luffyluffySorry, this will be short, but I'm excited to I want to show it off.
One of my favorite items in my collection is this: ITEM #266661
Jigen Daisuke is one of my all time favorite characters. Honestly, he's my soulmate. I really really adore him. And his incarnation in the Takeshi Koike movies is my favorite interpretation of him. I love how angular his features look, but how groomed and well put together he looks too. It fascinates me. I watch his focus movie, Jigen's Gravestone, every year on my birthday (you know, as a treat). So naturally, the one single figure they made of his Koike incarnation was probably the closest thing I've ever had to a Grail, as this website defines it.
I searched for a while, and eventually my husband found him on Mercari, used, no box. So, I finally got him! That was a few years ago. I set him up, oogled him, noticed some things about him that sucked big time (more about this later), and put him away safe. And then, with time, I noticed why the original owner sold him.
See, if you look at the official photography, you'll notice his stand. It's a wretched, thin, little hockey puck. Emphasis on thin. In fact, it's so thin, it fails to support Jigen at all! And with his long luxurious toothpick legs, he REALLY NEEDS THE SUPPORT. So basically, on the stand they gave you, he will inevitably lean at the ankles. This isnt helped by the pose he's in, mid-step, with his feet mostly off the floor. There is only a single, short, plastic peg connecting Jigen to the base.
Something had to be done. I tried hot water treatments, hairdryers, etc. All of that worked, but because of the uselessness of the stand he would continue to lean once more. I tried modifying the stand to make it more stable. I even tried wedging folded paper under his feet to force him to lean back. Nothing worked. My husband is pretty handy though, and he offered to build Jigen a new stand. Out of options, I relinquished my beloved Jigen to my husband.
And then life happened. You know.
Jigen sat in the basement craft area for a while. So long, I honestly forgot about him. Until... 10 minutes ago!
[img]
[/img]
Here he is! My beloved Jigen! Standing proud! Wow!
Here's what my husband had to say about the process:
"I've been wondering off and on for probably years now as to the best way to get Jigen to stand up straight and also make his new base more exciting than the round clear one he came with. I had a Tamashii action base/wall (ITEM #771036) that I bought and forgot about that seemed promising, so I glued two of the wall pieces together for a nice square. There were some spare brick segments I used to not only add some depth, but to prop up the toe of Jigen's left shoe so he didn't lean so bad. Then I took the pinvice and drilled some pegholes, I had some 3mm round plastic rods that were a perfect match for the pegs on Jigen's previous base. After some sanding and painting and just a little weathering, it looked even better than I hoped. As a finishing touch, I took some leftover rods, painted them, cut them into small pieces, and glued them at his feet. The intent was for them to be cigarette butts, but maybe they're shell casings. Either works!"
Personally, I think they kinda look like pretzels.
So, That's the story of how Jigen got a nice new base.
Now, the big hitch with the figure is this. He uh, kinda sucks. Let me explain.
View the official production images again. He's designed to be viewed from the back, when used in conjunction with the original stand. This is in character ("The beauty of a man's back, trembling, crying" as they say), but man is it BORING. If you flip him around so he's facing towards you, there's a lot more detail. It comes with two pairs of alternate hands, one holding his beloved .357 Magnum, and the other holding a Zippo lighter. The Zippo isn't bad, but it's so small, especially when the figure is viewed correctly for the back. So, I opted for the pistol, and then honestly kinda lost the Zippo. Sorry Jigen.
Basically, this figure has no single viewing angle it looks best at. And that sucks. So that's a small knock against him. The bigger issue is this:
(Image has been placed behind a spoiler box because it's gross to some people. If you open it, you lose all right to complain about it.)
Voir le spoiler
WHAT DID THEY DO TO HIS EYES?
