Figure Fanaticism: MAI WAIFU Edition

In the past, I've posted around these parts on a couple of occasions regarding another one of my hobbies/obsessions outside of video games. (Though tangentially related.) I speak, of course, of figure collecting. I originally started collecting them back in college, though it wasn't really much of a collection in those days. Mostly, it was one or two figures I bought at a local hobby shop to spruce up my dorm room. It wasn't until some years later that I really started getting into it, and as more time has passed, the bug has just bitten harder. Here's what my collection more or less looked like a few years ago:

That's not the entire extent of my collection as it existed at the time (That's a tiny shelf, and I haven't exactly kept a well-maintained photographic archive), but yeah, not very big. Well, cut to a couple of years later, some bigger furniture, and...

And it's just gotten bigger. Anyway, I threw this blog together because I felt like sharing my most recent acquisitions. A Nendoroid mini-figure of the Vocaloid variant Haku Yowane:

Also, from Fire Emblem: Awakening, Tharja.

That's some seriously nice work, by the way. Perfectly balanced and doesn't even need to be fastened to the base. Oh, and a size comparison.

And finally a picture of the current state of my collection:

Yikes. Well, maybe a couple more close-ups will do.

Welp. I'm not a professional photographer, and it shows. Let's try one more.

Anyone else here in to figure collecting? What sorts have you got? If there's a blurry one you want to see more of, I can definitely take more pictures (and try not to suck at holding steady focus).

Oh God I'd love to have those Tifa, Yuna and Yuffie ones. I'd like one of Squall and Cloud too, but I imagine finding decent looking figures of them (especially Squall) would be really difficult.

I really only have a tiny figure of Master Chief (I'm not really sure where this even came from. I don't even like Halo) and a weird rubbery Yoshi myself. I'd love to have more but they're usually soooo expensive. I will have a cool Big Boss figure by tomorrow, though. http://origin.playstationlifestyle.net/assets/uploads/2010/05/mgsaf-685x906.jpg (I'll upload a pic later)

I really like your collection. Someday I will have one like this myself! >;o

P.S. That Hatsune Miku figure in the last picture looks more than a little frightening.

I feel like I shouldn't want any of this, but I kinda do. They don't really jive with my I-can-fit-my-whole-life-in-my-car lifestyle, though.

I came pretty close to buying that crazy glowing fetus Alma statue, though.

I was ready to fall down the figure collecting hole but stopped myself. (thank JesusH Christ Right?)

My NUMBER 1 Waifu Aigis.

I also Have the Labrys P4A figma one but that one is boxed up for some reason?????

I think it's pretty telling that I googled hot glue and the urban dictionary entry read:

Guy A: Hey, did you see that new figurine of Tharja from Fire Emblem?

Guy B: Yeah, I bet there's going to be a lot of hot glue for it.

The only real figure I have is a Ryu Hayabusa one. I would like a Miku one but haven't decided which one I want to get and the ones that I do end up liking are all out of print and way to damn expensive. I would also like to get this figure of Sylvia from NMH.

I don't really collect figures, but I occasionally still acquire new Transformers.

When it comes down to it on the balance, I'm trying to destuff my life a bit. Less stuff makes it easier to keep the ole place clean and orderly.

If I have entertainment budget to use I'd rather get a game.

Those are some pretty dope figures though! I like the Chun Li one best. Looks like she is about to do a Lightning Kick.

Heh. That Miku is actually from a Docolla line of dolls. A friend of mine gave it to me as a gift this past Christmas. (It's very cute in person!)

As for the FF figures, Square Enix has a pretty strong figure production arm. Cloud and Squall have both been in their fair share of figure forms. But yeah, it does get pricy. I'm fortunate to live in a city where good figures can actually be found on the shelves of a few shops I frequent, though I've also bought some online, as well.

Those are some pretty good waifus. I don't really have any myself, but I do have the Edward Kenway figure that came with Black Flag's collector's edition.

