Next in the series of Bishoujo (Pretty girl) style, 1:8 scale line of statues based on the ladies of Marvel Comics by Kotobukiya is Black Widow.

Black Widow is next in the series of Bishoujo (Pretty girl) style, 1:8 scale line of statues based on the ladies of Marvel Comics by Kotobukiya as interpreted by the talented Shunya Yamashita.

Yamashita is one Japan's most famous and talented Bishoujo artists with a wealth of material available in the form of art books, video game work, as well as many of his illustrations being the basis of statues and action figures. If you have been paying any sort of attention over the past 6 months you know I am an enormous Yamashita fan.

Black Widow is a “sometimes” villain from the Marvel Comics Iron Man franchise and has an incredibly long and complex history. Feel free to check the link for a complete breakdown from wikipedia.

The figure comes in a very neatly designed window box decorated with artwork by Yamashita...

...the same artwork the sculptor, Koei Matsumoto used to bring this beauty to life.

And beauty is indeed the word that comes to mind. Black Widow is gorgeous. Suitably voluptuous and dangerous looking while being sexy and demure like most of Yamashita's work.

And of course she has the signature “yamashita eye's” that pull you in and make you melt...

The sculpt detail is excellent and precise. The paint detail is flawless. No under/over-spray anywhere. Honestly I expect nothing less from Kotobukiya's well-earned reputation for craftsmanship.

I particularly like the pedestal display for the base elevating it from just sexy girl statue to art piece.

I am only a casual marvel fan (if that) but a huge Yamashita fan and I am happy to add her to the collection.

With a $59.99 price tag you are certainly getting a quality piece at a great price. Any Marvel or Yamashita fan would do well to get one while you can. Kotobukiya now has their own on-line store and you can be sure to get one there.

The finished assembled kit is actually 1:1 scale, so this is the size Hoi Hoi-San would be in real life. There are some nice touches that add to the realism, such as the USB port on her back, and the removable headband that has a headphone jack inside.

Hoi Hoi-San is the cute little girl with a machine gun. But all is not what it seems at first.

She comes from a series of Manga / Anime / Games called One Shot Bug Killer Hoi Hoi-San. In this series set in the near future, insects have become immune to pesticides. A Japanese company creates a series of pint-sized robots that live in your home and kill the insects for you. Of course, lonely otaku obsess over these little bots in their apartments.

Up until this point, the only way to get a toy of Hoi Hoi san was to track a limited edition, very expensive figure down on Yahoo Japan Auctions.

Well, Kotobukiya has come to the rescue with this affordable kit of the titular character, Hoi Hoi San.

The figure is an unassembled model kit, but the build is relatively easy. Most of it is snap fit, but there are some points that require glue, such as the pegs on the hair parts. However, I recommend that you just glue everything except for the face and the hands. You will want to handle this like a toy and it just can’t stand up to it without glue.

To get the kit looking just like the images on the box, you will need paint. I suck at painting and the toy is molded in color with painted parts, so it is good enough for me. However, should you decide to paint it, Kotobukiya included a set of decals to replace the detail that will get painted over. Great idea!

The finished assembled kit is actually 1:1 scale, so this is the size Hoi Hoi-San would be in real life. There are some nice touches that add to the realism, such as the USB port on her back, and the removable headband that has a headphone jack inside.

The kit is fully articulated, but due to the design, she can only hold so many poses. This would have been better with a stand, but there are so many aftermarket stands out there now that you can just get one of those. She has jointed ankles, knees, hips, torso, shoulders, elbows, wrists and head. The hair has three movable joints.

Three sets of eyes are included, looking left, right, and straight ahead, but just barely. There really isn’t much difference between them, but I appreciate the effort.

Two sets of hands are included with the figure – open and closed hands. The open hands feature removable fingers so that you can hold the weapons.

Included weapons are a small machine gun, ninja sword and a broom for clean up. Of all the parts, these could use paint the most.

In Japan, Hoi Hoi-San is a popular character, and as such, they sell out quickly. These kits have been no exception, selling out at popular retailers. For only 3,000 yen you get a great kit of a hot character. What’s not to love?

T-Elos is the mysterious android featured in Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra. She is designed as the new model of Anti-Gnosis weaponry to replace the previous unit, KOS-MOS.

