Unlike Bleach and One Piece, Naruto doesn't have that many good looking figures. Despite how insanely popular the series has been over the last ten years, fans have had to put up with plushies and sub-par trading figure sets. However, not all of these sets have been garbage. Both Premium Heroines sets have been excellent examples on how to make decent looking mass-produced figures at an affordable price. The second Premium Heroines set is also what got me into collecting period.

Follow me after the jump to get a peak at these little beauties.

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Back in 2006 I attended my first Otakon. It took a year of saving, but I was able to hop on a plane and get in a hotel with my cousins and buy everything my large geeky heart desired. Walking into that massive dealer room nearly made said heart explode with glee and believe me, buy everything I did.

I was walking around half way through the second day when a bright pink box made me stop and look closer at the booth it was stationed at. Now, those that collect PVC statues should be adjusted to brightly colored boxes, but it was more who was inside of the box and less the color itself. In the box was a ridiculously cute ninja girl holding a yellow blob with wings. This ninja's name was Shinobu and she is from a show called Ninin ga Shinobuden (Ninja Nonsense to those that purchased the English DVDs.) I didn't hesitate in nabbing Shinobu and she is still one of my favorite statues, and you'll see why after the jump.

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Weta Workshop is famous for their ability to design props and costumes and make the impossible real. Take all the work they did for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and you'll see what I mean. What a lot of people don't know is that they also create prop weapons that can be ordered off of their website, such as their line of Victorian weapons designed by the brilliant Dr. Gordbort.  Latest in that line is the Righteous Bison, the Indivisible Particle Smasher that will lay waste to any that cross your path and, if they are particularly unlucky, become part of your path.

 Follow me after the jump to get a peak at the Bison as well as see it on it's first adventure.

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Oh/Ah My Goddess! is a show that doesn't have nearly enough merch. For a series that has been serialized for 20+ years, it doesn't have nearly enough PVC statues for my liking. However, thanks to the somewhat recent AMG! anime that aired a few years back, there has been a slight influx of figures as of late.

Cue Kotobukiya's Belldandy from Everyone Has Wings, the second season of the TV show. Follow me after the jump to see more of this moderately priced beauty!

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Well ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to announce the winner of the Dungeon Fighter Online statue. If you remember, you had to post pictures of your figures kicking in ways that made me laugh, titter, and generally chuckle to myself. There were quite a few awesome entries, so picking the winner was quite difficult.

In the end, the one who wins the Camel-Toe Queen is none other than Cherrycat for his amusing rendition of a chorus line, conducted by Buddy Christ.  If that isn't Jesus Christ Superstar with robots, I'll be greatly disappointed.  Cherrycat, leave your email address in the comments and I'll get in touch with you to send you your fine piece of poly-stone booty. Hit the gallery to see the winner and the other entries.

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People don't know how to appreciate wear-and-tear on a figure. Now, I'm not talking about the ravages that time rains on all things PVC and plush, but the conscious decision to sculpt and paint a statue that has seen better days. There is a subset of PlaMo wizards who can make their models look like they've taken battle damage, but that's a very small minority and even then that is rarely done in a mass-produced PVC statue.

Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you have your socks on tight because you're about to get blown away by Uplark's Viral. I would hazard to say it is a masterpiece of detail and nuance that all, and I mean ALL, companies should strive for.  Hit the jump to see how this is no mere bit of hyperbole.

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Upcoming MMO Dungeon Fighter Online has managed to get quite a bit of buzz in the last couple of months through some impressive showings. The lovely lass above is the Fighter class from the game, and she could be yours!  Follow me after the jump to find out how.

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The opposing sides of Final Fantasy Dissidia make up the all star teams of the RPG genre. They are some of the most popular characters ever in all of videogames, and they are battling each other for the fate of reality as they know it. One side are the bravest souls to ever line up horizontally and swing a sword and the other  the biggest bastards to ever be put on silicon. A game with this kind of premise is bound to have more than a few figures come out, and what you see here are the first ones to be put out by Square-Enix.

Follow me after the jump to get a peek at the first four heroes to come out in the Trading Arts line of Dissidia.

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People who frequent local anime or comic shops should be familiar with Mon-Sieur Bome. He's the dude that sculpts affordable figures that are usually below the $40 range. While Bome has sculpted a bunch of original designs, he has done many recognizable faces. Ladies like Maya and Aya Natsume from Tenjou Tenge, Noriko Takaya and Nono from Gunbuster and Diebuster repectively, Kasumi from Dead or Alive, and KOS-MOS from Xenosaga have all been made into awesome PVC representations of their original desgins.

Of all Bome's sculpts, one of my favorites is his version of Saber, from Fate/Stay Night. Follow me after the jump to get a peek at this lovely lass that can kick your ass.

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Normally, I am not a fan of designer vinyl. Being a long time collector of Japanese PVC and trading figures, I'm used to (sometimes overly) complex designs and a level of detail that I don't normally find in vinyl toys. However, I'm always willing to eat crow if I find something that amazes me, and I have to say that this slice of crow pie is quite a bit tastier than I though.

Erick Scarecrow, in collaboration with Neon Martian, released Dizign as part of the Old Skool Kaiju collection back in 2008, with this particular coloration being a New York Comi-Con exclusive. Follow me after the jump to here me gush about my first vinyl as well as see Dizign's first foray into PVC territory.

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