6 July 2009

Revoltech Airi

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Got this from a shop last Friday, but didn't have the time to open it until last night. Anyway, let's have a look how Revoltech's Queen's Blade acion figure Airi fare, and whether it is worth me spending 195HKD on it.

(Note: This is NOT a full review due to the erotic nature of the figure, as well as the lack of time recently)

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Revoltech's Airi is the second figure in the Queen's Blade line, which is just released on 1st July. Perhaps not surprisingly, she is much more popular than Reina (released last month), as she's sold out in many shops already. Hongkongers surely are quick and ruthless on these things o_o;;;

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Standing side-by-side next to figma Shana and Haruhi. Unlike the Fräulein line, the similarity in height between the 2 different lines make them more playable with each other. Definitely a good thing there ^^

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The ghostly flame parts can be attached to her ponytails. Took me some time to push it in though. The hole for attaching the flame part can be seen on the left.

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Each ponytail has a revoltech joint just like the rest of the joints. You can actually take the ponytail off so you can attach or remove the flame parts easier. Additionally you can twist the ponytails so the unsightly hole can be twisted out of sight when not using the flame parts.

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Changing the faces is pretty simple. Lift the front piece of the hair and change the face pieces. Due to the fact that the front piece is not a removable but moves like a flap, some people don't like the T-shaped seamlines on top of the head.

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The hands for holding the scythe seem rather natural-looking (unlike figma's hole-in-the-hands), so you have to somehow push the scythe into the hands and hope it won't fall off.

Airi's legs seem a little loose (apparently it is the case for others who bought her too), but she can still stand straight alright.

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The stand requires assembly, but it is pretty easy to set up and it uses the same joints as the figure itself.

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Airi with all the flame parts (including the alternate scythe blade) attached.

The arm can hold the figure alright, though I somehow find it not as sturdy as the figma counterpart as it can sway left and right a bit.

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Revoltech action figures revolves around revoltech joints. Which means most many joints use common parts (e.g. all leg joints, waist, and neck joints etc. are all the same; ponytail and wrists joints use smaller ones). The joints can be pulled out easily (well nearly all of them for me), supposedly for easy swapping should one get damaged or worn out, but according to Ngee Khiong, who has a Revoltech SFO Chun-Li, revoltech joints are pretty durable even if you play with one for a lot.

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The two different chest piece (each has 4 pegs) for the maid's top. You can have neither piece on Airi so you try to appreciate her exposed chest in full glory, but at the same time you will have to cope with the 4 unsightly holes around it.

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Here is the M mode (負け Mode / Defeat mode?) with the burst chest piece visually covered by the hand

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Tried to exchange the damaged kneesock leg parts too for the M mode, but couldn't remove the joint on the thigh from the original leg, and I didn't want to force it so I gave up -_-

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All Revoltech action figures now come with a little box for storing small parts. Even the leg can fit inside there, but there's no home for the alternate scythe blade to reside -_-

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Funny enough, figma stands are compatible with Revoltech Airi - definitely a good thing there~ ^^


The exposable chest aside, the other thing I have not mentioned (confirmed on forums) is that the lower undergarment can be removed, and in addition to that the details beneath it are there too... I have seen some cast-offables figures before, but having the lower part of the body being exposable too is one of the firsts for me, much to my surprise. Without a doubt this is one erotic figure to have, should you decide to go all hell on it. o_o;;


Overall, good articulations, good proportions and look as well as the fair price (retail price is only slightly more expensive than regular figmas), Revoltech's Airi is a good buy for me. The new size makes it playable with the figmas too. It looks like that Revoltech is slowly competing in the bishoujo action figure market. The upcoming Reycal Orichalcum (not from Queen's Blade) looks quite attractive too, even though I know nothing about the character or the manga.

Might add a few more pictures later but that will do for now :o

22 comments:

  1. A revoltech that's not a robot!? WHAT MADNESS!

    Seriously though, pretty sweet figure. Nice to know she's in figma scale now

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  2. Pretty nice grab, saw her but then looked at the price and was look hmmm I'll get Shana instead ^^

    Surprised she's taller than Shana since Revoltech's are only about 4 inches, at least most of them I know ;D

    Want more shots of the M outfit > >
    3

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  3. What?You bought a QB figure? Didnt see that coming! o.0

    Thanks for the review! I have both Reina and Airi on Preorder and im thrilled to see the differences between regular Fräuleins!

