ArchiwheelHello everyone,
This is my first article on MFC. English is not my main language so, sorry in advance if I make mistakes.
After collecting anime figures since December 2018 and becoming involved in this hobby, I wanted to talk about how it all started for me, tell some anecdotes and talk about what's my next step in this hobby. I’ll end with a work in progress of this big project. If you want to skip the story and go directly to the project, go to "so what's next?".
I've read mangas and watched anime for years, without being interested in figures, until I discovered Steins; Gate in late 2018. I loved this universe so much, and after having watched the two seasons and the movie (I don’t play games so I didn’t play the visual novel), I wanted more… so why not look for a figure of Kurisu Makise, who became my favorite character?
That’s how I looked for my very first figure. I didn’t know anything about the hobby, about the manufacturers, about the level of quality I could expect from them and about the prices =D…
It did not fail: the first result I got was the figure of Kurisu made by GSC ITEM #78589. When I saw the pictures for the first time, I said “Whow” two times: The first time for the beauty of this figure. I didn’t expect that level of quality. The second time was for the price…
I found her beautiful but I didn’t want to spend that much. I looked at cheaper ones, and I thought… a lot… again… finally I thought “hey, that’s the only figure I’ll buy because I love this character, this one by GSC is so beautiful… I’ll regret if I don’t buy her”.
Yes, I considered this a One shot…
Do you believe that?
No?
=D
The good point was that GSC re-released this figure at that moment, so I had an opportunity to buy her at a normal price, and finally I ordered her in December 2018, from the French seller "Derive Figurines". They are very kind and professional.
She was announced for May 2019. After a 4 months delay plus a 3 months delivery since the shop was based in Europe, I finally received her in December 2019, so ONE YEAR after having ordered her. For a first experience, I wasn’t disappointed, she was so worth the wait and the price!
The funny thing is that when I received her after one year, I already had received a dozen other figures, ordered after Kurisu, because yes, I was definitely trapped by this hobby!
Indeed, just after having ordered Kurisu, I ordered other Steins; Gate figures including the beautiful Alter figure of Suzuha Amane with her bicycle ITEM #117949 and then, figures of characters from other series.
The very first figure I received was the Alphamax figure of Kuro Usagi from Mondaiji, another character I enjoyed ITEM #146266.
This was my very first contact with an Anime figure. And since it was made by Alphamax, I wasn’t disappointed by the quality!
Given that I officially became an Anime figure collector, I established some rules I try to follow, to keep my collection rather small, control my budget and save space:
- Only buy scales because these are the ones I prefer
- Don’t buy figures of characters I don’t know. Only of characters I’ve liked, from series I’ve liked
- Only one figure per character, the figure I enjoy the most (2 figures for some exceptions)
- Since I buy only one figure per character, I focus on figures showing the character as he/she is in the series (for example no bunny girl, swimsuit or Christmas figures if the character doesn’t show like this in the series).
For example, I’ve purchased 2 Christmas figures of Steins; Gate characters because they really have a Christmas party in the second season… and because they’re super cute! ITEM #695516, ITEM #695518
Not always easy to follow… The problem when I choose my favorite figure of a character is the availability. For Rei Ayanami for example, I selected this Kotobukiya figure ITEM #56025 which was very hard to find at a good price and in good condition due to discoloration problems.
I contacted Solaris Japan, Mandarake and some eBay sellers who had one for sale, to find out if there were any discoloration issues … and there always were, even on sealed ones!
Solaris Japan even canceled and refunded my order because they weren’t satisfied with the condition of theirs after checking her! They apologized and gave me some extra loyalty points… I love how professional the customer support of Solaris Japan is.
Finally, I found one pre-owned, but she is not perfect… anyway I like her.
Annother example: for Toujou Koneko from High School DxD I fell in love with this Pulchra figure ITEM #331729.
Damn Why did I choose this one? She is very fragile because in resin, rare, impossible to find completely intact and she became super expensive!
Now this figure is my Holy Grail… I’ll find one, one day. CLASSIFIED #202386.
Now, after collecting for 17 months, I’m definitely passionate by this hobby. I’m enjoying my small but growing collection of figures from Steins; Gate, Evangelion, Good Smile Racing, Rail Wars, Food Wars, Dagashi Kashi, Cowboy Bebop, To Love-Ru, Darling in the Franxx, Yahari…
I have 3 other figures ordered, including the wonderful figure of Yae Sakura from Honkai Impact 3rd made by Apex.
This is an exception to my 2nd rule: since I don’t play games, I didn’t know Yae Sakura. But oh my god this figure is a piece of art, and it emanates from her a fantastic femininity and a delicious Japanese aesthetic. I had already been amazed by the life-size version made for Shanghai WF2019, whose I saw the making-of video so when the 1/8 figure was available, this was an instant pre-order. I’m still waiting for mine: in the actual global mess, the delivery is longer than expected.
This perfectly illustrates how I consider anime figures: like pieces of Art. And I intend to display them as such in my future home.
