Hunting the Elusive

This non-scale PVC of Kobato from the CLAMP series of the same name was actually announced by Kotobukiya before the series started airing. It is the latest figure to arrive in my December blitz (after WIM Miku, Marisa rev.Tokiame, Hatsune Miku CM ver. reissue), with Black Rock Shooter expected some time next week (caught in the Christmas public holiday+weekend black hole, as it that stupid expensive LE artbook). As a non-scale figure, I kinda expected it to be small (especially since it costs around half the price of normal PVCs), but I was perhaps a bit surprised at just how small it was. Still, this is a fairly intricate figure (which was why I ordered it in the first place). [Gallery]

I decided to do something different this time round, to depart from my usual black background, controlled lighting shoots, just because it was fairly easy to do so.

Originally, I had two concepts for a Kobato figure shoot. The first was to use konpeito, but that stuff is actually quite expensive and I didn’t have time to buy some. So I used the second concept, which was to shoot at a playground/park (since as Kobato anime watchers will know, she started her adventure in the world staying at a playground).

So we start with a 360 degree inspection of the figure.

From the front and side angles, it almost looks like the figure is leaning forward. This is the combined effect of the tilt of the head, the tip-toe stance and the bent knees.

The figure is fixed securely to the base with a single metal screw, visible under the base. The umbrella (with removable handle), cage and Ioryogi are accessories.

To fit the umbrella, one has to remove the blue handle, stick the skinny part into Kobato’s hand, affix the handle again, then push it up until the grip is natural.

Overall, proportion-wise, this figure is a bi odd, since the head is relatively small, especially compared to other figures. The thing is, I think they have tried to follow the CLAMP style proportions, which would go toward explaining this.

Hair is a bit shiny for my tastes, would prefer something a bit more matte. The face is one of pleasant surprise, though the eyes are such that it can be a bit hard to attain an angle where the character is actually looking at you (since they seem to be designed with a sight-line angled downwards). You need to be at a slightly lower position relative to the face to get the impression she is looking at you, like maybe if you were a stray cat.

Note that the face looks weird if you allow shadow to be cast from her fringe to bring the top half of the face into shadow. Even lighting on the face is the key here.

While the scale of the figure does result in a bit of loss of detail, overall it works pretty well. Even the hair has sufficient detail to rival 1/8 figures. Sculpt job is pretty good, though at this small level, the paint job does get a bit iffy in terms of overpainting (as can be seen on Kobato’s head wear).

Let’s look at details. The knob at the end of the umbrella handle looked like it had production issues, but closer inspection seem to indicate it’s a chick, a recurring symbol both in Kobato and on this figure. The kimono is a fairly intricate one if you think about it, with a number of flowers going on around the place.

A bit of a cheat with the pattern here, which I think is printed on, but it makes for a great quality. The bow at the back of the kimono is a bit understated since it is hidden by Kobato’s long hair, but it’s quite impressive, with flowers all down its length, ending in tassels.

The clogs, again with the little bird there on the side. When I mentioned tip-toes earlier, it actually seems she is in mid-stride

Same print/decal job can be seen on the umbrella, but note once again the paint job problems in a number of areas. Still nothing too bad, I kinda like the hand-painted look.

Ioryogi is safely consigned to the cage. The cage can be opened (the base separates from the part with the bars), and there is a real ribbon attached to the top of the cage, which gets in the way sometimes.

The cage has a magnet embedded, and the base has another magnet, ensuring a fairly secure hold between the two. The magnets are aligned such that it is almost impossible to position the cage in anything other than the recommended place.

Fairly well-made, is our ill-tempered friend, though quite a lot of seam lines. Perhaps that is acceptable for a stuffed animal.

The collar can be moved.

Mouth and teeth are real, not just painted on, which is a good plus point.

You can position it to gnaw at the cage bars, or on the hand that (doesn’t really) feeds it.

I’ll just end this post with some non-review shots made at the park.

Technicals: The park was within walking distance of my place, and it was fairly quiet. Had a few kids come in from time to time, but not much disturbance. Went out during the overcast period of a fairly hot day, but the direct sun came out a number of times, requiring judicious shading to retain good lighting effects. Again, used small reflectors to keep the shadows in check.

When trying to cheat perspective, it is general knowledge that a telephoto range is recommended for compressing the perceived distance from subject to background. I brought out my Sony 135mm f2.8 (T4.5) STF manual-focus only lens for a number of shots, but lacking extension tubes to allow closer focus, used the 50mm f2.8 macro the rest of the time. This was probably not enough foreground-background compression. I also suspect a bit of height on the part of the figure is needed to complete the trick.

Given the distance from subject to background (and the fact that I was shooting macro), bokeh was fairly strong. To resolve just enough detail in the background to show we are in a playground, I had to shoot at fairly small apertures. Not such a problem given I was using a tripod and using natural daylight though.

All shots achieved with manual focus. I really love the precision this gives me.