Got a phone call from a local shop that the GSC 1/8 Black Rock Shooter animation ver. figure I have pre-ordered is ready to be picked up on Friday, a day after its official release date.
Review may come later this month, and gosh this is a big box...
What is with the huge size of the box? It kind of suprised me when when the shopkeeper delivered it to me as I did recall the actual figure being fairly small. Looks like that the Rock Cannon and some of the chains etc do take up some space, but still there's a lot of unused space on the packaging with the way they've packed it. Heck, the box is even slightly bigger than that of the Black Blade ver. figure which is based on the original art!
Now looking back, this was probably a bit of a impulse purchase of some kind because of the good price I was offered (and probably because I was in a pretty low mood for the 1st half of this year). Since I pre-ordered this figure from a local shop refund is not possible as I have to pay deposit in the first place. But this doesn't look so much of a bad figure given the look and the dynamic pose. Well, I will see when I take it out later this month.
For those who are itching to see some pictorial reviews, there is one available at Akiba Hobby.
Speaking of Black Rock Shooter, I heard that there is going to be a 2nd OAV for it as announced in the recent Anime Festival Asia X (AFA X) event in Singapore, and now the figure company that releases it (along with the figures of the franchise) is apparently denying it. One way or the other it's very likely to happen anyway.
But given the mixed opinion of the first OAV, I wonder how many will be anticipating for the second one?
ADDED: Just found out not long ago that the white star on the coat is missing on the actual figure, as mentioned on Mikatan's blog (a member of staff from Good Smile Company).
The missing star on Black Rock Shooter
This will probably add to the dropping of quality of recent GSC's figures. Not surprisingly with this being my first scale figure from GSC this problem has not given me the best impression of the brand. Oh well at least they are willing to send out white star stickers to collectors or let people to send the figures back to them so they will fix them themselves.
For those who have bought the same figure they can visit this page to fix the problem.
I have the BRS Canon and Black Blade version. Stop Tempting me to pick this up as well.
ReplyDeleteI generally despise huge boxes but given the elaborate setup on this figure, I guess I can see why the box would need to be so big. Helps cushion the parts from breaking during shipping I would assume.
ReplyDeleteWhile I still don't understand the hype for BRS even after all the promotions, I can say the figures created for it are quite nice ^^. Must be the dynamic poses...
Yeah, I was also surprised by the huge box my BRS Blade Version came in. Apparently GSC likes to waste cardboard (and make our shipping costs go up)...
ReplyDeleteShame about the missing star. GSC has not been doing so great as of late. Good thing most of their figures don't interest me xD
@ Ibby:
ReplyDeleteYou got both the Rock Cannon and Black Blade versions? Impressive! I won't tempt you to get the animation version as well - I'll let you decide it yourself ^^;
@ Z:
Huge boxes are always a pain. I actually wondered whether the content could be packed better to save more space while still keeping decent protection during shipping etc.
I must admit that BRS is quite overhyped, as GSC has done a lot of marketing for it. The main reason why I got it is that I really do like the dynamic pose of the figure, and it was a tad of an impulse pre-order because I was in quite a bad mood back then (and there's no way you can cancel such pre-orders in local shops since you pay a deposit for it).
@ anonymous_object:
Shipping has never been a concern for me as I buy my stuff locally in shops, but it must be a bit of a pain for overseas collectors :\
I did hear about the recent decline of quality on GSC figures. This one isn't too bad, even though it's a bit surprising. At least they are willing to do something about it. One way or the other, this is the first and probably the last scale figure from GSC I will get, since I need to hold back on figure-related hobby now.
I thought I had replied to this post, but I guess it got lost or something... I don't like blogger's commenting system. :(
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my comment was about how big boxes are getting nowadays, and that I had gotten notified by amiami that they're automatically shipping me my star decal.
... I wish boxes weren't that big.
@ radiant:
ReplyDeleteI don't actually have much problem with Blogger's commenting system, but I can understand that those who got used to other platforms tend to have disdain towards it :\
One thing to check whether your comment is posted or not is that if there is a green notification on top of the comment pop-up window then it goes through ok, otherwise it has not been submitted (but your text should still in the comment field).
The shop where I got my figure won't help me to get the star stickers, so I have just sent an email directly to GSC customer support. Hope they will actually read and respond to it orz
And yes I too wish the boxes aren't so big; carrying bulky boxes back home with public transports can be annoying. On the other hand, I did see bootlegs of this figure already. Box is very recognisable (black & white as opposed to black & blue), and interestingly enough even the packing is different - it's more compact hence smaller in size! o_O;
Hm, i recently pre-ordered the DeadMaster animation version figure (coming out in march next year), but what with you talking about the recent problems with GSC, I'm not so sure what to do about this. Do you think I should cancel?
ReplyDeleteRidiculous! I saw the Black Blade version in her box and that looks big as well, but the figure is quite small. That's one way to squeeze more money from shipping... Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteOh btw, I changed my commenting system on Blogger recently. I notice people liked my current system as oppose to this one. The only problem I had with the comment system was in Snark's blog at one point. I managed to work it out on Chrome though.
@ J:
ReplyDeleteSince I don't pre-orderor buy stuff online I can't give you a proper advice on this, but reading on fellow bloggers' reviews GSC's figures have not been as great as they should have been; the actual figures may turn out a bit different to how they appear in promotional pictures (with the prototype figure), such as extra unsightly seam lines, or an overall reduction in quality for some figures.
I would personally wait for reviews to come out first before buying a figure or anything in general, but if it's an immensely popular item (e.g. pre-order was only up for a few hours before it got closed) then it may be a bit hard to buy it after the release date. The BRS figures are of pretty good quality so far, and this missing star problem is pretty minor (GSC is willing to send out stickers too so I'm ok with it). You don't have to cancel your pre-order I think, but maybe you should ask those who pre-order often on online shops for more advice, or trust your instincts.
@ Lightning Sabre:
I can definitely imagine how it is going to be a pain for oversea collectors since the size of a box contributes to the shipping fee, and not in a pretty way. It is also a problem for those who want to keep the box in case one needs to move or sell it.
Thanks for the heads up regarding on the commenting system. I actually used to hear that the embedded version gives problem to people and that the pop-up version is a stable option, so I didn't decide to change it. Blogger does seem to be improving its service recently, so I should start to take notice and change accordingly.