Drossel Charming - Not So Much?

Alright, I took these pics ages ago, but didn't get around to uploading them until today, so without further adieu, here is Drossel Charming.

Box is the pretty standard figma fare, shows off the contents as expected, moving on.


Inside there is Drossel and her parts, extra hands, her super-shiny cape, and instructions for her fiddly bits. There is also her little recording device robot, and as always, a stand.





The stand was interesting in that they decided to opt for a claw-type rather than the standard spoke. Honestly, I would have preferred the spoke, since you will never not be using the stand.


One thing that really impressed me was the cardboard insert. Usually they're just a nicely patterned backdrop so it's not just blank, but the one that came with DC is gorgeous, and I can definitely see myself using it for a photoshoot.


Before we get to Drossel herself, let's address her tape recorder on wheels. Honestly, I think including it was a mistake with the attention they paid to it. It's a cute little gimmicky thing, especially with the pop up top, but the paint job was sloppy, (particularly the silver parts) and it just felt really cheap, kinda like the toys you would get from a dollar store.




It's obvious that Madame Von Fluegel herself is where they spent all their attention. The detailing is very nicely done, even in the little spots like under the back of the head, and her back, which don't get as much attention.




You'll notice they also gave her a tramp stamp of the company that built her, and if you look closely you'll see little arrows at the leg joints; these are the little details that figma excels at, which I was disappointed to see absent from her recorder.


Drossel C also comes with a pair of wheels. At first I thought they were so she could stand without the figma stand, but unfortunately that wasn't the case... this is the only pose I could get her to stand independently in. I realize the wheels are in fact on backwards, but she wouldn't stand at all with them turned the other way.



Time for the fashion show; if there's one thing Drossel has historically had a lot of, it's head accessories. The Shaman headdress was very well done, and is very detailed. The mask, as well as the feathers on the back are fully posable. It does fit VERY snugly though; I was concerned about breaking it when fitting it on.




Next we have her other, smaller headpiece. This is actually a combination of two pieces; I'm not really sure why they didn't just fabricate it as a single piece, like the shaman headdress. You'll notice it also has jets on it; while these jets ARE on swivels, you can't actually turn them beyond neutral when the headpiece is actually being used, making them just another thing can can fall off. I can't help feeling they dropped the ball a bit on this one.



And here's a pic of Drossel with her smexy hipster glasses. Unfortunately, she needs to be wearing that annoying headpiece for them to sit properly.


At the end of the day though, her long pointy head looks the best in my opinion. It just seems to fit the best into the head.


Drossel came with two other accessories; a light-activated findy-staff like in Indiana Jones (though more ornate), and her nifty cape. The two side edges of the cape have what pretty much equates to red twist ties along them, allowing an amount of posablility. However, since they were just tacked on instead of sealed into the edge of the cape, it really does detract from the look as a whole.
There's also one more thing I want to point out about the cape - the little latchy thing holding it around her neck. It is NOT on the cape when you open it. In fact, it isn't even taped in to it's little alcove in the packaging; there's just a little piece of celophane over it. So, be VERY careful when opening the cape's plastic cage; my little piece went flying, and I was lucky to have found it again.



Finally, New Drossel meeting Old Drossel. Old Drossel is not impressed. Though to be fair, Old Drossel IS pretty badass; she mugged professor Layton and stole some drummer's arm.


Final opinion? If you're a fan of Drossel, and the show in particular, you'll probably enjoy having her in your collection. Otherwise, I would pass. While very flexible, her lack of feet, fiddly head pieces, and arts & crafts cape do not make her worth her substantial price tag. Had she been priced the same as other figmas I would say go for it, but as is, I wouldn't recommend it unless it's actually a figure you want.