed out on the details of her sculpting and painting, you can catch up with the articles below. If you’re looking to become a sculptor in the future, it should be a rather interesting read!

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Sculpting – Part 1)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-sculpting-part-1/

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Sculpting – Part 2)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-sculpting-part-2/

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial!
(Duplication / Painting– Part 3)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-duplication-painting-part-3/

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial!
(Duplication / Painting– Part 4)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-duplication-painting-part-4/

WonHobby News Watch
http://www.goodsmile.info/post/en/3394/

And now…!

002

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver.!

The prototype has had some final adjustments for release!

Nitroplus’ lovely mascot character is here to join the Nendoroid series in her tiger hoodie! In order to ensure that the Nendoroid lived up to previous Nendoroid standards, she has undergone a brush-up after the original sculpting and painting. She looked incredible at the event, but she looks even cuter now!

003

This is how she looks from the back!

Can you tell which parts were changed from the original prototype?

First off, the tail!! Σ（ﾟ∀ﾟ*)

The tail wasn’t visible on the illustration so it wasn’t sculpted on at the time, but the character designs do feature a tail so it had to be added on! Plus it can even be moved left and right!!

004

The guitar can be removed!

There were also small changes to the color of the hair and headphones!

The hair needed to be made slightly lighter, while the headphones were changed from white to a more silvery color. Apparently even though the illustration had white headphones, it’s actually very common for things like that to be made silver on figures – I had no idea!! :O

005

A lovely winking expression!

Is it just me or does this make her look super sexy!? She also comes with a bent arm that lets you put her hand up by her headphones – a pose very suited to a model!

006

She also has a singing expression!

Sonico is a gravure idol, game character and of course the vocalist and guitarist for the band ‘Daiichi Uchuu Sokudo’!

The expression really makes her look like she is happy to be singing! She also comes with a microphone as an optional extra!

007

Jump!! ＼(^o^)／

This is how I imagine Sonico would look jumping up in the air during one of her live performances! She comes with both left and right bent legs, so making a pose like this is easy with the use of the arm-type stand!

008

You can also put her hood up!

　　　　　　＿＿＿_
　　　／::::::─三三─＼
　　／:::::::: （ ○）三（○）＼　　”That’s too cute!!!”
　　|:::::::::（__人__）:::|
　＼::::::　　|r┬-| 　／
　　ノ:::::::　　`ー’´　　　＼

It really is adorable!!

Plus it really wasn’t necessary! She comes with so much already!

The hood part fits around all the expressions – you just need to push each expression into the hood first. She comes with a separate fringe part designed to be used with the hood as well!!

009

This is how the hood looks from the back!

You can of course remove the unworn hood from the hoodie when she is wearing it on her head!

The pattern on her hoodie was also very hard to work with – it will be done with stamp printing, but the surface is large and there are lots of curves which makes it very awkward. I hope the production team doesn’t have too much trouble with her!!

002

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver.!

She is up for preorder at the Good Smile Online Shop!

http://goodsmile.ecq.sc/top/gcp202.html

Orders close on the 31st May at 21:00 JST, and you can only order her from the Good Smile Online shop and from the GSC Tetsujin Cafe, so don’t miss out!

We will be having a live broadcast today from 20:00 (JST)! (・ω・)ノ

010

– Wonhobby News Watch –

http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv93869976

The 3rd News Watch will be broadcast from the Akihabara Good Smile x Tetsujin Cafe! There will be some interesting info about Family Mart and Miku, as well as the final episode of ‘Chase the Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver.’!! Sonico may even be joining us in a special video appearance….!

There will be lots going on, so don’t miss out – you can also watch it on time-shift at a later stage!

Anyway, that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again next week!! (・∀・)ノ゛

(C)2006-2012 Nitroplus

May 23, 2012 by Kahotan

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Duplication / Painting – Part 4)

The GSC 11 Hour Figure Making Trial!

059

NicoNico Super Kaigi held at the Makuhari Messe on 28th & 29th of April!

In a showy corner of the Good Smile booth there were nine sculptors hard at work sculpting and painting a prototype Nendoroid in just 11 hours!

This article is the finale of their work!

Don’t miss out on the previous three articles which you can find here!

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Sculpting – Part 1)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-sculpting-part-1/

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Sculpting – Part 2)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-sculpting-part-2/

Tasshi

In charge of : Guitar, hair and headphone painting.

006
(1) The newly-wed Tashii adjusting the guitar strap! (`・ω・´)

011
(2) Mixing some colors together!

015
(3) Comparing the color to the original illustration! (`･ω･´)

018
(4) Starting to paint the highlights of the hair!!

025
(5) Looks like the gradient effect on the hair is complete! It’s so pretty!

036
(6) Sticking on some masking tape to paint the headphones.

