This year, Wonder Fest 2020 Autumn joined an ever-growing list of conventions that have been canceled due to COVID-19. Amidst a slew of things that make conventions fun, are the halls lined with high quality collectibles. It can be thrilling for fans to turn a corner and be surprised by an exclusive figure or a display full of upcoming products. And while that can’t quite happen this year, in most cases, companies are doing what they can to ensure an exciting, socially distant, experience for collectors. Storm Collectibles, for example, released a New York City Comic Con 2020 exclusive E. Honda figure. Good Smile Company just posted a wealth of Nendoroid prototypes, some unpainted, to the WonHobby Gallery 2020 Autumn webpage. As luck would have it, they gave a similar treatment to an assortment of  new assortment new figma figures of popular anime and video game characters.
It’s worth noting the two statements on the bottom of the page which convey how the images may not perfectly reflect the final products. Specifically, they say “photos represent work in progress. Final products may differ,” and, “photos are of product prototypes as of the 17th October 2020.”
This unpainted figma figure of Sam Porter Bridges from Death Stranding emphasizes this point; it is clearly unfinished. That said, I probably wouldn’t mind if the figure remained unpainted. Despite being entirely made out of grey plastic, the figure boasts a lot of detail and fine touches which you can see in places like the well-realized expression. The expression is even better, given the fact that it is worn by a man who is overburdened with gear, supplies, and trauma. The only thing that makes me realize that I do, indeed, have a preference for a painted version is the contrast between this moderately cool looking grey delivery man and the incredibly cool looking blue, orange, and gold motorcycle he’s straddling.
On the more adorable side of the spectrum (sorry, Norman Reedus) are these Splatoon 2 figmas. They certainly manage to stand out from the rest of the collection, don’t they? The glossy portions are wonderful complements to the well-coordinated color scheme and both halves make eachother pop.
Here’s Goro Akechi from Persona 5 looking like a very fancy lad. A fancy lad you can pre-order, at that.
I love this Motoko Kusanagi figma, and I’m not about to deduct points for unrealistic traits on a plastic depiction of an animated cyborg. Something is throwing me off, however, and it is how fantastic her boots look. I don’t know how the finished product will turn out but, to me, it looks like this Motoko Kusanagi lifted her boots from a far more detailed reality than her own.
Bring some joy and levity to wherever you store your collectibles with Guts from Berserk.
It’s worth heading over to the webpage, even if it’s just to take a look. Some of these are available for pre-order, and some won’t be out for quite a while. There are also some very decent figures from other product lines you might enjoy. If it helps, have some family or roommates crowd up against you and breathe down your neck while you browse. That should help recreate the convention center experience.
Published: Oct 17, 2020 09:09 pm