T-Elos is the mysterious android featured in Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra. She is designed as the new model of Anti-Gnosis weaponry to replace the previous unit, KOS-MOS.

T-Elos is a 1/8 scale figure from Alter, who also did a 1/8 scale figure of KOS-MOS V.4 that matches T-Elos.

T-Elos is the opposite of KOS-MOS aesthetically speaking. KOS-MOS has red eyes, and T-Elos has blue. Where KOS-MOS is pale-skinned and mostly wearing white and blue shades, T-Elos has dark skin and purple armor with deep maroon highlights.

T-Elos actually bears a closer resemblance to the original version of KOS-MOS, with the one-piece swim-suit style armor along with the large jeweled head crest as well. T-Elos is inscribed into the headpiece with gold paint details nicely.

While KOS-MOS V.4 has a much more dynamic and striking pose, T-Elos remains much more calm and stoic. It's suiting for her character though, who often is very brooding and enigmatic.

Although this pose really does help hammer in the fact that T-Elos very is long on legs.

T-Elos' hair is done in an unusual translucent yet opaque plastic. Light can pass through it fairly easily but you can't actually see through it. It looks very nice and has a wispy feel to it, as if it's flowing gently through the wind.

However, this hair's also probably the biggest flaw of the figure. There's just so much of it that you really can't get a good look at all of the detail put into the back. It also feels rather heavy and makes me worry that if a packaging mishap were to happen, maybe the head would just break off.

T-Elos doesn't have an really accessories aside from the L-BLADE weapon on her arm. The blade is done in a purple translucent plastic that nicely gets across the look and feel of a beam-weapon.

T-Elos' stand is done in the same hexagonal pattern that KOS-MOS's stand was done. She pegs in nice and securely. However because of T-Elos' simple pose, it's actually possible to have her stand without it and easily stay in place, so long as you're not shaking the table violent or anything mind you.

I think that between KOS-MOS and T-Elos, KOS-MOS is the figure that received more attention in terms of sculpt, detail, paint, and in terms of sales as well. I don't think that they're producing these pieces anymore and the price has sky-rocketed. While they were originally about 6000 to 7000 yen each, T-Elos averages for about $150, while KOS-MOS goes for $200. I think that you'd have to be a very big fan of Xenosaga or these character designs to pick them up at that price. T-Elos isn't a bad figure though, and if you can get it may be used at a lower price point, I'd recommend her. She's definitely the highlight of my personal figure collection.

So here we have a new figure in the Revoltech line, a female figure, sculpted by Yamaguchi. Between this and the queens blade line, I guess the Fraulein experiment is done.

Reycal Orichalcum is the main character in the Manga "Orichalcum Reycal" The manga has to do with a college kit named Sakugi Mitsuaki, who is into building models and sculpting garage kits.

Sample provided by our good friends at HobbyLink Japan!

One day he gets special modeling clay, and sculpts this figure, which then comes to life as "Reycal Orichalcum"

And that's about all I know about that.

So here we have a new figure in the Revoltech line, a female figure, sculpted by Yamaguchi. Between this and the queens blade line, I guess the Fraulein experiment is done.

The good news is that its a pretty good figure, much better that those early Fraulein releases. These now have Revoltech joints in the knees, as opposed to the swivel joints.

There's nothing bad to say about the core figure - it's tight, the sculpt is good, and paint detail is nice. The design of the figure helps hide some of the flaws of the female Revoltech design, such as the skirt design hiding where the hips meet the legs.

The hair is articulated, largely to make way for the armor.

The armor included comes in a animal form, dubbed Knight Eagle. This eagle is Reycal Orichalcum's Armor Haul Partner. One cant help but notice the similarity to Bandai's Saint Cloth Myth figures. The Knight Eagle is flimsy, and barely holds together. You can attach it to the stand when not in use.

To be added to the figure, the Knight Eagle must be completely disassembled, and not all parts are used on the figure.

Once the armor is on, as Knight Reycal, the figure looks great, and the armor is stable on the figure. I was surprised at the sharpness of the wings, and the dual fold-out action. A variant hair piece is included for the armored form. The only weakness was the chest V, which had a tendency to fall off if bumped.

A spear handle is included that attaches to the tail of the Knight Eagle, making a weapon. The handle on the spear has a peg in it that can fit into the weapon holding hand.