042
(7) Starting to paint the headphones. (`･ω･´)

048
(8) Various parts drying! I wonder if the guitar is done now? (`･ω･´)

063
(9) The tone is adjusted to make certain areas more shadowed than others.

That brings Tasshi’s section to an end!

The hair is certainly a very important feature of any character! They are particular important on Nendoroids seen the head is the biggest part of the figure!

I’ve personally tried mixing colors trying to get the perfect color for a figure in the past, and I have to tell you it is not a simple task! Just a single drop too much of one color will cause the color to look off. Plus because each of the parts is painted separately, you need to ensure that the colors of all the parts will look alright together in the end.

Oda-P

In charge of : the face!

005
(1) Oda-P is getting ready to work on the face! (`･ω･´)

013
(2) Putting in some facial features!! The face is the heart of the figure, so Oda-P needs to concentrate to get it looking perfect!

017
(3) Oda-P checking and re-checking the facial features.

021
(4) Such tiny lines! It’s amazing how much the appearance of the face has changed from the wonderful work of Oda-P!

023
(5) The right eye is complete, but Aki has arrived to supervise now…

027
(6) Now working carefully on the left eye! (`･ω･´)

033
(7) Oda-P has complete the outline for the eyes!

035
(8) Now Oda-P is adding the white of the eye. It’s looking cuter by the second!

038
(9) A base pink color is added to the eyes! (`･ω･´)

039
(10) Oda-P carefully painting in more detail to the eyes.

043
(11) Time to start work on the pupils! (`･ω･´)

044
(12) The rest of the face is all taped up! The pupils will be a gradient sprayed on with an airbrush.

045
(13) Applying a gradient paint effect to the pupils!

050
(14) With the pupils done, we now need a black gradient at the top of the eyes.

052
(15) Applying the darker gradient! Very nice colors!

053
(16) The black gradient is complete! Her eyes are looking stunning!

055
(16) A darker shade is applied to parts of the white part of the eye as well!

056
(17) Adding in highlights to the eyes!

057
(18) Highlights complete! (`･ω･´)

061
(19) The face goes through loads and loads of tiny adjustments!

064
(20) Aki-san adds in some comments to the team!

066
(20) The blush on the cheeks is added with a pastel! She is looking adorable!!

That brings the Oda-P section to an end!

The most difficult and most important part of the figure – the face, is finally completed!! As mentioned on the Live broadcast, normally it takes even the best sculptors at least a day and a half to complete, but Oda-P kept a nice constant pace and still performed incredibly well! Unbelievable work!

Now to put it all together!

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Nendoroid Super Sonico: Tiger Hoodie Ver.!

Prototype Complete!!

In total it took 12 and a half hours!

The battle took a little longer than originally anticipated, but even so the final product was worth the little bit of overtime! It was incredible to see the professionals in action!

But the battle isn’t over yet! (`･ω･´)
While the painting was going on, the packaging and poster were also being made!

Nagai-san & Station

In charge of : Packaging & Poster

041
(1) The design team is also working hard making a poster! So cute!!

046
(2) The design team is working on finishing the packaging too!!

049
(3) The poster is complete and printed out for everyone to see!

067
(4) Photos complete! Now the photos will be added to the package design!

068
(5) Nagai-san carefully cutting out the Sonico photo. (`･ω･´)

069
(6) Package design complete!! (`･ω･´）

070
(7) Now we move into the printing of the packaging!

071
(8) Both design team members carefully cut out the box. (`･ω･´)

072
(9) Just a few more snips and folds to go! (`･ω･´)

073
(1) Packaging complete!! The package might still be changed a little though.

074
(11) The blister pack has also been prepared!

That brings Nagai-san and Station’s section to an end!

Everything needed to make and print the poster and packaging were all brought along to the event hall just for this! The actual project was actually only to create the figure, so this was all bonus work inspired by Aki.

Another great example of watching professionals at work! Thanks Nagai-san and Station!

075

Sonico placed in her packaging!

It looks just like a normal Nendoroid in the stores, except for the fact that she has no optional parts. 😛

The blister pack used here was specially made for Sonico super quickly for the event (seen they are normally made in China, it was a rather on the spur of the moment job). I think the ability that Good Smile has to adapt quickly to any situation is definitely one of the most amazing parts of the company!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver. is currently up for order on the Good Smile Online Shop!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver.:
http://goodsmile-global.ecq.sc/top/gcp202.html

Orders close on the 31st May at 21:00 JST!

You can only order her from the Good Smile Online shop and from the GSC Tetsujin Cafe, so don’t miss out!