Yeah okay, I get it, "Why do you care about the eyes on the statue of a man who is defined by the fact that you never see his eyes on screen?" WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE ONE OF THOSE "BEE STING DOGS"? Seriously, they didnt even fucking TRY. It doesn't look like his eyes are closed or heavy-lidded, they look swollen shut! His eyes lack any sort of definition, eyelashes, whatever. And this SUCKS, because he rest of the face looks great! His eyebrows, his frowny mouth, the cigarette, his soft kissable lips, his cute silky beard, it all looks great.... except the damn eyes! This removes another avenue of display, because honestly his eyes are so poorly done it actually kinda grosses me out. So I really, really, don't want to see them if I don't have to. And of course, no one takes photos of the faces on Jigen statues, so it's a crapshoot as to whether they look good or not. You cant know until you get the thing. It's like buying a bishoujo statue and looking up her skirt to see if they molded in any panties or something.
So there you have it, my grail that cant stand, and looks fucking hideous.
And that, as we say, is that.
One of my favorite items in my collection is this: ITEM #266661
Jigen Daisuke is one of my all time favorite characters. Honestly, he's my soulmate. I really really adore him. And his incarnation in the Takeshi Koike movies is my favorite interpretation of him. I love how angular his features look, but how groomed and well put together he looks too. It fascinates me. I watch his focus movie, Jigen's Gravestone, every year on my birthday (you know, as a treat). So naturally, the one single figure they made of his Koike incarnation was probably the closest thing I've ever had to a Grail, as this website defines it.
I searched for a while, and eventually my husband found him on Mercari, used, no box. So, I finally got him! That was a few years ago. I set him up, oogled him, noticed some things about him that sucked big time (more about this later), and put him away safe. And then, with time, I noticed why the original owner sold him.
See, if you look at the official photography, you'll notice his stand. It's a wretched, thin, little hockey puck. Emphasis on thin. In fact, it's so thin, it fails to support Jigen at all! And with his long luxurious toothpick legs, he REALLY NEEDS THE SUPPORT. So basically, on the stand they gave you, he will inevitably lean at the ankles. This isnt helped by the pose he's in, mid-step, with his feet mostly off the floor. There is only a single, short, plastic peg connecting Jigen to the base.
Something had to be done. I tried hot water treatments, hairdryers, etc. All of that worked, but because of the uselessness of the stand he would continue to lean once more. I tried modifying the stand to make it more stable. I even tried wedging folded paper under his feet to force him to lean back. Nothing worked. My husband is pretty handy though, and he offered to build Jigen a new stand. Out of options, I relinquished my beloved Jigen to my husband.
And then life happened. You know.
Jigen sat in the basement craft area for a while. So long, I honestly forgot about him. Until... 10 minutes ago!
[img]
[/img]Here he is! My beloved Jigen! Standing proud! Wow!
Here's what my husband had to say about the process:
"I've been wondering off and on for probably years now as to the best way to get Jigen to stand up straight and also make his new base more exciting than the round clear one he came with. I had a Tamashii action base/wall (ITEM #771036) that I bought and forgot about that seemed promising, so I glued two of the wall pieces together for a nice square. There were some spare brick segments I used to not only add some depth, but to prop up the toe of Jigen's left shoe so he didn't lean so bad. Then I took the pinvice and drilled some pegholes, I had some 3mm round plastic rods that were a perfect match for the pegs on Jigen's previous base. After some sanding and painting and just a little weathering, it looked even better than I hoped. As a finishing touch, I took some leftover rods, painted them, cut them into small pieces, and glued them at his feet. The intent was for them to be cigarette butts, but maybe they're shell casings. Either works!"
Personally, I think they kinda look like pretzels.
So, That's the story of how Jigen got a nice new base.
Now, the big hitch with the figure is this. He uh, kinda sucks. Let me explain.
View the official production images again. He's designed to be viewed from the back, when used in conjunction with the original stand. This is in character ("The beauty of a man's back, trembling, crying" as they say), but man is it BORING. If you flip him around so he's facing towards you, there's a lot more detail. It comes with two pairs of alternate hands, one holding his beloved .357 Magnum, and the other holding a Zippo lighter. The Zippo isn't bad, but it's so small, especially when the figure is viewed correctly for the back. So, I opted for the pistol, and then honestly kinda lost the Zippo. Sorry Jigen.
