Tomopop Review: Good Smile Company's 1/4 Nanoha

8 minutes ago - 4:00 PM on 05.16.2012   |   Emily Smalara

I've been a fan of Nanoha for a long time, both the character and the various series themselves, but until now I've never actually been fortunate enough to get my hands on any of the dozens of figures that have been produced over the years.

Luckily that all changed when I received Good Smile's towering StrikerS Nanoha, easily large enough to make up for all the lost time! With such a popular character, it stands to reason she'll be set to heavy scrutiny though -- particularly at such a large size as well. Does she make the grade? Find out after the jump!

Tomocast 35 records tonight, give us questions!

1 hour ago - 3:00 PM on 05.16.2012   |   Pedro Cortes

It's been so long since we've recorded a Tomocast that we've decided to open the show up to you guys. Send us your questions that will be answered by Rio, Jonathan, Kristina and myself and we'll answer them. The more interesting and bizarre, the better. I'm talking about "pondering the existence of Cthulhu" bizarre. I want some head-scratchers people! We record Wednesday evening, so be sure to have them in by then.

[Last chance! We record in a couple of hours, so get those questions in.]

A flood of Giant God Warrior figures appear

2 hour ago - 2:00 PM on 05.16.2012   |   Brian Szabelski

Here's something interesting that popped up on Mikatan's blog recently: Studio Ghibli, Max Factory, Kaiyodo and Good Smile Company are forming a four-headed beast to release vignettes, a large-scale statue and a figma all based around Studio Ghibli’s newest live-action tokusatsu short film they're doing in collaboration with Hideaki Anno, Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo. If they look familiar, the Giant God Warrior is based off the same ones from Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind.

There will be three different vignettes from Kaiyodo, along with the huge 50 cm (approx. 20 inch) Giant God Warrior cold-cast statue and a special 15-cm-tall figma with optional beam and wing parts. All of these figures will be on sale at Hideaki Anno’s Special Effects exhibition, which is running from July 10 to October 8 at Tokyo Gendai Art Gallery – Planning Exhibition Room 1F/B2F (1335-0022 Tokyo, Koutou-ku, Miyoshi 4-1-1).

If you can;t somehow make it to Japan, the statue and figma will be on sale at the Good Smile shop from October 8 to October 22, with an expected ship date of February 2013. The figma is a bit tempting, but I'd want to see the price first. Anyone else agree?

NECA's Borderlands figures pop up for pre-order

4 hours ago - 12:00 PM on 05.16.2012   |   Brian Szabelski

It's been a while since we've heard about NECA's Borderlands figures, but the first series of figures has just opened up for pre-order! The 7-inch figures feature a Psycho Bandit, with his weapon, as well as a Claptrap. The Psycho Bandit looks a little bit rough on some of the body detailing, but beyond that, it seems alright.

Retail-wise, Psycho Bandit it set to be US$14.99, Claptrap US$19.99, and the two-figure set US$37.99 (though retailers may choose to stock them for less). Any Borderlands fans out there going to pick these two up?

[Pre-order Psycho Bandit at Big Bad Toy Store]
[Pre-order Claptrap at Big Bad Toy Store]
[Pre-order two-figure set at Entertainment Earth | Big Bad Toy Store]

Pre-order Alter's Menma so others can see her too!

5 hours ago - 11:00 AM on 05.16.2012   |   Jon Wills

Alters 1/8th scale Meiko "Menma" Honma hailing from the series   Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai is now available for pre-order and should ship out late October, 2012. Her suggested retail price is listed at ¥8000, which is a little expensive, but she really is wonderfully crafted.

Personally, I can't wait till October to put this cute figure of a ghost on my shelf. In my opinion, Alter always does a top notch job on their figurines and this Menma is no exception. Her outfit is a very simple white one piece dress and really there is nothing particularly fancy about it, but through the pose, facial expression and a careful fluttering of the skirt, you can really tell that a lot of work was put into her. What really adds to this figure though is how her unique base portrays the clubhouse that her and her friends played in; of particular note, her diary is even included on the desk she is sitting on.

If you want her, you better order her before she disappears. What do you think, Tomopeeps? Do you love her as much as I do? Or is this little lady a little too expensive for your taste? Let us know in the comments. 

[ Pre-order at HobbyLink Japan | Otacute | Hobby Search | AmiAmi | Big in Japan | CD Japan]

Reserve or Regret? Import round up for May 16, 2012

6 hours ago - 10:00 AM on 05.16.2012   |   Jonathan Tubbs

Stuff went up for pre-order. Nice stuff. Cute stuff. Strange stuff. Stuff stuff. Maybe there's something that interests you. Maybe not. That is why this daily feature exists, to let you know what stuff there is to pre-order so you can empty that stuffed wallet of yours.

In the sea of figures of Menma from AnoHana, ALTER has their version available which is by far the cutest, well, except for super deformed figures. Those are typically cute by default. Are you looking to show your support for the Japan National Soccer Team? Luffy and Chopper from One Piece are doing so. You can show your support, too, by pre-ordering PLEX's bobble head figures of these two dressed in the jerseys of the team. Square Enix continues their soft vinyl Dragon Quest series figures with more monsters and the heroes from Dragon Quest IV, Dragon Quest V, and Dragon Quest VI. As much as it's associated with Dragon Ball Z, it always brings a smile to my face to see his art from Dragon Quest.

