June 28, 2010

Yamamoto Isoruku Photoshoot

[Kotobukiya] Yamamoto Isoroku
From: Sengoku Rance
Scale: 1/8
Price: Y7,800
Release Date: September 2009

Isoroku. She's one of the best figures that I have. Kotobukiya has far exceeded my expectations for her. The details, the color, her face sculpt, her bow and arrow. They're really excellent. And as far as my Isoroku goes, I didn't find any defect or flaw on her - not even the tiniest paint chip. Bravo, Kotobukiya!

This set was taken by my dad with his (not-so) handy-dandy Canon 50D at 5PM one day. I don't really know how that affects the quality of the picture, given that he was mumbling something about natural lighting and stuff. I still think they're good lol.

Yamamoto Isoroku Yamamoto Isoroku Yamamoto Isoroku Yamamoto Isoroku Yamamoto Isoroku Yamamoto Isoroku

Yamamoto Isoroku Yamamoto Isoroku

There were like a total of 40 shots for her alone so I had to choose just my favorites among the set to post here and in my gallery thread in Otakai. I'll try posting some other figures next ^^

June 24, 2010

May - June Toy Hauls

This are my hauls from May 27 to June 19, so that covers my recent Singapore trip up til the Toy Convention.

First up is the Singapore haul!

Toy Hauls

Toy Hauls

Toy Hauls

As you can see, most of them are Han Solo figures. I was lucky to get my hands on the Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in Stormtrooper Disguise set. I also got the Date Masamune Gundam and Max Factory Another Blood. For the boyfriend, I got the Obi-Wan Kenobi Bust-Ups (by Gentle Giant), Lego Chewbacca keychain and the Valkyrie kit. The Obi-Wan bust came with the Han Solo bust as a bundle.

I was also able to get a porcelain bust of Han Solo. I couldn't get the Han in Carbonite one coz it came with the whole set (Leia, Luke and Vader) as the secret figure. Buuuuut, the ComiCon Exclusive Han in Stormtrooper Disguise Bobble Head was a steal~ So now I have both :D

And as you can see... I now own a Darth Vader lightsaber. I'm too poor to get the Master Replica one...so I have to settle with this for now (until I can save up for it).

Random Pre-ToyCon hauls!

Toy Hauls

Toy Hauls

Toy Hauls

Toy Hauls

So now we've got a number of Mighty Muggs there. They were being sold at a good price, considering how some of those (Qui-Gon and Imperial Guard) are quite hard to find, unless you're willing to shell out more money. I finally have my first Jedi lol.

There's also the two newest Kaiyodo Revoltech Sengoku Basara, Motochika Chosokabe and Motonari Mori. I'm planning on getting all the Sengoku Basara Revoltechs just coz they're samurai. I can't think of any other reason because this line is proving quite...useless...to me. I have zero skills in posing, and every time I try to pose them in a way that they'd stand up properly, I just end up popping out a part or two. Sux, really.

And yes, at the last picture, that's a bunch of Trolls and Captain Planet's Linka. I've always liked Trolls and I had a bunch of them before my mom decided to give them away to charity. I was able to keep my favorite Troll though: Rockstar Troll. It had multi-colored hair and a star on its cheek. Lovely~ And Linka? Haha Captain Planet was a childhood hero. I would've loved it if the store had all 5 of them and Captain Planet. But alas, they only had Linka. Oh the toy also includes Linka's ring that I could wear hehehe XD

And now, the ToyCon hauls!

Toy Hauls

Toy Hauls

Toy Hauls

Toy Hauls

Toy Hauls

Toy Hauls

I scoured all the booths just to get every Han Solo they were selling that I didn't have yet. So I ended up with a bunch of Kenner and Hasbro action figures, a McDonalds Happy Meal one and a Sideshow Collectible Tatooine Han Solo 1/6 doll.

