Shin Godzilla

Shin Godzilla

Sunday, August 14, 2016 / No Comments

So, something spectacular happened to the nation within 50 seconds and changed history. Parks and other usually quiet places turned into hotspots for monster-hunting and changed history. Suddenly, people were talking about changing history. I just wanted some peace.

Let's talk about a different type of monster, shall we? In the midst of all that changed history, I saw a little promotion for an upcoming movie. Yeah, some of you may have seen it too. Shin Godzilla! Yeah, this time we are getting it directly from Japan. Never mess with the origin, people! Gosh, if you readers have been following us since a little more than two years ago, I'm certain that some of you have read a series of my write-ups on the Godzilla franchise over time. I love that monster and his arch enemies! No two fights are the same, and everything just looks awesome.

The newest movie revisits the roots of this fearsome monster. Yeah, that means no second monster is involved in the catastrophe. It is a pure battle between Japan and Godzilla. While it is nice to honour one's roots and such, I feel that something essential is also missing in the process. My experience watching the Godzilla movies was heightened by the presence of other monsters which made everything more gripping and interesting. I don't know if I would be catching Shin Godzilla after all, but I have to say that the movie is a faithful return. I mean, it is by Toho.

Shin Godzilla will premiere in Singapore on the 25th of August. Its Japanese premiere happened late last month. Just look at some of the wonderful stuff that Japan had come up with! Imagine Godzilla attempting to do some shopping...well, nobody would be around anyway! The building would have been trampled, leaving no visible traces of anything which could be buyable. Gosh, just the thought of that is hilarious.

Ah, I would love to have some of these! A fast food joint known as Lotteria collaborated with Shin Godzilla and came up with a series of cute, mouth-watering items! French fries, Chicken Karaage and Gelatin! Ah, how I wish that I was in Japan. Somebody should really consider opening a Godzilla-themed cafe or something over here. A tie-in would be nice too. On the other hand, I should probably just dig out those good old memories. 

Eccentrically Yours.

Written by J.Fluffysheep ♪ 

For Beginner Figure Collectors #17: Storage of Figure Boxes

For Beginner Figure Collectors #17: Storage of Figure Boxes

Saturday, August 13, 2016 / No Comments

To All,

If you remember, for the last session we've covered the methods and items which I use to store my figures. But the storage problems don't just end there. What about the figure boxes themselves? Do you keep them as well? I do, not only because most boxes I have look nice, but also because it's safer to put the figures back into their boxes and blisters when you move. And furthermore, the price of a pristine figure with an undamaged box tend to be higher than one with a damaged or without a box. 

Then here comes the problem. How do I store these boxes?

Most people store them in a large space or room such as their closets or storerooms where they might have a larger area and will be forgiven even if they cramp all their boxes into them. I personally don't do that as I can't stand how messy my room would look eventually if I just simply chucked everything in. Also, it would be a headache for me if I had to source a figure's box out of that mountain.

However, if you would still like to store it in your closet or storeroom, but would like the items to appear much more organized, I would recommend using cardboard boxes. They are easily attainable sturdy and be a really great help if you ever intend to move!

If you order figures directly from Japan, or have a lot of cardboard boxes on hand at the moment, rejoice! That's definitely one way to store your figures. If your figures can fit into the cardboard box for shipment over, there's no reason why they can't fit in for storage! And it'll keep the dust off your boxes as well!

Or if you are some organizing freak like myself, you might want to invest in some large plastic boxes instead. Not only would it help to keep your figure boxes dust-free, but the transparency of these boxes would help you locate the figure box you want without opening every other lid, like you be if you forgot which cardboard box contains the figure box which you are looking for!

Be sure to get those with straight sides (or at least as straight as possible) so you'll be able to maximize the space usage. And if you don't like the looks of these, there are others by Ikea as well~

But even still, if you get a constant intake of figures, there would definitely come a day when space would become a problem again. What to do then?