　　　　　　　＿＿＿＿＿_
　　　　　／　　＼　　／＼　　　”But if the prototype was made so quickly…
　　　　／　し（＞）　（●）　＼　　　 will it really be the same quality?”
　　　　|　∪　　（__人__）　 |　＿＿＿＿＿＿＿_
　　　＼　　u　　｀⌒´　　／　| |　　　　　　　　　　|
　　　　ノ　　　　　　　　　　　＼　| |　　　　　　　　　　|

After the event, the prototype has gone though lots of intricate adjustments and revisions to ensure good quality!

I’ll be taking a look at the final version on Friday!

The super cute Sonico is now cuter than ever before!

But that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!! (・∀・)ノ゛

(C)2006-2012 Nitroplus

May 22, 2012 by Kahotan

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Duplication / Painting – Part 3)

The GSC 11 Hour Figure Making Trial!

094

This is the diary of their challenge!!

091

Nendoroid Super Sonico: Tiger Hoodie Ver.!

Last time we got just to the point where the initial sculpting was complete!
To get this far took five people just seven hours!

A normal Nendoroid is in production for around 2-3 months, so that gives you a good feel to just how far these guys have been pushing themselves! If you want to read the previous two reports you can find them here:

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Sculpting – Part 1)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-sculpting-part-1/

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Sculpting – Part 2)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-sculpting-part-2/

After sculpting was complete, the figure was sent to Matsudo for duplication!

Kiyo-sanIn charge of : duplication (home-stay team!)

001

■ This machine creates a vacuum that is used to create a silicon mold!

002
■ The duplication cast can be seen here, together with the silicon mold! Duplication work requires a lot of care, but Kiyo-san is still able to get through it quickly and smoothly!　

Just two photos for Kiyo-san! Sorry!!

The duplication process is actually quite an involved process which I took a look at back in 2010, but that was unfortunately before the blog was translated into English. You can find the Japanese versions of the duplication process here – the images should tell a story on their own! ^^;

Day 1 : Mikatan’s Research Diary – Duplication!
Day 2 : Mikatan’s Research Diary – Duplication!
Day 3 : Mikatan’s Research Diary – Duplication!
Final Day : Mikatan’s Research Diary – Duplication!

The next day!!

003

The Heroes of Day 2 have arrived!

Day 2 will feature the five heroes you see above, who will be giving color to the duplicate figure made last night!

Nishibu
In charge of : Priming and the hoodie.
007

(1) The silent solider, Nishibu, begins spraying primer to prepare for painting!

014

(2) Mixing colors for the hoodie! The colors are sprayed again and again and adjusted until perfect!
022

(3) The collar area looks to be complete! (`･ω･´)

030
(4) Starting paint work on the reverse side of the hoodie! (`･ω･´)

034
(5) Sticking on camouflage decals to the hoodie. (`･ω･´)
　 047
(6) The decal is adjusted here and there to make sure it looks just right!

That brings Nishibu’s section to an end!!
Previously the painting used to work as “Cast -> Surfacer (Gray) -> White -> Color”, but now it instead simply goes “Cast -> Primer -> Color”. The reasons for this include:

・ It’s easier to achieve transparent effects.
・It’s less likely the paint will peel from the oil of the cast, as it is sealed inside.

It’s kind of like getting all your preparations done before actually applying make-up – girls will understand just how important that is!

Kawahara
In charge of: skin painting, skirt painting and hoodie.

008

(1) Kawapon is carefully placing down some masking tape in preparation for painting. (`･ω･´)

009
(2) Kawapon has painted Sonico’s head! Lots of changes were made before he decided on the perfect skin color! (`･ω･´)
012
(3) Starting to paint the hands! He is so fast and yet still so careful!

019
(4) Applying masking tape to the tiniest little areas… truly an artist at work!

024
(5) More careful masking work! The tape is carefully cut with a craft knife to ensure it is the right size! (`･ω･´)

026
(6) The level of minute detail Kawapon goes to is outstanding!!
　 029
(7) Making sure the colors are all looking right. (`･ω･´)

031
(8) Painting the skirt!

032
(9) The skirt has been painted, so now the masking tape is carefully removed.

037
(10) Filling the gaps in the pattern of the hoodie with some decals. (`･ω･´)

040
(11) It looks like the skirt and legs have been completed now! (`･ω･´)

054
(12) Matte spray is applied to the hoodie to remove any shine or gloss.

065
(13) A glossy effect is applied to the wire part of the headphones! (`･ω･´)

That brings the Kawapon section to an end!!

As you can see from the above, masking tape is used to carefully mask the areas that don’t need to be painted a certain color. It is all very delicate work and isn’t just a case of spraying paint all over the figure.

I think that image #5 is the easiest image to get a good feeling for the masking process. The tape needs to be cut into incredibly fine pieces and then carefully placed piece by piece around all the curves of the figure. (The fluffy part of the skirt in particular here, which has so many curves that it must have taken ages to ensure it was masked correctly!)