So what’s next?
I’ll move in a few months in my new home. The work is still in progress and it is almost stopped because of the actual events, so I’ll have to be patient.
This allows me to think about how I’ll display my collection in this new place. Some of the figures will be displayed in the living room, the other ones in the office.
Here is what it will look like:
This space in the office upstairs will be fitted out to house most of the collection. Here is a picture of the space now and a sketch of how it will be fitted out when completed. The storages will be home-made:
I am thinking of displaying some figures in wall-hung Ikea glass cases in the living room. Here is a picture of the wall now and a sketch of how it will be when completed. You can recognize some Steins; Gate figures in the cases:
These display cases are Ikea Sammanhang cases. And you know what? These were limited and are no longer available!! I absolutely want those cases so I have to hunt them, exactly like figures!
I’ve found one pre-owned for now… so if some of you guys want to sell one or two, I’m interested.
Another project for this place is to have Art work printed on aluminum panels, to display in the bedroom. The art will be illustrations of Kurisu Makise, Asuka Langley and Rei Ayanami. The panels will be 120cm high and 55cm wide, and I’ll hang 2 of them alternately.
Here is a picture of the bedroom now and a sketch of how it will be when completed, with an Ikea wardrobe.
What do you think? In the actual picture you can see the first display space behind, in the open office.
Well, this is definitely the biggest project of my life. Anime and Manga culture will hold an important place in this interior.
I will write another article with pictures when all this work will be finished, I hope in June or July.
Hope you liked the story, sorry if it was long, do not hesitate to comment!
This is my first article on MFC. English is not my main language so, sorry in advance if I make mistakes.
After collecting anime figures since December 2018 and becoming involved in this hobby, I wanted to talk about how it all started for me, tell some anecdotes and talk about what's my next step in this hobby. I’ll end with a work in progress of this big project. If you want to skip the story and go directly to the project, go to "so what's next?".
I've read mangas and watched anime for years, without being interested in figures, until I discovered Steins; Gate in late 2018. I loved this universe so much, and after having watched the two seasons and the movie (I don’t play games so I didn’t play the visual novel), I wanted more… so why not look for a figure of Kurisu Makise, who became my favorite character?
That’s how I looked for my very first figure. I didn’t know anything about the hobby, about the manufacturers, about the level of quality I could expect from them and about the prices =D…
It did not fail: the first result I got was the figure of Kurisu made by GSC ITEM #78589. When I saw the pictures for the first time, I said “Whow” two times: The first time for the beauty of this figure. I didn’t expect that level of quality. The second time was for the price…
I found her beautiful but I didn’t want to spend that much. I looked at cheaper ones, and I thought… a lot… again… finally I thought “hey, that’s the only figure I’ll buy because I love this character, this one by GSC is so beautiful… I’ll regret if I don’t buy her”.
Yes, I considered this a One shot…
Do you believe that?
No?
=D
The good point was that GSC re-released this figure at that moment, so I had an opportunity to buy her at a normal price, and finally I ordered her in December 2018, from the French seller "Derive Figurines". They are very kind and professional.
She was announced for May 2019. After a 4 months delay plus a 3 months delivery since the shop was based in Europe, I finally received her in December 2019, so ONE YEAR after having ordered her. For a first experience, I wasn’t disappointed, she was so worth the wait and the price!
The funny thing is that when I received her after one year, I already had received a dozen other figures, ordered after Kurisu, because yes, I was definitely trapped by this hobby!
Indeed, just after having ordered Kurisu, I ordered other Steins; Gate figures including the beautiful Alter figure of Suzuha Amane with her bicycle ITEM #117949 and then, figures of characters from other series.
The very first figure I received was the Alphamax figure of Kuro Usagi from Mondaiji, another character I enjoyed ITEM #146266.
This was my very first contact with an Anime figure. And since it was made by Alphamax, I wasn’t disappointed by the quality!
Given that I officially became an Anime figure collector, I established some rules I try to follow, to keep my collection rather small, control my budget and save space:
- Only buy scales because these are the ones I prefer
- Don’t buy figures of characters I don’t know. Only of characters I’ve liked, from series I’ve liked
- Only one figure per character, the figure I enjoy the most (2 figures for some exceptions)
- Since I buy only one figure per character, I focus on figures showing the character as he/she is in the series (for example no bunny girl, swimsuit or Christmas figures if the character doesn’t show like this in the series).
For example, I’ve purchased 2 Christmas figures of Steins; Gate characters because they really have a Christmas party in the second season… and because they’re super cute! ITEM #695516, ITEM #695518
Not always easy to follow… The problem when I choose my favorite figure of a character is the availability. For Rei Ayanami for example, I selected this Kotobukiya figure ITEM #56025 which was very hard to find at a good price and in good condition due to discoloration problems.
I contacted Solaris Japan, Mandarake and some eBay sellers who had one for sale, to find out if there were any discoloration issues … and there always were, even on sealed ones!
