Takako Kinoshita Swimsuit Version

Product Information/Specifications

Introduction

Takako Kinoshita makes another appearance in Kotobukiya's Welcome to Pia Carrot!! 3 PVC series in a swimsuit.  She also one of two figurines that closes the product lineup.  This figurine is the biggest in the lineup.  Like the others, this was originally sold as a resin model kit that has been discounted for a long time.  I pre-ordered the entire wave on YesAsia when it was first announced. 

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

The Review

Takako Kinoshita Swimsuit Version out of the box

You have to take Takako out of the box with care since part of her ponytail is tied down.  The display base included is different from the past figurines.  Instead of a flat clear green base, a white stage base is used.  Putting her on the base isn't too hard.  I'm not too sure why this base is used.  My assumption is due to the figurine's weight.  If you examine the pics below, you can see that Takako isn't upright.  She tilts forward.

Takako from different sides

As you can see from the side pics, Takako tilts forward & isn't upright.  I'm not sure if it's meant to be like that or there's uneven weight balance at the front from her pose.  After taking the pics, I bended her left leg a bit to straighten her.  It worked a bit.  She still tilts forward, but it looks better than before.  However, I don't recommend the action I did since I could have broken her leg off.

Speaking of Takako's pose, it's quite energetic.  She runs towards you with open arms as her ponytail sways.  It's quite a natural & interesting pose.  It might explain why she's leaning forward.  The design on her swimsuit is also an interesting feature.

The design on Takako's swimsuit is quite unique.  It's hard for me to describe it, but it's quite an eye catcher.  It's quite artsy.  The etching job is excellent.  The whole swimsuit looks weird to me though.  Since I'm not into figurines in swimsuits, this might be natural to others as Takako's front upper body is covered & her back isn't.  An interesting note is that the sculptor made finger & toe nails.  Since they are not painted, it doesn't really stand out.

The facial expression done on Takako is quite good.  Very clean, especially her open mouth smile.  The expression though didn't seem to fit well with her pose.  I imagined that she is running on the beach aggressively & with a more energetic smile.  The smile she has here seems gentle. It didn't fit my image in mind.

Overall Conclusion

Takako Kinoshita Swimsuit Version is a fair figurine.  I may be bias since I don't like figurines in swimsuits.  The design on her swimsuit is eye catching & her pose is lively.  Since I think it's weird to see a figurine in swimsuit all year around, I plan to put her back in the box when summer is over.

The display base is something I want to seriously comment on.  It's quite bad from my experience.  One time, Takako fell off from my shelf.  Since the shelf is over my bed, she "attacks" me in the middle of the night as she falls down.  It happened to me three times & I'm surprised that nothing broke off of her.  The base doesn't support her weight for sure.  The pics here don't show it, but the back of the base lifts off from the ground a bit due to Takako's weight at the front.  A slight hit on the shelf or wall can cause her to fall over.  Since I couldn't stand getting the crap scared out of me at night anymore, I had put some weight on the back side of the base to make her stable.  Also, she comes off the base quite easily.

To be honest, I give Takako Kinoshita Swimsuit Version an eight out of ten.  The lost points came from the base stability problem.  It's really quite bad.  But some people may not have that problem.  The gain points were from the design on the front of her swimsuit, pose, & the durability of the material.  It's quite a decent figurine even though it's a swimsuit one.

If you are looking for this Takako figurine, you will have troubles find it now since it's no longer available.  Even online auctions is hard.  Dig deep if you want her badly.

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

Last updated on April 11, 2008