Harry Potter Funko Pop - Wave 3

Hello, everyone! So, I was snooping around on Facebook tonight as I'm prone to do, when I came across some 'glam shots' posted by the person who runs the Facebook page Funko Pop Checklist - they had a bunch of promotional pics for the next wave of Harry Potter's Funko Pop line! A quick disclaimer; I don't own these pictures and I credit them entirely to the page (and the group) I found them on, and to the producer of said images - Funko. Also, I cannot testify as to the validity of these images - they may well be very good Photoshop attempts. Either way, awesome!

We have in the line-up so far: Harry (the Department of Mysteries/Prophecy), Fred and George Weasley (Order of the Phoenix), Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Minerva McGonagall, Alastor Moody and Dolores Umbridge. There are a couple gaps in numbering, so I'm assuming this isn't the full line that will be released.

I'm really excited to see this line - quite a large number of fresh faces to be seen. While I liked the last wave, there were a few too many repeats. I confess that I'd hoped to finally see Ginny in this line (I'd really like her to be in the kid format; you know, the Pops based on the earlier characters that are slightly smaller than the rest? Yeah, I want her like that to match my other basic figures). I've been dying for McGonagall and Bellatrix, so I'm super excited to see this! As of today, I have no idea when these are going to be released. Sorry.

Who else do you hope to see from this line? Thanks for reading!

Star Wars: Finn (The Black Series™ 3.75") Review

Hello, everyone! I got my The Black Series™ Finn in his Jakku outfit last Monday, so today I'll be doing a review for you! Hope you enjoy it - I'll be enjoying telling you all about it!

I'm a little curious about this - when I went to order this figure online, I couldn't help but notice how cheap he was on average in comparison to the rest of the 2015-2016 Black Series releases. The price difference ranged from a couple bucks (e.g. Poe, Han, Luke) to around $15 (e.g. Rey). I was thinking to myself that it might be because there is more of him in stock? But then, I didn't think it was likely they'd produce more of Finn compared to the main character Rey, given his whole secondary nature and the #WheresRey riot from late last year. So I figured it must be because he isn't as popular. This makes me sad - I liked Finn well enough in the movie, but it was John Boyega himself that sold the deal for me. He's so fucking funny, and a real charmer too! And Finn has the added advantage of being the super-cool sidekick to the super-awesome Rey, and what kind of amateur collector would I be if I didn't get a Finn to keep my Rey company?

I ordered this figure from animetropolis for only $20 - that is dirt cheap for a Black Series figure here in Australia, where you pay that kind of money for basic figures sometimes. Apparently, in the US, the Black Series only goes for like 13 USD which is about  17/18 AUD - I've even read about some people complaining about these prices in the States! Please! But anyway, I digress. I think part of the reason the item was so inexpensive was because the seller used a cheaper shipping method - the carrier for the package was called Winit, I think. I was given a tracking number, but it didn't work whenever I searched it up. I ordered the figure on the 7th of September; the seller shipped on the 8th; and I got the figure on the 19th, seven business days after. This is the second time this has occurred with this seller - the earliest I would have been likely to expect it was the 22nd or 23rd - so I'm now firmly believing that the delivery time frame is not just a one-off. I'm really happy with the delivery, and it turns out the tracking number must have been muddled up, because according to the package, it was shipped by the same company that delivered my Rey figure (not Winit). Oh well; I'm not too concerned by this, seeing as I had already received some great service from the seller before.

If you've read any of my previous reviews, you know the drill by now - I make sure to ask the seller to ship the best-looking figure out of their remaining stock. Again, the seller was very willing to oblige this silly request, and again they delivered. I cannot actually point out a single flaw in the paint job for this figure, that's how pleased I am about it. There was a black spot on his face in the box, but it was likely just a plastic scraping or something because it came right off when I rubbed it. I'm really excited to show you all this great figure!

Finn (Jakku)

I usually start this little bit off with why I chose this particular figure. I'd like to think I pretty much covered this above - every Rey needs her Finn, and my little 3.75" Rey is no exception. That and I thought he looked hell cool (even if he did only come with one weapon - I'll be talking about that in a minute). Also, Finn - who doesn't love Finn (aside from antis and racists)? He's the one that keeps TFA from being totally depressing ("I'm in charge now, Phasma!") and adds an entirely new dimension to the series (who would ever think Stormtroopers had mind enough of their own to break an enemy pilot out of interrogation, run away on a stolen TIE fighter and end up saving the fucking Resistance?). I think I've established that Rey is my favourite character, but Finn comes a tie with Kylo Ren (for different reasons, though). He's epic. Added to that, he was really cheap and I wanted to get him to work at completing the Rey/Fin/Poe trio in action figure format.

Due to some odd hip joints, the figure has the occasional difficulty standing. Arranging the legs in a certain way should help with this.

I'm not going to lie; this figure is not perfect. But then, I don't hold that against Hasbro, seeing as the scale is really difficult to work with. What I do hold against them is their cutting back on quality in the basic TFA figure line and not compensating by making the 3.75"  Black Series widely available. Anyway, that's for another time. On with the review!

Articulation: Finn has 14 points of articulation - the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles. Some of the joints have limited movement; the wrists are ball-jointed but cannot articulate well because of the jacket sleeves, and the ankles cannot either as the pants hinder them. This is not a deal-breaker if you can look past this!

