Pullips and Junk

Nightmare Isul Yomi

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Klein

Nightmare is a Japanese Visual Kei band, even if you may not recognize the name of the band if you watch anime there is a fair chance you have heard their music as it has been featured in such series as Death Note and Claymore. Earlier this year, Nightmare released their eighth studio album titled SCUMS then did the beautiful SCUMS tour to promote the album. Groove has partnered with Nightmare to do a set of dolls based upon appearances of the members of the band.

Despite the fact that Groove actually managed to put together some pretty amazing looking dolls, they kind of skimped on photos of the set and released only a single promotional photo of the entire set. Pullipstyle was lucky enough to get some of the dolls in stock recently; they contacted me and asked if I would like to borrow some of the Nightmare dolls so that the dolls could finally have some photos. I received Isul Yomi and Taeyangs Ruka & Ni-ya as loaner dolls from PS. Since sending me the dolls they have sold out of the whole Nightmare set but they still have a small quantity of Isul Yomi and Taeyang Ni-ya remaining (as of this writing).

Isul Yomi is the first up for review here before he begins his journey back to Pullipstyle. Why Yomi first? Well he is the lead singer of the band!
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Posted in Doll, isul | Tagged isul, nightmare, nightmare band, yomi | 2 Comments

Pullip MIO Line- Happiness Chiffon Dress Set Review

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Klein

Today’s post will focus on the Happiness Chiffon Dress Set which is part of the MIO or Make it Own line for Pullip. If you somehow haven’t heard already Groove is releasing a new line of products for Pullip called MIO. The line includes everything from clothes sets to shoes to bodies and blank doll kits. JPGroove very graciously sent me some of the MIO items to review here on my blog. Some general comments about the dress set: It’s a very cute dress set though perhaps a bit too sweet for my normal tastes. I like this outfit set best when paired with the boots from the MIO line as it gives the outfit just a little bit of an edge. It is very well made, it’s a bit cheaper than the other outfit sets designed for Pullip the only downside is that this dress set does not include shoes. Many of the shoes from the MIO line look quite nice with the dress set so perhaps it isn’t a total loss.

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Posted in Dal, Doll, Pullip | Tagged chenille du jardin, Dal, make it own, mio, mio review, obitsu, papin, princess rosalind, Pullip | 3 Comments

MIO Pullip Kit How to Assemble!

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Klein

Today I will cover how to assemble your MIO or Make It Own blank Pullip kit. If you haven’t heard already, Groove has finally answered the long held dreams and fantasies of customizers everywhere by releasing blank doll kits of Pullip, Taeyang, Dal and Isul. JPGroove very graciously sent me some samples so I could review them here on my blog.

Disclaimer: I have not yet customized my MIO Pullip kit, it is highly recommended that you customize your doll before you assemble it and rather than after the doll is fully assembled. The kit assembles and dissembles pretty easily so I chose to assemble mine so I could do this write up on how to assemble in a timely fashion. Eventually I will also be writing a how to customize MIO kit as well.

This is my first time really trying to write out a tutorial this in-depth so constructive criticism is welcome.
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Posted in Doll, Pullip | Tagged custom, make it own, make it own review, mio, Pullip, tutorial | 16 Comments

Nightmare x Groove Collaboration?! I have visiting dolls!

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Klein

I recently blogged about how Groove had done a set of five dolls based upon the Japanese Visual Kei band Nightmare (which you can read here). Unfortunately, Groove only ever took one promotional photo of the set and it didn’t show all the boys off all that well, personally if I am going to spend several hundred dollars on a set of dolls I want lots of photos to help me make that decision.

Pullipstyle was recently able to obtain a small number of the Nightmare set (they also have a small number of extra Yomi and Ni-ya that are available for purchase separately as of this writing). I was asked by Pullipstyle if I might like to have some visitors, as the visitors were just dying to have their photos taken.

Taeyang Ni-ya, Isul Yomi & Taeyang Ruka
Ni-ya (bass & backing vocals), Yomi (lead vocals), Ruka (drums & percussion)

Taeyangs Ni-ya & Ruka as well as Isul Yomi were sent so I can take some photos of them. Please note I unfortunately do not have the other two dolls/band members or have access to them just these three. The trio are only here on loan to me, so they will only be here for a week or two. I intend to post up full reviews as well as tons of photos of all three of the boys before sending them to Pullipstyle. If anyone has any particular photo requests involving any of the trio please let me know as soon as possible and I will try to accommodate. Keep an eye on my flickr for photos.

Special thanks to Pullipstyle for being super awesome and letting the dolls come for a visit!

I promise to have more MIO review stuff up soon!

Edit: The Nightmare Set has sold out on Pullipstyle but there are still a few Isul Yomi and Taeyang Ni-ya in stock, so act fast!

Posted in isul, Taeyang/ Namu | Tagged isul, ni-ya, nightmare, nightmare band, ruka, taeyang, yomi | Leave a comment

MIO (Make it Own) Pullip Line- Shoe Review Part 1

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Klein

Groove is releasing a new line of stuff for Pullip called MIO (short for Make it Own) items in the line include everything from blank doll kits to shoes. GrooveUSA very generously sent me samples to review here on my website, this post will be the first one in a series where I review all the MIO stuff. Today’s post will focus on the three shoe sets released for Pullip as a part of a the MIO line. I will do a post at a later date on the Taeyang set as well as if Pullip is able to share any of her lovely new shoes with any of her friends.

