#or instead of getting a nendo at 60

[cinnbar-bun]

how the hell do you afford all this stuff 💀

Um like I guess I never really thought about it but I prolly look insane. So just to be very clear most of the stuff you saw like the manga and figures- majority of them have been from me collecting over years and years or have been gifts (mostly things like the funkos and the occasional Ace figure lmao).

But uh I saved up a lot, I thankfully don’t have any debts, my work pays me pretty well. and I live with my parents for free, so I’m privileged and lucky in that regard. I basically have no other expenses besides the occasional bill for medical things and work or whatever I want to buy. So it does give me a lot more free rein to get stuff.

I also stopped the bad habit of wanting to buy things immediately- majority of the time you can just wait and things will become discounted. Like, before I had access to online shopping, I saved my birthday money and bought the manga when B&N (since it is basically the only book retailer near me 🥹) had sales. And now that I have online shopping I just wait for them to be discounted like now- instead of paying 20 bucks for one of the volumes I can just get it at 13 and slowly build up. It’s not a race, it can take as long as you want.

[mysticdragon3md3]

Unsure because I'm a cheapskate...

When I first saw this Racing Miku 2024 design, I immediately liked it because I like witches and witch hats. But I didn't think I'd actually buy it. Racing Miku Nendoroids are usually $80. That's too much for me. I've gotten used to watching Racing Miku from afar, and not actually buying. But now (maybe because the yen to US dollar exchange right now is in my favor), Racing Miku 2024's Nendoroid is only $60.

That's still a little high for a Nendoroid, but it's kind of the current average for most Nendoroids now. For most of my Nenodroid-collecting years, average Nendoroid price was $35-$45. The $60 Nendoroids were what we now call DX versions, with lots of extra accessories, usually very large. But nowadays, even regular Nendoroids are $60, and I'm still trying to get used to ti. But a $60 Nendoroid, especially a Racing Miku, is kind of "accessible" for me.

Maybe I should preorder her, just to be able to say that I finally got my first Racing Miku. And I do love witch hats.

But the reason I'm hesitating is that I…actually…don't really like her outfit. Racing Miku 2024 is wearing this odd leotard over pants---and although I think that low rise pants are cute when paired with leotards (see SAO's Shino or Stand Alone Complex's Motoko Kusanagi), Racing Miku's all white outfit with little details gives the effect of just a white unitard. Sure, she has a few details, like her gold hemline delineating the top of her pants, or the puffy tops of her sleeves. But what are those decorations on her hips? They don't really have appeal for me, yet they're the only big flourish on her outfit. I look back at the other Racing Mikus that I wish I had the budget for, back in the day: Racing Miku 2015, 2016, 2017. And they all have these super cute dresses. Racing Miku 2017 has these little translucent ruffles at the bottom of her mini skirt, flaring out, like extra little wings. I never thought of myself as drawn to only dress designs, but Racing Miku 2024's unitard is kind of nothing (to me). Should I really be getting a Nendoroid---a $60 Nendoroid, nevermind that it's lower than the usual $80, becasue $60 is still a lot---Should I really be getting a Nendoroid whose outfit, I don't enjoy the majority of? I love her hat, her broomstick, her cape-like scarf. But the outfit itself is a big part of the design and I'm not sure it's worth $60 to me.

I have to decide fast, because I wanted to place my order for Racing Miku 2024 at the same time as my preorder for Nendo Shujin Joker, whose preorder closes in only a few days. But I guess, if their release dates are different (which they most likely are), they'll get shipped separately anyway, so it shouldn't matter if I place their orders together. Maybe I'll postpone my decision on Racing Miku 2024 and just preorder Nendo Shujin Joker for now.