    I didnt know that shes cast off down there aswell.This offers whole new possibilities ^^

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  4. Holy crud! You have this already?? I only ordered it recently 0.o

    I didn't know they were figma sized. THAT will be more fun when I get around to opening these figures XD

    By the way M = masochist, or uke mode. Uke is a term that's used in yaoi and yuri genre, typically to signify that the character is the "receiver" ^^;

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  5. Uh...i think i have seen this figure in Dengeki Hobby magazine. Erotic? Hehehe ...how?

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  6. I didnt know Airi already has a revoltech, and its figma sized too^^.

    Heheheheh, revoltech is moving to a much darker side(the dark side was eva series, damn Anno)

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  7. What a coincidence, I read Otaku Dan got it and now u. lol

    I haven't been following the QB series one bit so I'm clueless into why she is so popular.

    I don't have any experience in Revoltech at all. The only revoltech figure I have is Starscream where I got from HK and he's still in the box. -_-

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  8. revoltech is solid, to me. comparing figma, my revoltech ayanami last(and is still) longer than my figma fate. haha XD

    the downside is revoltech joints looks kinda ugly D=

    now go get more revoltech haruhi/mikuru/yuki XD

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  9. @ Snark:
    I too was surprised when Revoltech announced that they're starting to move towards bishoujo figurines as well, and that's not Fräuleins I am talking about there.

    The fact that they're in the same size as figma is great, and is pretty much the reason I've decided to buy Airi there.

    @ blueplains:
    I think that Revoltech's action figures have 2 different sizes as I have witnessed that for the Eva action figures.

    @ Blowfish:
    Haha I didn't plan to buy one until I saw the samples displayed in stores during my trip in Japan last month ^^;

    This gives me an oppurtunity to see how Revoltech figures fare as I have been curious about them for a while.

    Only knew about that cast off part a few days before its release, was kinda shocked to know about it I admit... o_o;;

    @ Lightning Sabre:
    That is one of the great things for living in Hong Kong; things come really on time and at retail price with no shipping fee~

    lol M = Masochist... It does sound convincing, but I have double-checked that it is indeed 負け (pronounced make) i.e. defeat(ed).

    @ Willie:
    I haven't shown the pictures regarding the erotic part of the figures, but as I have mentioned in words her bare chest can be revealed, as well as her lower part should you decide to remove the lower clothings as well.

    I'll leave the imagination part for you now ^^;

    @ GunStray:
    Knowing that Airi is in the same scale as the figma is the trigger that got me to buy one, and luckily I am quite satisfied with it.

    It looks like that Revoltech is renewing its bishoujo action figure market to compete with the figma line. Upcoming Reycal Orichalcum looks promising too, so I may consider getting that as well.

    @ Optic:
    lol, a coincidence indeed ^^;

    I'm not into Queen's Blade either, but as far as I know, her outfit is what makes her popular in general (literally a battle maid).

    You haven't opened something that was since the trip to Hong Kong? That must have been more than half a year ago lol!

    @ zenical:
    Rei, Haruhi & co. belongs to the Fräulein line, whose figures have a larger scale (1/10). They don't break as easily as figmas but I did hear that their joints can be pretty loose, and the larger scale makes them stand out unfortunately...

    @ RyoBase:
    Meltable? What do you mean, as in melting/deformation of the plastic due to heat and humidity?

    This may occur for softer plastic, and this figure has such material for the skirts (2 seperate parts) and maybe her ponytails. Store or display them properly and I think such problems won't occur likely.

    Hope I got that right, correct me if that's not what you are looking for.

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  10. Great review and has me wanting even more to get my hands on her.

    Thanks for the informative writeup!

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  11. From a purely business point of view though, it was a great move by Revoltech.

    This way, they position themselves as an alternative to figmas rather then directly competing. Now the only real competition between the two would be in the form of character licenses.

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  12. So youve been Curious about the Revoltech Line eh?

    The first Fräulein Figures were kinda weak jointed and their limbs often came off.They fixed those "loose joint"problems with their later releases though.

