EPOCH Nina Williams 1/6 Scale Cold Cast Statue review

Having acquired the rights to produce figures based on NAMCO's

popular Tekken series in the late 1990's, Japanese toy and computer
games maker EPOCH (エポック社) would produce a special statue
in conjunction with the release of Tekken 3 on the Sony Playstation
in 1998.

The front of the box prominently displays the Tekken 3 logo in
front of a purple backdrop. The bottom left corner of the box

credits renown sculptor Hiroki Hayashi for creating this statue.

On a side note: the light purple design behind the Nina statue
is just packaging art.

                                  

NAMCO's familiar mascot PAC-MAN is featured in the bottom
right corner with the text "LICENSED BY namco".

                             

The left side of the box features Nina's official Tekken 3 promo
render.



                                    

The back of the box contains multiple screenshots of the Nina
Williams statue, EPOCH's company info and the usual safety
precautions.

I find the small icon of the person crying (warning that the Nina
Williams statue is fragile) to be mildly amusing.

                                  

The right side of the box is straight to the point with the Tekken
3 logo and Nina's name in bold letters.
                             

The top of the box mentions that the statue and base is "cold cast",
reiterating the description on the front of the box in Japanese
Katakana and Kanji.

                                      

The Nina Williams statue comes packaged in protective Styrofoam.


                               

The bottom of the Nina Williams statue contains a small hole to connect
the Nina Statue to it's included base.


                            


The black base with protruding peg that connects to the Nina statue.


                           

The Nina Williams statue and connected black base depicts Nina
casually waiting around (perhaps for her next opponent or target).


                    

                       

Nina's purple catsuit is based on her 1st Player costume that first
appeared in Tekken 3 and "Tekken: The Motion Picture" the same
year.



                     




The Nina Williams statue has an artistic touch with snow white
skin (which is questionably lighter than the Anna Williams statue's
skin tone), blue eyes and striking red lipstick.

Personally, I feel the face sculpt used for this statue is the most
realistic depiction of Nina Williams to date.

                     

The stylish black base is also cold cast and made of resin.


                            

Nina's included dagger and leg holster is replicated perfectly.
The dagger itself is also 3-Dimensional.


                        

The Nina Williams statue viewed from the front.


                          

Nina's blonde hair is painted with a gold finish.

As is the case with many of Nina's depictions (in both merchandise
and in-game) from over the years, the Nina Williams statue is well
endowed visually.

A Tekken 3 Nina Williams coin bank with discolored green hair.

Unlike other figures from the era (that were painted with a cheaper
grade of paint), the gold finish used for the Nina statue's hair has
not discolored.


                        

Nina's spandex attire contains a "wrinkle" effect with a touch of
burgundy on Nina's waist and stomach.

                      

The same effect contains with Nina's leather boots.

A silver finish is also added to the buckles of each of Nina's
leg belts.


                          

A lighter shade of purple covers the sole of Nina's heels.


                           

Nina's heels stretch out from the included base and can be
circled around the base along with the Nina statue.



                     

When looking at the Nina Williams statue from the back.


                        

Nina's ponytail is attached to her shoulders as Nina looks from
the side.

The bangles on Nina's upper arms even include a silver finish
and are textured.


                  

No detail was spared recreating every last portion of Nina's
spandex catsuit.



                   

The included base stands 6 inches (15 cm) on it's own while the
Nina statue (with base) measures 10 1/2 inches (26 cm).

                

The bottom of the base includes fabric padding on each corner
along with the usual company, licensing and production date.

                        


Whether displayed on her own or paired with the second statue
from the set (Nina's sister Anna Williams), the Nina Williams
1/6 Scale Cold Cast Statue is an excellent addition to any Tekken
fan's collection and is a splendid sculpt in it's own right.

20 years later, both Williams sisters' 1/6 scale statues remain
highly sought-after pieces of Tekken merchandise and provide
a realistic contrast to today's line of hyper-sexualized Bishoujo
Nina and Anna statues (click grey links for photos).

The Nina Williams cold cast statue would be the final figure
of the Irish Assassin released under the EPOCH banner before
moving on to figures for characters from Tekken Tag
Tournament and Tekken 4 in 2002.


                      

Satoshi Kojima HAO Collection Figure Review

Rounding up today's HAO Collection coverage are three figures
based on the leader of the Bread Club, a Wrestler that needs no
introduction: Satoshi Kojima.

The first figure of Satoshi Kojima comes from HAO Collection's
2003 lineup.

Kojima's ring trunks, kneepads and boots are covered with various
graphics and slogans such as "OOH!!" and "VOW!".