Still, should I be spending $60 on Racing Miku 2024? In recent years, I've avoided a lot of preorders by comparing the idea of spending money on a new preorder, to the worth of spending that money instead on the a presumed Nendoroid Claude von Riegan. I was so sure Fire Emblem 3 Houses was popular enough, that surely, it would get Nendoroids announced, just like some some new niche anime, like New Game, Izetta the Last Witch, Garakowa: Restore the World, etc. All of those are not popular, well-known anime on the level of Jujustsu Kaisen or Demon Slayer, yet they all got Nendoroids. I have them. I shouldn't have spent money on them. If I had known what other Nendoroids would be in store in the future, and that my budget would be tightening so much, I would have rather saved my money to comfortably purchase Nendoroid Canada, Hello Good Smiles for Persona 5---heck, even the Madoka Magica prize figures I saw in Japan last month! But I keep buying figures of characters I don't know, series I barely know, and/or designs that I don't 100% enjoy, because I'm afraid of that preorder window closing. Is Racing Miku 2024 another one of these cases? Is she going to become another Nendoroid Iowa, Nendoroid 2B, Akizuki class, or Bungo Stray Dogs Nendoroid set in my collection? Nendoroids that I kind of liked the looks of, but didn't have enough character attachment towards, nor enough affinity for the deisgn to justify the money spent? Is Racing Miku 2024 just going to be another shopper's remorse? Because, don't get me wrong, Nendoroid 2B, the Akizuki class, Remo, Annelotte, and my Bungo Stray Dogs Nendoroids are all pretty. But that's money that I sometimes wish I had saved for series/characters that I liked even more, than chararacters I barely knew. And Hatsune Miku is a cypher. It's hard to justify $60 on her, when she has no canon personality to attach to, especially if I don't 110% completely love all of her Racing 2024 design. …What should I do?????

I know I just came from my Japan trip, where I got too accustomed to throwing money left and right at souvenirs and Lashinbang. But I don't have the budget to carry that type of spending habits over to my regular spending back home.

…Still…$60 is very affordable for a Nendo Racing Miku… I'm just not sure I what to do. Do I like her THAT much? $60 worth? When the price was $80, my answer was a simple "no". But $60…??????????

I mean, technically, I already have a witch Miku. I have Nendoroid Snow Miku 2014. …But I love having more witches. I made a whole set of witch hats for my Persona 5 Nendoroids' Halloween photoshoot, and I'm still exited about official witch designs for Nendoroids. …Maybe I do want this witch-hatted Racing Miku 2024?

Someone's going to say, "Just buy her AmiAmi or another store with cheaper shipping." But I prefer to preorder straight from manufacturers. I used to buy from distributor stores a lot. But sometimes you place a preorder, release time comes, and they say, "oops, we didn't have enough stock to fulfull your preorder, so we cancelled your order", then it's just "too bad for you". I just feel more secure about preordering straight from Good Smile Company. Plus, now that they have an official Los Angeles branch, when I buy from them, I don't have to report Use Tax about buying from outside of California. Plus, everyone complains about the shipping, but I remember when the standard shipping price for mail packages was around $10, usually a little more. And I usually expect LA sales tax to be 10%. But Good Smile's shipping is both much cheaper than $10, and the tax doesn't actually come out to too much. …Though, I will admit: When all those individual shipping/tax fees are combined, after I preorder maybe 5 figures in one order, it can come out to like $30, compared to paying $20 for shipping with insurance, from all the way in Japan. If only Good Smile could hold our orders and send them all in one box, the way AmiAmi does, then I feel like the shipping wouldn't be so bad. I live in Los Angeles! Why should me getting a package from Good Smile's Los Angeles offices cost more than when I buy something from all the way in Japan??? Still, I'd rather pay the little extra rather than the hassle of reporting Use Tax. Maybe if I had less anxiety, a little change in my yearly Sales/Use Tax filings wouldn't freak me out so much. But as my brain is, it's actually worth it to me to pay more for Los Angeles/California shipping/taxes overall, than to stress over less familiar tax proceedures. So I'm going to preorder Racing Miku 2024 from Good Smile's official US store, if at all.