    As far as the Revoltech Line itself goes I only own Revy and shes as sturdy as a Rock (Haha what a wordplay ^^).

    Im more a revoltech fan since they simply feel sturdier.When im playing with an actionfigurte i dont wanna fear to break it

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  13. hmm, Airi looks cuter than Reina. i should get one later. Revoltech line is getting better and better, especially the mecha & fraulein line.

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  14. @ Bluedrakon:
    I'm glad that you've found my partial, safe-for-work review useful there! Hope you will get your Airi soon!

    @ Snark:
    That's a good point there. Kaiyodo is expanding the horizon of the line for more possible products. For a line whose forte lies on super robots I am curious about its future releases, and I have my eyes on the Reycal Orichalcum after reading the first chapter of the manga @_@;;

    @ Blowfish:
    While most Revoltechs are sound overall, Fräuleins are apparently a little different, so their joints are slightly different as well (which is why their problems do not seem to overlap with the others Revoltechs).

    The sturdiness of the joints is a big plus for Revoltechs, making them much more durable compared to figma, which I still have the fear of breaking should I ever become careless...

    Revy? Heard she's one of the earliest Revoltechs out there!

    @ B-Mecha:
    Airi does look more interesting than Reina, whose face doesn't seem to look quite right (dunno why). The mecha line is definitely a forte of Revoltech (as well as others such as the Hokuto no Ken line and Yotsuba), but it's exciting to see it going more for the female characters~

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  15. @Q Oh! never mind that I just got my memory mixed up which result in...umm..misunderstanding, I guess.

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  16. Great figure you have. I bought the Reina Revoltech and really liked it, but dropped the pre-order for this babe. I'm trying to buy less action figures since I have 70 sth now. "orz

    I think Kaiyodo is going in the right direction with this new line, but it somehow doesn't appeal to me as much as the Fraulein line...maybe I just prefer the QB girls in MegaHouse's PVC form. ^^

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  17. @ RyoBase:
    Ah is that so? Then I won't worry about it then ^^;

    @ T.I.P.:
    Given the status of your collection so far, having any more figures is surely getting difficult, so I understand the pain...

    We all have different tastes, and I know that you've been collecting Fräuleins for a very long time too (I still haven't own a single Fräulein yet). PVC figurines do have better quality overall, but I tend to prefer having some interactions with what I own ^^;

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  18. Hi! I'm collecting the Hokuto No Ken and Queen's Blade Revoltech line. Also Figma. Can you please recommend shops (and its locations) in Hong Kong. My friend is going there for a convention, and I'm thinking of asking him to buy some figures for me (Revoltechs and Figmas).

    I'm hoping you can suggest some shops where I can find these figures, and maybe with good prices. Thanks.

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  19. @ Anonymous:
    Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I am not familiar with Hokuto no Ken but they are by no means popular in Hong Kong.

    As most people would recommend, the Mong Kok is the general area for people looking for anime-related merchandise. I can't list out individual shops but one should check out for malls like Sino Centre, CTMA, and Richmond 111. Somebody has made a map showing the malls' locations some time ago.

    http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/newtypev2/Miscellaneous/mongkok_map2.jpg

    Alternatively there's also a mall called Oriental 188 that you can ask your friend to try out.

    However, just like with other action figures, older releases can be hard to find once they are sold out. You can ask your friend to try out In's Point in Yau Ma Tei for the "vintage" ones.

    Hope that helps. Do feel free to reply back if there's anything else I've missed.

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  20. Thanks for the reply, Q! ;)

    The map you provided will be very helpful. Thanks for the places that you enumerated. Looks like Mongkok is the place to be. Some other dude referred Mongkok, as well as Wanchai, to look for Revoltechs. I'll also relay the information to my friend regarding those other places that you pointed out. I really appreciate it. Thanks a lot. :)

    Regarding Hokuto No Ken, its that other Revoltech line. It's an old school anime with a main character called Kenshiro, who uses a martial arts that targets pressure points to make his enemies explode. Also called "Fist of the Northstar".

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  21. @ Anonymous:
    My pleasure too; glad that I can help on that.

    I do know a little bit on Hokuto no Ken, but I have not read the manga nor have I watched the anime. Being one of the classics that is still popular today, I do have the notion of going back old-school and appreciate the gems of the past. :o

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