Shaorin

i also make clothes for my Shaorin doll (from Mamotte Shugogetten) some Anime-based, some not...

i collect Anime dolls and also static figures;

and to make them stuff. i dunno, Anime dolls have a special appeal to me. maybe i'm just a pervert or something, but the fact that an Anime doll has real cloth clothing, and an actual human body underneath, is why i like them so. they feel more "Real" to me, in the same way that my 1/60 PG ZETA GUNDAM feels more "Real" to me than my old 1990 1/144 HG. an Anime Girl figure/statue, well executed, is a thing of beauty. still, the creative freedom inherent in an Anime Doll always wins out in my world. imagine having a doll of your favorite Anime Girl, and being able to make and dress her up in exactly what you'd like her to wear, right down to her lingerie!! i dunno, maybe i have a little femininity inside me? perhaps i'm just totally gay? could be that i'm just a creepy perv? ...all i know is that it is all very beautiful to me, and makes me very happy indeed. OH, BTW; i meant "word of warning" as to refer to the fact that SEGA (yes, they made toys, as well as VGs, ever since at least their 1987 MASTER SYSTEM/ZILLION days, in fact...) used inferior material to make these doll's boots, and that anyone looking for one of these SEGA MKR dolls will most likely have to expect their doll's factory boots to be deteriorating, which, of course, necessitates a total shoe replacement...

my latest addition, Miss Hikaru Shidou♥ from the 1994 CLAMP Anime/Manga/Video Game "Magic Knight Rayearth" she is from SEGA's "Chara Doll Selection" doll series from 1997 or so, which seems to be a reissue series of SEGA's 1994/95 RAYEARTH doll series, as well as their 1996 Sakura Wars series. well, SEGA's QC left a LOT to be desired, so i went ahead and repainted her sword, as well as the ruby crystals on her chest armor and little white boots. speaking of those cute little boots, i had to make those from scratch, as the originals were made out of some HORRIBLY INFERIOR vinyl pleather that was actually rotting away straight out of the box!!!! let this be a word of warning to anyone here whom might ever have a fancy for SEGA's MKR dolls!! oh and a final thing; i replaced her HORRENDOUS SEGA body with a spare OBITSU body i had. FAR SUPERIOR!! here are some shots of the original production dolls:

well, i'm guessing that the first one there is based off the color scheme of the uniforms on The "Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" so, i guess the whole idea of these is that, "if you can see a specific Anime in these color patterns, then you must be an OTAKU..."

INDEED, that was really cool. well done, VF1A-FAN...

yeah, selling off TRANSFORMERS, especially vintage examples, is a great way to generate revenue to by Valkyries!!

ah, okay. so i guess that leaves Miku-Chan♥ open to be hopefully wooed by my serenations. that's all good then. i'll shake hands and close this with a pic of Miku♥ just freshly taken:

okay, okay. i like her cute little chubby figure as well. like i said, i did nothing to her body outside of swapping bust sizes. the fact that her doll is not so chubby and lolita-ish in the overall figure is MEGA HOUSE and OBITSU's fault, not mine. perhaps i'll reconsider her melons, after all, the skin color doesn't exactly match, as if she was sunburned right on her bust area. still, those soccer balls are just so, so MASSIVE...

i concur. the pointy "WAVE SHOOTER" SHIELD/NOSECONE module is too slender, giving the airframe, to my eye, a "guppy" look. it is clear that, like the 1990 SYSTEM INJECTION HG 1/144, the MG 2.0 is based off of the Z-GUNDAM's "WAVE SHOOTER" variant, which is more angular all-around then the "WAVE RIDER" variant, which has a rounded, larger, more balanced overall design. now i am VERY HAPPY AND SATISFIED that i went ahead with the PERFECT GRADE ver. 1.0. it looks far more realistic and well balanced to my personal eye than any other Z-GUNDAM scale rectification designed before or after it's release...

i never did anything to her thighs, only her bust. it was far too large, creating a severe imbalance to her overall figure. besides, i think Mikuru♥ would thank me. those melons HAD to be causing her some rather severe back aches, to say the least...

MAN, do i want the YAMATO ALPHONSE type INGRAM!! i don't care if it has a waist joint issue, YAMATO helped me successfully fix my MEGAZONE 23 Shogo-type GARLAND, and it has not failed me since! i understand that YAMATO offers a similar repair program for the INGRAM, and i'm sure that it would turn out as perfectly. i'd substitute a strip of electrician's tape for the cutting from the sateen cover sheet that YAMATO suggests, though...

actually, there is a reason for that. Mikuru here is based upon an OBITSU doll body. these bodies are designed to come apart into sections, so one can easily change bust sizes, hip sizes, ETC. well, that's exactly what i did with my Mikuru. i found the melons she was cursed with to be grotesquely unbalanced in appearance, so i bought an OBITSU body with a more sensible bust size, and relieved poor Mikuru of some excess weight. not only does it make her look even cuter to me, but her Bra fits far better now, too♥

NOT FUNNY...

my current CD player, until i get my japanese-market PIONEER PD-3000 fixed: DENON DCD-1500 (1986) PIONEER PD-3000 (1987)

i have a couple of TRANSFORMERS shirts, one with OPTIMUS PRIME, the other with MEGATRON. i also have a ROBOTECH "We Want You for the RDF" shirt with Rick/Hikaru looking and pointing directly at you with his flight helmet on. i used to wear them when i could still fit them. still, no one ever noticed...