Basically, this figure has no single viewing angle it looks best at. And that sucks. So that's a small knock against him. The bigger issue is this:
(Image has been placed behind a spoiler box because it's gross to some people. If you open it, you lose all right to complain about it.)
Voir le spoiler
WHAT DID THEY DO TO HIS EYES?
Yeah okay, I get it, "Why do you care about the eyes on the statue of a man who is defined by the fact that you never see his eyes on screen?" WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE ONE OF THOSE "BEE STING DOGS"? Seriously, they didnt even fucking TRY. It doesn't look like his eyes are closed or heavy-lidded, they look swollen shut! His eyes lack any sort of definition, eyelashes, whatever. And this SUCKS, because he rest of the face looks great! His eyebrows, his frowny mouth, the cigarette, his soft kissable lips, his cute silky beard, it all looks great.... except the damn eyes! This removes another avenue of display, because honestly his eyes are so poorly done it actually kinda grosses me out. So I really, really, don't want to see them if I don't have to. And of course, no one takes photos of the faces on Jigen statues, so it's a crapshoot as to whether they look good or not. You cant know until you get the thing. It's like buying a bishoujo statue and looking up her skirt to see if they molded in any panties or something.
So there you have it, my grail that cant stand, and looks fucking hideous.
And that, as we say, is that.
Commentaires10
Just for you, here's his stinky ass getting a bath. Once he soaks for 24 hours, I can put him back on his brand new base, and find somewhere to put him in my detolf. Yeah it's probably because the camera was close up and HQ. He's going to be one happy clean grail now, thank you for doing this, shows that you care for him and what others see!
Look, I got it and was so excited I wanted to share. I didnt even notice the dirt or the dust in the photo until you pointed it out. He doesn't look all that dusty in person.
Just for you, here's his stinky ass getting a bath. Once he soaks for 24 hours, I can put him back on his brand new base, and find somewhere to put him in my detolf.
Although.... Well, I mean, it's your GRAIL after all. Consume it as it pleases you I suppose. Just wish I didn't have to see that hair sticking out on a GRAIL post. I don't like looking at dirt on any objects, it's better than liking it.
I just can't look at figures that are dirty for more than a few minutes, I really don't understand how people can value a figure if it isn't clean/protected. That's just me I guess, I'm very protective of my collection, especially grail. Maybe give it a wash.
It's been in a basement without a box for 2, nearly 3 years, what do you expect? Sue me for not giving him a luxurious bubble bath beforehand.
Although....
: DDDDDDDDDDDDD
(I sure hope you're the hubby in question, or this response just got very awkward lol...)
I just can't look at figures that are dirty for more than a few minutes, I really don't understand how people can value a figure if it isn't clean/protected. That's just me I guess, I'm very protective of my collection, especially grail. Maybe give it a wash.
Look, I fixed up that new base for Jigen in my hobby area where I have a shrine for Hoshino Yumemi from Planetarian, and then took the finished product upstairs where I have a detolf that has literally nothing but Saber Fatestaynight in it. Having 2D soulmates is a thing for both of us.
Perhaps it is the lighting of the photo, but even after reading and zooming in I still see more of a "dangerous narrowed side-eye before a warning shot" iris that happens to be just not colored in (I assume to allow viewer to imagine).
I'm glad you have a person that could help fix the structure and put thought into it. Maybe one day this character you love so much will get a decent figure with great support.
Your husband did a really good job with the base!
But they really did Jigen dirty with the eyes, sure we don't see them much in the series but come on.
Despite all this, I wish they did a Goemon scale for Goemon's Blood Spray as well! He's my favorite from the series and I want a recent scale of him. Figurama Collectors announced one (ITEM #1672016) to go along with their statue (ITEM #1593859) but it's been a year with no updates. Here's hoping it's not cancelled!
Nothing sucks like a figure you're really hoping for, only for it to turn out rather substandard. Since it looks like you/your hubby collects gunpla, I would've probably used one of the stands meant for displaying mechs and action figures and just sorta suspended Jigen upright. Yeah stands aren't exactly sexy but better than finding a figure face down somewhere.