Also included is the default Revoltech stand, but this one comes with a little something extra. This one comes with a small female to female pipe that connects to a smaller dual Revoltech joint. This really extends the range of poses available to the figure.

Finally, you get a 10 point Revoltech coin, and the small revoltech container.

All of this can be yours, if you go right now to HobbyLink Japan

PS - there's a bonus sad face.

Rin Natusume is another character from "Little Busters" and is also the second release from Aoshima's Mobip line.

Rin Natusume is another character from "Little Busters" and is also the second release from Aoshima's Mobip line.

This figure arrives courtesy of Hobby World Japan

Little Busters is a popular Japanese "Visual Novel" which is just a fancy way of saying "video game you don't have to do much in". Rin is the lead character of the series. She's an ace baseball pitcher, and she is often seen with her little white cat Lennon.

The Mobip line is an obvious competitor to Figma, and they did a pretty good job. The quality is close, but not quite as good as Figma. Figma seems to have sharper details in areas like the hair, and they do a better job in matching the color of the joints with the rest of the body.

Rin Natsume comes with a bunch of accessories, including:

• spare face
• nekomimi hairpiece
• interchangeable fisted hands
• left hand with a baseball glove
• right hand holding a baseball
• Lennon the cat

So it looks like if you are a Little Busters fan, they got all the bases covered (no pun intended).

This figure also comes with a nice clear articulated stand for posing.

If you want your own Rin Natsume, get yours at Hobby World Japan

I think I finally figured out what it is that makes a Yamashita design/illustration so... “Yamashita.” It's the eyes. They just make you melt and feel like they are looking right at you.

Rogue is the first in a new series of Bishoujo (Pretty girl) style, 1:8 scale line of statues based on the ladies of Marvel Comics by Kotobukiya as interpreted by the talented Shunya Yamashita.

Yamashita is one Japan's most famous and talented Bishoujo artists with a wealth of material available in the form of art books, video game work, as well as many of his illustrations being the basis of statues and action figures. If you have been paying any sort of attention over the past 6 months you know I am an enormous Yamashita fan.

Rogue is a staple of Marvel Comics X-Men franchise and has an incredibly long and complex history. Feel free to check the link for a complete breakdown from wikipedia.

The figure comes in a very neatly designed window box decorated with artwork by Yamashita...

...the same artwork the sculptor, Koei Matsumoto used to bring this beauty to life.

And beauty is indeed the word that comes to mind. Rogue is simply stunning.

I think I finally figured out what it is that makes a Yamashita design/illustration so... “Yamashita.” It's the eyes. Sure, his women are sensual, shapely and stunning but it's the eyes. They just make you melt and feel like there looking right at you.

The sculpt detail is excellent and precise. The paint detail is flawless. No under/over-spray anywhere. Honestly I expect nothing less from Kotobukiya craftsmanship. Their reputation is well deserved.

I particularly like the pedestal display for the base elevating it from just sexy girl statue to art piece.

I am only a casual X-Men fan but a huge Yamashita fan and I am happy to add her to the collection.

I must say even though I knew they where in the 1:8 scale, I was a bit surprised at how small they are in person. However with a $59.99 price tag you are certainly getting a quality piece at a great price. Any Rogue or Yamashita fan would do well to get one while you can. Kotobukiya now has their own on-line store and you can be sure to get one there.

I have to admit, posing this made me feel funny.

Little Busters is another one of those Japanese franchises that spans a variety of media. Most popular as a visual novel, Little Busters has also had Manga adaptations and even a radio play. In fact, it's had pretty much everything BUT an anime.

Komari is a childish character, and that comes across well in this figure. She embodies the Moe character in almost every way.

Komari Kamikita is available at Hobby Supermarket HW Japan

This is the first release in Aoshima's Mobip line, and once can't help but draw comparisons to Figma figures. The joints, articulation and construction are eerily similar. Articulated figures are all the rage, and I couldn't be happier. The heightened competition makes for more characters licensed, making the assortment of characters on the market virtually unlimited.

The good news is that the Mobip figure is just about as good as a Figma. The price point is a bit lower, and you will of course only find these characters as Mobip toys.

The figure consists of a central core body with rubber clothing over the torso. Each joint is a swivel joint similar to Figma and the like. The joints are tight and hold well, but the color of the joints don't always match up to the skin tone, especially in the knees.

