Asuna & Kirito【Sword Art Online】Good Smile Company Pop Up Parade Pre-Painted Figures

 While having a story concept that's by no means unique in the anime scifi storytelling world, Sword Art Online (SAO) nonetheless is one of the few tells the tale well. And it's an intertwining tale of three core concepts of Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. All tough topics to deal with, yet to me SAO has managed to combine all three together extremely well. Kirito and Asuna, whose mid-tier Pop Up Parade figures are being unboxed and reviewed in the videos in this post, are the main characters of the light novel and anime series.

  Below are the two 'Unboxing and Review' videos of the SAO protagonists that I had uploaded to my YouTube Channel, FourEyedMonster Miniatures. You can watch them here by clicking their respective play buttons or visit my channel to see the videos there as well as other content.

 Both Asuna and Kirito are the very first Good Smile Company Pop Up Parade Standard-Sized figures in my collection. In terms of condition, the former was bought pre-owned from AmiAmi Japan while the latter was bought brand new from a local Good Smile Company Partner Shop. Going forward, I'll definitely add more PoP Up Parade figures into my collection. For now though, thanks for taking the time to read my blog post. Please do visit my YouTube Channel by clicking on the second banner below. If you like the content, please do subscribe. Take care for now, be happy and be well!

Elsa & Echidna【Re:Zero-Starting Life in Another World】Banpresto Relax Time Pre-Painted Figures

 Villainesses in the world of Re:Zero might not be as popular as the main trio of Emilia, Rem, and Ram, but both Elsa Granhiert and Echidna do have their own niche attraction when it comes to the pre-painted figure collection community. And between both villainesses, Elsa is a much rarer find than Echidna. The pre-painted figures shown below are from Banpresto's Relax Time series, which tends to portray anime characters in either casual or nighttime sleepwear. 

 Below are the two 'Unboxing and Review' videos of them that I had uploaded to my YouTube Channel FourEyedMonster Miniatures. You can watch them here by clicking their respective play buttons or visit my channel to see the videos there as well as other content.

 While the Relax Time color scheme for both Re:Zero villainesses are pretty dull with their almost all-back hues, the colors are nonetheless still true to the anime characters' onscreen colors. What I would've have preferred was more neutral colored trimmings such as gray to add details to an almost all-black ensemble. More details of the review can be gained from the videos above. Next up will be a pre-painted figure with much more cheerful colors. Stay tuned to find out who she is. Until then, as always my dear readers and viewers ... please be well and be happy.

Asuka & Mari【Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time】Revolve 1/7 Scale Painted Bishoujo Figures

 In all my years as an anime fan, I honestly never thought I would be able to get my hands an upper-tier scale painted figure, let alone two. It was only thanks to the availability of pre-owned figures either in extremely good or near-mint condition at lower than retail prices that allowed me to get my hands on this pair from the Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time movie.

 Below are the 'Unboxing & Review' videos of Shikinami Asuka Langley and Makinami Mari Illustrious respectively, filmed at the High Definition (HD) resolution of 1920x1080.

 For upper-tier pre-painted figures such as the Revolve Evangelion Last Mission ones of Asuka and Mari that you see here, I plan to start a new videos series called '4K Showcase'. Kicking off this new series in my YouTube Channel is the Ultra High Definition (UHD) videos of both the EVA pilots filmed at a resolution of 3840x2160. Technically 4K usually has a resolution of 4096x2160 but YouTube classifies 3840x2160 as 4K in their video uploads, at least for now. So bearing that in mind, the video you see below is the first 4K video uploaded to my channel.

 Happy as I am with this pair of EVA pilots, I realize not many of future figures in my collection will be of the upper-tier variety. For the near future, most figures will still be from the budget friendly prize figure category or from the mid-tier category. Any upper-tier figures I do get will likely be spread out in something like one every two to three months due to budget constraints. Of course any figure be they of the budget or the more expensive variety will still be a treasured item in my collection. On that note, I always treasure the time you, my dear readers take in reading my humble blog. If you would like to also view more content, please do check out my YouTube channel by clicking on the banner immediately below this paragraph. Until we meet again, be well and be happy!

Emilia & Beatrice【Re:Zero - Story To Be Continued | Ichiban Kuji】Bishoujo Prize Figures

 Beatrice finally joins my Re:Zero-Starting Life From Another World figure collection. More importantly she is clad in her iconic pink Lolita outfit. Prize figures of Beatrice in her Lolita outfit are rare to almost non-existent. Emilia is the other pre-painted prize figure, and she is similarly clad in her own iconic outfit of purple and white from the anime series. While not as rare, figures of Emilia in her purple and white outfit are still fairly hard to find, especially in the budget prize figure category.    

 Below are three Unboxing & Review videos of the Re:Zero pair of Emilia and Beatrice. 

 All the pre-painted figures above are from the Banpresto Re:Zero-Story To Be Continued Ichiban Kuji. For ratings of the figures, please do have a look at the videos above. Thanks for taking the time to read this blog update. Please do visit my YouTube Channel by clicking on the second banner below. If you like the content, please do subscribe. Take care for now, be happy and be well!

Water Decal Tutorial | Straw Hat Pirates symbol on the flages of Going Merry ship【One Piece】

 Veteran scale modelers or miniature painters tend to take the act of water decal application for granted. When I first started out as noob scale modeler, I remember being absolutely terrified of applying water decals for fear of damaging them as most model kits did not include spare decals in anticipation of some being damaged during the application process. One thing I wish I knew back then was that I actually had more time to manipulate the water decal during the application process before it dried out. That and the fact there were ways to re-hydrate the decals thus extending the time we could work with the decals. Time affords us the opportunity to be patient in the water decal application process. And patience is the key virtue required in this task.

 Below are the two YouTube Shorts I managed to record of a water decal application of one section of the huge Straw Hat Pirates Symbol on the main sail of the Going Merry. This is an example of how quickly the process can be achieved one you've gained sufficient experience in the process.

 Meanwhile below is the main YouTube video tutorial that shows the water decal application process taking longer to completed as well as a scenario whereby the decal is accidentally torn. The main video is much longer in duration and it best describes the process if you are new to the task of water decal application. I included a torn decal scenario to show how the issue can be resolved with patience and care. Rushing the task will inevitably lead to failure as I've learned the hard way over the years. Even today I still make mistakes, but with lower frequency as my experience increases.

 If you are a beginner to this hobby, I hope you've found the video tutorial informative and most importantly helpful. Please hit the like button on the videos, and subscribe to my channel. Thanks for taking the time to read this latest blog update. As always, be well and be happy.