This past weekend I downloaded a video to my iPhone through iTunes and iWatched it on my iPhone. The problem was that my iPhone was at desk level, so I had to look down to watch, making it difficult. So I did what any figma maniac with a di:stage would do: I made a stand for my iPhone!

Here is a shot from the side so you can see the angles I have the stand set up at. I’m only using 3 di:stages and 2 of the included arms, as well as the speech bubble holders that attach to the arms instead of the claw. These are used to stabilize the iPhone in the angled position. Of course, the angle can be re-adjusted and the location of the arms lowered if need be. You may be wondering if the arms are secure enough to hold an iPhone for an extended period of time. I’ve found that the arms that come with the di:stage are very stiff and hold up well to an iPhone’s weight. A little elbow grease will be needed to get the arms in the correct position, but once you have it set, it shouldn’t become too loose, unless you have a really heavy iPhone case or something.

The location I have the arms at are the second row of holes in, the ones that require the smaller hole adapter in order to use the arms. These seem to be an ideal location for the arms in landscape mode. For portrait, you’ll want to move those arms in a bit. If you use 3 stands, you can fit a figma underneath, as Drossel-ojou shows you here.

Shown here is my current configuration for my stand. I installed the arms on the lower of the 2 vertical stages and installed Hayate on the upper stage with the 3rd arm I had. Alter Reinforce Zwei hovers nearby with Hayate’s 3 joint stand and a claw from the di:stage. Given more di:stages and a little creativity, you could probably recreate a concert stage complete with an overhead screen!

The guys who developed the di:stage really hit one out of the park with this one. Not only is the stage itself a wonderful staging piece to set up scenarios using figmas, Nendoroids and Revoltechs, but it lends itself to many other uses such as this! I’m definitely getting more in the months to come! Σd(>口<)

It seems that my SP figmas have found my most recent delivery before I had the chance to open it… I hope they don’t cause too much mischeif ^^;

A plan is in motion to review this figma, as well as the others I have in my queue, which should be much easier now that I have a dedicated program to use for posting instead of using the WordPress frontend, which has been causing me problems lately. I hope you enjoyed this “comic” of sorts ^o^

It’s my one year anniversary of my first post on this blog, exactly one year ago today, 10/12/2008 ^o^  My first post wasn’t really noticed from what I could tell, but I was only a novice blogger at that time. I’ve since upgraded my typing ability, image storage capacity (thanks to flickr) and my photo taking ability (thanks to a Canon DSLR I got with my tax return this year.) My first post was figma Cosplay Time.

I’d like to thank my readers for reading and commenting on my posts, so I thought the best way would be with a set of wallpapers I collected over the summer. They can be found here, and they are a collection of wallpapers featuring Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS characters parodying the opening theme animation to the anime K-ON. Thanks for reading and supporting this humble blogger’s little blog, and I will continue to post more and more reviews in the future! Σd(>口<)

After a very long hiatus (due to work being crazy busy over the summer) I’m back with new figma reviews!  I actually have some older ones than the one I review today, but I figure that it’s best to review a figma while it’s new.  I’ll get to the other three figmas I have in due time, probably this weekend when I have more time to take pictures.  Tonight however, is Shamal’s night to shine. She is a Wolkenritter of Yagami Hayate’s and is introduced in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s. She is a support attacker.

As usual for a figma from the Nanoha universe, Shamal comes chock full of goodies.  First off, the usual stuff. The figma 3 jointed stand and base are a given, as well as a set of hands.  The hands are unique to Shamal however, as each hand has a set of Klarer Wind on each ring and pointer finger.  Klarer Wind is Shamal’s device if you haven’t seen A’s or StrikerS.  Other figmas have had unique hands, but this is the first figma to have any jewelry.  Shamal even has hoop earrings on!

Shamal’s bonus hands

Shamal also comes with her hat of course, a bonus face with her eyes closed, and a set of bangs facing the left.  Also included are parts for the Yagami Hayate Knight Armor ver. figma to transform her into Unison Hayate.  Yagami Hayate has the special skill that allows her to combine with her Unison Device, Reinforce Zwei.  When combined, her hair lightens and her eyes change color to a deep blue.