So should I??????????

https://ameblo.jp/gsc-mikatan/entry-12849788112.html Looking at Kahotan's Blog entry for Nendoroid Racing Miku 2024. And the design sure is interesting! I'll admit that the leotard looks better in regular scale. But I'm a Nendoroid collector and I prefer chibi. So it's Nendoroid, or nothing, for me. Her hat is so interesting! I love Kahotan's Blog, because since she's the official Good Smile Company representative, she shows all these behind-the-scene photos that usually don't go into the broader marketting. Like the view of the figure from the back, for example. I do love how this scarf simulates the look of a cloak/cape, but doesn't actually have any section to get in the way of Nendoroid support arm plugs.

I have several Nendoroids that try to subvert the support arm back plugs, and it just doesn't work. My Haikyuu captains fall of their pegs and risk damaging, because wearing their coats like capes just doesn't create stable support plugs. My Sengoku Basara Nendoroids do have nice, uninterrupted back designs, but their alternatively designed supports aren't as good. Nendoorid Anna (Frozen), Snow Miku 2013, Fight Club Mako Mankanshoku, Ultimate Madoka, some of my KanColle Nendos,…They all make me a little nervous when they don't have the standard back plug/port. A little unstable, a few less pose possibilities, a little more of a pain to assemble, and a bit risky for damage.

Maybe I should stop overthinking and just preorder Racing Miku 2024? I do like witches with witch hats. And I've never been able to afford a Racing Miku before.

And I've been saving so much on the Nendoroids I am preordering. Shujin Joker, Maomao, Bond Forger, Butai Yamakuni, Shin Kamen Rider,…Sure, that's a lot to all order at once. But, except for Shin Kamen Rider and Butai Yamakuni, they're all under $41! Only Bond Forger was over $40. And yes, I did preorder Nendoroid Doll Megurine Luka…and I did buy 2 figures at Lashinbang during my Japan trip last month…But I've still been saving pretty well overall. I COULD afford Racing Miku 2024. I even skipped Nendoroid Doll Litlte Red Riding Hood, the Sol and Ky plushies, Good Smile's Code Geass plushies, etc. So I've been saving money! And though I'd hate to admit it, FE3H Claude Nendoroids are probably not going to happen. Why am I still holding off on buying figures, just to save money for a hypothetical Nendo Claude announcement that seems less likely, now more than ever? I almost didn't buy those 2 Lashinbang figures while in Japan, because I kept thinking of saving money for a hypothetical future Nendo Claude announcement. I skipped some Cinnamon Nendoroid Doll Heads while in Japan, because I was afraid to spend money for any hypothetical better figures I might find later. I don't know anymore, if this mindset is saving me money or making me miss out. But maybe saving money for hypothetical, unconfirmed, possible future figures, isn't a good excuse to pass up other figures anymore.

Omg. The 2024 Racing Miku is only $60! O.O! Usually, they're around $80! Which is why I've had to pass up several Racing Mikus, even with designs I liked. I may actually be able to consider preordering this one! OuO! Maybe this will be my first Racing Miku! O.o!

[maguneedsalife]

Review time! 1/8 Mikazuki Munechika

holy swordboys, batman! 

file this one under “figures i didn’t expect to ever own but then saw on extreme markdown and snagged”

picture-heavy review under the cut as usual!

So, I didn’t expect to own this figure. For a variety of reasons. I didn’t really like how the prototype pictures came out; stellar paint job notwithstanding. The pose is kind of bland. The Awakened version was announced around the same time this version came out, and I like the pose/potential shirtlessness on that better. I saw this one in person once in a display case at Kinokuniya, and that made me think “hm, maybe regular jiji wouldn’t be so bad,” but the $170 price tag didn’t convince me. I had honest to god been intending to wait for the Awakened version to come out.

Then i went on fucking mandarake and saw they had this one for 6k yen. Considering his retail price is to the tune of 15k yen, i decided to jump on it. I knew in my collector heart that I would probably never see that price on this figure again. At that deep of a markdown he ran the high chance of being defected or damaged, but all manda had to say about quality was “box damage” so i added him to my cart and crossed my fingers.

fast forward a week and he shows up. not only is the box PRISTINE except for where the previous owner cut the tape, jiji is completely, utterly perfect. This man had seen the outside of his box maybe once. 