I also got 3 new Mighty Muggs, the BESM Fushigi Yuugi Fan Guide vol.3 and vol. 4 of Ayashi no Ceres. I was also lucky to get a Yu Shu Lien action figure from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Too bad Li Mu Bai was already sold when we found her T_T

As far as anime figures go, I know I said I quit buying them, but of course, there are always exceptions to every rule. In this case, aside from the Samurai Showdown gasha set that I got, I also bought Macross Frontier trading figures (Alto for me, Ranka and Klan Klang for the boyfriend), a 1/60 Miria Queadlunn (for the boyfriend - not in the pictures), some Yu Yu Hakusho Big Heads, Crows Blacklist figures and two samurai trading figures. Oh, I also got Hakkai and Gojyo busts!

So, that's where I blew all my money off during the past month :) Dunno when I'll be able to buy again, after that haul killed my wallet.

June 22, 2010

9th Philippine Toy Convention

9th Philippine Toy Convention

The 9th Philippine Toy Convention was held last June 19-20, 2010 at Megamall Megatrade Halls 2 and 3.

I was only able to go during the first day and what can I say, the place was really packed with people of all sorts: collectors, enthusiasts, cosplayers, paparazzi and those of the curious kind.

I went with the boyfriend, my cousin and uncle and I was on the edge most of the time. I pretty much was annoyed by the countless onlookers who crowded the toy stalls because 1) they prevented me from getting a good look at the toys on sale and 2) they WEREN'T BUYING ANYTHING. I noticed that a lot of them just kept pointing at the toys, named them one by one (probably showing off to their friends how much they "knew" about the cartoon/show/character) then moved on to the next booth to do the same. THEY NEVER BUY ANYTHING AT ALL.

Anyway, there were the usual booths that sell mostly Western figures and some Anime figures as well. It is interesting to note that there are still some booths that sell bootleg figures =_= As disgraceful as it sounds, I don't think they'll be gone anytime soon since a lot of people still buy stuff from them. Probably because 1) they can't tell the difference between authentic and fake, 2) the price of bootleg figures is enticing and 3) they can't afford the authentic ones.

Some of the booths were of the usual stores that we visit whenever we go to Greenhills, while some were rented by collectors themselves who find that there's a bigger opportunity to sell their unwanted toys in a convention such as this - as proven by one seller I talked to who was selling his some of his toys because he's experiencing the space dilemma. You can really get those HTF figures (in mint condition too!) if you're patient enough to go through all the stuff that they're selling. (I even found my Barbie holy grail - the Chinese Empress one - but unfortunately, the price tag was way out of my allotted budget for that doll.)

There also was the Exhibit Area that housed collections from different toy groups. OtaKai was lucky enough to get invited to display our anime figures there. We were the only group that focused on anime figures, so a lot of the anime fans who were present took loads of pictures of our display. (My Haruhi Gekisou was part of the display!) Other displays consisted of girls' dolls very intricately dressed in all sorts of costumes, 1/6 army dolls, Marvel figures, DC figures, custom figures, Gundam, Transformers, Lego, 1:1 statues and dioramas. The display area is always a sight to behold!

9th Philippine Toy Convention

We only got to take a good look at the whole event later that night - around 8-ish. At that time, the crowd was noticeably thinning and dispersing, hence, we had the freedom to look at the goods displayed and sold without the fear of being pushed or stepped on. I already told myself when we first left the convention at around 5:30PM that I won't be buying anything more but as true in any convention that I've been to (especially ToyCons) that there's always something new to find at each visit. So yes, I bought a bit more toys, an artbook and a manga during our 2nd visit.

Well, enough of my ranting. Here are some pictures of ToyCon Day 1, credits for the pictures go to the boyfriend.

WARNING: Don't expect cosplay pictures.

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9th Philippine ToyCon 9th Philippine ToyCon 9th Philippine ToyCon 9th Philippine ToyCon 9th Philippine ToyCon 9th Philippine ToyCon 9th Philippine ToyCon 9th Philippine ToyCon 9th Philippine ToyCon 9th Philippine ToyCon 9th Philippine ToyCon