FAQs and troubleshooting

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FAQ & Trouble

This Article is still being Edited

You can’t find the figure you want

Check Mandarake or Suruga-ya. Most of the time you’ll have to wait until they have the fig you want. Be sure to buy it as soon as you can because others may buy it too. Even if you are able to place an order on an item you want, someone may have already bought it in the physical stores in Japan which means you might not get it if there aren’t any more, so be quick.

Yahoo! Auction Japan can be a great place to find older, discontinued, and even new figures. However, bar knowing a friend in Japan, you pretty much have to use a proxy service (see above) to bid. The upside is, even including proxy fees, it’s usually much cheaper than buying the same (quality) figure on Amazon or eBay. Additionally, the elevens value a figure’s box and it’s condition very highly, so you can find some unopened figures with a slightly damaged box for reasonable prices. Figures removed from their box drop in price significantly, and can be a bargain; be wary of hot glue and damage though!

eBay and Amazon are a last resort.

Why is this old figure so damn expensive? (Compared to the original retail price)

Figures, by nature, are limited. Even if they aren’t released as limited or exclusive, once they sell out it’s rare for them to be re-released. So naturally, the price to skyrockets once they are sold out, which often happens in the initial days after the official release date.

Preorders are closed on most sites and I really want that figure

Wait for the release date, there’s a good chance you can grab it at the big 3 without spending copious amounts in other sites. Guys tend to cancel some of their preorders and those figures become available after the release date, usually the day after the release up to one week later. New batches may become available after the initial preorder date and the big 3 tend to reopen preorders then. Also set a notification on FiginStock or monitor the MFC comments.

I want to buy an exclusive figure, where can I order it?

The first option is the manufacturer’s site, some of them like GSC and Native do ship to some countries overseas. If the manufacturer doesn’t ship outside Japan then you are either stuck with using a proxy service or waiting for some reseller sites to list them, some of them include Big In Japan, Mio Boutique, Nippon Yasan and Yokatta.

I placed a preorder for a figure but I don’t want it anymore

And this is why you think about it twice before buying a figure, if you don’t want it because you don’t like it anymore you have serious issues and should work on your self control and moderation.

Now, if you do it because something unexpected came up:

Try cancelling it, most sites don’t like cancellations and if you do so repeatedly you can get your ass banned from them. Amiami is especially picky regarding cancellations and while they might not instantly ban you, you are playing with fire. They are more lenient with frequent customers but even then, try to not upset them or you’ll get an angry email saying they will ban your baka gaijin ass.

Another option is trying to pass the order to some other guy; this is frequently done in MFC and sometimes /a/.

Statues are great but, why are they so expensive?

Most of them involve a really detailed modeling process for the prototyping stage, and even when tools like 3D printers and modeling software are common nowadays, their use is still limited. For said modeling process, check the following video series.

On top of that, even after initial prototypes are finished, much of the detailing is done by hand since machines can’t replicate some details. The majority of figures are mostly hand painted and assembled for both detail purposes and because Chinese sweatshops are cheaper.

For more insight, check the following posts at Mikatan’s site:

The previously mentioned series, building a figure from scratch: Part 1. Danny Choo tours GSC’s offices: video

Mikatan’s Factory Field Trip part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, finale

1/8 Senjougahara Hitagi part 3, part 4

1/8 Millhiore F. Biscotti and 3DCG sculpting

Nendoroid Super Sonico tiger hoodie ver. part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

About the duplication process (Japanese only) part 1, gsc-mikatahttp://ameblo.jp/gsc-mikatan/entry-10617444280.html gsc-mikatan/entry-10617444280.html part 4

Mikaasic-knowl [http://mikatan.goodsmile.info/en/2012/11/08/painting-a-nendoroid-expression-part-2-painting-the-eye-border/ on-part-2-painting-the-eye-border/ part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, finale

GSC and 3D sculpting