Komari comes with a bunch of accessories, some odd, some downright pervy. As my name may suggest, one of the best is the removable panties. The panties that come with the figure are pink and rubber, and it also comes with a spare set of white panties.

To remove them, you have to remove the legs, but they re-attach easily. And in case you were wondering, she's not anatomically correct, I checked.

Oh, did I mention there was a Little Busters H-Game?

So yeah, other accessories include two donuts (MMM donuts), a few variant hands (one including a lollipop), and a book. The book is keyed to fit into the grasping hand.

The figure features a variant face to go from her normal doe-eyed look to a starry-eyed look.

One standout feature of the Moebip line is the stand. Each stand is clear with the logo printed on it, and a sturdy clear articulated arm plugs into it. The arm then plugs into the figure's back and can support almost any pose.

I have to admit, posing this made me feel funny.

So yeah, it's a noble first effort for Aoshima in the poseable figure market, but nothing groundbreaking.

Komari Kamikita is available at Hobby Supermarket HW Japan

The sculpt on Juliona is REALLY amazing. I have reviewed previous Masamune Shirow figures and is really one of the better sculpted Shirow characters. There is wonderful detail on everything from the leather chaps to the fine seal on the phallic cigar in Juliona’s mouth.

Juliona Trans is a character from Masamune Shirow’s “Wild Wet West” collection from his hardcore cheesecake portfolio Galgrease 001.

Juliona is a PVC statue in 1/6 scale, height is about 9 inches tall (if standing) made by Artstorm/Lilacs, sculpted by G.O.(Cerebus project). Comes in full 4-color box plus color card.

Website: http://artstorm.co.jp/lilics_wildwetwest.htm

Juliona is a statue that comes shipped in 3 pieces, the statue, the base, and the big horseshoe-moneybag thing Juliona sits on. There is no posability. There are no cast-off pieces (but see below) but the hat is removable. There are no other adjustable pieces.

The sculpt on Juliona is REALLY amazing. I have reviewed previous Masamune Shirow figures and is really one of the better sculpted Shirow characters. There is wonderful detail on everything from the leather chaps to the fine seal on the phallic cigar in Juliona’s mouth.

The guns seem to be pretty solidly placed in Juliona’s hands and you can see the fine detail in the nails as she holds onto the handle on each one. The rear-view of the panties is also nice.

Colors and paint are on the dull-side but consistent with the character’s western look as seen in the original painting.

There is PARTIAL nudity with just the nipples and breasts clearly visible through her shirt.

I would warn that the chaps are loosely attached and at first appear to be cast-off but they aren’t. One of the chaps came off pretty easily and you can get a good look at the legs and not both. This isn’t intentional and although the single chap goes back in place, it doesn’t go back after being taken off.

This is such a fantastic idea I sure hope more are made, I would LOVE to have a a whole series of girls lining my computer monitor!

Review sample provided by Aoshima.

Kyou Fujibayashi is the foul mouthed, aggressive girl that secretly has a crush on our main character, Tomoya Okazaki in the video game, light novel series turned anime Clannad. This is Kyou from the follow up series Clannad After Story where she is a teacher and no longer a student as seen in her gym uniform.

This is a new line of girl statues that are designed to be displayed on your computer monitor. Isn't that a great idea?! I thought so. Now you can always look at your favorite character while surfing the Internet for more Otaku goodness!

Kyou is 11.43 centimeters tall from bottom of her lovely feet to the top of her beautiful head.

The details of her curves are nice but I wish her nipples where a bit more pointy. That's just me though....

Paint application is very good, adding in shading to accentuate her sensual curves.

They include a swappable head with a serious face with her her in a pony-tail and a happier, hair down face. Her eyes are beautifully painted in.

The figure can not however be put on display on the shelf with the included bases. They give you a base for attaching her to a flat-panel LCD and a base for those with the big, CRT tube styles. The sculot is designed to have Kyou's legs dangling down over the monitor.

This is such a fantastic idea I sure hope more are made, I would LOVE to have a a whole series of girls lining my computer monitor. Wouldn't you?

I got this from Aoshima's on-line store and you should too.

Sheryl Nome aka "The Galactic Fairy" is my Otaku crush...

I got the whole prize set from Angolz.