Please click the image for a larger version that will open in another window

I have also included a quick and dirty guide on how to attach Shamal’s hat.  Part 1 is here, and Part 2 can be found here.

Pros: Shamal comes with a lot of stuff, as mentioned above.  Not only does she come with bonus parts for herself, but she comes with bonus parts for her Meister, Hayate, and her bonus face can be used with the other Nanoha figmas as well!  The level of detail on Klarer Wind on the bonus hands is impeccable, and the mechanism invented to keep her hat on is quite unique.

Cons: I had a bit of trouble getting the stand arm in her back, so you may want to use a di:stage claw to hold her up if you have trouble.  Her skirt is jointed, but does not move as freely as I would’ve liked.  Also, the fact that Rein doesn’t have any eyes is discouraging =(

I was certainly on the fence when I heard that Shamal would be released as a figma.  She doesn’t have any real weapons like Signum and Vita, so I was curious to see what kinds of accessories she would come with the compensate for this.  I have to say that I am incredibly satisfied with the contents of the package I received yesterday!  Well worth it for the Nanoha fan, definitely worth it if you already have Hayate in your collection, and a nice addition to any figma collector’s shelf.  I give it 4 out of 5 Kaito thumbs up!

Σd(>口<) Σd(>口<) Σd(>口<) Σd(>口<)

Shamal can be purchased from Hobby Search for ¥2,533 or at Hobby Link Japan for ¥2,667.

Wowzers, I can’t believe I’ve hit 100 comments already!   As a thank you to all of you who read this humble little blog, a taste of things to come.  This is a panel from my upcoming continuation of the “3 Girls vs Ace of the TSAB” figure comic I’ve been working on the the better part of the year.  It’s not perfect, but once resized, I don’t think anyone will be able to tell the difference ^^

I’m going to be attending Anime Expo ‘09 next week to pick up some more figmas and meet up with some friends, plus San Diego Comic-Con is at the end of the month, where I plan to pick up some more Gunpla.  July is going to be a very busy month between these 2 cons and work, so I will try to blog every so often to let you guys know I’m still here!  I plan to post my haul from each con as I get them, so please stay tuned and stay cool!

—

PS. As most of you know, a legend passed yesterday in the form of a cardiac arrest.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and children of Michael Jackson.  You will never be forgotton.

I was so impressed with how Destiny Mikuru came out that I decided to start up the figma Theater again!  I’ve had several ideas running about my head with how to continue and end the current run of The three girls vs. the Ace of the TSAB and just need time to photoshoot and implement it.  Please bear with me as I set it up, I promise it’ll be great!  I think I might have to break out of the 4koma  style though, as the action I’m planning lends more to a comic book style, but I’m going to need to insert backgrounds, so I need to get a green screen so I can do that.  Might need to “hire” a background painter as well ;)  Anyway, enough of me talking, let’s get to the pictures! (image heavy post!)

Next up we have 00 Rizer Nagato.  Obviously, this will be her next upgrade in the comic.

Lastly we have God Haruhi.  I’m still up in the air as to what her upgrade will be.  Part of me wants to go GN Arms since Chouyuusha Haruhi is already equipped to it, the other part wants to cannibalize other gunpla parts to see what amalgamation I can come up with XD  Anyone have any ideas?

Any ideas for future figma theaters?  I’ll give you credit for them ^^  Of course, I need to have the parts for the combination available to me, or I’ll have to get it first ;)  Please look forward to it!!!

An idea I had last night, but I had left my Cheer Girl parts at work. Sticky tack was used to affix the backpack and stand to Mikuru’s back, Cheer Girl Mikuru’s accessory hands to wield Excalibur.

I still think Danny Choo’s is better though, since his uses the MSIA Desiny parts, while I’m using the 1/144 HG Destiny gunpla parts. BUT mine has wings of light! ^o^

Mikuru is tired of being teased and now takes the initiative to pay back all the humiliation she’s endured throughout the years by her figma owners!  Not me of course… now Mikuru, put down those guns… put them down!!! NOOOOOOOO (image heavy post)

She can also be such a tease…

Today I review the lovely Tsuruya-san in her yakisoba waitress uniform.  This outfit hails from episode 12 of the anime series named Live Alive (ライブアライブ) in which Tsuruya and Mikuru’s class is running a yakisoba stand.  Tsuruya provided the outfits, naturally, and it does look very good on her, nyoro?

