Kaiyodo Revoltech Spiderman Figure in the Works

Tweeted from the master sculptor himself from his home workshop:

pic.twitter.com/Kepv0WkoPJ

— Yamaguchi Katuhisa (@fuikitodoki) July 26, 2016

Spidey looks as good as if not better than the upcoming Kaiyodo Deadpool figure:  same sculptor so similar design.  No release date has been announced yet, so no pre-orders either consequently.

Proto Spidey was also spotted on display at the Summer 2016 Wonder Festival this past Sunday in Japan.

They Made What??... Darth Vader Shower Head

There have been all sorts of Star Wars labeled items being sold lately that boggles the mind (e.g. oranges... fruit!) but this one I found quite amusing.  How could they make a Darth Vader shower head, especially one that looks like this??  It sprays water out of the eyes!  Scaring young children and creeping out adults is all I see from it, and of course making people like me laugh.

If you're still intent on getting one, Bed, Bath and Beyond (emphasis on "beyond" in this case) sells them for all your dark side cleanliness.

Figure Stands

If you've been amassing SH Figuarts figures like I have, you know they don't come with any display bases or stands unlike the other major figure makers.  As such, you're probably wondering which ones will prominently display your plastic pride in all their glory.  I've asked myself the same question and of course have watched some review videos, but I didn't find many or any of them properly addressed the design, quality or longer-term use of certain figure stands.  As part of the "you want what??" theme of pointing out the less obvious, I'll discuss some of the finer details you may be wondering about.

Tamashii Stage Act 5 for Mechas (Bandai)

If you're thinking of propping up your action figures with this stand, let me talk you out of it because the Tamashii Stage Act 5 won't hold up over time.  I believe it was made to handle the lighter weight of 1/144 and 1/100 scale Gundam plastic model kits, action figures weigh more on average.  The arm that attaches to the base contains a spring loaded ratchet and is reasonably thick making you believe the arm is capable of supporting a figure's weight.  That assumption quickly gets disproved upon closer inspection of the elbow joint:  it's just a short stubby peg that the upper arm friction fits over top of even though the arm itself was design to accept a longer peg.  The short peg makes for very little contact surface, and under too much static weight or force when moving this joint, the upper arm cracks at this point and loosens.  The result is a loose upper arm that falls off pretty easily.  The length of the upper arm is way too long for the connection, causing additional leverage and stress on the joint.  This happened on at least one of mine.  I believe the clear plastic also cracks too easily under light to moderate pressure and the size of the connection holes aren't appropriate.  Sure these are relatively cheap, there are 3 stands per pack at 1000-1400 Yen ($10-$14 USD), but for figures a more suitable option is the Stage 4 for Humanoids.

Tamashii Stage Act 4 for Humanoids (Bandai)

I have never owned one of these but will soon.  I haven't found much detail yet on the actual joints and connections but will report back once I do.  Compared to the Act 5, the Act 4's arm joints are the nut-and-bolt design and the base is rectangular instead of hexagonal.  It is hard to say from the limited photos how sturdy the joints are, or if the connection points are as poorly done as on the Stage 5. 

Multi Stand (Obitsu)

The Obitsu Multi Stand is a flexible kit that requires some easy assembly but supports a range of figure sizes and allows the stand to be configured in many different ways thanks to the multitude of arms and three claw sizes.  They are also made in Japan.  Now you might be thinking these things are a steal at about $3 a pop, less than a pack of Bandai Tamashii Stage Act stands.  Well I guess you get what you pay for to some degree because I find the connection fit to be inconsistent.  The claw arms don't always fit onto the pegs tightly and they tend to spin, not precise mechanical tolerances.  The arms themselves are long and gangly and holding a moderately heavy figure like Revoltech Ultron off the ground causes them to noticeably bend if there is any angle in the joints, not to mention the joint screws need to be tightened if they haven't already slipped under load.  There isn't a short arm for propping figures a short distance from the lower arm.  Also, no one mentions it, but these things are not light.  The weight probably makes up for the lack of size of the base, you'd think it would add stability.  That might be true if the stand is perfectly upright, but because the are no short arms, some aerial action poses are going to extend beyond the base and become unbalanced.  I would almost prefer a larger but lighter base for stability instead.  This also adds to the shipping cost for some carriers.  These stands were really meant to hold a figure upright touching the ground, aerial poses aren't really recommended.