(still super dreamy tho)

I don't really collect figures, but I have a bunch... mostly robots like Giant Robo, Eva's Unit 3, The Nirvash from Eureka seven, Alphonse from Patlabor, Gurren Lagann and Panda-Z, along with all but like two of the Ratchet & Clank figure collection.

I also have this, because I adore the game and think it's gorgeous. I'd really like the Pit Figma aswell.

@gunstarred: dont worry Link can be your waufi.

@bigjeffrey: He is pretty.

wow, that's a lot. I tend to stick with models and figures that help me inspire my work, so I rarely having them sitting, have to pick them up and rotate them around. So I tend to stick with something interesting design or shape about it. Action figure guns make for the BEST art references.

The only Waifu I have would be maybe Zelda from Twilight Princess and a Miss Piggy doll from the 80s which I use to entertain my neice doing her voice.

Neat. I would probably buy some of these things if they were easier to come by in Canada. I'm not importing for a dust collector, no matter how cool.

The only ones i considered breaking that rule for are the two Muramasa figures. That is a lot of money though. More than I would ever consider spending. These ones:

@demoskinos: Wow! That's pretty impressive. And that pose is very Sylvia, I'll give it that.

@bigjeffrey: Cool. I saw that one at one of the shops I buy figures at, but I ended up getting the Labrys one instead.

I definitely understand that. We all have our priorities when it comes to entertainment.

The Chun-Li figure is really nice. I actually picked that one up at PAX two or three years ago at the shop in the Capcom booth. (I have also come to the conclusion that no PAX is truly whole for me unless I am able to somehow get at least one figure out of it. This is the madness my convention life has led to)

That sounds like quite the haul. And you're damn right Skyward Sword is gorgeous!

Just spotted a Meryl figure. Do want! Also Mitsuru, how could I forget to mention her in my previous post. Also I totally have that little bear thing....or I used to have one anyway. Dunno if it's still here.

I could see how a good figure and accessories can make for good art references in their own right. It makes it really easy to get angles and details down.

@herbiebug said:

Neat. I would probably buy some of these things if they were easier to come by in Canada. I'm not importing for a dust collector, no matter how cool.

The only ones i considered breaking that rule for are the two Muramasa figures. That is a lot of money though. More than I would ever consider spending. These ones:

Oh, wow. Those look really nice. Muramasa has some fantastic character designs, so I can see why they'd tempt you.

That Meryl figure is great, though hard to stand up on her own. I acquired that one at last year's PAX Prime. And the Mitsuru figure I've had for a long while now. I bought that one on Amazon, and it was pretty hilarious since I actually had her on my desk at work at my previous job, Evoker pointed at her head and all.

@hailinel: That Yukiko figure is great! I love Yukiko. ^_^

I've never been a big fan of figures because of the space they take up. Of course, I still live at home and have to fit all of my stuff into a room, so I don't have much room to begin with. Maybe it's something to keep in mind when I finally get my own place.

@hailinel: well, the thing is, a friend of mine paid 700 bucks for a batman Marquette..... I spent 10 bucks on a toy version, I drop it, and it's got some scuffs, but I can move it around, shift it around. It's the exact same mold. Except I can use it as reference....... except he did have an amazing Harley Quinn.... don't believe they made a 10 buck toy of this.

Too lazy to take pictures.... So I'll pull it from good ol' Google. I have some great figures, but only 1 of my Waifu.

Many figures of my waifu. I never owned any figures before, but that all changed when the Noel petit came out. Then I had to have more Noel. So I got more Noel. Rachel is there too cause she came with my BBCP import. There's still one more Noel figure coming out this Fall, and yea. Its been ordered already. I really wish I could get my hands on the two Noel garage kits, but that's not likely at this time. Unfortunately the poseable Noel doesn't have a stand, so shes just kinda leaning against the back wall there.

Little Cthulhu is unimpressed with your Japanese-teenager masturbation aids!

big chillaxin cthulu dissaproves of his tiny offsprings remarks

Little Cthulhu's buddy, USB, Light Up Humidifier Droid thinks large Cthulhu has sold out for some spiky haired poontang!

