Hakka-Ya Collection Vol.1 Figurine Set (Box Version)

Product Information/Specifications

Introduction

When I first saw the Hakka-Ya Collection Vol. 1 figurines on the web, they looked very cute.  It's got neko girls in it & I liked the dioramas they have.  There was a slight problem with it through.  They are lolis.  It's good thing & a bad thing for me.  Good thing is that they are cute.  Bad thing is that it seems loli is the way things work now with anime & possibly Japan.  Anyways, I got myself a set from J-Hobby.

There are two versions of the Hakka-Ya Collection Vol. 1 figurines in the market: the box/trading figurine version & the gashapon version.  Both versions are quite hard to get now with no signs of re-releases coming.  Initially, I wanted the gashapon version since it's much easier to get as a set.  But, the store only had the box version & it seems buying that version was the right choice.

The Review

Hakka-Ya Collection Vol. 1 Box

 
Hakka-Ya Collection Vol. 1 Gashapon Paper

There are five + one figurines in the box & gashapon versions.  However, the box version has one more figurine that the gashapon version doesn't have.  So, the gashapon version has six while the box has seven figurines.  Plus, the box version has a alternative colour version set; making the total number of figurines to 14.  To obtain this special box secret figurine, you have to collect all six figurines from the box version.  Each figurine contains one or two parts of the box secret figurine.  This forces you to get the whole set if you want that box secret.

Although the girls have names, I can't read Japanese.  So, I'll refer them to their numbers in this review.

Hakka-Ya Collection Vol. 1 Box Version Full Set

As mentioned, there are five + one + one figurines in the box version.  This is the original colour set.  The secret is the fifth figurine from the left.  The box secret is the one on the right.  Combining the secret with figurine #5 will form a larger diorama.  You can see a closer pic of it later in this review.

Assembly is straightforward as the parts are pegged differently from one another.  With the exception of the figurine #7, box secret, none of the girls are attached to their bases.  You can place them anyway you want.  Figurine #1 & #4 have grooved areas that will allow them to sit in the right position.  Figurine #1 has the most parts with 14 pieces in total.  When assembling the figurines, I recommend using some glue & I mean lots of it!  The faces of the girls come off easily when you touch them or assemble their heads on their bodies.  Figurine #1's left arm comes off too easily.  A slight touch on it & it falls off.  Dropping the figurines from small heights will have them break apart very easily.  Also, you need to use some force when putting the pieces together.

Let's examine the figurines by groups starting with Figurine #1 - #3.  If you didn't notice, they aree all neko girls.  Cute ones too.  ^_^  The poses & sceneries aren't bad.  It really blends in with the girls as the poses are static positions.

Looking at the details, the paint job is not bad.  Very clean, but not complete.  You can see that the painters didn't want to overlap with the larger areas, so you can see that a lot of the objects are painted to their fullest.  Figurine #2's tail contains a black spot which is actually dirt/paint from the factory side.  I just got unlucky to get a defective tail.

As for the molding job, it's pretty good.  You can see the creases on the clothing & it doesn't look like sloppy molding jobs.  Although there are some air holes in the molding process results, it's well done.

The next group is basically girls with plush animals.  Figurine #5 (secret) & #6 form together to complete that window background.  As you can see, they don't stick together since they have no pegs to join one another.  Also, they don't fit perfectly since one or both of the sides is actually molded evenly.  Nevertheless, it joins nicely given with the round bases.  Again, nice static poses in a fit environment.

Like the previous group, the painting & molding jobs are good & clean.  The plushes could have used a lot of work though.  The teddy bear not only has an angry looking face, but it's a bit demented.  The eyes look off.  Plus, it looks flat.  The cat & bunny have strange facial features.  They are most likely designed like that to give off that dark theme of the diorama.  So this is mainly my personal preference & taste.

The box secret, #7, is a bit plain when comparing to the other girls.  It's mainly because its got no background or flooring like the others.  Although the static pose is quite nice, I felt it would have use some more work.  Then again, all the parts weren't in one place.  They are scattered with the other figurines in their boxes which was crowded enough with parts.

Again like the others, the painting & molding job is good.  The seam lines around the figurine's neck is pretty clean from the front & back.  That panda bunny plush bag looks a bit freaky.  The face is almost the same as the cat & bunny plushes, but has no mouth.

 

OMG!  LOLIS!!!!

Interesting enough, the faces may look the same on some of them, but the eyes aren't.  As you can see from the gloss from some of the eyes, it's most likely etched.  But, I like the eyes since each of the girls are different & matches them quite well.  However, some of the figurines have eyes that seem a bit far apart.  Take #7's for example.  The distance between the left & right eyes look a bit large for some reason.  As for the facial expressions, some of them don't look appealling.  A majority of them look like they are confused.  You may not see it from some of the pics, but the eyebrows of some of the girls are on their hair.  This is the first time I ever seen eyebrows go on the hair for any anime toy & collectable.  It may look strange for some people, depending how the colours stand out like #2.

Overall Conclusion

The Hakka-Ya Collection Vol. 1 Box version figurine set is pretty interesting to collect.  The dioramas they are in really give off some cute energy to the room.  Personally, I would recommend getting these if you like cute girls.  Only factor is the loli issue which may concern some people.  Although you get the usually panty shots from those short dress, there isn't any sexual stuff involved.  So, it shouldn't be a problem.  But if you are already poisoned by today's anime loli characters, this is most likely a must get set.  Fans of Yuiko Takumi should get these too to support her work.  I've got them in a display case since it's a pain trying to clean them as they fall apart.  After a long period of time of displaying them, I finally decided to sell them away.

The Hakka-Ya Collection Vol. 1 Box version figurine set receives an eight out of ten.  The workmanship is excellent & the figurines are extremely cute in their diorama scenes.  The major problem with this collection is how they fall apart easily from the slightest touch on some areas.  This can be annoying when you have to repair it again & again from touching them or finding them fallen off your shelves.

Between the gashapon & box versions, I would recommend getting the box version for that box figurine.  For spending an extra ¥100 on each figurine, I think it's worth it.  Plus, the gashapon version will most likely have some bent parts that you need to work on to straighten them out.  In terms of quality between the two, I don't know if there are any differences.  But I would assume the box version is better detailed.  However, the gashapon version is much harder to find than that box version from my personal experience.  But keep in mind that the box version is also hard to find now.

Photos were taken using Sony DSC-F828 digital still camera & HP scanjet 4470c scanner.

Last updated on March 19, 2008