Review of Rappelz statue

Introduction

People often ask me if I get all these toys for free. The answer is generally no, especially in the current economy - things are very tough on all the collectibles companies these days. About 80% of the stuff you see reviewed I purchase, but there's still some stuff that arrives for review from various sources.

One of those is tonight's pretty lady, made by Gensen Figure. They manufacture statues largely for the anime and manga fanbase, although they've also done work on other properties like DC for companies like Bandai. They work in a number of scales, from the smaller 3" blind boxed figures to larger 1/8th scale statues.

They sent over a new statue for me to check out, one based on the MMORPG called Rappelz. I'm going to be honest - I'd never heard of the game before this figure showed up. I've done a little research since, but I'm no expert.

The game is similar to WoW, but it's free to download and play. Like Warcraft, you can choose from any number of races and skills, and you can also have 'pets', creatures that will take commands and fight alongside you. Who doesn't want their very own pixie or orc?

I'm assuming this pretty young thing is some sort of Gaia Warrior, and I've included a photo above of what she'd look like in the game. Yea, she's hot. That's about all I know, although I was sorely tempted to download the game and give it a run. But then a couple hours would turn into eight, and eight would turn into the lost weekend, and my wife would divorce me, and I'd end up lying in a gutter drinking Sterno. Better to just not click that download button...

Packaging - **
You'll notice there's no packaged shot. She came to me in a plain white box, safely packed inside, but not much to look at. I suspect she's very limited, although I don't have the exact number, making the need for fancy packaging fairly moot.

Sculpting - ***1/2
I only have a couple reference photos to go by, but from what I can tell, they've captured the essence of this warrior extremely well.

More importantly, she's hot. Oh, there's also some amazing detail work on the armor, particularly for this scale. The edges are sharply cut, and there's no soft or featureless work. And she's hot.

She's designed to stand on the base, although with some effort she can manage it without. The hands are sculpted in specific poses, one holding some sort of card, the other holding her staff-like weapon.

The pose is appropriate, although not particularly dynamic. My one complaint is with the pose of the head, which is sculpted facing downward more than I really like. It needs to be tilted back just a smidge, so that her gaze is coming straight out at you on the shelf.

I'm also a bit disappointed with the hair, which doesn't sport quite the same level of detail or realism as the armor and body. The strands are a bit thick and clumsy, but it's a fairly minor annoyance.

Without the base, she stands just over 6" tall, and will fit in with most other 6 - 7" scaled lines.

Paint - ***1/2
Overall, the paint quality is well above average, although I can always find a few nerdpicks.

I'm particularly fond of the work on the armor, where the brighter colors stand out nicely. There's some very good shading work as well, and the details of the sculpt are highlighted as they should be. This paint job complements the sculpt, and brings attention to the finer aspects.

There's a little slop here and there, particularly on the skin, and the occasional rough cut line. I think the lips could be a bit cleaner at the edges of the mouth, and I'm not a huge fan of the dark black in the hair. It's applied a bit too heavy handed, unlike the rest of the work. Overall though the paint work is similar to that which you see on much higher end statues.

Design/Quality - ***
The pose is a bit less dynamic than I'd like to see, and as I mentioned earlier, the head is tilted too far forward. But the armor translated extremely well, and I appreciate that they didn't add to the already obviously gratuitous nature of the outfit with an overtly gratuitous pose.

While the statue is cold cast resin, I think it might have been a good idea to go with something a bit more sturdy for the weapon. I snapped mine while trying to put it in her hand, and i suggest you take care with yours.

Value - ***
I was told the SRP on this was $39 US, which seems pretty damn cheap to me, after I just reviewed a similarly scaled Batman Black and White statue that's at least $60. Something in the forty buck range is far more palatable for this scale statue, even when they are resin rather than plastic.

Things to Watch Out For -
As I mentioned, I snapped her weapon trying to slide it into place. And almost did it a second time when it was glued together. Take extreme care!

Overall - ***1/2
While I have no idea how good Rappelz is, I can say that clearly Gensen Figure produces a fine statue. If you're a fan of anime and manga, I suggest you check out their site, as they've produced hundreds of figures and statues based on dozens of popular properties.

BTW, I bet she's giving He-man a fake number...

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - **
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Design/Quality - ***
Value - ***
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
That's a really good question. It doesn't look like you can get it through the Gensen Figures site, and I couldn't find any of my sponsors carrying it. Even doing a quick Google search netted me zippo. Sounds like doing an search ebay for a possible deal is your best bet.

Related Links -
Check out Gensen Figure website, or check out Rappelz!

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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