Tamashii Stage Ring Corner (Bandai)

Are you getting the feeling Bandai is the only game in town for action figure bases?  Kind of sad but it's mostly true.  Anyways, they have another less generic option in the form of a wrestling ring for their line of Kinikuman wrestling figures.  Each kit comes with a ring corner and enough parts for two arms.  Why I bring this one up is because of the arm design.  This is probably as good as it gets right now.  On the surface it's similar to the Stage Act 4, but the subtle differences make it a much better stand.  It features a double-hinged base joint with each hinge perpendicular to the other allowing more options when you're trying to fine tune that one perfect pose.  Also, the upper arm is considerably shorter for better balance and less torquing, and happens to fold down to hold 6-inch figures perfectly near the base post, i.e. the claw aligns with the figure's waist area heightwise with the upper arm folded down.  And the best part is the upper arm and joint are a single molded piece, no more worries of pegs and holes breaking!  This is the same system used on Bandai's Body-Kun/Chan Deluxe figure kits that aren't easy to find at all.  Fortunately I know from personal experience that this arm design works pretty well.  If you're buying the Stage Ring Corner just for the stands, it's a bit expensive at ~ 2000 Yen for non-wrestling scenes, though you don't need to install the ring posts and ropes if you don't want the wrestling look.  If money isn't a concern, the arms will fit onto other Bandai bases.  

Buying from Japan: When Sellers Don't Ship Internationally

[July 19, 2016]

Most of my favorite Japanese stores sell internationally (which is partly why they're my favorites), however there are those special situations and stores that only ship within Japan.  Fortunately there are parcel forwarding services available that give you a Japanese shipping address to accept and hold domestic shipments, which get shipped to you from the forwarding service company.

Here's a very short list of the few I recommend looking into.  They have a combination of low rates, extended range of services, success (based on feedback of others), and easy to deal with.

Note that under Japanese Law as of 2011, proof of ID must be provided before forwarding services will ship to you.  Uploading a photo of a valid drivers license should suffice.

Tenso

http://www.tenso.com/en/

No registration or monthly fees for having an account.  You pay them with either PayPal or Credit Card:  if you have a card with low or no foreign exchange (FX) rates, this is a good time to use it (see more below).  Handling fees are weight based starting at 50 Yen for the lightest item.  Tenso DOES NOT accept shipments billed by Cash On Demand (COD, POD), so be sure to pre-arrange purchases with the original seller through CC or PP.  Additionally, they offer a Buyee purchasing proxy to buy items for you, but the store selection seems limited.

JPN-Depot

https://www.jpn-depot.com/content/services/fees

Not as well known, I had to search a bit more to find them.  Also no registration/monthly account fees.  Currently, they only accept payment through PayPal and bank wire transfer:  they charge you PP's 3.9% + 40 Yen seller fee so take note.  They have more services available and at pretty low flat fees:  e.g. buy-for-me for 200 Yen where they purchase from online retailers for you.  I emailed them questions a few times and they replied within a day and seem friendly.

The biggest advantage of JPN-Depot is they accept Cash On Demand (COD, POD) settlements!  This is extremely handy for avoiding the foreign credit card conundrum you could potentially encounter with some stores that might or might not accept foreign CCs.  Their flat fee of 200 Yen (~ $2 USD today) seems more than reasonable.

For CODs, there are a couple things to be aware of:

• sellers also tend to charge their own commission rate in addition to JPN-Depot's COD fee, typically 2-4% of the item price (varies by merchant)
• JPN-Depot will bill your COD charge through PP or bank wire, therefore you pay the FX rate that you've already set up through the respective institution (see following)

PayPal Foreign Conversion:  Beware, Stay Informed!

By now you probably know that PayPal charges a currency conversion percentage fee on international orders.  Typically the rate is at least 2.5% which could vary, but the larger problem is the 2.5% on top of an arbitrary exchange rate value they don't tell you ahead of time, you find out after the purchase goes through.  From my personal experience, PP always gives you the worst rates at that time.  At least credit cards and banks transparently post their FX rates daily and are more in line with the actual exchange rates.

Are there ways around using PP's conversion system?  The answer used to be a universal "yes," but as of 2016, now only "sometimes."  It is possible with merchants who use PP automatic billing agreements.  To do this, you set up your PP account to source your funds to each merchant from a) credit card, b) invoiced in the merchant's source currency:  this uses your CC's FX conversion and not PP's, which is great if you have a CC with low or no FX rate!  Unfortunately for non-recurring merchants (i.e. no pre-authorized billing agreements), the "more conversion options" at check-out time seems to have disappeared...  I am still in the process of investigating this one.

Credit Cards with Low/No Foreign Exchange Fees

In Canada, there are currently two options for credit cards that do not charge foreign exchange conversion fees:  the Rogers Mastercard, or Amazon.ca Rewards Visa by Chase.  Chase's Amazon.ca Rewards Visa has no annual fees and offers 2% cash back on Amazon specific purchases, and 1% cash back on other purchases.  These cards can be used not only online, but abroad as well for those who travel frequently.  These options are great ways to save the standard 2.5% FX fee almost all Canadian banks and CCs charge.  In the case of Takara Tomy Mall which does not ship internationally, they do accept foreign credit cards (read it on forums):  the caveat here is your billing address must be in Japan which likely doesn't match your CC's billing address, but in reality this doesn't actually matter (go figure).  This is one way to save extra money while buying those Japan exclusive items for your collection.