Studio Miscast Blog: photography

Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts

Sunday, April 30, 2017

This weekend was a real treat for fans of toy lines like S.H. Figuarts, Robot Spirits, and Daruma Club. Tamashii Nations held an amazing exhibit on Saturday and Sunday showcasing their dozens of toys from series such as Dragon Ball Z, Gundam, Sailor Moon, Saint Seiya, and more. NYC was only one stop on their 10th Anniversary World Tour roster, which started last year in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Taking up a massive corner of Grand Central Terminal, the show featured a rather gigantic Shenron and the dragon balls looming over the exhibits. Even better? Shenron was joined by a life-sized Goku action figure. That's right - action figure. Goku had joints!

The amount of figures they had on display was impressive for the space they had. Figures were grouped by show or movie, with a mix of figures that had already been released and were going on pre-order. Lighting in the cases are fairly decent too, which each case featuring a different layout and setup. I thought that was a nice way to keep each display looking fresh.

In addition to Japanese characters, they also had a wide variety of non-Japanese characters including Star Wars samurai figures, super hero samurai, and Marvel characters from Suicide Squad. I haven't seen much of these figures in person, but needless to say, the Stars Wars ones were wicked cool.

There was two retail counters for both days, one for pre-orders and non-exclusive items and another for exclusive items you could only purchase at the show. The photo above show all of their show exclusive items:

S.H.Figuarts SON GOKOU KAIOHKEN Ver.
THE ROBOT SPIRITS <SIDE MS> MS-06 ZAKU II MASS PRODUCTION MODEL ver. A.N.I.M.E. ~Real Type Color~
SUPER ROBOT CHOGOKIN SHIN MAZINGER Z GOLD Ver.
SAINT CLOTH MYTH GODDESS ATHENA -ORIGINAL COLOR EDITION-
SAINT CLOTH MYTH APPENDIX GOLD CLOTH OBJECT WORLD TOUR Ver.
S.H.Figuarts BODY-KUN / BODY-CHAN WORLD TOUR Ver.
TAMASHII STAGE WORLD TOUR Ver.
DARUMA CLUB WORLD TOUR Ver.

Although sadly neither Jordan or I got the Real Type Zaku we were hoping to get, we did take home a few of the commemorative goodies they had for sale, including Body-chan, the Tamashii Stage stand, and the World Tour Daruma. They were also handing out goodie bags with a free issue of Dragon Ball Super, a poster, card, and a flyer to pick up a free tote bag and sticker from participating stores nearby. I snagged my tote and sticker Kinokuniya. At the show they also offering a free Tamashii Nations membership card if you signed up on their website and with a purchase, members received a free white Daruma figure.

The coolest part, though? Getting to ride the flying Nimbus (Kinton), of course.

Even though their stock did not reflect the sheer amount of people that attended, I think that this shows that our country is just as enthusiastic and dedicated to collecting Japanese figures as the rest of the world. My hope is that there will be more shows like this in the future.

Please share this blog or leave a comment telling me what you thought of the show, what your favorite figure was, and what you would like to see more of next time for Tamashii. Personally, I want more Gundam figures!

See the rest of my photos on the Studio Miscast Facebook page, too!

Sunday, April 2, 2017

I wanted to start showcasing some of my dolls in a new blog series where you can get to know them - so first up? Baby Garma, of course!

Some of you may already know his older self, my SWITCH Taeheo, but did you know that they are both based off of Garma Zabi from the anime Mobile Suit Gundam? Someday, I hope to have his uniforms commissioned for both of them. Little Garma is actually based off of the Garma from the more recent Gundam the Origin series, which depicts him growing up and leads into the Garma we all know and love from the original series.

The Gundam franchise has always held a special place in my heart. It was my gateway into anime, dolls, and my love of Japanese culture. Garma is one of my all time favorite characters from the series - maybe someday I'll have other Yo-SD Gundam characters too? ;)

Baby Garma - although innocent - also has a curious and sassy side to him, which I think the Eddie sculpt encapsulates. He dresses very casual yet at the same time can wear a lot of adorable formal clothing (which I hope to get him more of in the future).

He likes ramen and udon a lot, playing with his Zaku toys, and imagining that he will one day defeat the Gundam. Outside adventures are his favorite and - of course, he loves flowers.

Have a question about Garma? Leave us a comment below!

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

What's better than getting dolly goodies in the mail? Getting dolly goodies in person, of course!

Recently, I had the opportunity to finally stop in and see Fabric Friends and Dolls for myself! I was in Maryland visiting family and quite ironically, the shop was less than a half hour from where I was staying in Gaithersburg. I've been purchasing from them online for a while, but nothing beats buying doll items in person, that's for sure.

FFD carries an impressive amount of company items (including the company I take pictures for, Leekeworld!) and dolls. The owners are super kind and let you try things on your doll, sort of like VOLKS did when their LA shop was still open.

Items are sorted by company and size - oh my! It is easy to get lost in the sea of high quality Nine9 Style and Freedom Teller clothing sets they sell. I was so overwhelmed by their amazing stock and organization. It was hard to choose what to get! Stay tuned for a box opening and haul video featuring the Momoko doll I purchased here.

Check out my video tour of the shop!

Thank you to Iris for letting me film in the store and to the lovely doll owners and dolls I met: createdbymonsters, aggrosongbird929, and all the others (sorry that I missed you)!

If you'd like to visit Fabric Friends and Dolls, here is their information:

6836 Olney Laytonsville Road
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20882
(301)-740-8830
fabricfriends@comcast.net

Store Hours (to call):
SUN, MON - CLOSED
TUES - FRI: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST
SAT - 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Since I never completed my first 365 back in 2015, I decided 2017 was going to be the year that I completed one. I once again decided to go with a BJD theme (with my Azone and Dollfie Dream making an appearance too).

In addition to making a blog post each week with all 7 photos, I will also be posting each new photo daily on Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, and Instagram. Check the links to the top right hand corner to follow along.

I hope you enjoy the photos from Week 1!