Vol. 9 Kiddy Grade Éclair & Lumiére

Product Information/Specifications

Introduction

When I first heard about BOME releasing this Kiddy Grade Éclair & Lumiére set, I knew it was going to be a bit expensive since there are two figurines in it.  When I went to J-Hobby & saw the owner take it out from a case that just came in, I had some interest in it.  He told me to take it since he only had one of it.  Since there is very little Kiddy Grade stuff around, I decided to take it.

Currently, the Kiddy Grade figurines are still in the package so the review may not be a very good one.  However, I think I don't plan on taking them out of there in the future when I decide to display them.

Some of the pictures aren't clear & good.  If I have time, I'll redo the bad ones & repost them.

The Review

Kiddy Grade Éclair & Lumiére set in package

The packaging for the Kiddy Grade Éclair & Lumiére set is the same as previous BOME packages.  Like most people, I hate that blister card design as you really need to cut it & damage the packaging unless you know how to open it from the bottom.  As for the design, it fits the Kiddy Grade theme & it's not too plain.

There are no accessories included in this set with the exception of the two custom display bases.  The bases have the GOTT logo on them & the circular sizes are a bit different.  Éclair has a larger base while Lumiére has a smaller one.  The poses that the two girls posse are static.  They are more on the cute side than the wild side.  This was the reason why I wasn't too interesting in getting these figurines at the start.

There's nothing much to say about the pant job really.  A lot of the clothing is one colour & don't seem to have a lot of shadowing or toning.  That is, only for Éclair since the paint used on her clothing is a gloss red.  I'm not sure if it's to imitate a leather-like appearance, which I don't recall her wearing in the series.  The paint job in the panel lines & small areas aren't too bad.  Very little bleeding to be found & that's a good thing, especially with the gold trims around Éclair's skin.  Even the light blue ribbon tied around her leg isn't too bad although there are some bleeding when you see it up close.

The molding job is pretty good as I don't notice any holes or bumps on the figurines based on what I see from the closed packaging.  This is important really since Éclair is in gloss colours that would make almost any molding problems visible.  If you really want to be more specific, the molding of Éclair's bellybutton is clean for an innie (no, I don't have bellybutton fetish).  What I'm curious about is the wine glass that Lumiére is holding.  I'm not sure if the liquid content is molding or painting when I was looking at it from the packaging.  Overall, it's a nice job in terms of the painting & molding.

For some reason, it looks like BOME is using the same face moldings from his past creations.  The round long faces & pointy noses.  Éclair & Lumiére doesn't look like any of their anime or manga counterparts.  Lumiére is pretty close to her character in terms of her appearance due to her small smile & large eyes.  But, Éclair looks different to the point that I almost couldn't recognize her.  It doesn't have that charm that she usually has.  She does give off a bit of her charm, but it's not really there.

Overall Conclusion

The Kiddy Grade Éclair & Lumiére set isn't too bad really.  But I found it to be a bit plain after looking at it a few more times when I took it home.  The poses do reflect their characters, but it's static & doesn't offer a lot of life.  Currently, I have these stored away in my closet since I don't have room for them now.   When I do decide to display them, I think I'll keep them in their packaging.

The Kiddy Grade Éclair & Lumiére set a 8/10.  The paint job & workmanship is pretty good & clean.  However, I did have some problems with the faces since they seem to be the same as BOME's past works.  Plus, the lifeless poses is another factor that driven the score down a bit.

If you are BOME collector or Kiddy Grade fan, you would most likely should pick this up.  However, the Éclair & Lumiére set has been sold out in Japan for a long time.  A Diamond Comics import version was released in July 2006.  Although it's cheaper than the Japanese version for sure, I would recommend not getting it since import versions tend to be molded differently to meet US standards & the colours would different.

Photos were taken using Sony DSC-F828 digital still camera.

Last updated on February 12, 2008