I know that if I were to do the exact same job, it would have taken me well over a day…

Nobu-san
in charge of : necklace decals and body adjustments. 004

(1) Nobu-san begins work on creating the decals for Sonico’s necklace!

010
(2) Nobu-san working on the decals using Illustrator!

016
(3) Placing the decals on white background needed for printing. (`･ω･´)

020
(4) The decals are complete! Lovely shiny necklaces! (`･ω･´)

028
(5) Now one of the decals has been stuck on Sonico’s body.

058
(6) The body is all coming together now! (´◉◞౪◟◉｀)

062
(7) Nobu-san working on small adjustments to the body! (`･ω･´)

That brings Nobu-san’s section to an end!!

Not only is Nobu-san an unbelieveable sculptor, he also makes stunning decals in Illustrator!! Often when the decals are first stuck onto the prototypes the colors end up looking completely wrong to how they should look. For that reason, each decal printed in image #4 actually has slightly different CMYK color values, so that various different colors can be tested at once to find the ideal one.

059

But there is still much to be done!!

We still have the guitar and hair coloring done by Tasshi, and the face and package design to be done by Oda-P! I’ll be taking a look at those tomorrow!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver. is currently up for order on the Good Smile Online Shop!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver.:
http://goodsmile-global.ecq.sc/top/gcp202.html
Orders close on the 31st May at 21:00 JST!

You can only order her from the Good Smile Online shop and from the GSC Tetsujin Cafe, so don’t miss out!

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Bonus!

A twin shot of Miku and Gumako!

There were all sorts of people in costumes like these all over the event! At one stage Miku, Gumako, Manbe-kun, Sgt. Frog and Frieza were all together and it was absolute chaos! But so much fun at the same time

Anyway, that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!! (・∀・)ノ゛

May 21, 2012 by Kahotan

Good Smile’s 10 Year Appreciation Project: Rerelease and Product Request Results!

Good Smile’s 10 Year Appreciation Project:

The Rerelease and Product Request Polls!

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A big thanks to everyone who voted between the 10th April and the 1st May!

　　　　　　　　／ ⌒｀”⌒｀ヽ、　　　　
　　　　　　／,,　／￣￣￣￣＼　　　　　”We had lots of comments congradulating us!
　　　　　　 /,／/::　　　　　　　　＼　　　　　Thanks to everyone who sent them in!”
　　　　　　;/⌒'”:::..　　　　　　　 |⌒ヽ　　　　
　　　　　　　/　　/､:::::… 　　　　　 /ヽ_　＼　　
　　　　 _＿（　⌒ー-ｨ⌒ヽ、　 /⌒`ー’⌒　）　　
━━━━━`ー──ゝィｿﾉー‐ヾy＿ﾉー─”━━━━　　　

I’m sure some have already seen that the results of the polls have been released!

The result screen during the voting period only showed the top 20, but these results show to the top 50!

I hope the figure you were looking for is somewhere on the list… let’s take a look!

The Nendoroid Results!

The top 4 of the Nendoroids were all from the first 100 Nendoroids! With 6 years and running, it has become quite difficult to get hold of some of the older releases, so now you might get a chance to grab them again!

Miyafuji, Saber Lily and Saber Lion got a lot of votes from mail entries and I have to say that I was very surprised (but happy!) to see Zetsubou-sensei! I’m so happy to see a male figure popular enough to be voted into the top 4 in a poll like this!! There were also a load of Touhou and Vocaloid requests from all the new fans!

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The figma Results!

The top results featured two of the special ‘SP’ figmas which made alongside other companies! There were also a number of ‘fate’ series related products and some BRS requests spurred on from the recent anime series!

There are also a lot more male figma requests when compared to the Nendoroids! I for one will be sure to grab another Lelouch for my collection!

011

The Scale Figure Results!

The top three characters are all TYPE-MOON characters! Wow!

It looks like once again the Vocaloids have invaded! Not only the Nendoroid and figma results, but the scale figure results as well! Kino is one of the very first figures I ever reviewed on this blog, so she has a very special place in my heart!

004

The product request results!

Characters that people want to see as new figures!

There were a lot of characters that as I saw I couldn’t help agree that they were excellent ideas! As of now there is no guarantee any of them will be made, but we will continue to look into them as well as all the rerelease possibilities!

