Nendoroid Wonder Woman (Hero's Edition) - Unboxing and Review

A short break from hobby projects has always been a necessary evil for me to avoid creative burnouts. And I'm using this one to post a quick review of the second Good Smile Company Nendoroid figurine that my son and I got as a gift for the missus i.e. Wonder Woman. It's her second figurine after the highly impressive Belle. Thus far nearly all her collectible figurines have been of strong female characters e.g. Funk Pop Daenerys Targayen. Her collection started all those years ago with Ritsu Tainaka, a mutually beloved character from one of our favourite animes K-On! (see middle figurine in last picture, sandwiched between two non-heroine characters from Star Wars).

Good Smile Company's Nendoroid Series #818: Wonder Woman (Hero's Edition)

Front angled view of the still-in-the-box Nendoroid Wonder Woman

Back angled view of the still-in-the-box Nendoroid Wonder Woman

Pictures at the back of the box show off Wonder Woman's many possible poses

Belle is figure #755 in the series but as I write this the latest one is Nendoroid #910 ... I think

Box-art for Nendoroid Wonder Woman is simple yet nice

Similar to the Beauty and the Beast heroine, Wonder Woman comes with her own accessories which include the lasso of truth, a second face option with an angrier expression, a set of crossed arms, two different hands in which to grip weapons, a sword, a shield an importantly a display base. Because unlike Belle, this DC super heroine isn't as stable - a result stemming from her inability to literally stand on her own two feet. Poses of her seemingly standing on her own feet are actually camera trick shots of her lying on her back. Her legs are too fragile to support the weight of her oversized head.

Nendoroid Wonder Woman and her many accessories encased in sturdy plastic packaging

Instructions for changing Nendoroid Wonder Woman between her many poses

Paint-wise Nendoroid Wonder Woman looks great. Her costume is suitably shiny à la the metallic armor worn by Gal Gadot in the DC movie reboot of the iconic super heroine. Meanwhile her dark brunette hair has subtle shades which make it look voluminous. Sadly such subtle shades weren't properly captured on camera partly due the black background I was using. And while her skin is rather monotone, that's fairly common among figurines comprising this 'chibi' design.

Nendoroid Wonder Woman in her first pose straight out of the box

With the help of the display stand, Wonder Woman is able to strike much more dynamic poses

Posing options are many and varied with the accessories available. This being a quick review, I went ahead with just the more recognizable and movie inspired poses like Wonder Woman with her sword and shield, with her 'wakanda' pose and with her famous lasso of truth (see photos above and below).

Here she is in one of my favourite poses although in hindsight the angry face option might've been better

For some reason this pose evokes nostalgic recollections of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song

What matters most of all was that the missus loved it. And as much as I would love to get my hands on a pair of Nendoroids myself i.e. the Evangelion pair of Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley, I would prefer to spend the limited budget on adding to the missus's meager collection (see last photo).

Nendoroid Wonder Woman comes with two face options i.e. angry and not

Wakanda Forever! Oops, sorry ... wrong universe

Lasso of truth in the deployed configuration vs  

For the moment though, none of the super-heroine figurines are on her desk. There's still the problem of finding suitable display cases for them. But more importantly, she's determining the pros and cons of displaying the Nendoroid figurines in an open office environment. 

Currently at the missus's work desk are Bee-bee-ate, Ritsu Tainaka and Darth Vader

Anyhoo, the next post should see a resumption in work-in-progress project updates. Even as I work on the All Terrain Scout Transport (AT-ST) there are so many other ideas running through my head. To give you a peek into my jumbled thoughts, I've plans to paint 1/8 scale anime resin garage kits to accompany topic-related scale model kits (e.g. Yurisha Iscandar with Space Battleship Yamato, Sayla Mass with RX-78-2, etc.); paint larger miniatures from 1/20 up to 1/6 scale; apply more advanced weathering techniques on AFV kits such as a King Tiger tank and other Star Wars vehicles; try using pastel and oil paints on projects ... the list goes on and on. I guess my short break is officially over. 

Nendoroid Belle (Beauty and the Beast) - Unboxing and Review

It's still lazy days as the new year slowly crawls into its second week. Hobby/art projects lay ignored as the inertia build up over the holiday period refuses to release its hold on me. This languid pace is deceptive though as I know it won't be long before time starts to pass me by. Soon I'll be staring 2019 in the face and wondering why barely a dent was made on an ever increasing stash of miniatures and model kits. So it's ironic I'm starting 2018 with a review of a new kit but it's special in that it was a gift to the missus from my son and me. I present to you Nendoroid Belle from Good Smile Company.