AND SO, now i will shut up and get to the review pictures, which is what you’re all here for

Honestly, he’s perfect. He’s so perfect that I could just post these pictures by themselves and let them do the talking. But that would be boring.

Here he is from the side. The pattern on his outfit really stands out here; i’m just consistently amazed that that’s actually sculpted on instead of a decal. His sword is also much longer than i expected; I guess its length isn’t entirely clear in the official illustration

From this angle you can sort of make out his body line under all his clothing. The sculpting of the fabric folds is just fantastic.

Here he is from the back. He looks like he’s leaning, but it’s just the odd way that the weight is distributed. He’s putting most of the weight on one leg, but surprisingly enough he can stand solidly without his base. From this angle, the sort of wistful tilt of his head is just lovely. He almost seems like he’s reminiscing about days long gone by...

Here he is from the other side. More fantastic work on the folds.

I feel like i’ve swindled mandarake out of a perfectly good swordboy. He’s breathtaking from just about every angle.

Up close.... aaaAAAA he’s so pretty, I’m dying scoob.

In hindsight, I wish I’d taken a closeup of his face straight on, because there’s actually a gap between some of his bangs that’s hard to see at this angle. The sculpting on his hair is so exact, i’m surprised they were able to mass produce it...

Closer in you can see that no detail was spared. Even the small crescents in his eyes have been faithfully included--though they’re nearly impossible to see in the official artwork.

Back when the prototype pictures were released there was a bit of uproar about his face, particularly his mouth. The prototype’s lips were parted slightly, to better match Mikazuki’s serene smile in the official art--but it wasn’t all that flattering. In fact the lips were one of the reasons I was kind of turned off the prototype haha.... Somewhere between the prototype and release, the face was fine-tuned and his mouth changed into a close-lipped smile. I’m glad they made the change; it looks much more natural.

The tassels on his head also look nice.

Closeup of his breastplate and crest. Kogitsunemaru’s armor stitches were decals, but Mikazuki’s are individually sculpted. 

Closeup of his obi zone. The amount of detail in this figure is incredible, and here especially. You can even see the strap where his sword is attached.

All of the tassels on this figure (except the ones on his head) are made of a flexible plastic--which honestly is a godsend, bc if they weren’t i probably would have broken them all off by now. Kudos to Orange Rouge for their foresight.

while the patterned blue definitely draws the eye, there’s something to be said for Mikazuki’s hakama as well. The gold embellishments can be hard to see, but at certain angles they catch the light well.

Tan sandals, and a simple base. interesting to note, Kogits’ socks had a center seam, while Mikazuki’s have an edge seam. You can also see a bit of his underclothes in the reflection here, which I had no idea he had. Another detail that would probably escape notice!

close in on his hand and the handle of his sword. Looking up his sleeve, you can actually see another sleeve nestled in there. He’s not just a faithful reproduction of the illustration, he’s a reproduction of what the design would actually entail.

Just as it did on the nendoroid, the gradient in his hair looks very nice.

More details on his back; normally this isn’t something you would ever see.

Closeup of the obi zone. The pattern on his sword belt is easier to see from behind.

Hidden within his sleeve is... another sleeve! The pattern on his sword is also very cool. I hadn’t noticed this until now, but each phase of the moon is represented on the scabbard.

more sleeve-within-sleeve i had no idea was there. He must be very warm.

And while we’re looking up things...

He has very feminine legs...

I couldn’t get close enough to really see but, thanks to MFC and twitter i know that Mikazuki is actually going commando. (link nsfw; anime boy butts ahead). Someone stop this old man

When I first took him out of the box I searched high and low for any kind of defect that would’ve caused a 60% markdown, but i honest to god couldn’t find any glaring mistakes. The only thing I found that might POSSIBLY have caused it was this near-invisible ding:

Joke’s on you, manda???

