Plastikitty Review: Kotobukiya’s 1/8 Nellis

As a huge fan of Tony Taka’s designs, it’s no surprise that I love Kotobukiya’s Shining World line. In fact one of the first figures I ever bought was their 1/8 Elwing, who remains one of my favorites. Recently they’ve been working on Shining Hearts and Shining Blade, and we’ve reviewed their adorable Melty. And while 90% of the line consists of standard releases, the best one I’ve seen in years was sadly an exclusive: the gorgeous Nellis was limited to Softbank, Gemaga magazine, and Kotobukiya’s online store.

Of course there was no way I could pass her up, since I love Nellis (I have her Dollfie Dream form!). Kotobukiya’s exclusives are also always really high quality, so I was sure that she’d be worth the $140 we paid for her. So hit the jump to check out this beauty!

Nellis’ box is different from others in the Shining World line: while it has the art in the corner like the rest of them, it also has a pretty snazzy design that goes with Nellis’ colors. It’s also a little bigger than you’d expect, as Nellis’ bow is stored separately so it adds a little bit of extra space.

Nellis actually requires a little bit of assembly: you have to put the arrows in as they come loose, and the bread doesn’t come in the basket so you have to set it up in there. There’s actually a sticky pad you can put at the bottom to help them stay up, but I didn’t need it at all.

Nellis’ pose suits her cheerful character: she seems pretty darn happy about that bread! It’s not a particularly dynamic pose but her swayed back, swooshing hair and intricate outfit make her seem very lively. The bread adds a touch of whimsy (though you can swap it out for a bow).

Nellis really reminds me of another Tony Taka character: Seena. Probably because Seena got a figure in a similar pose, but their happy-go-lucky expressions also mirror each other. I suppose you can’t make hundreds of characters without a bit of overlap!

Kotobukiya always does a great job rendering Tony Taka’s faces, and Nellis is no exception. She’s got that soft, effervescent look that all of Tony’s girls do, and they’ve also done a good job at giving her an open mouth with teeth that doesn’t look funky. Sometimes it can look really weird, but I think here she just looks cheerful and bubbly.

Nellis has a pretty simple hairstyle, but they’ve sculpted tons of detail into her braid so it really looks quite intricate. It’s also subtly shaded to give it some depth, and I think Nellis has the prettiest hair out of the entire Shining Hearts line! On the downside, her braid does droop a little over time, so it’s not wrapped as tightly around her. This seems to be a common problem, and since figures like Alter’s Gwendolyn suffer from similar “drooping” issues, it’s not really a huge deal. I think this is something the PVC world needs to work on though: for long extensions like this, making them of ABS makes them too brittle but pure PVC droops!

Nellis’ outfit has a bit of a gypsy theme going on with all of the ruffles, layers of colors, basic geometric designs and the corset-like top. This is something you don’t often see in the anime-world, so Nellis’ outfit is rather refreshing. It’s also got a rather subdued color palette, mostly made up of browns and white with a few pops of color.

In areas like your skirt you can see that Nellis really does have slightly higher quality in terms of sculpting and painting. Each of the many layers are perfectly rendered, with tons of ruffles and folds, and even on potential problem areas like the triangles on her apron there are practically zero paint flaws.

The pile of bread really reminds me of ReMent, and like ReMent they are greatly rendered with some nice shading. It’s also nice that they aren’t stuck in there: you can arrange them however you want and even use them for other things! The basket really takes the cake here though: it’s been given a woven pattern like an actual one that makes it seem very realistic! When a figure’s accessories have this level of attention to detail you know you’re getting a quality product.

Nellis features a minor cast-off feature like most of the Shining World girls: you can remove her skirt. But unlike most of them, she actually has some cute underpants: pink shimapan! She also has a pretty cute butt as well, and Nellis has a nice but rather subdued figure overall: she’s busty but not too busty, and she has a nice butt and well-shaped legs and even a little bit of a belly. Tony’s girls are never too scrawny, which is one of the reasons I love his art so much!

Nellis also comes with a second accessory: a bow. This changes the mood a bit, as she seems less like a girl going to market and more like, well, a hunter! The bow is very nice, with pink wrapping to mach her color scheme and feathers hanging off of the end. You know, the combination of a long brunette braid, a bow, and bread reminds me of someone…. I wonder if she’s bringing the loaf to Peeta? You know… cause they found loaf in a breadless place. *snort* Okay, I’ll stop now.

Nellis’ boots are so cute, and it’s nice to see a girl with feasable footwear for an action game. I mean, if she’s running around she can’t exactly do it in ballet flats or heels, so the boots are both nicely designed and practical. Her base is pretty plain, but you know the Capitol doesn’t like the Districts to have pretty things!

Nellis was definitely worth the extra cost we had to pony up for her. She’s got an intricate design, a beautifully rendered outfit and a unique gypsy theme, and a lovely face, not to mention the awesome accessories she comes with! While she’s far from my favorite Shining Hearts character I think her figure definitely came out the best of the bunch. Of course due to her limited & exclusive nature she’s a bit hard to find now, but worth the hunt if you love Tony’s designs!

Thanks to Stephen Donaldson for taking these shots! Coming up with a background for Nellis was pretty easy, and also had some tasty aftermath. Seriously, those rolls were delicious.