This version of Tsuruya-san comes with the standard set of figma accessories; the 3 jointed stand and base, an extra face, and set of hands.  Her hands include 2 standard fists and accessory hands, a special hand with a peg in it that goes in the tray that is included for the right hand, a pointing finger for the left hand, and 2 “creeping up on you” hands that are supposed to be from when Tsuruya was mind-controlled by Nagato in the movie the SOS-dan made.  Additional accessories include the aforementioned tray with 2 cups of water and a set of chopsticks, a paper plate piled with yakisoba (which looks quite delectible I must say ;) and an alternate set of bangs for Mikuru so you can use one of her heads on this body to have a Culture Festival Mikuru too!

Mikuru wearing the Culture Festival Yakisoba booth uniform

Pros: This figma looks great, I love the design of that outfit, and GSC/MF really outdid themselves recreating the outfit.  Tsuruya’s long bangs are made of a softer PVC material than the uniform version, and is very flexible.  Her extra face makes you think she’s scheming something, which is a great look for Tsuruya as well.  I haven’t experimented since this is the only one of these figmas I have, but I believe the apron and skirt MAY be removable… after swapping in the bare arms from the Cheer girls, might we have some Hakada Apron (裸エプロン or Naked Apron) action going on?  As soon as I get my second one of these, I’ll try it out and let you know how it turns out ;)

Cons: For some reason my Tsuruya’s bangs are really loose.  The figma hole in the back is also a little loose.  I may have to use the waist clip from Saber Lily on this figma.  The pen in the left hand doesn’t really go into the hole all the way, so the tray will fall off sometimes.  Also, the cups and chopsticks are loose, so they’ll fall off a lot if you’re not careful.  A dab of putty will rectify this however.

I really like how this figma turned out.  The cons I listed above are minor, and most of the looseness can be resolved with a bit of putty.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t solve the loose stand hole problem.  As with Mikuru, the alternate faces from the uniform Tsuruya will work with this figure, giving her a few more looks.  I do believe the issues I’m experiencing with the peg hole are probably an isolated case, and we’ll see when I get my second copy of this figma.  Even though Tsuruya is not as well endowed as Mikuru, the figma body still works with her head and looks lovely.  Tsuruya-san Culture Festival ver. is selling for ¥2,261 at Hobby Search and ¥2,381 at Hobby Link Japan.  Recommended for Tsuruya and Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu lovers, might want to pass if you’re not a fan of the series however, if you’re a reader of this blog, it’s quite likely that you already love the series, ne? ^o^

Today we review the third Mikuru in the figma series, Combat Waitress Mikuru!  She hails from the first episode of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi (涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱 – Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu) during the movie the SOS団 (SOS Brigade) made for the culture festival.

It’s difficult to tell, but I’m trying something a bit different for images of the full set picture.  I will endeavor to perfect this technique, as it looks as if it’d be pretty neat ;)  Anyway, This Mikuru comes with the standard 3 jointed figma stand and base and extra face. with a blue left eye for the Mi-mi… Mikuru Beam!!!  Mikuru’s twintails are connected to her head the same as the other non-Miku styled figmas, with a small clear ball joint into a small pit in the head.  Weaponry includes the 2 guns she uses against Nagato in the movie.  I’m sorry, but I’m not a gunmaniac, so I don’t know what kinds of guns they are, sorry!  Also included is the reindeer head for Kyon, and a nice shocked face for him too!  The reindeer head splits apart like a regular figma head and comes with its own figma joint as well,  and the face is swappable too!

Hands
The hands get a special seperate section since they’re so special with this figma.  Instead of the standard set of figma hands, Combat Waitress Mikuru comes with 2 hands from the standard set; a right fist and right pointing finger, and 2 hands from the Original Tsuruya set, namely the ‘V’ hands in a peace sign.  The remaining hands are all unique to this figma (maybe Makina Hoshimura has the gun hands too, but I don’t have that figma yet to compare =/)