　　　　　　　＿＿＿_
　　　　／　　　　　＼　　　　
　　　　／　　⌒　　⌒ ＼　　”Hmm…? Continue…?”　　
　　　／　　（●）　（●）＼
　　 |　　､”　ﾞ)（__人__）”　.）|　　　　_＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿_
　　　＼　　　｡｀ ⌒ﾟ:j´　,／　jﾞ~~| | |　　　　　　　　　　　　　|
＿＿／　　　　　　　　　　＼　 |_＿| | |　　　　　　　　　　　　　|
| |　/　　 ,　　　　　　　＼ｎ||　 | |　　　　　　　　　　　　　|
| | /　　 /　　　　　　　　　r.　（こ） | |　　　　　　　　　　　　　|
| | |　⌒ ーnｎｎ　　　　|＼ (⊆ｿ .|_|_＿＿＿＿_＿＿＿＿_|
￣＼＿_､(“二）￣￣￣￣￣ｌ二二ｌ二二　＿|_|＿_|＿

Yep! We have already had a meeting between the planning team, production team and web team, in which we managed to decide the first few products that will be rereleased:

006

Nendoroid #136:

Nendoroid Flandre Scarlet!

008

Nendoroid #105:

Nendoroid Sakuya Izayoi!

005

Two figures straight from the Scarlet Devil Mansion!

Rerelease orders will start tomorrow!

012

figma #124:

figma Sayaka Miki!

013

figma #128:

figma Kyouko Sakura

These two will also be rereleased! Kyouko was released recently and thus wasn’t on the polls, but she was popular enough to warrant a rerelease anyway! Plus you can’t display Sayaka without Kyouko, right!? 😛

They’ll be up for order from the 24th!

014

Onto scale figures…

Saber ~Triumphant Excalibur~!

She will also be rereleased! The date has not been confirmed yet, but she should be up for order sometime in May!

Plus there are many more to come!

We still need to look into the viability of a number of products – there are many things such as licensing issues, possible production problems and other things that need to be addressed before we can ensure the product can be rereleased. Rest assured we will be looking at all the highly voted products! I’ll keep you informed on live broadcasts and on the blog whenever possible!

But that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!! (・∀・)ノ゛

(C)上海アリス幻樂団
(C)Magica Quartet／Aniplex・Madoka Partners・MBS
(C)2002-2006 TYPE-MOON

May 15, 2012 by Kahotan

1/8th Scale Mami Tomoe & Nendoroid Kyouko Sakura

Back to the upcoming release box!

001

A box filled with products that are soon to be released!
Products are always placed in this box for me to put on the blog, but I just haven’t had time to get through them all recently!

However, today I’ll be taking a look at two Puella Magi figures to start catching up!

002

Releasing today:

1/8th Scale Mami Tomoe!

From the popular anime series with a movie on the way, ‘Puella Magi Madoka Magica’ comes a dynamic 1/8th scale of Madoka’s schoolmate and fellow Puella Magi – Mami Tomoe is the famous pose from the key visual!

Just look at that lovely body line!! (*ﾟ∀ﾟ)=3

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This is how she looks from the back!

She looks great from the front, but no matter what angle you look at her from it looks amazing! Just look at those lovely thighs! The stand has a rounded circular base just like the previous figures in the series.

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Such a lovely and gentle expression!

She has a lovely relaxed expression that suits Mami’s personality perfectly! Tsukki from the manufacturing team has quite some trouble getting the curly blond hair to look like it does – but it seems to have come out perfectly!

005

Simply wonderful!!

006

The musket sculpted with 3D data!

Even the final product version has such incredibly intricate detail! Even the tip of of the gun is separated into two tiny sections!

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Three of the Puella Magi together!

Plus I’ve switched Homuhomu and Mami-san’s weapons! 😛 The weapons are removable from the figures so you can play around like this as well!

Isn’t it lovely to see a set of figures coming together like this! I can’t wait to get hold of the rest of them as well!

009

For release tomorrow:

Nendoroid Kyouko Sakura!

Also from ‘Puella Magi Madoka Magica’ comes a Nendoroid of the egotistical Kyouko Sakura! She comes with a load of optional parts to recreate all sorts of scenes from the show!

008

This is how the packaging looks!

She comes with a smiling face, an upset face and a face munching on some of her favorite ‘Rocky’ treats! She also comes with a taiyaki so you can really pose her enjoying her favorite foods!

The Rocky (top right of the packaging) just needs to be pushed into the mouth of the once expression part to complete it. It’s a very tiny part so be careful that it doesn’t pop out and get lost when you open it up!

010

The disjointed spear!

There is only one spear head included, but you simply need to remove it from the straight spear and attach it to the disjointed one to pose her like this instead!

The handle doesn’t connect specifically to any point on the hand, so you are free to move it up and down and at any angle for all sorts of dynamic and epic poses!

011

All five Puella Magi Nendoroids!

With the release of Kyouko, all five of the Puella Magi Nendoroids will be released! You can finally complete your collection and display them all together like this!

