Generally, I buy my figures new. This is only somewhat of a crap shoot. Preordering figures is one way to guarantee you get them, but it can sometimes be expensive, especially if it's a figure that ends up not selling out. On the other hand, if it does sell out, you're on the resale market, and used figures can sometimes go for even more than the original ones did brand new. Or, you can find no used figures, and then you're stuck with someone who bought two of them new and sells the second one, with a very high markup. The worst example of this is the 1/8th Ryoko Kaminagi figure I bought for ~$80 new, which one ebay seller has listed for nearly $500. Which is pretty spectacular for a semi-main character in a moderately popular series. And one that isn't really that remarkably sculpted.
That might argue for my keeping all my figures in boxed , pristine condition and selling them off when I need the cash, but to me, figures are like any other collectable: meant to be used, or at least looked at, and you can't get much looking done in a box. Besides, they're art, in a way, and not just an investment good. So I display them. And in displaying, I know full well how many ways there are to break things, even if completely unintentionally. For this reason, I normally cringe at buying used figures, but when it comes to Nanoha figures, this is sometimes unavoidable.
Enter the 1/7th scale Nanoha Takamachi figure from Alter. Specifically, this is the A's style Nanoha, which is to say about the same age she was in the original, but before the late teens/early twenties Nanoha of StrikerS. Both styles have their merits, I think, but this in particular shows her at a slightly more loli style.
This is my first time using my camera's macro photography option. It's not a particularly flashy camera; a Sony Cybershot, standard point and shoot fare, and I don't use it too often. I like how these turned out, though. Though the background (the mantel above my fireplace) might need some work. And for those PVC aficionados tearing their hair out right now, the fireplace was not in use.
Anyway, it's fairly simple, as far as poses go. A two footed one, which I greatly prefer; one foot poses may look nice, but I always seem them as less stable, and more prone to figure lean (though to be fair, no figure I own has succumbed to such). Her feet attached to two risers coming out of an unremarkable blue oval base. I like that, actually; a base should not detract attention from the figure itself, and besides big, clunky bases take up more space in an already crowded Detolf shelf. I will complain, though, at Nanoha's serious expression; the tiny almost-smile doesn't do her justice, I think. Especially if she has Raising Heart aimed and ready to fire; when befriending, she's either smiling widely, or screaming.
Alter are generally held up as the gold standard in PVC figures, and this figure does nothing to disabuse me of that. They're very good at portraying details like the wrinkles in clothing. I will say Nanoha's neck is quite extraordinarily narrow, compared to other figures, but if it's to the point that I have nothing to complain about than a narrow neck, then you must be doing something good. Note the wing fins emerging from Nanoha's boots. They're present on two other of my figures, and they were a horrible pain getting properly attached there too. I appreciate the nod to keeping things real, but the things really are more trouble than they're worth. In this case I seriously considered leaving the things off, but then I'd have a big hole in Nanoha's boot. Meh.
Raising Heart is quite nicely portrayed in shooter mode. Looking back, you can kind of see the predecessor to the trigger grip she would have in the movie. You also see details that, staring at the thing right in front of me, I wouldn't notice, like all the sparkles in the paint they used. Looking back behind her, I wonder if they might not have exaggerated the thinness of her ponytails? It's hard to compare, because my other Nanoha figures (Ms. Takamachi has no fewer than four other PVC reproductions in my display cabinets) are all of the adult, StrikerS era. Which is nice, if you like boobs, but not so good if you want to harken back to the series' roots.
Well, they did get that part right. Definitely true to the original. Though I suppose that a bit more kneepit definition would have been nice? I assume this is simply a function of being an earlier sculpture, as I can see other Alter figures with a better outlining of the knee tendons. I will note that the shift from pink to white panties for Nanoha seems to be across the board, though. An odd change, and not a completely good one.
Anyway, a very nice figure, though quite honestly as a very old figure, this was more an attempt to teach myself a thing or two about photography and lighting than anything else. Next week I will present the loliriffic Mina Tepes figure, and see if I didn't make a major mistake grabbing it.
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