Pullip Princess Rosalind was my primary model for the shoe photos. She has been rewigged with one of the MIO wigs and in some of the photos she can be seen wearing the Happiness Chiffon Dress Set which is also a part of the MIO line (in other photos she is wearing J-doll Carrer de Montcada’s stock clothing).

Warning cute shoe overload behind the cut!

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Posted in Doll, Pullip | Tagged make it own, mio, Pullip, shoes | Leave a comment

MIO (Make it Own) Pullip Line- First Look

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Klein

Exciting news everyone last weekend, GrooveUSA contacted me! They asked me a few questions and thanked me for the review I had written up about the new MIO line (which you can read here), if you haven’t heard already the new Make It Own or MIO line is a customizer’s dream come true! MIO is a line of things to customize Pullip with ranging from things like shoes and outfits to eyechips, wigs and bodies; of course, the most anticipated item is the blank doll customization kits where you get a complete blank doll (eye mech and all) with some assembly required. I can not stress how amazing this is, I love customs but finding bait dolls to customize is often hard due to competition as everyone needs baits because they want customs too. Of course, you could just take any pre-existing doll and wipe the face up off but then you run the risk of choosing the wrong doll then wouldn’t you know that would be the doll that explodes in popularity six months later, sells out and doubles in value.

I mentioned that Groove had asked me some questions, one of the questions was if I might like a blank Pullip kit to review here and post up a “how to guide” about. Of course, I said yes! They also said they would send me some of the wigs and eye chips (which was a bit baffling as I didn’t even know that eye chips were being offered as a part of the line). This morning, the package from GrooveUSA arrived….and just wow, I got a lot more than I ever could have expected or dreamed of.

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Posted in Dal, Doll, isul, Pullip, Taeyang/ Namu | Tagged blank body kit, custom pullip, Dal, isul, make it own, mio, Pullip, taeyang | 9 Comments

Pullip Ally now @Pullipstyle

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Klein

Just dropping a note here, Pullip Ally who I previously blogged here is now available via preorder from Pullipstyle. She is due to arrive in November. Ally was originally supposed to just be a Groove shop exclusive so it is very lucky that Pullipstyle is able to offer her.

You can preorder your own via Pullipstyle here or if you don’t want to wait you can still buy her directly from JPGroove. Did I mention she is only $80 like Pullip was when she was first released 10 years ago? Better not delay.

Posted in Doll, Pullip | Tagged ally, groove, Pullip, pullipstyle | Leave a comment

Puella Magi Madoka Magica- Madoka Maiko Version Nendoroid

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Klein

I love Madoka so of course, I could not resist buying a new version of the nendoroid when it came out. The Maiko version of the Madoka nendoroid was a Good Smile Company exclusive, available via their online shop or at their booth at various conventions (Anime Expo, NYCC, Japan Expo and CCG Expo). She was first released in July and with a MSRP of 3800 yen.

I’ve actually had mine since late August and had been meaning to share pictures of her here ever since but I keep getting sidetracked every time I came here to post about her I ended up posting about dolls instead ^^; . It’s a pity I kept on getting a bit sidetracked as she is easily one of my favorite nendoroids.

The colors of her kimono don’t really seem like they would go together, but they actually balance out rather nicely. I absolutely love her hair accessories and her cheerful expression.

Couple of additional pictures of her in my Madoka set in flickr.

Posted in anime figure, kleintoys | Tagged anime figure, good smile company, kaname madoka, madoka, nendoroid, Puella Magi Madoka Magica | Leave a comment

I will be busy this weekend for an unknown reason (Arkham Origins)

Posted on October 26, 2013 by Klein

The “Take all my Money” or the Collector’s edition of Arkham Origins arrived yesterday morning. I’m a huge Batman fan and I loved the previous two games, Arkham Asylum & Askham City so needless to say, I will be busy this weekend. Before I abandon you all for the weekend, I’d thought I’d leave you with some pictures of the Joker statue that comes with the Collector’s Edition that I took this morning.

I preordered the Collector’s edition for $119.95 via Amazon and it arrived at 9:23 am on release day. While I’d love to go to a midnight release it isn’t really that practical anymore for me as I have a five year old little girl… speaking of which guess who is dressing up as Batman this year? Zilla (Why would I want to dress up as Batgirl, mom? Batman’s cooler!).

This figure is huge measuring in at 9″ x 13″ x 11.5″ . The TVs actually light up but the pictures with the TVs on didn’t turn out and honestly they didn’t look that great ^^;

I’m very pleased with the Joker himself, he is sculpted really well and is a great representation of the character in the game.

View from above- The level of detail on this figure is really rather impressive, the carpet is textured sculpting it must have been a nightmare. The fruitcake is also realized in frightening detail, what am I the only one who is slightly terrified of fruitcake? I’m never sure if I should be thankful or swear a vendetta against anyone who tries to give me that stuff for Christmas.

The Collector’s Edition came with a bunch of other stuff too but really I just bought it versus the regular edition for the Joker figure ^^;

Posted in Comics, Love that Joker | Tagged arkham origins, batman, batman: arkham origins, joker | Leave a comment

December Pullip & Company Releases Announced

Posted on October 26, 2013 by Klein

Groove has announced December’s dolls… well so far Groove has announced four dolls for December but Doll Carnival is also in December so it is very likely that more dolls will be announced as we get closer to Doll Carnival.

Unto the releases… It appears that in December we are mostly seeing continuations of existing lines. A new version of Dahlia Cinderella is being released, this time in Princess form as well as her Prince Ramiro. The Classical Queen from Alice in Wonderland as well as Glen, a new entry in the Creator’s Label series.

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