Good Smile Company's Nendoroid Series #755: Belle (from Disney's Beauty and the Beast)

Front angled view of the still-in-the-box Nendoroid Belle

Back angled view of the still-in-the-box Nendoroid Belle

Photos at the back of the box show off Belle's many possible poses

Belle is figure #755 in the series but as I write this the latest Nendoroid comes in at #802  

Box-art for Nendoroid Belle was well thought out and looked nice

This is no ordinary anime figure. Made from ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) and PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride), figurines from the Nendoroid series come with interchangeable parts which allow them to be posed in different ways with alternative expressions. Design-wise Nendoroids resemble chibi-style characters i.e. a super deformed art style that pairs a large head with a smaller body. In Belle's case, there are three primary points of articulation - her head/neck and both arms. And when combined with her various parts, there are a lot of cute poses you could do with Belle.

Encased in firm plastic packaging, Belle and her accessories were adequately protected from damage

Getting the Beast in colored 2D form wasn't ideal but certainly better than nothing

Instructions for assembly are included but aren't really needed

Belle with her interchangeable parts and accessories

One thing that leapt out of the box at me was how truly gorgeous Belle's colours were, especially her hair. Of course as miniature painters we can generally always find a way to improve on a paint job. Specifically, Belle's gown would've looked much better with some tonal variation to its yellow hues. But I wasn't the least bit tempted to repaint Nendoroid Belle as I found her colours to be excellent straight out of the box. Moreover as a collector item she is best preserved in her original colours.    

Staring off to the distance, Belles dreams of a night of ballroom dancing

Belle's hair is gorgeously coloured with subtle variations in the brown hues to denote volume

Chip (left) and Mrs. Potts (right) are the only characters to accompany Belle in 3D form

Purplish hues on Mrs. Potts and Chip contrast well against Belle's yellow gown

Getting Belle into her different poses and facial expressions was easy and intuitive. Although she came with a set of instructions, it wasn't really needed at all. I did notice a spare neck joint was provided so ostensibly that joint will break if rough handled. While the parts feel strong with enough flexibility in them to withstand repeated handling, it wouldn't hurt to treat the parts with care as you assemble and disassemble them to fix Belle in her myriad of poses.   

Nendoroid Belle comes with two different facial expressions

Belle's arms, head and parts of her dress can be detached

What would a Belle figurine be without that famous ballroom scene. Unfortunately that would require a Nendoroid Beast figurine and one doesn't exist to the best of my knowledge. There is, however, a 2D colored printout of Beast on a clear sheet included as an accessory. While not exactly an ideal way of recreating that iconic ballroom scene, the clear sheet version of Beast did do enough for some pretty nice camera shots to be taken. Three dimensional characters that Good Smile Company did include together with Belle were Mrs. Potts and Chip. Both cute and good choices! 

Tale as old as time ...

... song as old as rhyme ...

... Beauty and the Beast

Sugary sweet as Belle should be

And wait there's more! Two wonderful little accessories provide Belle with even more posing possibilities. These are her vanity hand mirror as well as the enchanted rose and its 'glass' container. Shown below are just some of my favourite shots although the interchangeability and articulation of her head and arms means there are many ways you could go about posing her with the accessories.

Now who could Belle be looking at through her little vanity mirror ...

... well, it's Belle's beau the Beast of course

The Enchanted Rose is encased in a clear plastic part which looks good enough to pass off as glass  

Belle can also be posed to hold on to the Enchanted Rose

Also included in the set was a plastic base for displaying Belle. I can see how this base would be extremely useful if the Nendoroid figure had small deformed legs and couldn't stand on its own (as most seemingly are). Belle is unique in that her ballroom gown becomes a base by itself and she can stand perfectly well without any aid from the said plastic base.

While the stand is sturdy and of good quality, I never did find a use for it when posing Belle

Packaging artwork does double duty and can be used as the background during photography

A Disney princess isn't complete unless she is next to a castle

Belle is my wife's favourite Disney Princess. So it was a no-brainer to get this figurine the moment I laid eyes on it. Would I get another Nendoroid seeing how much the missus loved this one? Yes! I already have one in mind (of a super-heroine character) but I can't reveal it as yet because most online sites have stopped taking pre-orders for this particular future release. Remember Lady Inertia? Well, she's bearing down on me even as I finish this post. Must .. get ... hold ... of ... a brush ... and ... some paints. Must ... hey whaddya know, the latest episode of Big Bang Theory is on TV now.