The Awakening of the Virtual Diva

I can't tell you how surprised I was when I picked up this package. It was twice as large as the packages that Miku-chan and Saber-chan came in. I kind of felt silly as I brought it back; while being large in size, it was still pretty light.

How could a package this big be this light? Time to open it up and see what's inside.

Now that's a lot of packing paper. They really wanted to keep this package safe and unharmed all the way from Japan. And by the looks of things, it worked! Now move aside, packing paper! You have served your purpose!

More packing paper. Wait...what's that peeking through? Could it be what I think it is?

It is! My very first scale figure: Hatsune Miku Append!!!

When I first saw this figure on Good Smile Company's website, I thought to myself, "Now THAT is a cool figure. Miku looks so awesome." Then...I saw the price. That pretty much killed my hopes for getting her, as I wasn't about ready to spend that much money on one figure. This would probably be one of those figures that would eventually disappear into the void before I was ready to get it at a somewhat decent price. I watched as her preorder came out, watched as she was at last available, and was surprised that despite being released for months on end, she was still available...at a pretty high price. She was even available at Ohayocon 2012, but I wasn't about to spend $120 USD on one figure. That was a little too much for me...as always. Besides, I found Mirai-chan and several other goodies at the convention.

Fast forward to February. Hobby Search started a bargain sale that ran from February 8th to February 22nd, and each day, new items were added. For a while, there wasn't much that was interesting, aside from a few figmas and Nendoroids, but none of them really interested me. I checked back every once in a while just to see if there would be anything good. Eventually, I did find something good.

The scale figure of Hatsune Miku Append was marked as a "Bargain Item."

What made it even better was the price was now much lower than before. This could be my chance...but I already got Snow Miku: Fluffy Coat Version, and that wasn't cheap. I still had to consider other things. But what was the likelihood of this figure being at this price in the future? Not very likely. Still, I was hesitant...did I really want to go for this, seeing as how I had just picked up a pricey Nendoroid and still had two figmas on preorder in the coming months?

I debated it for a while as the bargain sale neared its end. Ultimately, I caved and followed through before the sale's end, locking in the lower price. Even though the price was lower than normal, it was still pretty pricey when you factor in shipping. But I didn't want to risk having her get damaged in the mail. Not for a figure this awesome.

Onward to the standard package photos!

The front of the package. Just like the mail package, I was very surprised at how big this was. The package pattern reminded me of the background I made for my blog. They are almost identical, except for the subtle floral patterns.

So this is what a 1/8 scale figure looks like...

Side 1 of the package. Miku Append is very beautiful.

The back of the package. That silver lettering really sparkles! And there's a holographic sticker there as well...good, it's authentic. And...well, I need to get down to writing out hiragana if I'm going to get anywhere with...oh, you know the rest.

Side 2 of the package. Have I mentioned that Miku Append is awesome?

The top of the package. Not sure why there's a little window up here. All you can really see is the two plastic halves that keep Miku safe.

Everything is present and accounted for! There was a lot holding this thing together: several strips of tape and even a little twisty-tie in addition to the interlocking plastic halves. It took a bit to get this thing open, but that's what you do when you want to protect a well-crafted figure.

Now to get her out...

And here she is, Miku Append, in all of her awakened glory!

Despite the fact that my poor wallet is not happy, I'm very pleased with this figure. Now that I think about it, it's kind of funny: Miku Append was my first figma, and this Miku Append is my first scale figure. What next, Miku Append as my first Nendoroid? Possibly.

Lovely.

Beautiful.

The transparency in her hair and the outfit is a nice touch. I sense more lighting experiments in my future!

The detail on this figure is just mind-blowing!

With that, the total number of figures in my collection grows to four. And next month, a new figma will arrive (and maybe one other thing). Then one more figma and a Nendoroid will follow in the coming months.

I really am hooked on this now...not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I hope it's the former.

To finish things off, here is Miku Append, in scale figure form and figma form.

Two thirds of the Miku Append Trifecta have been acquired.

All that remains is Nendoroid Miku Append...and the Trifecta will be complete...