While facing this problem, I decided to flatten those boxes without blisters and store them in larger boxes. For instance, I flattened Chibi-kyun chara boxes and boxes for rubber straps and other merchandise and placed them in the larger Ichiban Kuji Prize Figure boxes.

Then I took out all my Nendoroid boxes and placed them on top of my detolfs. I have always thought that Nendoroid boxes looked lovely lined up, especially with all the bright vibrant colors and I'm definitely not mistaken!

Here's a few ideas how to display your Nendoroid boxes! You could stack them up like the owner in the first picture did, or keep them in the space between your detolf and the wall.

So for now, I have smaller Chibi and trading figures' boxes flattened  and shoved into prize figure boxes. And I have those prize figure as well as my scale figure boxes stored into cardboard boxes and plastic containers, which are stowed away in my storeroom. They are about to take up the entire storeroom, and I'll have to find another space to store my newer boxes away soon but that's worries for another time.

For now, it's just "Out of sight, out of mind".

On display, I have my Nendoroid boxes all lined up above my detolf cases in my room and above the detolf cases in my living room, I have lined up the more visually appealing figure boxes. Forgive the lack of photographs as I'm mid-way through my renovation and moving the colored plastic strewn all over my detolf is just... no way.

Personally, I do find the space above the detolf (especially the wall area) to be quite a waste, and having figure boxes up there just doesn't cut it because I don't want to risk those falling. Getting a few tapestries up there might be a good idea too, but for now, I'll count on my boxes taking that space up until I find a better location to stow them away.

From Your Fellow Collector,

Reina-rin

Schedule:

- Nendoroid

- Cu-Poche and Chara-Forme

- Scale Figure

- Prize Figure

- Figma and FigFIX

- Chibi-kyun Chara

- One Coin Figure and Suwarase

- Color Colle, Bath Defo

- Charapuka, Instant Noodle Stopper and Ochatomo

- Exclusives

- Garage Kits; Proxy or Forwarding?

- Which figure company to order from?

- Where to pre-order figures?

- Where to get second hand figures?

- What to do if you have issues with your item or receive a damaged box?

- Storage of Figures

- Storage of Figure Boxes

- Maintenance of Figures

- Bootlegs

- Sale of your figures

Figure Unboxing and Review: Nendoroid Yagen Toshirou (Good Smile Company)

Figure Unboxing and Review: Nendoroid Yagen Toshirou (Good Smile Company)

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Yagen! This is the Touken Ranbu Nendoroid which took me by surprise -- I didn't think they would start making Tantou so early!

Packaging

Purple is a nice color to use with Yagen and the dark red circle behind Yagen on the bottom right helps to add to his mysterious vibe. Though, I find that the yellow used as a complimentary color for his box is quite unappealing.

These are all the different parts which Yagen comes with. There are 2 pairs of scissors -- one in his hand and the other a loose part to slip into his case strapped to his leg. There are also several exchanges of limbs as well.

Recently, they have been using this clear plastic film to keep the loose parts in place. This is really useful for tiny accessories like the scissors as it prevents the collector from losing those tiny accessories when opening the blister!

Base

I love the Touken Ranbu Nendoroid bases, not only because they have the family crest on it which ties it to the Nendoroid more than the usual bases, but because these are smaller as well, thus helping me save space in my already packed detolf cases.

Posing and Assembly

While Touken Ranbu Nendoroids pack less of a punch than Kancolle ones due to the obvious less number of parts, Yagen is capable of holding his own as well. You can definitely change up many of his poses to suit your display! Furthermore, the easy assembly makes it much easier for posing as well~

Sculpting and Painting

Sculpting for Yagen is really nice! I like how his eyes look because it really captures his feel! Now, let's take a look at his outfit. All the different tiny details are carefully shrunk down to Nendoroid size and his shorts don't seem too long or short either. Moreover, all the red ropes on his outfit are flexible and that helps to resist damage from manhandling.

To add a touch of nuance to his plate on his left arm, they made it removable so you can place the peg in at any angle which matches your pose. 

This is really flexible for posing, so much so that I wish they did the same for Shokudaikiri Mitsutada's Nendoroid as well!

