3a Родина! -Photoblog March 2016

OK, I hadn't planned on another Russian/Soviet soldier so soon but this one is sci-fi/dieselpunk/alternate history and one of my grail figures See Here, so I'll make an exception.

Anastasia is a character from the comic/game series Dust. Basically, the series is set in an alternate timeline where WW II continues with super technology, zombies and super-natural elements. She's some kind of Soviet special forces soldier who, as you can see, wields an impossibly large weapon to fight against…um, whatever! I've always liked this girl because she was from an alternate WWII/dieselpunk setting and she avoids the "tactical combat hooker" that a lot of other female action figures seem to fall in to. Unfortunately, she's been made of unobtanium in recent years and on those rare occasions one did turn up, they were usually quite expensive. When I saw this girl at a favorite e-tailer of mine for around $40 USD, I couldn't pass her up! I should also mention that she's 1/6 scale and from Armoury/Twisting Toyz (both logos are on the box). On with the photos….

The now-obligatory in the box photos. Next, a larger than usual number of (not) super-exciting outdoor shots.

My typical four-view pose. The uniform isn't anything like a WWII era Soviet style but it looks really cool and seems nicely detailed. OK, so the boots and big fur hat ushanka are sort of correct but again, this is supposed to be a Dieselpunk type figure so you'd expect things to be a bit different from "historically accurate".

I think her face is rather pretty in spite of being a bit cartoonish. I doubt real Soviet female soldiers ever wore this amount (or any) makeup but she's a fantasy figure so…yeah.

Two shots of the Big-Ass Gun that is literally too big for her to hold and use. It's a cool looking piece of hardware but it could stand to be a bit smaller. You'll notice I switched her bare hands for the gloved versions in these shots.

Finally, all that winter gear is a bit much for 70 degree F weather (about 21 C for those of you in the rest of the world) so Ana has taken off her hat and opened her coat. Speaking of big guns…! You're not seeing things, she really does have purple hair. I would have tried for some more shots but at this point, my 2-year-old daughter is trying to "help" by moving my tripod and my 3-year-old son decided to headbutt me in the ass then tell my to stop taking pictures of my stupid GI Joe! End of photo shoot!

Until next time…. Adios!

Geektopian's Hobby Wish List

Some of you may recall that I posted a Want List entry back in November 2013 LINK. This isn't the same thing since I'm now focusing on items which, as far as I know, haven't been made or announced for future production. A couple things to keep in mind are that not everything here is doll/action figure related and that I realize some of this will likely never happen. In some cases, the subject is too obscure or tangential, the media franchise has played out or was never all that all that popular to begin with, or the hobby market has moved on other areas of interest. In other cases, the absence of an item from the market is hard to understand and may have more to do with the priorities or interests of manufacturers rather than a lack of demand in the market. As always, this is purely subjective and only reflects my personal wants and needs.

Azone Pure Neemo Flection LL/M body:

I think Azone offered this body separately as a doll show exclusive in 2013 but to my knowledge, it has never been sold through normal retail channels except as part of a "full set" doll. I have Mio and yes, this is a really cute body, so I'd love to upgrade a couple other PN girls in my crew. An LL/M would be almost a must for the "other" Mio... as in Mio Akiyama from K-On and I'd like one for my Minami sensei as well. I would try to resist the urge to give my entire PN crew this body but I'm a guy and there are big boobs involved so, yeah....

US T23/ T23E3 medium tank series, 1/35 scale injection molded:

If you're a fan or player of World Of Tanks, you are probably familiar with the T23, which has gained near-mythical status due to its brief inclusion during the early era of the game. Apparently, the improved T23E3, as seen in the four-view above, is coming back. That isn't important to me since I don't play the game but I would like to see a model of this vehicle. I'm aware of two models of the T23, one in 1/100 scale and the other in 1/35 but the former is a miniature gaming piece while the later is a small production resin kit and neither are of the version pictured above. With all of the other injection molded kits of various WW2 prototypes and paper projects already on the market, this significant ancestor of the post-WW2 Western main battle tank should not be ignored. If a vehicle like the Hungarian 44M Tas can be produced as an injection molded kit, a tank for which only one incomplete mild steel prototype was built, the T23 series, of which over 200 were produced, should be a no-brainer. Besides, I think it looks cool and *WHINE* I want one!!!! LOL

Cute, 1/6 scale female military figure(s) and/or clothing:

Yes, this sort of thing has been done before but it often seems a bit "hit or miss" to me. Often, these dolls and outfit sets seem more cosplay or sexy than the cute but serious style you see in a lot of military moe. What I'm thinking of here is not mecha musume, school girls with guns/tanks/planes/etc. or the ubiquitous camouflage "battle bikini" but something more like the illustration above. In my ideal world, the clothes would be made to fit either Obitsu 27cm (fat chance, I know) or Azone PNM dolls. A full set doll would be OK but I would prefer just a separate uniform set. Maybe a Japanese Ground Self Defense Force camo uniform to fit Azone PNS-PNM bodies? Perhaps the full set doll could be a PNM character in a JGSDF dress uniform.Yes, I remember Jiei-tan but her uniform was somewhat fanciful. Given the apparent popularity of military moe, I'm surprised it's not more common in the doll hobby.

Those OTHER girls from Sora No Woto:

I know, I know.... This is pretty unlikely to ever happen but I'm just posting a wish list. I was a fan of Sora no Woto and was really hoping to see more products come out of it but it never happened. I would like to have seen Azone continue to release dolls of the other members of the 1121st Platoon after Kanata Sorami but apparently the series just didn't have the popularity to justify it. Of course, the fact that Kanata was one of the more expensive PN dolls at the time probably didn't help either. I have no skills as a seamster or painter so a DIY custom set of dolls is beyond my abilities and a commission is probably beyond my financial means. Still, it would be cool to have a complete set of these girls as 1/6 scale dolls.

On that note, I think I'll end this post right here and pick up the thread again in a future post (or posts). Keep checking back for further installments and if it inspires you, I'd love to read what some of you have on your wish lists too.