FINISHED!! WOW, was this the most complicated mecha model i've ever done, by far! INCREDIBLE engineering!! it addresses all the gripes i ever had about the MASTER GRADE ver.1 and then some!! it was well worth it, what an experience!! i've built most of the ZETA GUNDAM iterations BANDAI has ever made, from the 1985 1/144 MOBILE SUIT fixed-mode original kit, to the 1990 1/144 HG (High Grade) which is the very first transformable (by completely removing the head and white abdomen pieces) rendition of this vehicle to my knowledge, to the 1996 1/100 Master Grade, which had a relatively perfect transformation outside of having to remove and remount the shield/nosecone module, to finally this wonder, which has a truly PERFECT transformation that requires no parts removal/swapping, and locks together solidly in both forms!! i've known about and wanted this model since around 2002, and it was WELL worth the wait!!

i'm not really a Suzumiya fan, but i've always loved little Mikuru♥ ever since i saw her for the first time. i also felt sorry for her since finding out how Haruhi picks on her on a regular basis. as such, i have been wanting the Figma of her for a while now. i finally get the chance to get myself one, and i stumble upon something even better; WOW, now THIS is the Mikuru Asahina i've always wanted!! she was expensive ($125) but well worth it to me. i have made some alterations to her inner and outer clothing; you can find out about them in my thread: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=31491

um, those links are no good. you'll have to re-post them...

you sure about that?

well, after waiting a full week, i finally received this ginormous box at my front door. in it, was what i was expecting to be the quintessential japanese plastic model building experience of my life. well, i wasn't disappointed. have a look: now if that isn't the biggest, most complex-a$$ model kit any of you have ever seen, then there must be some real serious-a$$ mecha model die-hards out there!! so, what do all these scads of parts build? this is my single most favorite mecha design from the "MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM" universe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Suit_Gundam a series that has existed since 1979, with many sequels made to date. this model is of the main "MOBILE SUIT" from the first sequel to the original 1979 series, 1985's "MOBILE SUIT ZETA GUNDAM" now, while the GUNDAM series is hardly my favorite in the Mecha Anime universe... (i'm more of a MACROSS VF-1 VALKYRIE junkie myself) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macross http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VF-1_Valkyrie ...i still happen to have my own personal favorite GUNDAM, and this is it. now, i have always dreamed and lusted for the concept of a model-building experience of this grade of technical complexity, and for a model kit of of just exactly that stripe to exist of one of my favorite Mecha designs, rather than some ungainly horror or another (think "NEON GENESIS EVANGELION" here) means that this model has had my name written all over it since inception back in 2000. now then, let's go over some of the finer points if this sucker: landing gear struts, made out of high-quality, polished zinc. they are heavy for their size, and have a very nice ring to them when jumbled together. Quality. a light-up beam saber. this is comprised of the beam blade, which is actually a specialized LED. and a special battery, that fits in the Beam Saber's hilt: now, you may have noticed all those little plastic bags, with the color coded paper sheets in them, back up there in the kit layout shot. four of those contain the five different types of screws needed to fasten the kit together (about 80 total) while the bulk of those bags contain various types of steel and brass electrical terminals. all those terminal plates (and long lengths of fine wire) are needed to allow the finished model this feature: plus, the model is actually designed so that it can be transformed with all the lights remaining ON. that is actually quite a technical achievement, to be sure. and finally, one final piece of amazing technical engineering: the hands. not only are they individually jointed, but somehow, BANDAI actually engineered the digits to be cast on their parts frame in one piece, with the joints pre-connected!! clip a digit off the frame, and it's instantly bendable, with it's pre-formed ball and pin joints! incredible!! well, as you can see, the arm units are as far as i have gotten since receiving this kit in the mail just yesterday (10/23/09) and i'm truly enjoying the experience. i'll be back, with the finished model. until then, i'll leave you with these shots:

honestly, you DON'T want to know. well, if you absolutely have to know, i'm currently stuck in a dingy little dive of a township called UMATILLA, clean smack in the middle of the ass-end of the pacific-northwestern state of OREGON. on a lighter note, i happen to be a native of PORTLAND, the biggest city in OREGON, sister city of a city in japan (i forget which) and a somewhat-major inlet to the U.S. for asian imports shipped by ocean container. i make trips up there about once or more a year, for medical appointments up at the OHSU hospital/medical university campus situated atop "Pill Hill" and we also get visit my grandma while we're at it. occasionally we stop at AUDIO SPECIALTIES, LTD. a used Hi-Fi stereo shop, so i can get my vintage home audio fix. other times we swing by THINGS FROM ANOTHER WORLD, a shop that specializes in Anime and American Comics goods. there's less of a need to go there anymore, however, as EBAY is a FAR more efficient source of Otaku desires. it is still fun to drop by AUDIO SPECIALTIES once in a while, though. sometimes i get to catch an in-the-flesh glimpse of some pretty slick Hi-Fi gear that i'd otherwise only be able to see via the (usually) tiny, low-quality shots on EBAY...

Forwarded To: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=31465&st=175&gopid=884671entry884671

no, the photos were taken with a NIKON D5000 DSLR. they're accurate. for some reason, there is a distinct difference between the prototype's face and the face of my production sample. her little face is still very Cute♥ just not as accurate in appearance as that prototype. damn, i really thought that, being well into the 21st century now, with CAD/CAM design for EVERYTHING these days and all, that production discrepancies like that were a thing of the past. oh well, like i said, her little face is still very, very Cute♥ and i'm very thankful to have her...