Vault Review: Figma’s
Charming Drossel

Something else I love about this figure is all of the accessories she comes with.  Aside from her five sets of alternate hands, she comes with two heel-like wheel attachments so that she can stand up without an actual stand.  I’m glad they added this feature, but the wheels aren’t as stable as the similar invisible heels on the Aegis figure.

Charming also comes with three different “hair styles”.  The first is her long fin with the double hinged joint in the middle.  This piece is also hinged at her head and also does a really good job of conveying emotion.

The second alternate head piece resembles hair that has been styled up and comes off much more fancy looking with all the intricately printed designs.  This bit is actually a combination of two separate hair pieces that connect and two new ear attachments.  Charming also comes with a pair of glasses that were designed to plug into the whole contraption.

Her last headpiece is a combination of “hair” and a ceremonial astrology mask.  The mask part is hinged and can be lowered over Drossel’s face.  It’s got a vague bird-like beak shape and has some really amazing tampo work on the face with various black and blue designs intersecting.  Coming off the back of the headpiece are six translucent blue feathers, all of which are articulated by tiny ball joints.

Drossel’s “Astrology Unit” staff is also included to go along with the mask.  The staff has a really intricate design which is supposed to lampoon the Staff of Ra from Raiders of the Lost Ark.  The lenses are also on a swivel joint if you want to switch them around.

You’d think that would be enough accessories, but Drossel comes with two more.  The first is a cape from her long dead “father”.  Although this piece is impressively huge, it does have a couple of issues.  There’s no gold thread lining the edges.  This isn’t technically a big deal, but it is disappointing when you consider all the other tiny details on the figure.  The second issue is that the cape can be shaped by the twist tie-like strips on the side.  This is a great option, but the same technique was used on Figma’s Kamen Rider Siren with really poor results.  I’m just waiting for the twist tie piece to start peeling away from the fabric.

The second accessory Drossel comes with is the Flügel family’s portable secretary, Reginald.  He’s this little Roomba type device that records everything Drossel says, just in case she forgets any of it.  Embarrassingly for her, he tends to repeat these things around other people.  Nothing a good punt out the window can’t fix…

I’m still a really big fan of the original Drossel, but I think Charming is my new favorite.  I wasn’t sure about the new design at first, but its sleek look and fantastic ability to convey emotions has really won me over.  The amount of accessories and detail on this figure have made her a bit more expensive than the average Figma, not to mention the high cost of the Yen, but I really think she’s a figure worth owning.  It’s still early in the year, but she’s definitely a contender for my favorite figure of 2012.

-Vault

8 thoughts on “Vault Review: Figma’s
Charming Drossel

  1. Fireball is a fun series and Fireball Charming continues that. I didn’t really like the design for this Drossel until I got to play with her and watched a bit of Charming. Now, like Vault, I’ve warmed up to her. She’s almost as much fun to pose as Aegis!
    The feathers on her mask do move but I broke one pretty much out of the box so be careful. :p

    That cape is hilarious and I love that you’re finally using that desk and chair. 🙂 I didn’t know she had extra wheels… (After breaking Vault’s Drossel’s mask within a few minutes of Vault opening his figure, I decided to bow out and leave the toy posing to the experts. Afraid of breaking more things, I haven’t gone through the whole box yet.)

    1. That’s one of the main reasons I tend to stay away from high-end Japanese imports (apart from perhaps Masterpiece TransFormers) — beautiful, intricate, and minutely detailed, but ludicrously expensive and prone to easy breakage.

      Neat figure and great review, though.

      1. Once they’ve been loosened up, they seem to do fine. I just shouldn’t be the person to loosen them…

    1. Got them from Amiami.

      There’s three desks and chairs in each box. You have to asemble them, but it’s pretty easy. Pretty great deal for under $10

  2. This one is an easy pass. That giant ghetto booty and them thunder thighs are the exact opposite of “streamlined and elegant”. Every time I see her I just think of the women I see around New Orleans. The ones with a caboose that spans from one horizon to the other. Charming definitely sports the unfinished prototype look while the original Drossel looks like the finished v2.0 product.

    However I really dig the ceremonial headdress/mask accessory.

  3. I agree, the old Drossel looks clunky in comparison (although the old design is a lot less dividing). Drossel Charming looks like a desktop gadget for one of those minimalistic designers.

    I’ve got a few complaints, though. I don’t like it that the “lens” in her waist is just a cheap metallic paint, instead of being done the way her eyes are (it’s also scratched on mine), the issue with the “feathers” seems to be a general one (you too, manekochan?), her reading unit (that is, that “flower hair” with the glasses) tends to fall apart, she’s got a bit of sloppy paint job – well, sloppy in terms of Max Factory’s quality – and I was really hoping they would give her that blue rose. Instead she’s got a stupid robot. Oh well. I also fear for the staff, as it seems to be made of a quite brittle kind of plastic.
    /rant

    But overall she’s amazing. One of the best – if not THE best – figures this year.
    I fell in love with her design as soon as I saw the first mention of the prequel. She’s so strange and inhuman… just the way a robot should look like. And cute to boot.
    And with her mask and staff she looks like Seven from that great “9” animated movie.
    Plus she’s stunningly posable, and she’s made from a rubber-like plastic, including her hands, so she should be quite sturdy for a figma.
    What’s not to like?

    Oh, by the way, if one of her hips suddenly loses half of its range of movement, you have to gently pull the ball joint apart – the socket is made from plastic, but there’s a poly cap inside – sometimes it moves a bit and the joint gets half stuck. You just have to push it back to place.

    As to the broken mask – Good Smile Company is known for being customer-friendly, and most of the time they will send a replacement part. One just has to supply them with some photos of the damaged part.

    On a side note, Vault, that’s yet another robot girl figure we both fancy. 😉

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