As I mentioned before, he comes with a loose scissors part which you can slip into his waist pocket as well. However, it doesn't seem like the scissors are well-defined. I would have liked the ears of the scissors to be hollow instead of filled instead.

Yagen's hair seam is well-hidden. It is still obvious but it definitely doesn't stand out like a sore thumb. And in this image above, you see his bent leg, which in fact is a little more unique than other bent leg parts in other Nendoroids.

As you can see his bent leg comes with a stripe of black across his thigh. This serves as the 'lifted' part of his shorts when Yagen bends his leg. I was quite skeptical when I first came across this part but when I started using it, I have to admit that it looks and works well!

And now for his mischievous, smirking third face plate!

Enjoyment

Yagen is definitely a Nendoroid to have! I highly recommend him because you can try many poses with him and he's probably one of the Touken Ranbu Nendoroids that will rise in price.

~ Reina-rin

Finding balance is hard...

Finding balance is hard...

Wednesday, August 10, 2016 / No Comments

Let’s see here. 

 

 

Woke up at 2pm after a late night brawl on Overwatch. A few more days till Singapore’s National Day and the release for No Man’s Sky. Can’t wait for that though I probably won’t be able to play as much. Nothing new today as I inch closer to confinement. I should really start reading all the backed up chapters that I’ve bookmarked. Yes, today will be the day that I will marathon through everything. Do not be distracted. Clear unnecessary thoughts and focus on the task at hand. Where have I heard that before? 

 

 

Anyway, a hot shower and a heavy breakfast to start the day.

 

 

Oops. Almost forgot to turn on my phone. Oh, a whatsapp message. Pokemon Go is finally out in Singapore… What!? It is!?

 

Well, what to do. Bought data for a few days since my day of solitude is arriving and decide to let loose. 

 

Search around the neighborhood, visit a few parks, went back to school, travel to the other end of Singapore and came back home late at night or even morning to the face of an unhappy mother. Haha. Well, she did say to get out of the house and exercise rather than playing Overwatch and sitting on the couch all day. Surprisingly, my dad is okay with it, though he warns me to watch out for traffic. For the last few days I wake up at noon, have a slightly heavy breakfast before going out to catch those Pokemon with my friends, or what a friend of mine would like to call “squad”. I have to admit it is good exercise. I find myself walking at least 10km each day and won’t feel the strain until I put down the phone or when I need to charge it. Walking to find Pokemon and to hatch eggs really is a good motivation. People actually go out and exercise. More people are visiting parks now. More people are talking to strangers they met there talking about this passion they have. Isn’t it just wonderful? Or maybe they could talk about the spoofers who had to conquer every gym in the area with either a 2000+ CP Dragonite or Gyarados in the first day. Haiz…

And now fast forward a few days and here I am, a day before my enlistment feeling both proud of my accomplishment and disappointed of my actions and procrastination. 

 

 

Sure I am now level 21 in 4 days. 

 

 

Sure I have a few Pokemons in the thousands. Sure I beat a few gyms with 2000+ CP Dragonites. Sure I went to catch Pokemon and go to Pokestops from Geylang to Bedok to Woodlands then back to Bedok from morning till late afternoon and then continue on from evening at Tampines till midnight. Sure I went to Orchard the next evening then to Bukit Panjang till 3 am before going back home. Overwatch, sorry I have no time for that at the moment. 

 

 

There’s a Pikachu nearby so excuse me. Wait what? No Man’s Sky is out? Ah, I need to power level so I have to walk around to catch more Ratatas and Pidgeys. I’ll buy it another time. Oh, a Caterpie. More to level up. Ah, ran out of Pokeballs. I guess to the park I go. Wait, the reservoir has more Pokespots, so I’ll go there instead. (Here's the Pokemon I have so far with a few extra to power level with)

 

 

And what has it left me with…? Less than a day to watch a week of anime, read a volume of a novel, listen to the new openings and endings and to write this post before going for enlistment.

Bring it on!

Written by Zwei