Figure preorders – How to avoid duds

You are unlikely to get her off the shelves

Figure collecting is a grueling passion. Not only is it expensive, it is time consuming - that is if you are serious about having a worthy collection. Any Itsukis or Suginamis can have a figure collection but to possess one that is the envy of your neighbours, foresight and dedicated planning involving pre-ordering are required.

Figure collecting is a precise art. A worthy collection is not a matter of 'how many' but 'how magnificent'. And you are unlikely to find the most beautiful figures waiting patiently, hard-up for your purchase during one of your occasionally waltz into the hobby shop. One. needs. to. pre-order. (Did I say that already?) But therein lies the problem - Preordered duds.

Preordered duds is the bane of every figure collector. What seemed so divine in online promo pics could transform into a Cthulhu when delivered into your hands. I'm not free from such searing scars even though great prudence was exercised in all my preorders. And so here's sharing my figure purchase process for the purpose of educating/inviting pointers from figure-collecting kouhais/senpais. Hopefully a better strategy to avoid figure duds can be crystallised with further discussion.

Warning - A long self-indulgent post about figure purchases

Step 1 - Know the figure releases from the various figure manufacturers 6 months before release

The first and most important step in planning for any figure purchase. Knowing what figures are coming out from the various makers allows for funds allocation and comparisons when makers are coming out with figures of the same character. One of the reasons I held off preordering Kotobukiya's Louise (beside the ugly facial sculpt) was because I knew there was going to be a Louise sculpt from Alter in Jan. I'm glad I waited.

There are 2 major ways of preempting figure releases. 1) Figure exhibitions like Wonderfest (WF) and World Hobby Festival (WHF). 2) Hobby magazines like Figure Maniacs or Replicant. Since the latter is too expensive to purchase, I rely mainly on Moeyo's figure event reports. It is imperative to obtain the figure release schedules for the various companies. Further scrutinise their figure prototypes to see what catches your eye.

Step 2 - Make comparisons of the prototype photos

Still at hobby events. After you have narrowed down the figures that have caught your eye, visit a few more sites covering the event to scout out other pictures of the same figure. This allows for more perspectives of the figure. Since those covering the events are mostly fans and not professional photographers, their pictures would be a lot more candid than deceptively beautiful promo pictures released for preorders months later.

Now that I have the nendroid preordered, hoping a Hatsune Miki figure debuts soon

Step 3 - Stay posted with the figure manufactors' blogs

Between the figure event and preordering, keep yourself posted on the figure makers' blogs. They may have tantalising tidbits on figure releases that have yet to grace events or work progresses on the figure that piqued your interest earlier (especially those unpainted ones).

Step 4 - Investigate sculptor

Just a minor step I take before committing to a preorder. One of the nifty functions for kanji illiterate figure collectors like myself is the listing of the romanji-nised names of the sculptor for a particular figure at Hobby Search. Clicking on it collates all his previous sculpts and chances are you would have seen some of his figure in RL at the hobby shops (or maybe within your own collection.) Examining a sculptor's past work and how it had translated to figures allows for some extrapolation of how your target figure may turn out.

Step 5 - Ascertain reliability of production values

Actually you can't do that. I get around it by buying figures from only the big 5 - Max Factory, Alter, Goodsmile Company, Megahouse and Kotobukiya; in that descending order of faith in their production values. These companies make figures that LOOK LIKE their prototypes. It's tragic to have the best sculpt, only to be ruined by shoddy worksmanship. I have (had) figures from Lilics, Solid works, Enterbrain and their figures have disappointed me in some way. I wouldn't even look at Yuji or Bandai figures.

Step 6 - Preorder and collect through an established shop

Given that you have the figure release schedules from hobby events, get ready to preorder as the month draws near. (Preorders begin about 3-4 months before their release dates.) Personally, I don't preorder online. I'm blessed with a fabulous local hobby shop who grants me many MANY concessions of which the only one I'm willing to reveal is the flexibility to choose my figure. Go to your shop as soon as the shipment arrives. Choose a figure of your liking from a pool as big as 12 (Don't pick too long/many and test the shopkeeper's patience of course). Since figures are hand-painted, the paintjob can vary widely from figure to figure. Bring a fellow figure enthusiast for a 2nd opinion if necessary.

This is a very personal guide of my figure acquisition process. Feel free to refine it with your own experiences/thoughts. Once I get my last 2 figures for 2007, there'll be a Hontouni figure report.

Meanwhile, happy collecting!

Related posts:

1. My humble harem – a half yearly figure report
2. What would an ideal figure display be?
3. Figure display – Getto!