A Quick Unboxing Of Kotobukiya Steins;Gate 1/8 Kurisu Makise

Kurisu Makise is the main female protagonist of the visual novel/anime Steins;Gate. She has a few scale figures, and this one by Kotobukiya is among them.  This figure was on my wishlist for a year until I finally got her on December 2013 with the help of a friend who purchased it from another fellow figure collector friend who sold it at a very attractive price.

Yet another obligatory picture of the figure while it's still in  the box

This Kotobukiya Steins;Gate 1/8 Kusiru Makise is a second-hand figure. After inspection, I found that she's still in very good condition without any stains or dirt on her. However, the largest gear has a broken peg, yet it's hardly noticeable and it wasn't obvious once I assembled everything.

The figure was based on an illustration by Ryohei Fuke (a.k.a. "Huke"), who's mostly known for his Steins;Gate and Black Rock Shooter artworks and designs, and then it was sculpted by M.I.C. Kotobukiya packaged her in a box that is rather tall with a grungy design and with windows on the sides so you can take a peek at what's inside:

Back, right, and left sides of the box

Top of the box (excuse Gilgamesh, haha)

The blister is capable of standing by itself when I took it out:

You can also see the illustration inside the box. That's Kurisu with Mayuri Shiina and Rintaro Okabe. That illustration was also used as the cover on the packaging of the Steins;Gate game, which was initially released for XBox 360 in 2009.

Kotobukiya gave her a clear base that is anything but plain. It resembles the gears you'd find in a clock:

A fitting base for a character from a series that deals with time travel

A peg is already attached under Kurisu's right foot, and it easily slips but holds steadily into the slot of the clear base. Nope, she won't topple over because it's well-designed.

If there's one thing I found a bit difficult about setting up this figure, it's the gears. Luckily, the figure came with instructions:

It's not rocket science

You don't need to be able to read Japanese, but I think you need to have a keen eye for details to understand what's written and being described there. Each part has numbers on them, but they're very small and might be difficult to see under insufficient lighting, so be sure you have enough light when you're assembling the gears. (And if you have poor eyesight, wear your spectacles or get a magnifying glass. :p)

If you examine the figure closely, you can find a few holes on her legs and jacket. The gears have pegs to attach to those holes. I was careful in putting the gears together and attaching them to the figure because I was afraid they'd snap. I think it took me around five to seven minutes to complete the assembly of the gears.

After the set-up, you can now ogle the eye candy in front of you:

Tadaaa! And it's done (again, please excuse Gilgamesh X'D)

The details of this Kotobukiya Kurisu Makise figure are amazing. Her red mobile phone is attached to one of the gears on her leg.

Right after unboxing her, she immediately got her first photoshoot. :p Here are some of the pictures: 

I also uploaded the entire set of pictures on my Flickr account. You can check them out here.

Unboxing and Review: FREEing Y-Style Fate/Stay Night 1/8 Saber yukata ver.

FREEing released a 1/8 scale Y-style figure of Saber in a blue yukata on December 2012. I didn't pre-order this figure and didn't have any intention to buy it any time soon, until I saw it being sold at a cheaper price on Rakuten. That's when I decided to get her in mid 2013.

It took me a few months before I finally decided to unbox her. Actually, I only did that towards the end of December 2013, and it was done on a whim. :p

Obligatory pic of the unopened box with the figure inside

This figure was sculpted by Atsushi Yoshino and the materials used for making it were ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Google them for more info. :v 

Now let's get started with the unboxing.

The box

Obligatory pictures of the sides and back of the box

The box is rather slim. Even with the figure inside, the entire package remains lightweight. I have small hands, but I can easily grip the top of the box with one hand.

But this is not your plain, ordinary figure box. Aside from the decorative façade, the box attempts to show you various sides of the figure. As you can see from the image above, the sides and the back have windows where you can take a peek and check out what's inside.

You can only open the box of this figure from the top, unless you want to destroy the bottom. Once you take out the blister packaging that holds Saber, her base, and her props, you can check out that nifty design inside. If you want, you can probably use that cardboard as a background when taking pictures, too.

Oooh more blue

And you can proceed to ogle her some more.

No "new figure smell" yet at this point

There are some clear tapes holding the blister pack together. After carefully removing them, you can now excitedly proceed to relish that new figure smell.

Mmmm you gotta love that new figure smell, figure collector!

What's inside?

Saber Yukata version comes with a fan, a candy apple, and a ponytailed hair. And of course, it comes with a base. 

It's plain, round, and white

There are two pegs that need to go inside the two holes under her right sandal. It's easy to make her stand on that base. Once you do, you'll easily notice those child-bearing hips, especially when you're taking pictures with a frontal angle like this: 

But we'll discuss those hips later. For now let's move on to the props. First, there's the fan, which, according to the box and other pictures you can find online, must be grasped by her right hand.

