Girl's Rider - Hasegawa 1/12 scale Real Figure Collection No.1 [Unboxing and Dry Fit Review]

 Eager anticipation has always predominated any return I make to projects involving female figurines whatever the scale. So much so that it transcends the severe trepidation I invariably have whenever I take on the challenge of painting realistic skin tone and facial features of said figurines. My ultimate goal is to one day render a paint job so true that it'll be like real life in miniature form. Now this may be a lofty, unattainable goal. But it is one that suggests a long journey ahead, a theme I feel is consistent with this creative hobby. This particular journey will begin with an unboxing and dry fit review of Girl's Rider, a 1/12 scale resin figurine from the Hasegawa Real Figure Collection.          

Hasegawa 1/12 scale Real Figure Collection No.1 - Girl's Rider [Unboxing and Dry Fit Review]

Front and back box art of the 1/12 scale Girl's Rider resin figurine

Side box art of the Girl's Rider resin figurine

 In contrast to scale model kits, the assembly instructions for figurines are generally simple and straightforward. It was no different for the guide included with the Girl's Rider resin figurine kit. The only complication I can foresee is whether the figurine's hair fringes/bangs should be painted first before being glued onto her head or vice versa. Based on preliminary observations, I believe the process to get the fringes/bangs to align properly with the rest of her hair might be a tricky one. Gaps in her head of hair may potentially show up. As such it may become necessary to carry out gap-filling-with-putty work before painting can begin. If this is also true for other parts of the figurine, then the workflow process will likely be assemble all parts, glue, prime, mask appropriately, and paint.   

Hasegawa's instruction booklet for the 1/12 scale Girl's Rider resin figurine

Assembly of the Girl's Rider figurine is fairly straightforward except for the bangs/fringes of her hair

 Upon opening the box, my impressions are that the internal packaging is consistent with Hasegawa's marketing pitch that this figurine is a limited edition premium figurine. First thing that catches the eye is a pinkish red bubble wrap with heart-shaped motifs. This serves to protect the resin parts of the figurine. Comprising two large (head connected to upper torso and one half of the lower torso; other half of the lower torso) and four relatively smaller parts (both arms/hands as well as two hair fringes/bangs), these parts are themselves placed in two separate plastic bags (see below).  

A pinkish red bubble wrap with heart-shaped motifs serves to protect the resin parts

Resin parts themselves are placed inside two small plastic bags

 One undesirable thing of note is that individual resin parts of the figurine will require a fair deal of prep work to ensure the individual parts fit together seamlessly in the future. Because this was a quick dry fit review, the parts you see in the photos below weren't optimally prepped. There is still a ways to go before the parts are fully cleared of mold lines, extraneous resin pieces, etc. As it stands, I'm still not entirely sure if the figurine will exhibit gaps once assembled. Preliminary observations tell me that some minor putty work might be needed though I hope I'm wrong on this. 

Girl's Rider figurine comprises six separate parts - two big with four relatively smaller

 During the dry fit exercise, unsightly seams can be clearly seen from the photos below; reasons of which are partly attributable to factors mentioned in the preceding paragraph. In addition to that, the use of adhesive tacks actually prevents the parts from achieving a seamless fit. Regardless of how thin I try to make the adhesive tacks, they still have a certain volume to them that shouldn't exist when the parts are glued together. For a dry fit, the adhesive tacks serve their purpose adequately enough.

1/12 scale Girl's Rider resin figurine, after being dry-fitted using adhesive tack

Resin figurine's facial features are clear and well molded

For now there is an unsightly seam running down the center of her groin area ...

... but it's more due to the thick adhesive tack used rather than any inherent design flaw

Incredible detail can be seen in the long, individual strands of her hair

In hindsight, adhesive tapes would've probably worked better than adhesive tacks

Front and back view of the dry-fitted Girl's Rider resin figurine

 In addition to the post you see here, I have actually taken a series of videos of the unboxing and dry-fitting process. All of it will be combined into one long video. And once it has been edited, the video will be uploaded to YouTube and the corresponding blog post published. This video should be far more informative and instructive than the post you see here, so it should be worth a look once it's done. Until then I leave you with a quote from my favorite character from Downton Abbey namely Dowager Countess Violet Crawley ... My dear, all life is a series of problems which we must try and solve, first one and then the next and then the next, until at last we die.