Here he is next to the now somewhat legendary nendoroid jiji. Truth be told, the nendoroid was what piqued my interest in Touken Ranbu in the first place--I’d literally never heard of it before goodsmile started making figures. (You can read my nendoroid review here and see the start of my descent into swordboy hell)

After all is said and done, I’m extremely glad I went out on a limb and snagged the nendoroid. Tourabu is my aesthetic in so many ways, and now i have a whole plethora of swordboys to love and throw my wallet away to. It’s nice to have a scale of my first swordboy crush, too. I think I’ll always be partial to the nendoroid--it was my first exposure to the series, after all--but the scale figure captures so much of Mikazuki’s elegance that the nendo is just too small for.

Together with my other swordboy love, Kogitsunemaru. (Of course my favs are the hardest swords to get) (I say, after getting them for free on tkrb pocket)

I bought kogits for my birthday last september (bc at that point i honestly liked his scale better/didn’t think i’d ever find a jiji in my budget) but ever since I’ve thought he looked kind of lonely. I’d wanted to get awakening jiji for him, but honestly I’m glad I got the default one. The two of them look natural together. Thanks to them both being 1/8 scale, their height difference is also accurate. It’s very slight, but it’s there!! 

Is this what it feels like to own both Barbie and Ken?? my shipper heart is very satisfied with this purchase. I tried to make them kiss, but their swords got in the way. There’s an innuendo in here somewhere

The whole sword family! These boys are all lovely on their own, but.... ahhh, they look best when they’re together!!!

masato introduces us to the new boy

I was expecting them to be the same height, but masa is actually taller!

Of course, Ren is still the reigning champion (though it’s not fair since he’s 1/7)

Seeing how much taller Masato was made me think Souji might at least have a chance of being the same height as jiji. Nope. Sorry Sooj

Here’s where he’s living for now. I’d like them to be on the other side of each other, but Kogits is so tall that he blocks out ren and masato if he and jiji switch places. The black bases also look very nice on my desk.

god my desk is getting so full, and there’s only more to come... rip

All in all, while he was definitely an impulse splurge (i am not buying any more figures until my preorders start coming out, do not let me) and despite all my apprehension, Mikazuki has definitely earned his place in my collection. He’s absolutely stunning, and photos don’t always do him the justice he deserves. I’m excited to start working with him for real, and try bringing out even a fraction of the charm that he has in person. 

While I still would have preferred a more lively pose, I now think this kind of thing is a fine start. Hell, it’s still better than nothing; I came into figure collecting when the prettyboy figure scene was preeeetty spotty. In the future--budget willing--I hope to show my support for touken ranbu figures with dynamic poses, so figure companies know that it’s a risk worth taking. (I guess that’s my one regret buying secondhand; OR isn’t going to see that money. whoops.) I’ve still got my eyes on awoken jiji, though if THIS jiji ran 15k a pop, lord knows what kind of hit my wallet would take on a fancier one....

Anyway, that just about wraps it up. Impulse control willing, my next review will be around April/May.

[mysticdragon3md3]

Things I learned from 7 years of collecting Nendoroids (part 1?)

