Magical Girl Rin Tohsaka (Kaleido Ruby)

Product Information/Specification

Introduction

When I first saw this PVC figurine on the web, I thought it looked cute.  When I read the scale & the height, I couldn't believe it.  Thinking about it over time due to the price, I pre-ordered it at YesAsia.  When the package arrived & I opened the box, I couldn't believe the size of the box.  It was big.

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

The Review

Kaledio Ruby in the box

As you can see, that packaging box is huge.  Quite nice too that I may add.  The reason for its size is not only the 1/6 scale, but also the long neck cloth floating on the sides.  Also, it's quite heavy.  When you take Rin (or Kaleido Ruby as they call her in this magical girl form) out of the box, you can see that she's almost the same height of the box.  Probably 85% of the box's height.  Also, she is heavy as she looks.

Kaledio Ruby out of the box

One would expect to place Kaleido Ruby on a base in order to display her.  However, she's already attached to it.  So, you basically just pull her out of the box & display.  You can put that magical baton in her right hand, but it requires some minor assembly.  Also, that neko tail needs to be put on her & it's quite hard due to the position on where it should be put.  It's straightforward on how it should be put, but there is little space for you to get your hand in there due to her long neck cloth.  Now, let's see some pics of Kaleido Ruby from different sides.

Kaledio Ruby from different sides

I never noticed it until I got Kaleido Ruby, but her leg position is really weird.  When I saw pics of the product on a number of websites, I never saw it.  It was only until I looked at it closely on the actual product that I noticed it.  It really looks weird on how she twists her legs like that.  It makes the pose look like it's not a static one, but a motion type.  Aside from that, it looks cute; especially since it's Rin doing magical girl stuff.  Anyways, this is actually a 3D model of an original TYPE-MOON artwork from Fate/hollow ataraxia. Except the baton is something new.

As mentioned, Kaleido Ruby is already attached to the base and it's quite nice, not like most bases on other PVC figures.  How she's attached is by two screws on her left foot.  Look at the pic below.

The screws are tightly secured on Kaleido Ruby's foot.  However, you should keep in mind that she can snap off from the leg quite easily if not handled properly.  Because of her size, weight, & standing only on one leg, Kaleido Ruby is prone to external factors such as excess heat from increase temperatures or direct sunlight, or bending overtime due to weight.  She's screwed on tight that you can actually swing her upper body a bit from her standing leg.  It's possible that you need to take extreme care for this figurine if you wish to display it out of the box for a long period of time.  However, I'm surprised that she manages to maintain that position after long months of displaying her on my shelf

The magical baton is made of two parts as shown above.  Putting the baton into Kaleido Ruby's right hand is a bit challenging as her hand only accepts a certain length for each part.  You have to put the handle part first then the rest together.  You need to be careful when doing it since that clear plastic joint can break easily.

The details on Rin's magical girl costume isn't too bad.  The paint job is pretty good, especially with the gold.  You can barely see any paint bleeds unless you get really close up.  Even the clear red & jewels colours are pretty precise.  Even down to the boots it's good.  The shades & tones are done well to create a shadowing effect.

For the molding job, it's very good.  The crosses, the design of the baton, the shoe shape, the insides of the neko ears, & the design on the hem of the dress.  Even the waviness of Kaleido Ruby's hair is shaped well.  Hardly any bumps or holes in the mold.  And speaking of molds, some of the materials used on this figurine is different.  The outer red clothing isn't PVC.  It's quite hard like a shell.  Almost like resin, but it's actually ABS.  With the long neck cloth acting like a spread out cape , you would have to be careful not to break them.  It feels as if you drop Kaleido Ruby or bend the parts a bit, it will break or snap.

Henshin!

Kaleido Ruby's face isn't badly done.  The molding job is clean & the painting & etching detailing is sharp.  However, the face is a bit on the plain side.  It does have energy & character, but it seems these kind of faces are being used a lot lately.  It can be on the boring side for some people.

Overall Conclusion

Magical girl Rin or Kaleido Ruby is quite a cute PVC figurine.  At the 1/6 scale, it's quite rare to find something this big to be well done & cute.  Great workmanship, molding, & mix of materials used for this huge PVC figurine.  This is the largest PVC figure I've ever own.  Although it's quite fragile, I plan to have Kaleido Ruby displayed for a long time without thinking of putting her back into the box.

On a scale of ten, Kaleido Ruby receives an 8.5.  What gave it such a high score was the workmanship for a PVC figurine that big.  Not many companies do a good job on large scale figures.  Plus, it's quite cute for Rin's character.  What made it lost its points was the the plain face & the possible problems it made have.  Considering it's size & heavy upper weight, it's possible that Kaleido Ruby will suffer from future bending although it hasn't happened yet.  Also, the ABS used can break if not handled with care.

If you are thinking of getting the Kaleido Ruby figurine, you will probably need to get the re-issue version.  It was pretty much sold out at a lot of places when it was first released.  The price of the re-issue is the same. Even though the re-issue was announced based on popular demand, people were willing to pay more to get the figurine now from other people's hands.  Given its size & workmanship, the suggested retail price is worthy enough for this figurine as it is.  In fact, I think it's a good deal & cheap price.  I would recommend getting this figurine if you are a Rin or Fate fan.

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

Last updated on February 19, 2008