I have not watched a second of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, but the fact that there is a character named Sankt Kaiser Vivio, Holy Queen of Sorrow totally makes me regret missing this show. That is just an epic name, and totally nonsensical to boot. Combine that with a ridiculously badass outfit/character design, and you've got one hell of a figure.  prAnd hey, it's Alter, so it's pretty much a given that the final product will look spectacular. So hit the jump to see our (glowing) review of Miss Vivio of the outrageously long name!

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Bandai stunned a lot of us when they announced the D-Arts line. Long-awaited figures of Digimon and Medabots was just the tip of the iceberg it appears. How many times have we cried out for a GOOD figure of Mega Man? Samus Aran? Well, Bandai is going to try and make that happen.

The company receives numerous requests for figures, and according the staff page of Tamashii Nation, they are now in the process of trying to make these reality for the D-Arts figure line. Among the names listed are Mega Man, Samus Aran, Grid Man (or as US fans may remember him as Servo from Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad!), Kuro-chan from Cyborg Kuro-Chan and yes, Izanagi from Persona 4!

I really, really want this to happen. With the weight of Bandai and their reputation for quality licensed goods, I think this is going to be reality. I can't wait to see what they'll come up with. Given that Bandai is moving in this direction, which figures would you like to come out in the line?

[Thanks tCi!]

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We spied this rather amazing custom from artist Brent Nolasco over at Plastic and Plush today (go there t check out more photos) -- and wow, how cool is this? Created for the Crazy 4 Cult show, this piece is carved entirely from wood, is fully poseable, and marks Nolasco's first time experimenting with the medium. I'd say it's a success -- this is sure to win the hearts of Nightmare Before Christmas fans everywhere.

And yes, I am afraid it's not for sale -- at least, not that we know of. I'm sure many of you are wondering where you can buy it!

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Another custom Jouwe appears, this one from Indonesia's The Yellow Dino (a.k.a. Yudi Andhika). He's sent alongsome work in progress pictures of a custom Jouwe he's working on, with the final design apparently going to be like a yellow tiger, which you can check out a preview of in the gallery. Definitely liking how this one is turning out!

This piece will be on display Oct. 2 at the Jouwe Custom Show at Arty Farty in Cologne, Germany. Looking like the show's gonna have a great line-up so far!

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I'm a fan of Erick Scarecrow's limited edition releases, but this one is by far one of my favorites -- I love the colors! This piece, called Little Axe Snow Forest, is a Vince Toy Studio and Shop Taiwan exclusive and is limited to 30 pieces. And of course, they have a story!

"Previously, an obnoxious wolf had lost one of his paws by the chop of a little girl's axe.
His pride was hurt and he decided to trade some of his valuable fur for a weapon with a local blacksmith.
   
Time had passed and snow blanketed the forest. The wolf practiced with his weapon everyday. One afternoon, the wolf spotted another little girl dressed in white trying to chop wood. Flashbacks of his last encounter with a little girl drove him into a rage.
 
As he leaped aiming to cut her in two, her twin sister dropped from above and beheaded him. A trap set up by the Snow Forest Twins to grow their collection of wolf heads."

These 6 inch handpainted resin figures haven't been priced yet, but we'll keep you posted when we know more. Check out more pics in the gallery. What do you think?

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I very much like this little diorama of a cat girl hanging out with her little bunny ... rabbit ... thing. In her messy bedroom with clothes on the floor, no less. I admit though, I had zero idea what this was. Off to Google, then! With a little investigation, I discovered something pretty interesting. From the Wikipedia entry on Schrodinger;s cat:

"Schrödinger's cat is a paradoxical thought experiment devised by Erwin Schrödinger that attempts to illustrate the incompleteness of the theory of quantum mechanics when going from subatomic to macroscopic systems. This means that there can be two different universes depending on the action taken which in this case is opening the box to see if the cat is dead or not. You can not say the cat is alive or dead until you open the box."

There's more where that came from, too.

At any rate, if you grasp quantum mechanics more than I do, you may want to add this cutesy version of the Schrodinger's cat to your collection (it's #2 in a set, so I assume there will be more). It comes with an instruction booklet with a 4-panel comic included, its 2,350 yen, and it'll be out late this month. Had any of you heard of the Schrodinger's Cat concept before?

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Have you ever seen the 1988 cinematic masterpiece, They Live ? if not, go watch it now. It's the only movie I can think of that contains not only magic sunglasses and mind control, but also the incomparable Rowdy Roddy Piper. Seriously, the movie combines equal parts social satire, science fiction, and 80's-style cheesy action into something that is much great than the sum of it's parts. 

Well, it seems the talented Motorbot is also a fan and has created a few of the film's aliens for an upcoming show at Gallery 1988. These little guys capture all the ghoulish charm of their big screen counterparts, but are much less likely to try to enslave the human race. Hopefully.

If you'd like a "formaldehyde face" of your own, contact Motorbot here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go beat my friend senseless until he will try on my sunglasses. 

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Max Factory, Max Factory, Max Factory... Man, you just waited for everyone else to show their hands and then BAM, in one fell swoop managed to out-cute and out-awesome all of them. There're quite a few figures of Mio from K-On! already, and furthermore, a few of similar expression, one from FREEing and one from Alter, and somehow, Max Factory just knew exactly what to do here.

While it seemed like other companies were just cashing in on the Mio craze and calling it a day (*cough*Alter*cough*) Max Factory has really taken out all the stops on this one. The amazing ruffles in her skirt that's fwooshing upward, her pouting face that out-adorbz all others, the way she's holding onto her bass for dear life, the cord spun around her legs so perfectly, and her flawless hair, which is even more detailed than Alter's rendition, are all executed to perfection. If you want to order this rendition of Mio, she's 1/7th scale and is set to be released in January and is up at Hobby Search for 6,314 yen and AmiAmi for 5,930 yen. While I may have ordered the school uniform Alter renditions, for the festival one I have to go with Max Factory and I can't wait for her to be released in January.

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For all you Valkyria Chronicles fans out there, our lead girl Alicia is looking pretty sweet and is now available for pre-order. Not only does she come with a tank hatch platform, as an extra you get Hans (the piggy!) to add to your Valkyria collection. If you don't have one, this is a fabulous start. It's finally here, after being teased with the Wonder Fest PVC load. 

Hobby Search and AmiAmi have these listed for about 6,800 yen and it is set to release in December; meaning by January you can give this lovely, 1/8 scale PVC lady (and her winged pig) a home. 

What say you? I personally like her cute pose, and it looks like she won't wobble off the base very easily. Huge plus: She's got a rifle; now there's a girl that won't be messed with! 

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A few days ago we showed you the preview of the Makise Nendoroid from the video game Steins;Gate, which was illustrated by Huke, and now, this blue eyed little ball of adorbz is up for order. Coming with her cell phone and an envelope as accessories, as well as three faces, she's one pretty cute Nendoroid. I also love the translation of Huke's unique style of eyes onto this figure; it comes across so well. If you want her to go with the 1/8th scale Kotobukiya figure, the upcoming figma, or just by herself, you can order her for 2,429 yen at Hobby Search and 2,230 yen at AmiAmi and she will be a January release. Are any of you planning on buying her as a result of Huke's work on this or are you passing due to too many Figma and Nendo releases?

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