For a die hard Zelda fan the First 4 Figures  1/4 scale Wolf Link & Midna statue is a “must have”. For those of us who are just regular Zelda fans it’s a “must want”. The detail on the statue is rather impressive, but for the price it had better be… The regular version will run you $329.99 and is limited to 750 pieces worldwide. The Exclusive version which adds a light feature to Midna’s hair will cost you $349.99, and there will only be 350 pieces made. These are scheduled to be released in Q2 of 2011, and First 4 Figures is taking pre-orders on both now.

“Midna wears her distinctive helmet and reaches out her arm as a warning. Wolf Link turns and snarls. They are working in perfect unison. The Wolf Link and Midna statue captures every aspect of this iconic duo with stunning realism. Each piece is individually painted and finished to exacting standards. They are an amazing addition to your Zelda display.

At 1/4 scale, they measures approximately 15 inches tall and 15.5 inches long. Cast in high quality poly-stone, the statue is hand finished and hand painted. Working with the official Twilight Princess game files has allowed First 4 Figures to faithfully recreate Wolf Link and Midna’s distinct style and add fine detail.”

For those of us who can’t afford the hefty price tag we can still revel in the glory of the pictures.

Kotobukiya will release it’s Mina Tepes figure from Dance In The Vampire Bund in November of 2010. Most retailers are taking pre-orders at around about $105 USD.

Good Smile’s Mikoto Misaka figure sculpted by Ken Yokota will release in July 2010 at the price of ¥5800.  US price is unknown as I cannot find any US companies taking pre-orders, but based on similar figures I’d guess around $80-$100 range. It can  be pre ordered direct from Ami-Ami at the Japanese price plus around a $40 USD (give or take) shipping cost.

From Good Smile’s site:

“A certain scientific figure.

From the popular anime currently being broadcast in Japan, “A Certain Scientific Railgun” comes a PVC figure of Misaka Mikoto wearing her school uniform. Misaka is one of the seven Level 5 espers in Academy City, and the only one who is an electromaster with command over electricity!

She has been posed in the classic pose she always takes just before shooting off her famous “railgun” attack – holding a coin in her one hand whilst staring ahead with an imposing, albeit rather attractive pose. The figure also comes with the popular “iron-sand sword” that appeared in the anime, which can be held in her other hand, allowing for a slightly different display option.”

From dannychoo: “AmiAmi has recently launched the English version of their website.”

Now you can buy your anime figures and related merchandise straight from Japan… http://www.amiami.com/shop?set=english

Taking a quick look at the site they carry all the major brands of anime figures and dolls you would expect along with games, music CDs, DVD/BR, and all the anime costume and related merchandise you can imagine

There are some good reasons to read the FAQ of the site before ordering though. First of all the prices are all in Japanese Yen (currently 99 JPY = $1 USD) and due to this they only accept Paypal since it will automatically convert the funds from dollars to yen. Also while you may notice the prices seem quite a bit lower than US based stores keep in mind that the shipping is going to easily make up the difference.

According to their FAQ shipping to the US is approximatey from 1500 JPY to 5200 JPY (about $15 – $52 USD) for single item purchases depending on size, so that 1/8 Alter Mio figure going for 5450 JPY (about $54 USD) is going to have a $20-$36 shipping charge with it bringing the total cost to around the same as US based stores are selling it for. Of course it should go without saying that returns would be a pain, so I’d suggest not buying something unless you really intend to keep it… As a matter of fact the only thing even mentioned about returns was in the case of damages, and it stated that the item must be returned within 7 days.

The only other thing that stuck out in the FAQ was that they do carry some items that are restricted to Japan only, and if you for some reason add one of these items to your cart it will cause the whole order to be cancelled, so keeping that in mind would be a good thing.

Since I posted the  Mio figure by Alter last week, and because I mentioned the upcoming Yui in that post here she is. I may actually like this one more than the Mio figure. This should be out at the end of February 2010. MSRP is $90 USD.

The more I see these the more I want them. God why did I have to be born poor.

Okay… This isn’t new, but I found it last night while searching out upcoming figures, and it’s on my “I want this” list. The Good Smile 1/8 scale PVC Lala Deviluke. Released in August of 2008 it runs about $70 USD.

I would say her costume is one of the oddest I’ve seen, but I remember as a kid they had these Halloween costumes called “Bug-a-loos” that had inflatable heads, and every time I see this outfit that’s what comes to mind.

It’s Mio!!! And it’s by Alter. As usual they make some of the most accurate figures. The detail on this one is amazing although the pose is kind of odd. This one will be available in December 2009, and has an MSRP of $88 US$

At least from the images I don’t see any logos on the Fender ’62 reissue bass. If I had the cash this, and the upcoming Yui would be mine. I also would like to see an Asuza hugging her Mustang.

Those who play Pangya have probably been waiting for this since Season 4 introduced the Lucia character, and here she is in 1/7 scale PVC created by Amiami. The figure looks pretty impressive, and carries an impressive $135 US$ MSRP (although actual prices are typically under $120) The figure will be released in December 2009.

And before anyone asks… No… I don’t know what color the pantsu are.

There are two new Canaan figures due out for 2010 a nendroid as well as a detailed 1/8 scale PVC both by Good Smile. The nendroid is duer out January 2010, and the 1/8 will be out in February 2010. Both are quite nice, and the 1/8 may sell out in the pre-order phase so you may wanna get an order in for that quick if you want. The MSRP for the nendroid is $48 US$ and the 1/8 has a $117 US$  MSRP.

Since the article I did on the School Days Kotonoha figure got a bit of attention I decided to add a new topic showing some of the new anime figures that are coming out.

Due out in February 2010 is The Phantom Requiem For The Phantom Ein 1/8 scale PVC figure by Gift.

The figure itself looks nice, and the pose is good, but I think they got the face wrong… Well… Not wrong actually, but they seem to have modeled the face after the visual novel version of Ein rather than the anime. MSRP is around $95.oo US$