The right side of Kojima's trunks contain a graphic of Kojima's
"Great Cozuke" (a portmanteau of Kojima's nickname "Cozy"
and "Sasuke" which is a reference to legendary masked Wrestler
- The Great Sasuke) entrance mask.

Kojima's left boot also contains an illustration of Kojima's alter
ego, the Great Muta-inspired "Great Koji".

Known for his reckless attitude and memorable in-ring catch
-phrases, the word "EXPRESSION" is written in bold lettering
on the left side of Kojima's trunks.

This particular variant features a striking silver finish high
-lighting parts of Kojima's hair.

                                     

This same approach would be incorporated years later to 16d's
(also sculpted by HAO) Kenny Omega soft vinyl figure.

Kojima's nose tape is also present in his HAO Collection
figure complete with Kojima's nickname "COZY" written
out in various colours.

This particular variant was an online alternate exclusive that was
sold through (the now-defunct) battleroyal.jp website along with
the Great Muta Spider (alternate black colour) and Great Muta
Mechanical version (alternate white colour) figures.

                               

The regular variant features Kojima with darker boots, hair
and nose tape.

                                

Both variants came packaged with All Japan Pro-Wrestling's
prestigious Triple Crown Championship belts; making Kojima
one of only three figures in the entire HAO line (the others
being Wanderlei Silva and Fedor Emelianenko with included

PRIDE Heavyweight Championships) to feature a title.

Due to Satoshi Kojima's immense popularity, the master of
the Cozy Lariat would get a second figure in the HAO
Collection line with an entirely brand new mold!

This mold uses similar decals as the previous Satoshi Kojima
HAO Collection figure.

It should also be noted that this is the only HAO figure
sculpted in a Lariat pose.

Needless to say, I can only imagine how a Stan Hansen
Lariat figure would have looked in this line.

The word "COZY" is more legible in this variant of Kojima's
nose tape.

This HAO Collection mold also uses brown hair and a
questionably darker skin tone.

One of the most notable differences with the Lariat version
are the decals featured on Kojima's kneepads.

Scale wise, the first version stands about 6" in height while
the Lariat version at a smaller 5 and a half inches.

Like other HAO figures, both versions include articulation
at the waist, arms and necks.

                 Kensuke Sasaki tasting the Cozy Lariat!

More figure reviews to come!

Kensuke Sasaki HAO Collection figure review

2007 was quite the year for HAO Arts Office. Adding to a stellar lineup of

Wrestling legends such as Kenta Kobashi, Jun Akiyama, Mitsuharu Misawa,

Minoru Suzuki and Jushin Thunder Liger, HAO Arts Office would also

release two soft vinyl figures to the year's roster: Japanese powerhouse

Kensuke Sasaki!



                       

The first and standard vfigure ariant features Kensuke decked out in white
trunks and boots.



                       

The left side of Kensuke's shorts display the "Kensuke Office" (Kensuke
and wife Akira Hokuto's own Wrestling promotion) logo.


                           

The right side of Kensuke's trunks display his name in bold letters.

The green, blue and yellow colour scheme is reminiscent of Kensuke's
early New Japan Pro-Wrestling attires.


                            

The colours continue to stretch across the back of Kensuke's ring
attire and matching ring boots.

                                

The second variant is a limited edition with a total number of 500
pieces created; making this the rarest Kensuke Sasaki figure ever
created!
                                

With clenched fists, Kensuke is ready to dish out lariats and
hammering forearms to any opponent!


                              

Dressed in orange trunks with gold accents, the 20th Anniversary logo is
displayed within the Kensuke Office logo with " 健介" (Kensuke) written
in Japanese Kanji.

Unfortunately, having acquired this figure without it's original packaging, this
particular variant loses points with me as the paint used for the 20th Anniversary
decal is very fragile and chips away quite easily.

The right side of Kensuke's trunks once again include his name in gold,
orange and silver finishes.

                      
Kensuke's ring boots contain silver, gold and red colouring with tan
soles. The Kensuke Office logo is also visible on the back of
Kensuke's trunks.

The Anniversary continues...

To celebrate Kensuke Sasaki's 20th Anniversary, Japanese toy company
Character Product (also known simply as "Charapro") released four
special figure variants of Kensuke Sasaki to celebrate the occasion.


                           

The first Anniversary exclusive Kensuke Sasaki Mini Big Head (pictured
with Akira Hokuto) as a special cellphone strap figure.


                          

The "20th Anniversary" decal is once again visible with Kensuke's
name written in silver finish.

                     

The standard Vol. 4. Kensuke Sasaki Mini Big Head and special
Power Warrior repaint cellphone strap (which was sold exclusively
through the Kensuke Office promotion!).