-  Preorder.  Always.   Not only does this make things easier later, when you're at conventions and worried about booths' stocks getting sold out before the lines cap off, but it supports the companies (both Good Smile Company, so they can keep making figures, and the anime production studios so they can keep making anime).   Those preorder bonuses are pretty sweet too.   But most of all, if you’re buying a popular character, the preorder is the cheapest price you’ll find.  Those after-market price increases after the figure is actually released will go as high as the popularity and demand of that character will allow.  So better to just preorder before you get scalped.   -  Group order.   I've been doing group orders with my brother for several years now, and it really diminishes the argument that ordering directly from Good Smile is too expensive.  Sure, the only shipping option is that expensive $20 EMS shipping, but if you split the cost with other people, it becomes much cheaper than buying from a store, where they'll generally charge at least $10 more than the MSRP to cover their own shipping costs, in addition to the after-market price increases.   -  Wait to place your order near the end of a preorder period.   Good Smile's social media hypes up the day a figure's preorder window opens and encourages you to "preorder today!"  ...Yeah, don't do that. It's a little known fact that Good Smile will only charge shipping for the first box in an order; the rest of the boxes are free. If you order 10 figures and only 5 of them are released at the same time, Good Smile will mail that first box for $20; then when 2 more figures are released a few months later, those are shipped for free; then when the last 3 figures are released, they're mailed out for free too.  And I can't blame Good Smile Company for not letting that information spread around.  My brother and I have saved a LOT of money, gaming that feature.  If you order each figure, immediately when their individual preorders open, each figure getting its own individual order, then you're paying $20 shipping for each of those figures.  That makes every figure $20 more than its listed price.  Each order with only one figure in the entire order, will charge full shipping for every single figure you order.  But cram in as many figures as you can into a single order, and that $20 EMS shipping is dispersed.  So instead of placing only one figure in your order and that $60 Nendo getting saddled with $20 shipping and jumping to $80, place 10 figures into one single order, and that $20 shipping gets divided into only $2 extra for each figure.  Then your $60 Nendos only jump to $62 instead of $80.  Figure preorders are generally open for around a month, and during that month, several other figures could open up their preorders.  Cram as many open preorders into any single order as you can!  Because $2 shipping for each of 10 figures is better than $20 shipping for each figure.  (Then top that off with a shared group order, like I have with my brother who is also preordering 10 figures, and suddenly I’m only paying $1 extra shipping fees per figure.) -  Hold off on those after-market marked-up buys.   It's been joked about in web comics now, that every time you give in to buying a Nendoroid at the after-market price, because you just have to have that character...Then Good Smile will immediately announce a re-release.  -.-;  I've fallen into this; every figure collector has fallen into this.  But now with more KanColle "Kai II" versions and Marvel "DX version" Nendoroids, there's now a very similar problem of buying a figure, and though it doesn't immediately get announced for re-release, a better revised version of the same character gets announced.  Sure, those "DX versions" cost more than the original versions, but with the price increase on all figures after their release date, prices found in online stores for the original figure, are pretty comparable to just preordering the "DX version".  And the more years pass, rereleases seem more and more frequent.  Each time another character from the same series is released, Good Smile often does a second print run / rerelease of the Nendoroid of a previous or main character from the same series.  It’s become a pretty consistent pattern.  And sometimes they’ll just rerelease a figure becasue their series is getting another season after a long hiatus or their videogame is getting a new port. So unless you’re buying during intense sales, like Black Friday, or have insane discounts/coupons/reward points with a store, it’s better to just wait and trust that a re-release will come.  ...And if they don’t, you can request rereleases on Good Smile Company’s Product Inquiry Form too.  (Product Inquiry Form will be discussed in the bullet point “Request figures”, listed below.)   -  It's okay to throw away the boxes or packaging. Most of me still feels like this is a cardinal sin, but practical space reasons necessitate that I can't keep it all anymore.  Most of us in this situation recycle the plastic "bubble" packaging, fold away the boxes, and keep them collapsed as preserved official art.  But there are people who throw away the entire box, official artwork and all.  And knowing that really helps alleviate the guilt.   But if you're planning to sell your figures one day, then keep all the packaging and boxes.   On the other hand, there are stores like J-Figure who will buy used Nendoroids and are willing to sell them without boxes.   -  Use My Figure Collection. https://myfigurecollection.net/ Firstly, their databases take a lot of the unknowns out of buying figures for the first time, or from an unknown store, or if you’re worrying about bootlegs. Every entry for a specific figure will list if a bootleg exists, and often photos of the actual bootleg so that they’ll be easier to spot and avoid. Their store database lists online and physical shops, as well as proxy buyers, listing them by alphabetical title or by country.   And every entry in their database rates each store, including multiple reviews from the hundreds of users of the MFC website.  They will warn you if a store is known to sell bootlegs, if they have bad sales practices, what their shipping policies are, if they have restrictions for first-time buyers, etc.  It’s incredibly helpful, especially if you’ve never done international orders before.     Outside of their database, signing up for an account allows you to keep track of your collection.  Sure, there are some data points that MFC does not have entry fields for.  Like dates orders were placed for a figure.  But it is so helpful to avoid duplicate buys, keep track of budgeting, and when figures are coming in.  At least in America, if you're not home when your figure is being delivered, the post offices will hold packages for only a short amount of time, before they are mailed back to sender. So you need to constantly check to make sure they didn't attempt a failed delivery and are already starting the clock without your knowledge. MFC's quick roll-over popups with release dates, really help me stay aware of when to expect figures.  Otherwise, there's nothing like waiting months for your Nendo, only to find that not only did you miss it, but you're going to be missing it for maybe another month or more.  Fortunately, you can just contact Good Smile and they'll re-send the figure.  (I'm not sure if that's for free though.  But I expect it would be?)   -  Watch unboxing video reviews.   Maybe a figure has been released for a while and it's a good price to justify any after-market mark-ups.  If it's not a character you care about, but you just gotta have those accessories for some other figures in your collection, make sure they do what you need.  Sometimes you'll have an idea for a custom Nendo, a custom assembly of parts, but then you get them home and find they don't fit.  Official photos and official reviews don't try to mix parts between characters, so they often won't show the full details of how things work/fit.  Official sources will only show the figure, in and of itself, doing only what limited poses they intended.  If you're going to do more than that with your display or figure photography, check out the unorthodox angles of an unboxing video.   -  Read Kahotan's Blog.   https://mikatan.goodsmile.info/en/ Despite my previous point, that's not to say official reviews have no use.  Kahotan's Blog is the official blog with behind-the-scenes reviews of upcoming Nendoroids BEFORE they are released.  This makes the decision easier to preorder before dates close and after-market prices mark-up.  And Kahotan's Blog photos will often have more angles and even a few animated gifs demonstrating special features of a Nendoroid.  Like the swivel joint in Tracer's hair.   And yes, the URL says "mikatan.goodsmile.info".  The blog used to be "Mikatan's Blog", until she left Good Smile Company.  And right now there are multiple people writing on Kahotan's Blog, at times.  Don't let it confuse you.  These are all official Good Smile employees with insider reviews.   -  Request figures.   Often on Good Smile's official social media, people will essentially comment, "This figure announcement is trash!  Where is such&such character instead?"  There's really no reason to do this. Especially when you can say, "This character is great too, but I'd love a Nendoroid of such&such character <3" or "I'm happy this character's fans are getting a Nendoroid, but any news on such&such getting a Nendoroid?"  Granted, Good Smile representatives have said to inundate/"harass" them with requests on their social media, so they know what we want. But I'm certain they meant "harass" as a joke.  And here's something for all the people complaining about requests for such&such character, on Good Smile posts announcing another Nendoroid:  What do you think these companies have social media accounts for?  Make no mistake, their social media is for MARKETING.  They want to know what we will buy and what would be worth their money to allocate resources towards making.  They _want_ us to express what we want.  Hell, Good Smile is even willing to change features of announced figures with prototypes already approved for production, before their release dates, even after their preorders opened.  Legend of Korra got added element accessories and another faceplate, and those were retroactively added to everyone who had already placed their preorders.  They changed the eye colors of both Harry Potter and Kingdom Hearts's Riku, just because of Facebook comments.  Good Smile's former representative Mamitan used to tell the story of how Nendoroid Menma got a rerelease because people in the comments on every post about other figures/characters were all, "We want a re-release of Nendo Menma!"  So if you're one of those people who went to the comments section of a figure announcement, expecting to see nothing but fanboying over just that figure, and are inexplicably angry when people discuss other figures/characters, then I don't think you understand why Good Smile bothers maintaining their social media in the first place.   https://partner.goodsmile.info/support/eng/productrequest/ Good Smile has actually improved their figure request process.  