Extra Story Image Figure Hellsing Seras Victoria Figurine

Product Information/Specifications

Introduction

I preordered the Extra Story Image Figure Hellsing Seras Victoria Figurine back in May when it was first announced.  When I saw it for the first time, I thought it looked cool & decided to pre-order it.  I know nothing about Hellsing at the time.  I brought it just for the coolness.  Just when it was about to be release in a month or two, Yamato announces a repaint version & it got me a bit mad when I saw how it looked like.  But that's a different story.

As mentioned, there are two versions of the Extra Story Image Figure Hellsing Seras Victoria Figurine available.  The repaint version was released on November 2005.  I have seen the original version get sold out immediately from the day it was released.  These were just from pre-orders alone.  There have been no announcement if Yamato will re-release Sera.

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

The Review

 
Extra Story Image Figure Hellsing Seras Victoria Figurine in box

The box is pretty appealing.  Except it has some bad English at the back describing Seras.  When you take Sera out from her packaging, you need to bend the package a bit.  Yamato has really put that figurine tightly in there, along with the base.

Seras comes with a oval black base for you to put her on to & you really need that base.  I tried to see if she could stand on her own, but she falls. 

 
Extra Story Image Figure Hellsing Seras Victoria Figurine out of the package

Minor assembly is required such as putting her demonic left arm on & attaching her to the base.  You will need a lot of strength to put her on the base & position her legs a bit.  It was quite tough as it seems the holes on her soles are just perfect fit or a bit small.  When I finished attaching her to the base, I noticed that her feet don't touch it completely.

As you can see in the pic above, Seras' right heel doesn't touch that lifted platform.  Also, her left heel doesn't go to the base's peg all the way.  However, she's very stable even with that problem.  As a side note, the base gets fingerprints very easily.  So you will probably need to wipe it later or get some gloves when you put it on.

Seras Victoria from different sides

That is really an awesome static pose that Seras is in.  Although it looks plain, her left demonic arm really gives it some style.  Aggressive & ready for battle. 

The paint used seems to be semi-gloss, not flat.  One would think flat paint would give it a better dark look, but the semi-gloss is actually not bad of a choice.  It obtains that dark feel & makes Seras boldly stand out in that dark brownish-purple.  Very presentable.  I like how Yamato decided to go for the semi-gloss.

I really like the design of Sera's demonic left arm.  It's got that dark eerie feel to it as if it has just finished forming.  The arm is 21.5cm from top to bottom.  From closer inspection, I think that arm is painted in gloss black.  It's got that sticky like texture, but doesn't get fingerprints easily.  The arm is quite thick & a little flexible.  But it won't break because it feels durable.  The points aren't sharp & they are actually rounded out.  I would like it to be sharp, not that I enjoy pricking myself.  I would just make it look more deadlier.

Although the fine paint colour of the clothing is great, the fine detailing suffers a bit.  The white buttons on Sera's shirt is fine with very minor bleeds here & there, but the badge is pretty bad.  The lines aren't too even & the design as well.  This is quite noticeable from a distance really & it caught my eye easily.  Her belt buckle suffers from slight bleeds, but it was fine.  The same applies to her torn stockings when you can see some minor bleeds of clothing colour to the flesh.  Overall though, it's not too bad.

The molding of Sera's hair is quite messy.  You can't really see it being molded badly, but you can tell.  Again, it's not noticeable until you actually go up & look at it.

I personally think that the workers that made this should really clean up their figures before packaging them out.  The amount of glue (I think) on Sera's faces was a bit worse than what you see in the pic above.  I clean it a bit by carefully scratching her cheek part out.  Not a recommended method to do by the way.

I like the expression that Seras has on her face.  Quite sinister & yet clam looking.  I really like her eyes.  Most of the large figurines I got would have large eyes with big colourful pupils.  This one is unique to me.  I'm not sure if the design here is the same as the manga or anime.  Nevertheless, the details on her face are clean & very well done.

Since this figurine sold out just from pre-orders virtually, finding it will be tough.  Price wise, Seras should see some increases as Hellsing stuff doesn't get released much.

Overall Conclusion

The Extra Story Image Figure Hellsing Seras Victoria Figurine is truly a great item to have for any Hellsing collector fans.  I highly recommend it.  It has that dark mood & excellent colour tones to see the folds & shadows of her clothing.  What makes it more dark is seeing the shadow of her left demonic arm.  It really has a cool effect.  Plus that static stance is very appealling.  I decided to put her back in the box after a long period of time displaying her.  The weight of her left arm has caused the peg hole in the shoulder area to be bigger now.  The bottom tip of her arm now touches her leg & comes off easily.  Instead of making it worse, Seras goes back to the box.  I should have known about this problem at the start.

Extra Story Image Figure Hellsing Seras Victoria Figurine receives a nine in my books.  The pose is outstanding & the mood it gives is dark; perfect for this figurine.  Also, that demonic arm is very eye catching as it seems to be carefully designed out.  The lost point mainly came from the minor bleeds in the paint job & Seras not being able to be attached to the base completely.  However, these are minor stuff & won't really present problems to the figurine.

With the repaint version, it would be a hard choice to pick which one you want.  The repaint version has Seras with florescent pinky hair & a whitish-silver clothing.  It's really an eye catcher.  Unless you have tons of money or a diehard Hellsing fan, I would suggest only to pick one.  If you want something dark, go for the original.  If you want something more bold, bright, & somewhat cheerful, go for the repaint.

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

Last updated on February 27, 2008