A quick note about Nendoroid Sayaka – there were some problems that caused a limited number to come out of mass production, so you might have had trouble getting hold of her. Rest assured that more stock is on the way, and we apologize for the delay that may have been caused!
012

1/8th Scale Mami Tomoe &

Nendoroid Kyouko Sakura!

They’ll be on sale from today and tomorrow respectively!

If you have any order or sales queries, be sure to contact out partner shops!

But that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!! (・∀・)ノ゛

(C)Magica Quartet／Aniplex・Madoka Partners・MBS

May 14, 2012 by Kahotan

Nendoroid Kuroyukihime

The relaxation room! (Also known as the meeting room :P)

001

Some beautiful flowers with a beautiful butterfly!

002

Today we’ll be playing with this lovely Nendoroid!

From Accel World:

Nendoroid Kuroyukihime!

From the popular anime series Accel World comes a Nendoroid of the beautiful and mysterious vice-president of the student council – Kuroyukihime! She even comes with her beautiful black wings that allow you to pose her in her butterfly form!

Plus, Haruyuki is also included in his cute pink pig form!

003

This is how she looks from the back!

Those huge butterfly wings are definitely one of the highlights of the figure! The wings look just like a real butterfly’s wing with tiny lines all over them, plus the tips of the wings make use of clear plastic which is absolutely beautiful! She will make use of an arm-type base that will connect through the middle of the wings and into her back.

Her wings cover a lot of her back here, but that by no means that her back is neglected in terms of quality – even without the wings she looks fantastic!
004

A pouting face with hands on her hips!

Normally Kuroyukihime has a very mature atmosphere about her, but she also gets jealous sometimes and gets this slightly more childish look – isn’t she adorable! Haruyuki’s round piggy body is also lovely!

006

A smiling face and closed parasol!

Kuroyukihime comes with a lovely parasol that matches her outfit perfectly! You can pose her like the picture above with the specially included arm parts, or you can hand it by the handle from her arm which looks just as cute!

005

An opened parasol is also included!

Wow! Isn’t she just gorgeous!! I love seeing such impressive optional parts with my Nendoroids!! Just look at the detail on the parasol- from the golden grip to the frills along the edge, plus it really matches her outfit perfectly!

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Haruyuki getting some hugs!

Hey! Let me have a turn for hugs too!! 😛

Haruyuki comes with just one head but the two different bodies – you need to switch the head from the standing pose onto this pose!

008

Snow Miku tries the parasol!

The goth style of the parasol has an fancy look to it that should suit any characters that also wear fancy outfits! If I was any good with repainting I think I’d make a special icy parasol just for Snow Miku! 😛

But even just like this I think it’s more than cute enough – I’m sure it’ll look great with a lot of other Nendoroids as well!

002

From Accel World:

Nendoroid Kuroyukihime!

be up for preorder as of tomorrow! (`･ω･´)ゞ
If you have any preorder or sales inquires, be sure to get in contact with out partner stores!

But that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!!(・∀・)ノ゛

(C) 川原礫／アスキー・メディアワークス／AW Project

May 11, 2012 by Kahotan

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Sculpting – Part 2)

The GSC 11 Hour Figure Making Trial!

094

This is the diary of their challenge!!

112

The heroes of day one!

In part one we had a look at Oda-P and Nobu-san’s contributions, and today we’ll be looking at Katou-kun, Takanon and Hiro-san!

You can see part one here: http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-sculpting-part-1/

001

The challenge is to create a prototype of this cute illustration!

Nendoroid Super Sonico: Tiger Hoodie Ver.!

Let’s take a look at what parts were made by the other three!

Katou-san
-> In charge of the headphones and back of the hair! 003

(1) Katou-san carving headphones with a Leutor.
007

(2) Fixing up the headphones with putty. (`･ω･´)
012

(3) Katou-san still working on the headphones! (`･ω･´)
018

(4) Removing air bubbles from the surface! (`･ω･´)
101

(5) Adjusting the shape of the headphones! Looks difficult….
026

(6) Creating a perfectly flat surface. This is harder than it looks…
029

(7) Working on the wires of the headphones!

031
(8) The headphones are looking very detailed! Great work Katou-san!
036
(9) Careful adjustments to the surface of the headphones. (`・ω・´)

037
(10) Making the connecting part for the headphones!

041
(11) Here we have a part of the wires of the headphones!

049
(12) Bending the wire parts. (`･ω･´)

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(13) Uh-oh! The headphone parts don’t fit on the head parts Oda-P made!! Luckily they are made from brass and can be adjusted!
057
(14) Reworking the headphones parts! (`･ω･´)

061
(15) The hair parts are handed over to Katou-san! They should be finished soon!
064
(16) The hair parts are looking very nice now! (`･ω･´)

073
(17) Working on the finer details of the back hair! Oda-P requested him to make it flow nicely!
078
(18) The wires are still too big, but this is how the headphones will attach!
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(19) The fringe and headphones are pretty much complete! Great work guys!