And then there's a shiny red candy apple that goes to her left hand:

I haven't tried switching them yet, like what if I make her hide the candy apple behind her back and she's showing off the fan. But then again, I don't think Saber would be hiding her food. She'll show it off and eat it regardless of who's watching even if Gilgamesh might be stalking and watching her from afar as she takes a bite out of that sweet, juicy goodness.

Anyway, it's easy to slip the sticks of the fan and the candy apple into her fists. So far, I haven't encountered any paint transfer issues.

The hair

We often see Saber wearing her hair in a bun, which exposes her nape. If you have a nape fetish, this figure might be good for you:

Dat nape! ... I mean, DAT BUN!

I personally like seeing Saber wearing other hairstyles like her hair down or in a ponytail. Luckily, this figure comes with an extra piece of hair in a ponytail. The ponytail looks appropriate for her outfit, too.

Yay ponytail

It's easy to remove the bun and attach the ponytail. I didn't struggle pulling out the bun, unlike with Wave Beach Queens Fate/Hollow Ataraxia 1/10 Saber, which comes with an extra piece of hair so you can see your beloved Arturia Pendragon wearing a bikini with her hair loose. It's easy to attach the ponytail, too.

How the bun attaches onto the head 

Both the bun and the ponytail have pegs behind them, and they're easy to place into that hole. Just follow the shape and your life will be easy. In other words, don't just carelessly force the peg into that hole.

It kinda looks like a V... or a heart. Or maybe even an L block from Tetris.

And here's Saber with the ponytail: 

Let's pretend Gilgamesh took this picture while she wasn't looking

The hips

FREEing Y-style Saber Yukata version has noticeably wider hips when she's directly facing you. I have nothing against child-bearing hips but on this figure, they make taking pictures with a front, straightforward angle quite difficult because she ends up looking awkward and you can't see the fan or her right hand anymore:

Look, master! No hand!

Although Gilgamesh will probably like the child-bearing hips, which might give him thoughts of Saber saying, "I shall be the mother of your descendants, King of Heroes!" XD

Or perhaps it's the way her right hand is positioned? Anyway, you need to adjust her (or you take a picture from a different angle) a bit to make the angle more flattering.

Saber yukata ver. during her first photoshoot

Saber displayed with other Fate girls in their yukata versions during Otaku Expo 2014

When I lent her for Team Oniichan's display in Otaku Expo 2014, I purposely made her stand sideways so people viewing the display cabinet from the front can at least see the fan. :')

Hips aside, of course, I love this figure. Saber has a pretty face here, and I like the design of her yukata. And the ponytail is a bonus that I couldn't pass up. However, if you must return her to her box and you made her wear the ponytail, you need to revert to the bun.

And that's it for my unboxing and short review of FREEing Y-Style Fate/Stay Night 1/8 Saber yukata version. Let me end this post with a few more pictures of her:

Saber by the Christmas tree 

That's a Gilgamesh file folder.

Rin belongs to my friend, Nami. :p

My Most Anticipated Figures For 2013

I have quite a lot of Nendoroids and scale figures on my figure wishlist, but I only have two highly anticipated figures this year, and they are Megahouse M.M.S. Collection 1/8 Lancer and Megahouse M.M.S. Collection 1/8 Gilgamesh:

Megahouse M.M.S. Collection 1/8 Fate/Zero Lancer

Megahouse M.M.S. Collection 1/8 Fate/Zero Gilgamesh

So far, I've tried my best to curb my compulsive buying (i.e. staying away from more Sabers especially that GSC 1/7 Saber Triumphant Excalibur figure) to prepare myself for these two. Pre-orders for Megahouse M.M.S. Collection 1/8 Fate/Zero Rider and Waver Velvet figures are already available, and they come with hefty price tags. You probably have to be as rich as this guy to be able to afford every Fate/Zero figure in that M.M.S. Collection line:

And this is exactly how I feel every time I see a Fate/Zero figure that I like

I already have Lancer's prize figure by Banpresto from its DXF line, and I could say that Megahouse's figure is more detailed. This is my Banpresto DXF Fate/Zero Lancer:

It lacks the scrumptious abs but it kinda has a cute butt

Megahouse Lancer's face is also more pronounced and attractive than the prize figure, so if you don't mind not having Banpresto DXF Lancer, then I suggest waiting for the Megahouse version.

I just have one concern about Megahouse's Fate/Zero figures: the poses are quite boring. I'm sure other avid figure collectors and Fate/Zero fans also noticed this, too. Perhaps it's understandable if it's Gilgamesh, because let's face it, he just stands there in all his arrogant glory, makes weapons rain down from his Gate of Babylon, and he kind of lacks exciting fight scenes, but I was hoping for more dynamic or action-type pose for Lancer, because he looks more awesome when he's in action.

Still, I'm willing to go "shut-up and take my money!" on these two.

You can learn more about Megahouse M.M.S. 1/8 Fate/Zero Lancer and Megahouse M.M.S. 1/8 Fate/Zero Gilgamesh here and here.

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The pictures of Megahouse Gilgamesh and Lancer figures in this post are not mine. They are from MyFigureCollection.net. Kindly click these links to see more:
Lancer
Gilgamesh