Need robots? There are a few with Kotobukiya releasing the Takemikazuchi Type-00F Takamura Yui Custom from Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse. That's certainly a tongue twister. Bandai has a couple of SD Gundam re-releases that includes Wing Gundam from Gundam Wing Endless Waltz as well as more LBX figures from Danball Senki. If you're a fan of the Ultraman series, you can look forward to the Chouju Collection that has the monsters Black Pigeon and Sartan coming out later this year.

Another interesting mix bag of pre-orders today, some of which are nice to see. Whether you're pre-ordering or not, anything interesting you see? Let us know in the comments and as always, let us know what you will be reserving now so you won't regret it later.

Bite into Super7's Cream Filled Foster-O on Thursday

8 hours ago - 8:00 AM on 05.16.2012   |   Brian Szabelski

Is that a new Foster I see? Why yes, it is! The newest Foster is coming on Thursday, the Cream Filled Foster-O! The Oreo-colored Foster is made from black vinyl with a plastic cream white inside ... but please, don't eat him. He's already doing that enough himself.

The new Foster will be on the Super7 store Thursday at noon Pacific for US$25. My Foster collection could sure use another piece, so I might pick him up; what about you, Tomopop readers?

Rotobox's Supasentai Series begins with Akaranger!

17 hours ago - 11:00 PM on 05.15.2012   |   Andres Cerrato

I haven't been able to talk recently about Rotobox, and with how much I love their stuff, that's quite the shame. Today they've announced their latest creation and series and like everything else they make, it's something I want. Their newest series will now take on the world of Super Sentai, with the first release being none other than THE Red Ranger, Akared.

Rotobox is continuing the use of its Celsius base, which works will for the red spandex-clad warrior. Given the reverence for Akared in Super Sentai, there's really no reason to expect anyone else as being the first release. The work itself is well-done, with the gloss red paint contrasting so well with the metallic blue used for the eyes, not to mention that belt. It only makes me want to see what's next, as they always one-up themselves. Perhaps some of the marvelous new stuff with GokaiRed or toss the PR fans some love with Burai the Dragon Ranger (aka Tommy's Green Ranger).

If you are looking for Akared, he's a limited edition of 3. He hasn't been put up on Rotobox's store just yet, so I'd go ahead and get in contact with them ASAP if you want him.

Go For Broke! Announcing the winners

18 hours ago - 10:00 PM on 05.15.2012   |   Kristina Pino

Hey all! I'm waiting on a couple things for our next contest, but we know who April's winners are so I thought I'd just run this little update here.

The first place winner with the most votes is Wilda! That storyboard was just fantastic and everyone loved it. Congratulations: you're getting BRSB.

The person with the next highest amount of votes was Shadowfox with his awesome stop motion animation clip, and then Scarecroodle. I've got some Monster Hunter stuff and Peanuts Formation Arts trading figures I can send your way if you claim a prize! Just shoot me an e-mail to kristina (at) tomopop (dot) com and we'll get you all set up.

Everyone's entries continue to impress and I'm happy to see that folks are getting so creative! Depending on how things go, video entries may become a separate category in the future, so we'll play that one by ear for now.

For the full list of entries from last month, click through the jump!

MLP Custom Compilation #64: Warhammer Ponies!

19 hours ago - 9:00 PM on 05.15.2012   |   Rio McCarthy

Um.. I'm saying right now that if I could play a game of Warhammer 40k (or a tabletop game like it) with custom My Little Pony characters I would probably lose my mind in excited fangirlness. I also really want that Rainbow Dash/Cloudsdale bed, but it's long gone on eBay now. We even have chainmaille inlays this time around! Holy cow are these ponyfolk creative!

In addition to the random pieces of art, we have incredible custom toys as well, of course. Take a look at the gallery to see these great pieces of art up close and personal, and be sure to head over to Equestria Daily to learn more about the artists specifically.

First 4 Figures' Modern Sonic is ready for speed!

20 hours ago - 8:00 PM on 05.15.2012   |   Rio McCarthy

Back when First 4 Figures originally teased their first of the public released Modern Sonic statues I was pretty excited. We had figured out the pose, but I was still stoked to see what the full thing looked like, and now here he is! Since he's crouched over and running he stands 15 inches tall in this awesome statue, which definitely stays in scale with the 12 inch Classic Sonic statue from the past.

The exclusive version of the Modern Sonic statue has a base with slow pulsing blue light that represents the movement of water in Emerald Coast. There are also sparks behind Sonic's foot that light up to give the impression of how fast he's running. The normal version doesn't light up, but looks great in its own right. The normal version is limited to 1,650 pieces and costs US$199.99, while the exclusive version is limited to 750 pieces while being priced at US$219.99. These will be released in quarter 4 of 2012, so you've got some time yet before the blue blur will come running to your home.

This lovely new Sena is ready to hit the beach

21 hours ago - 7:00 PM on 05.15.2012   |   Emily Smalara

Is it possible to make a bad Sena figure? I'm beginning to think not. This latest rendition of Haganai's busty beauty comes to us from Alphamax, apparently aiming to outdo Wave's Beach Queens with some summer fun of their own--this at a slightly more sizable 1/7 scale, to boot.

This figure manages to capture everything I like about Sena, too. Her distinctive art style, typically bright coloring, and even her butterfly pin are all things I love about the character, and they come through here quite well. I love the vividness of her swimsuit as well, making for a very appropriate design and color for Sena and going well with her hair and eyes alike.

I could gush more, but instead I'll tell you to get your pre-orders in now. She'll be here just in time for summer in...okay, November, but still. Get your ¥6,800 ready and she'll do plenty to heat up the oncoming winter months!

[Pre-order at HobbyLink Japan | Otacute | Hobby Search | AmiAmi]