084
(20) Balancing out the headphones and the back of the head.

086
(21) The surface of the back hair is also looking close to completion now!
111
(22) One of the tips on the hair broke off!! (ﾟoﾟ;;

That brings Katou-san’s section to an end!

Normally the headphones would have been made using 3D data, so doing them by hand took quite a few hours to complete – but they still come out great! Normally they headphones would be made together with the head part to get the right size, but that wasn’t an option in such a short amount of time, so the headphones ended up way too big at one stage as well!! Luckily our heroes were able to recover from the problem!

The broken piece in section 22 had a piece of putty stuck on which was then fixed up with a belt sander!

Hiro-san
-> In charge of the guitar and leg parts!
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(1) Hiro-san working hard on the guitar.
005

(2) About to start work on the boots!
010

(3) Hiro-san does such delicate work with a craft knife! (`･ω･´)
100

(4) Smoothing out the guitar! Very quick for from Hiro-san!
023

(5) Making the fluffy top part of the boots! (`･ω･´)
027

(6) Boots! What minute detail!
102

(7) Carefully carving on the surface of the guitar. (`･ω･´)
038

(8) Starting work on the tiny hand that will hold the guitar!
043

(9) A bit hard to see on this photo, but Hiro-san is carving out the fluffy top texture onto the boots! (`･ω･´) 047

(10) More adjustments to the fluffy boots! Hiro-san is incredible to watch!
052

(11) The guitar shape is starting to come out nicely!
060

(12) Hiro-san still working on the fluffy top part of the boots!
062

(13) The boots are finally starting to look complete! They’re so cute!
107

(14) Small adjustments are made to the guitar shape. (`･ω･´)

065
(15) A bit out of focus, but here is Hiro-san’s base guitar!

071
(16) Now we move onto the finer details of the guitar!

074
(17) The guitar is really starting to look incredible!!
077
(18) Hiro-san’s guitar is absolutely outstanding!!

080
(19) Spraying surfacer onto the arm!
089
(20) Each of the parts is covered with surfacer!

That brings Hiro-san’s section to an end!!

Just like the headphones, the guitar would normally have been sculpted with 3D data, so having it done with such minute detail by hand is absolutely incredible to see!

By the way, Hiro-san is normally not a part of the Nendoroid team at all and normally only works on scale figures! He was really amazing and quick with the work, even under the time pressure!!

Takanon
-> In charge of the skirt and helping out with other areas!
099

(1) Takanon is hardening the lower body parts!
006

(2) Making the skirt, carefully checking for symmetry! (`･ω･´)
011

(3) Looks symmetrical now! Now to work on the skirt!
017

(4) Carefully watching the symmetry, Takanon starts carving out the skirt!
028

(5) Takanon making progress with the skirt!
034

(6) Carefully carving the curves of the skirt!
040

(7) The skirt is starting to look good!
044

(8) Cleaning and smoothing out the skirt!
048

(9) The skirt is nearly finished! Takanon is also super fast with a craft knife!
053

(10) Adding creases to the skirt!
069

(11) Marking some part of the skirt… parts of a pocket?(`･ω･´)
110

(12) Working on the fluffy part of the skirt!
081

(13) The skirt is getting some more detail!
085

(14) Cleaning up the surface of the skirt. (`･ω･´)

That brings Takanon’s section to an end!!

Doi-san from Nitroplus actually sent through all the details about the skirt just before Takanon started work so that it could be exactly to the correct specifications!!

Under great pressure Takanon did great, powered by the smiles of everyone who came by to take a look at the booth! Just looking at him so relaxed under the circumstances even made me feel more relaxed!

But what happens when we put the parts together…?

070

15:30: 5 hours and 30min have past!

079

17:00: 7 hours have past!

090

And finally…!

091

The Sonico Prototype!!

Excellent work to everyone who worked on it!!

Oono from the Web team who was commentating on the challenge literally burst into tears when the final product was revealed! I was quite close myself! 😛

Until the very end the nervous question of how it was going to come out was constantly in the air, but watching everyone work on the sculpting so diligently was truly inspiring! I realized just what incredible individuals each and every one of them are! Just look how incredible the figure came out in just a few hours!!

However!

This isn’t the end of the challenge! After the broadcast the figure had to go back to Matsudo for adjustments to ensure that the final product adheres to the standard quality that our customers have come to expect. After that the figure will then return the next day for painting!

We’ll take a look at that next time!!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver. is currently up for order on the Good Smile Online Shop!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver.:
http://goodsmile-global.ecq.sc/top/gcp202.html

The GSC Online Shop is the only place that you will be able to get hold of her, so don’t miss out!

