doraemon – nobita and the robot army movie wrap-up

There is no need to introduce who and what Doraemon is, the cartoon character that was described as The Cuddliest Hero in Asia. This movie – Nobita and the Robot Army is also known as Nobita and the Platoon of Iron Men and was released in 1986.

pvc figurines price increase

Due to a lot of last minute cancellation did by my personal supplier regarding about my pvc figurines pre-order, I got a bit frustated and manage to ‘make’ him pour out on what’s the conspiracy behind all these. Last year, his stock allocation was cut till half, to make things worst later in the end of the year, from 1 carton (usually 6 units), his stock was cut down to only 1 unit per order. That means he will have a hard time choosing who or which individual that he will pass the unit to. According to him, some major manufacturers have increased their products prices that will lead him to quite a huge loss of profit if he continue to accept the order. These all came unexpectedly and he cant do anything about it.

I’ve been collecting PVC figurines for years, previously I could get a good 1/8 scale unit from either Kotobukiya, Max Factory or Goodsmile Company for a decent RM140-RM180, but now mostly pre-order prices for some of these major manufacturers has swollen up to a minimum of at least RM250 for a 1/8 scale unit. I heard of this rumours before at some blogs and forums but didnt expect it to take effect drastically.

I’m sure others have noticed, that PVC prices are creeping up more and more these days!
1/8 scale figs have gone from around 3,800 yen to about 5800 in the past few years.

Also, I just spotted some news on Locus about price hikes.
This is the only place I’ve seen this information, but I can see with my own eyes that it’s true.

We regret to inform you that Alter Group of Companies will increase prices effective from Jan. 1, 2008.
The brands include Alter, Good Smile, Max Factory, Solid Theater and Orchid Seed.

Continue reading it HERE

Well, a price hike of 40 -50% is not a small amount, but I do have to admit that certain manufacturers have improved their figurines quality a lot compared to their previous products. My recent purchase was Monsieur Bome’s No19 – Isoroku Yamamoto. The figure was a real masterpiece, beatifully sculptured as a quality trademark from Bome himself. I kept my Bome collections MISB (Mint Sealed In Box) and I assume all products are in tip-top condition, until the moment I found out that a small piece of the figurine was missing. First image below is the complete unit as indicated. Notice her hairpiece at the end with the orange colored band -

The unit I purchased where the part is missing

I sincerely dont think figurine collectors will be happy if they get this type problem especially with the price hike issue. Whether the price will still keep on increasing in the future or not, I think it will not effect hardcore collectors out there, including me although not all major production companies are doing that for the time being. In no time, you will have a 1/8 figurine sold with a price of 1/6 unit and 1/4 scaled units will be a luxury item out there. Happy collecting .