Asuka & Mari【Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time】Revolve 1/7 Scale Painted Bishoujo Figures

 In all my years as an anime fan, I honestly never thought I would be able to get my hands an upper-tier scale painted figure, let alone two. It was only thanks to the availability of pre-owned figures either in extremely good or near-mint condition at lower than retail prices that allowed me to get my hands on this pair from the Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time movie.

 Below are the 'Unboxing & Review' videos of Shikinami Asuka Langley and Makinami Mari Illustrious respectively, filmed at the High Definition (HD) resolution of 1920x1080.

 For upper-tier pre-painted figures such as the Revolve Evangelion Last Mission ones of Asuka and Mari that you see here, I plan to start a new videos series called '4K Showcase'. Kicking off this new series in my YouTube Channel is the Ultra High Definition (UHD) videos of both the EVA pilots filmed at a resolution of 3840x2160. Technically 4K usually has a resolution of 4096x2160 but YouTube classifies 3840x2160 as 4K in their video uploads, at least for now. So bearing that in mind, the video you see below is the first 4K video uploaded to my channel.

 Happy as I am with this pair of EVA pilots, I realize not many of future figures in my collection will be of the upper-tier variety. For the near future, most figures will still be from the budget friendly prize figure category or from the mid-tier category. Any upper-tier figures I do get will likely be spread out in something like one every two to three months due to budget constraints. Of course any figure be they of the budget or the more expensive variety will still be a treasured item in my collection. On that note, I always treasure the time you, my dear readers take in reading my humble blog. If you would like to also view more content, please do check out my YouTube channel by clicking on the banner immediately below this paragraph. Until we meet again, be well and be happy!

Emilia & Beatrice【Re:Zero - Story To Be Continued | Ichiban Kuji】Bishoujo Prize Figures

 Beatrice finally joins my Re:Zero-Starting Life From Another World figure collection. More importantly she is clad in her iconic pink Lolita outfit. Prize figures of Beatrice in her Lolita outfit are rare to almost non-existent. Emilia is the other pre-painted prize figure, and she is similarly clad in her own iconic outfit of purple and white from the anime series. While not as rare, figures of Emilia in her purple and white outfit are still fairly hard to find, especially in the budget prize figure category.    

 Below are three Unboxing & Review videos of the Re:Zero pair of Emilia and Beatrice. 

 All the pre-painted figures above are from the Banpresto Re:Zero-Story To Be Continued Ichiban Kuji. For ratings of the figures, please do have a look at the videos above. Thanks for taking the time to read this blog update. Please do visit my YouTube Channel by clicking on the second banner below. If you like the content, please do subscribe. Take care for now, be happy and be well!

Water Decal Tutorial | Straw Hat Pirates symbol on the flages of Going Merry ship【One Piece】

 Veteran scale modelers or miniature painters tend to take the act of water decal application for granted. When I first started out as noob scale modeler, I remember being absolutely terrified of applying water decals for fear of damaging them as most model kits did not include spare decals in anticipation of some being damaged during the application process. One thing I wish I knew back then was that I actually had more time to manipulate the water decal during the application process before it dried out. That and the fact there were ways to re-hydrate the decals thus extending the time we could work with the decals. Time affords us the opportunity to be patient in the water decal application process. And patience is the key virtue required in this task.

 Below are the two YouTube Shorts I managed to record of a water decal application of one section of the huge Straw Hat Pirates Symbol on the main sail of the Going Merry. This is an example of how quickly the process can be achieved one you've gained sufficient experience in the process.

 Meanwhile below is the main YouTube video tutorial that shows the water decal application process taking longer to completed as well as a scenario whereby the decal is accidentally torn. The main video is much longer in duration and it best describes the process if you are new to the task of water decal application. I included a torn decal scenario to show how the issue can be resolved with patience and care. Rushing the task will inevitably lead to failure as I've learned the hard way over the years. Even today I still make mistakes, but with lower frequency as my experience increases.

 If you are a beginner to this hobby, I hope you've found the video tutorial informative and most importantly helpful. Please hit the like button on the videos, and subscribe to my channel. Thanks for taking the time to read this latest blog update. As always, be well and be happy.