　　　　　　　＿＿＿_
　　　　／　　　　　＼　　　　”But I dunno what extra parts she will come with yet!”
　　　　／　　─　　─ ＼
　　　／　　（ ―）　（―）＼
　　 |　　　　　（__人__）　　　| 　　　_＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿_
　　　＼　　　　｡　|　|　　　／=3　　.| |　　　　　　　　　　　　　|
＿＿／　　　　 ⌒　　　＼　　　| |　　　　　　　　　　　　　|
| |　/　　　,　　|￣￣￣￣￣| ヽ　||　| |　　　　　　　　　　　　　|
| | /　　 /　　ヽ回回回回ﾚ　ヽ||　| |　　　　　　　　　　　　　|
| | |　⌒ ーnｎｎ.ヽ＿＿＿/ 　　.(⌒)|_|_＿＿＿＿_＿＿＿＿_|
￣＼＿_､(“二）　└─┘￣ｌ二二ｌ二二　＿|_|＿_|＿

Today from 20:00 (JST) we’ll take a look at them on a live broadcast!
http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv92393114

If you’re interested in the figure but not sure if you want it just yet, be sure to tune in and perhaps we can convince you! I’m actually not sure what optional parts she’ll come with myself!

Anyway, that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!! (・∀・)ノ゛

(C)2006-2012 Nitroplus

May 9, 2012 by Kahotan

Nendoroid Kamui Gakupo

An eggplant from the Bon Festival…!!

001

Only one character would include this!

Those who saw him at WonFes will know who I mean! Finally the time has come to take a closer look at him!

The title and optional parts may have given it away, but today we’ll be taking a look at this lovely Nendoroid! (`･ω･´)

002

Nendoroid Kamui Gakupo!

The Nendoroid of the popular virtual vocalist is finally here! The original illustration of Kamui was by Berserk’s author, Kentarou Miura, and the Nendoroid can take the pose of the illustration perfectly!

003

This is how he looks from the back!

From this angle you can see Gakupo’s lovely long ponytail! It is fitted with a Nendoroid joint for some lovely posing as well! The samurai-esque outfit also looks lovely from the back – you can even see the symbol on his back which is the kanji for ‘enjoy’.

004

His sword, Gakutou Mifuri!

You can display the sword drawn from its scabbard! The sword is in fact not a weapon at all, but in fact a musical instrument!

The detail on the sword is incredibly detailed – the red and green pattern along it is beautiful!!

005

The pose from the packaging!

Two bent arms along with a half-drawn sword are both included as optional parts!
The original illustration has a lovely artistic image about it, but the Nendoroid has come out super cute!

I must admit that I can’t help but wonder what he would look like with the glossy lips – I’ll have to play around a bit it when I get hold of the non-prototype version.

009

A folding fan with the same kanji!

Even with a rather fancy bumpy design, there is still a lovely print on it! Gakupo himself is amazing, but the small details on the little accessories like the fan and headphone are just as incredible!

　　　　＿＿＿_
　　　／　　　　＼　　
　／　　＼　　 ,＿＼　　　 “Hmm…? Are there two straight legs…?”
／　　　（●）゛　（●）＼
|　 ∪　　（__人__）　 |　
/　　　　 ∩ノ ⊃　　／
(　＼　／＿ノ　|　 | 　　
.＼　“　　／＿＿|　 | 　　

If you were wondering that, then you really pay close attention to detail! 😛

This article only features the bent leg, but the figure does include two straight legs for more standard poses!

You’ll have the choice between a straight leg or the bent leg!

006

The feudal lord face, sitting parts and the eggplant to ride on!

A truly incredible scene! I don’t think the picture does it justice, you just have to see it for yourself! The balance of the figure is stunning and he is just so cute!!

Although a quick note about the eggplant… at the beginning of this post there was a picture of the eggplant alone – but the final product may have the sitting parts connected as a single part.

002

Nendoroid Kamui Gakupo!

He’ll be up for preorder from tomorrow!! Yay!

If you have any preorder or sales questions be sure to get in contact with out partner shops!

And finally a quick notice!

007

The 7th Cheerful JAPAN! Product:

Gumako : Cheerful Ver.!

I’m sure she has already arrived for some people, as she was shipped out on the 7th May! You should be receiving your’s soon if you ordered her!

008

She was produced and manufactured by Alter!

She comes with a set of arms holding pompons and another without! Plus bendable udon for her hat is included so you can customize her pose, even though she is a scale figure!

A big thanks to Alter for working together with us on the Cheerful JAPAN! project! Also a big thanks to everyone who brought the products – I hope you give them lots of love!

Anyway, that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again next week!! (・∀・)ノ゛

(C)2012 INTERNET Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
(C)GOOD SMILE COMPANY