Solaris Japan even canceled and refunded my order because they weren’t satisfied with the condition of theirs after checking her! They apologized and gave me some extra loyalty points… I love how professional the customer support of Solaris Japan is.
Finally, I found one pre-owned, but she is not perfect… anyway I like her.
Annother example: for Toujou Koneko from High School DxD I fell in love with this Pulchra figure ITEM #331729.
Damn Why did I choose this one? She is very fragile because in resin, rare, impossible to find completely intact and she became super expensive!
Now this figure is my Holy Grail… I’ll find one, one day. CLASSIFIED #202386.
Now, after collecting for 17 months, I’m definitely passionate by this hobby. I’m enjoying my small but growing collection of figures from Steins; Gate, Evangelion, Good Smile Racing, Rail Wars, Food Wars, Dagashi Kashi, Cowboy Bebop, To Love-Ru, Darling in the Franxx, Yahari…
I have 3 other figures ordered, including the wonderful figure of Yae Sakura from Honkai Impact 3rd made by Apex.
This is an exception to my 2nd rule: since I don’t play games, I didn’t know Yae Sakura. But oh my god this figure is a piece of art, and it emanates from her a fantastic femininity and a delicious Japanese aesthetic. I had already been amazed by the life-size version made for Shanghai WF2019, whose I saw the making-of video so when the 1/8 figure was available, this was an instant pre-order. I’m still waiting for mine: in the actual global mess, the delivery is longer than expected.
This perfectly illustrates how I consider anime figures: like pieces of Art. And I intend to display them as such in my future home.
So what’s next?
I’ll move in a few months in my new home. The work is still in progress and it is almost stopped because of the actual events, so I’ll have to be patient.
This allows me to think about how I’ll display my collection in this new place. Some of the figures will be displayed in the living room, the other ones in the office.
Here is what it will look like:
This space in the office upstairs will be fitted out to house most of the collection. Here is a picture of the space now and a sketch of how it will be fitted out when completed. The storages will be home-made:
I am thinking of displaying some figures in wall-hung Ikea glass cases in the living room. Here is a picture of the wall now and a sketch of how it will be when completed. You can recognize some Steins; Gate figures in the cases:
These display cases are Ikea Sammanhang cases. And you know what? These were limited and are no longer available!! I absolutely want those cases so I have to hunt them, exactly like figures!
I’ve found one pre-owned for now… so if some of you guys want to sell one or two, I’m interested.
Another project for this place is to have Art work printed on aluminum panels, to display in the bedroom. The art will be illustrations of Kurisu Makise, Asuka Langley and Rei Ayanami. The panels will be 120cm high and 55cm wide, and I’ll hang 2 of them alternately.
Here is a picture of the bedroom now and a sketch of how it will be when completed, with an Ikea wardrobe.
What do you think? In the actual picture you can see the first display space behind, in the open office.
Well, this is definitely the biggest project of my life. Anime and Manga culture will hold an important place in this interior.
I will write another article with pictures when all this work will be finished, I hope in June or July.
Hope you liked the story, sorry if it was long, do not hesitate to comment!
Comments22
Best of luck!
Thank you so much for this comment. Indeed, that's how I tackle the new display of my collection, which does not only contain figures but also other pieces (european comics objects, airplane models, art deco objects) and after a long time spent on a small and inappropriate flat in which I had to keep the objects waiting in their boxes, this next start is a breath of fresh air.
And yes, I had the luck to think about the interior design from the construction phase so that I was able to ajust it to my needs.
Wish you best of luck with your own display! It can be interesting in an older interior, too, if it is well highlighted, but I trust you for that!
Best of luck!
Thanks! I also can't wait!
Thank you, following the rules is a good thing but can be a pain in some cases haha T.T
You have a pretty nice collection, too. I've seen you ordered the Utaha lingerie figure made by Aniplex, I also want to order her so bad, ATM I'm convincing myself haha!
Cloudberry • 3 years ago • #77277533I can't wait to see how your house turns out, espically with all of your art pieces
Thanks a lot, I also can't waint, I'll share pictures. It depends of when the work will restart after the crisis T.T
There will also be other arts not related to anime!
Cloudberry • 3 years ago • #77277533Btw, your English is pretty good.
Thanks, Google traduction helped me haha
I can't wait to see how your house turns out, espically with all of your art pieces.
Btw, your English is pretty good.
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much! I'll share pictures for sure!
I just moved and am also hoping to design a perfect space incorporating figures and art as well! Though my budget is very limited so it might be a while before i can get nice furniture/display cases ;w;
Best of luck to you and hope you post an update when it's finished!
Thank you! Yes, a lot of things will be home-made or custom build. The shelves in the first picture will be home-made with painted MDF. The aluminium panels in the bedroom will be a custom order, it is pretty easy to find websites that offer this service for an affordable cost. And finally the glass boxes are from Ikea. So in the end it I think it is possible to make such an arrangement while keeping the budget under control. If you have smart ideas, you will reach your goal for sure.
Of course I'll post an update when it's finished! =D