The Product Request Form has recently gotten its own page, whereas it used to be part of the form for reporting product defects or asking bootleg verifications.  It's become more streamlined, more user-friendly, and more inviting for frequent use.  I can understand why the Product Request Form is still buried under their Customer Support pages.  They can't address all figure requests, especially if it becomes a deluge.  But it is a much more productive form of requesting Nendoroids than just trashing whatever figure announcements they just posted on social media.  And Good Smile has said at their anime convention panels that if they get 3,000 to 5,000 requests for a figure, they'll consider making it. And it has worked, multiple times before.  So it's always worth filling out the form and informing friends to do the same.   -  Unbox your figures.   There's been a long-standing culture established by American action figures, that boxed figures, with packaging that's never been opened, are more valuable.  This is not true of Nendoroids.  They are made form a type of plastic which needs oxygen to maintain itself.  Good Smile representatives have repeatedly warned that Nendoroids which do not get air, develop strange yellow and/or black spots or tint.  As I understand it, most of the plastics used to make anime figures are constantly evaporating off their plasticine, the ingredient used to soften plastic for manufacturing molds.  If these emitted plasticine vapors are trapped within box packaging, they will bounce back to the figure and begin to melt its surface.  I've dealt with this on some Ranma 1/2 trading figures (not even from Good Smile Company) and it is slimy, takes some patient cleaning, and always puts figures in danger of losing their surface details.  Unbox your figures!  Let them air out.  And if your display cases are air tight, give them regular internals to breath.  I was lucky that my Kagome and Lucky Star Figma actually melted my display case base, instead of the other way around.  That plasticine will react unpredictably with different plastics, so make sure they are regularly aired-out.   -  Use display cases.   Granted, my previous point seems to make a case against display cases, but they are still more useful then they are trouble.  I used to keep my figures in open-air on shelves...Where they would gather cakes of dust.  Then every once in a while I'd have to scrub them with a dedicated soft-bristle toothbrush.  And I'd wonder, is this the cleaning session where I scuff a paint job?   It's just a lot easier to put your figures into display cases.   You don't need big expensive display cabinets.  You don't even necessarily need display boxes.  Because display boxes can become more expensive with size, I use clear folded gift boxes for my larger figures.  These clear "gift boxes" are often at craft stores in the gift wrapping section.  There was even a time clear paint cans were trending as gift boxes, and I used some of those to display figures.  But where hard display boxes/cases can be $20, a collapsible gift box is generally around $1 or less.  They're too soft to stack, but sometimes you just need to keep the dust off.  Well, most of the dust.  Foldable gift boxes are still not very rigid, and their folded sides do have a tendency to dome up.  But I think this lets just the right amount of aeration inside, while keeping most of the dust away.   Don't just get Ikea's Detolf.  There are some good thrift store finds for less cost.  I got my display cabinet from a local thrift shop for $30.   Daiso's $5 "Collection Box Arch" can hold 6 Nendoroids if you angle the Nendos' bases.  (As long as the Nendos don't have tall ahoge nor are floating with big wings.)   -  Carry a Nendoroid with you.   Whether you're on vacation or running some errands, you never know when a cute photo op might appear.  And even a less interesting outting becomes eventful, when looking for good compositions and having your Nendoroid interact with the scenery.  Get a small plastic hard case, line a tin with cushioning felt/bubblewrap, or get a small plastic food container, and carry around your Nendoroid.   -  Birthday greetings.   Figure photography doesn't have to be a self-contained diorama.  Some very interesting figure photos break the "fourth wall".  Nendoroids make great birthday messages to friends, because they're so cute, no one cares if they don't know the character.  

-  You don't have to buy figures of characters you don't know.   I have no grievances with collectors who care solely for figures as "beauty pieces" regardless of any attachments to character or knowledge of a series.  I'm just warning that it can be an unnecessary use of budget. I've wasted a lot of money on Nendoroids which were pretty, but don't have that extra worth of feeling personally attached to the character/series.  Some are worth it, but not always.  I remember there was a time that I almost bought a Figma Kirito because I love long black trench coats, even though I didn't know SAO (and would later not care much for it).  But by 2017, Figma Joker was announced after I had gotten into Persona 5, and suddenly there was a character I already loved with a long black trench coat.  It's like waiting for a rerelease.  If you just wait, a figure announcement will appear, more perfect than previous options.  (Actually, that was advice I got from the sword collecting community.  "You don't have to kill your budget with every beautiful sword you see; a better one will inevitably come along.")   [I don’t know why I stayed up to write this.  If I write more, it'll be a part 2.]