I'm sure this gets asked in every thread like this, but for those of you that buy figures; what's the compulsion? My dad collects model cars and while I still am mostly incredulous (he works on cars as a hobby, so I'm not toally baffled), the price point for the models he gets are much more reasonable. I don't think he has one that's broken triple digits.

I guess I just can't wrap my head around the cost and the space taken up. I mean, I just recently bough my first manga and all I could think when the first volume came in the mail was "fuuuuuuuuuuck" because it's the fucking size of The Stand and there's going to be 2 more (hopefully. If they end up not coming out I'll have to burn the first volume because not having the whole series will actually drive me crazy). And that manga was only $12!

I want your collection so kawaiii!!!! :3

What I do have is 4 saint seiya cloth armours (Thanatos , Taurus , Cygna and Shaina) also I have 2 gundam mechas model kits and the alter ego of Kosmos (cant tremember her name at the moment) unfortunately I have them boxed because I´ve been lazy to set them up (also I dont have a shelf to put them on)

@soldierg654342: Eh, some people have different priorities. If you imagine figures as a mixture of the "Rare collector" compulsion and the "Expressing individuality" compulsion (eg posters and shirts), and then keep in mind that some people either have the room for the figures or don't mind a bit of clutter, it's not too hard to get.

That said, I don't have the space for any game figures or i'd really like to get some. My walls are pretty barren too, so it's kind of bothering me that you'd need to look closely at my bookshelf to really get a sense of the kind of things the interest me based on my room. (Good choice with Tharja, OP. Waifu 4 Lyf)

@hailinel said:

And Poison.

this post reminds me I need to unpack my figures (moved a couple of months ago), but it's the first time in awhile I've lived with cats so I'm super paranoid about some of the more fragile ones getting knocked over >.< I will share once I get around to it though :)

@esrever: Very cool! Those look like some great Noel figures (and Rachel). Did that fight stick come with the stick and buttons decorated like that?

Yeah, there's really not much to explain. I've got space, and I've got the money to splurge on the occasional high-end figure, and I just like getting them for myself. I just find them fun to collect, so I do it.

If Poison says she's a she, then she's a she.

You mean T-elos?

Oh, man. As much as I'd like to get a cat, I can definitely see having some issues with keeping it away from the figures. Hopefully you can find a good place to set them up safely, though.

@hailinel: Nope! I got the BB balltop and buttons separately from Arcade Shock. I also got an I-No button and a Ramlethal button from them in lieu of the XRD hype.

The BB stick just comes with the white balltop and white buttons (ps3 version)

Speaking of Guilty Gear, I'm hoping they release a new I-No figure with the release of XRD. I would definitely get one cause I-No is pretty amazing.

Ah, cool. Nice work on it!

@gunstarred: Where did you get that?

I used to have a pretty decent collection of figures, lots of Evangelion, Gurren Lagann, and Haruhi stuff mostly, but I ended up selling it all just because the stigma that people attach to collecting them. Anyone else experience this? I had a couple ones that were scantily clad, nothing explicit though. Mostly I collected figures that looked cool or were of characters I loved. But as long as there was one bunny suit Haruhi amongst the giant robots I would only get shit from my friends and weird looks from girls. Didn't want to have to hide my collection every time I had people over so I opted to get rid of them.

Just started buying figures relatively recently, so I sadly don't have much. Some of these shots came out worse than I expected.

This word doesn't mean what you think it means. At least I hope not...

@sinusoidal: Haha no I didn't know the straight up definition until I just looked it up. I made an edit that makes more sense.

This Ruby Rose figure is the only one I own. Bought recently in fact. Debating if I want to get the rest of them when they come out.

@hailinel:
Yep Telos

@jeanluc: NIce! I like the level of detail it has.

@sigmacloud: Dude, that is a nice set-up, there. For someone that only started collecting figures recently, you certainly seem proactive with the shelves for them!

Not really. My friends are all pretty cool and encouraging of my collecting. I have some admittedly sexy figures in my collection (I mean, look at Tharja), but I feel no embarrassment about any of them. Certainly, if I had any concerns, I wouldn't be posting photos online.