A trio of Taito Artist Masterpiece Pre-Painted Prize Figures | Albedo, Kitigawa Marin, and Rem

 For collectors who want to display figures with high quality paint jobs, there were usually two main routes to achieving this goal. One was to purchase expensive scale painted figures while the other was to paint the miniature figurines themselves. Up to now, I had either taken the latter route or made do with prize figures with lower quality paint jobs. But in the past few years, anime figure manufacturers have started to up their game, and produce prize figures with premium-like quality designs and paint jobs. One of those companies is Taito with their Artist Masterpiece figure lineup.

 Way back in 2021, Taito kick-started their Artist Masterpiece line with a popular anime figure in Rem from the Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World light novel/anime/manga series. Called the Winter Maid image version, this figure is huge for a prize figure with an approximate height of 27 cm from the bottom of the base to the top of he head (see video below).  

 An example of complexity in design for a prize figure done well is the Albedo from Overlord IV in the Taito Artist Masterpiece Plus (AMP+) line of figures. There is so much going on for a figure that is classified as belonging to the prize figure category. Taito more than makes up for the lack of paint shading on Albedo with both complexity in design as well as varied yet accurately textured parts.

 Another way Taito has made their prize figures more aesthetically pleasing is by adding a unique base as well as character-specific accessories. Similar to Albedo, this prize figure of Kitigawa Marin (in cosplay as Kuroe Shizuku) lacks paint shading but makes up for it via multi-textured and multi-layered parts that have excellent sculpted details. A key example of this can be seen on the cosplay dress that Marin is wearing. That dress she's wearing looks incredible despite a lack of paint shading.  

 Going forward I might plump for the more expensive upper-tier scale painted figures to add to my collection. But this I'll do sparingly because of my limited hobby budget. That means I'll still continue to paint miniature figures as well as opt to buy pre-painted prize figures as well as mid-tier painted figures. Slowly but surely, I hope to grow my figure collection despite budget constraints. Well that's it for this post. I hope to see you soon in my next hobby update. And until then, be well and be happy.

OZ-00MS Tallgeese | Bandai 1/144 scale Real Grade【Completed: Custom-painted & detailed with third party water decals】Gundam Wing Endless Waltz

 With the hard part over and done with (i.e. the custom paint and sub-assembly processes), getting this 1/144 scale Real Grade Tallgeese project over the finishing line involved the simple task of putting the sub-assembly pieces together in a final assembly process. What you see below are photos of the fully-assembled Tallgeese complete with its custom paint job and water decal details.

Bandai 1/144 scale Real Grade OZ-00MS Tallgeese EW custom-paint project (front view, closeup)

Bandai 1/144 scale Real Grade OZ-00MS Tallgeese EW custom-paint project (back view, closeup)

 Multiple shots were taken from slightly different angles to showcase the Tallgeese in a sort of static 360 degree view (see first dozen photos below this paragraph). For a continuous and uninterrupted video shot of the Tallgeese rotating 360 degrees, please check out the embedded YouTube video towards the end of this post. That video also includes the final assembly process as well as detailed explanations of the work that had been carried out on the Real Grade Gundam scale model kit.

 What this scale model kit lacks in terms of size, it more than makes up for in detail and complexity. As such, the Bandai 1/144 scale Real Grade Tallgeese retains a significant amount of shelf presence, with the caveat that the mecha model kit is displayed prominently in the upper levels of your display shelf. Admittedly its small size may make it less visible if positioned on the lower levels.

Front close up view of the Real Grade Tallgeese from a slightly different angle

Real Grade OZ-00MS Tallgeese EW custom-paint project (side view, closeup)

 Meanwhile, below are the YouTube videos of the Real Grade Tallgeese project for those of you who would like to see the scale model kit being examined, assembled, and reviewed in recorded real-time.

 It was nice to kick of my adventure with the Bandai 1/144 scale Real Grade line with the OZ-00MS Tallgeese EW. Because of the excellent finish of the molded-in color white parts in this scale model kit, I was able to reduce the amount of work to be done, thus lessening the complexity of the project. This helped reduce any trepidation I faced in starting the project as well as reduce the time needed to complete it. All said and done, the Real Grade Tallgeese is finally complete. Hopefully it's the start of many more Real Grade projects to come. Well, that's all for now. As always be well and be happy!