Sheryl Nome (Final Concert Dress) here is from the Banpresto produced prize items for Macross Frontier. Ichiban KUJI Premium Macross Frontier is/was sold in convenience stores across Japan as a lottery. Customers buy a 800 YEN ticket you pull from a blind box with a letter on it telling you which item you have won. It's completely random on what your end up with for your hard earned YEN. Available in the set of Premium goods are...

• A. Klan Klang (Melatrandi Pilot) 25cm tall
• B. Sheryl Nome (Finale Concert Dress) 22cm tall
• C. Ranka Lee (Kira Pose) 20cm tall
• D. Nyan Nyan Bowl
• E. Sport Towel Set (Monster Girl, VF-25, Kabuki Alto)
• F. Super Deformed Character Figure Set (Ranka, Sheryl, Klan, Alto)
• G. Super Deformed Mecha Set (VF-25F Alto Battroid, VF-25S Ozma Armored Gerwalk, VF-27 Brera Battroid, Klan Queadluun-Ray, Raramia Queadluun Ray)

This is prize item B and along with Klan and Ranka is the most popular and difficult to get of all the prize items...

Sheryl Nome is Macross Frontier's Lynn Minmay mixed with a a bit of Sharon Apple for good measure. She's the pop-star made Superstar in the series; confident, beautiful, sensual and talented she is also the “third wheel” in the classic love triangle that the Macross franchise is known for (it's a theme they repeat thru all of the Macross spin-offs). You see she and Ranka both are after the affections and attention of our main character, Alto Saotome.

Sheryl's concert scenes are pretty spectacular and with laser holography she changes her costumes in the blink of an eye. So Sheryl is the perfect character for the fixed pose statue category as theres at least a dozen outfits to do her up in before defaulting to maid and swimsuit costumes.

Well in true Macross fashion; the big, final battle revolves around the songs of both Ranka and Sheryl and this is Sheryl in her final concert dress.

Banpresto choose wisely though and went for a great outfit and capturing a pivotal moment in the Macross Frontier. I bought her thinking about my collection in a year and how good this will look next to my Alto Messiah and the upcoming Macross Quarter. I'm glad I did as she is most certainly an Otaku favorite and already difficult to get your hands on.

The package for this prize item is a Shadowbox with windows on the front and sides. Photos of the statue decorate the back while Triangles decorate the inside behind the figure in the box.

The box sports a hefty die-cut handle so you can carry your newly obtained Sheryl on the train during rush hour with ease. That's just sooo Japanese.

Assembly is straightforward. Sheryl does come in three pieces; her top half, her skirt and her bottom half are all wrapped in cellophane. Remove the cellophane reattach the parts and attach her to the supplied base (an S for the S.M.S. logo) and your done.

Like I've said with the other two gals from this lineup - Technically you could have pulled a 800 YEN ticket with the letter B on your first try. Which means you could go home with this piece for the equivalent of $8.00 to $10.00 US which, in my opinion, is a steal.

Paint and sculpt detail is top-notch, easily on par with an $80 to $100 release. Everything is flawless on this release with painted detail for Sheryl's bodice, skin and hair are done in all flat colors and the microphone and skirt in glossy. The skirt and microphone also have gold sparkles mixed into the top coat giving the “Galactic Fairy” her signature shine and sparkle.

Unlike other releases you can “cast-off” Sheryl's skirt.

I don't know if the "cast-off" was intentional or not but at least she has pretty panties. You dirty pervs (wait... I took that picture... !)

So each of the ladies in this trio have a base that makes up 1/3 of the S.M.S. logo.

So when you arrange them correctly they not only make the S.M.S. logo they look beautifully arranged.` A very nicely thought out touch.

So the reality that your getting this for $8.00 to $10.00 is pretty slim, especially considering how popular the Galactic Fairy is. But keep in mind you could of...

Average after-market price on this piece is $100 and even at that price is a steal so grab one while you can my fellow Macross Frontier fans. Well sculpted, beautifully detailed and solid contribute to an item that feels far more expensive than it was. Because this was an extraordinarily limited run prices are bound to triple as time goes on and you will kick yourself later for not scooping one up while you could.

I got Sheryl as part of the full set thru Angolz but sadly she sold out almost as soon as she arrived in their store... I told you the Otaku love her. :)