The flaws to watch out for: I think the standard answer by now would be to ALWAYS inspect the paint job because they just aren't consistent between figures. You'll want to watch particularly for the face paint job as well as the red accents on Poe's jacket, because they look as though they could be very inconsistent - the same goes with the little silver accents, though these are much smaller (I can't figure out whether a mess-up here is good or bad; one one hand it's small enough that it shouldn't be too noticeable, but on the other hand there's a large margin for error). I'd watch out for the paint across the hairline as well, because it appears the head has been cast in flesh tone with the hair painted, the reverse of Rey's handling. I feel fortunate, as all the problems I've just described here? I can't find any of them on my figure.

The paint application on the face is really good - it even appears that they've attempted to colour in the eyes.

Weird manufacturing choices: like all of the Black Series figures I have so far, the majority of the figure has been cast in one colour of plastic, with the details painted on. This means the pegs holding joints together are one colour, and this colour often does not match the tone of the corresponding body part. It's barely noticeable, but Finn's wrist joints are the same tan colour as the jacket, while the wrists are skin colour; also, his grey shoes are marred slightly by black joints the same colour as the pants. These are both easily disguised by the folding of the pants and sleeves over the joints, so this is only a minor complaint for those who like to pose their figures in crazy stances. Also, this figure has the same kind of hip joints as Rey - instead of swivelling back and forth like Padme they swing in and out. Like Rey, you can just twist the leg out and the knee back in to pose the figure in a running stance, but it just looks plain awkward. Placing the figure in a sitting stance has the potential to be very difficult, as the joints are initially rather stiff. The jacket is removable, but the sleeves are not, so taking it off will look super weird. The particular thing with this is - despite both elements of the jacket being cast in plastic rather than the colour painted on - the removable part is a slightly darker shade than the sleeves. It isn't incredibly noticeable unless you're doing high-res photography or you're in certain lighting. Because they're quite clearly different types of plastic it is acceptable that the colour wouldn't come up the same, so I think we can let it slide.

While Finn only comes with a single blaster, his range of movement is endless.

Accessories: Finn comes with a single blaster. If I had to make a complaint against this figure, this would be it. Only one accessory? At the very least they could maybe have put BB-8 in with him (seeing as both Rey and Poe come with a decent amount of accessories), but no. Oh well - at least it's better than TFA Leia (which comes with no accessories whatsoever apparently).

Things to love: firstly, the likeness to John Boyega. It's almost perfect! They just did a really awesome job with capturing the character in this figure. The detailing on the face is great, and the hair is adorably curly. Obviously, the articulation is something to love about this figure, not only in terms of how it can move but the level of stability the joints are given; you aren't likely to get loose joints in this figure, so it should hold up to hours of kiddy playtime. The figure is scaled to the correct height ratio, being only a little bit taller than Rey (and a slightly more when placed beside Padme) and the figure interacts well with the other Black Series figures. The design of the clothing is another really big win; the wrinkling of the pants and shirt, as well as the application of sand to the shoes and the bottom of the pants, really gives the impression that Finn has been wandering the deserts of Jakku, which makes this figure a really great piece for scene-specific play. Due to a minimalistic design and a simple but neat paint job, the figure should age really well and be a solid part of your collection for years to come.

Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed this little review!

The Black Series™ 3.75" figure of Finn in his Jakku outfit.

Allergies

Hello, everyone! Yes, it's that time of the year again - allergy season. The wonderful springtime weather sending countless people into sneezing fits, watery eyes and an inability unable to function like normal human beings. Yes, it is this time; but I didn't actually start this post to talk about seasonal allergies that some of you may or may not suffer. I'm actually talking about my cat. So. The conjunctivitis I mentioned in one of my earlier posts? Well, after several hundred dollars of vet bills and countless trips, the vet has concluded Molly has an allergy to her food.

An older photo - she's become a bit camera shy.

She had had a couple of worryingly ongoing habits, such as scratching at her eyes and shaking her head, that wouldn't go away. She actually scratched so hard she made her eyes all scabby and bleeding - she could barely open them some days. She also had quite a thick crust of acne scabbing on her chin, something that wouldn't go away no matter how hard we tried. We ended up taking her to the vet, who didn't really know what was going on, and she ended up giving her a bunch of medication for me to deal with. Fast forward a couple weeks and the antibiotic needle has worn off, the scratching starts up again and the acne returns.

We took the poor girl back to the vet; this time we had a vet who actually knew what she was doing - she said it was a classic case of allergies in felines, whether it be the more common food one or the less common environmental one. I got the lovely task of treating the symptoms (prior to treating the cause the bet wanted the minor ear infection and scabs to go away) with pills and ear drops. Have you ever tried to shove pills down a cat's throat? It's painful, for the both of us, and she hated me for a good couple months while the medication ran its course.

Currently, we're working on getting rid of a little earwax buildup deep in her canal. We go back to the vet soon to discuss putting her on a trial diet - both for her allergies and her weight (we've found out she weighs double what she is supposed to - in our defense, we didn't realise this as she's always looked very thin).

And do you know what's wrong with the other cat? Nothing. Perfect eyes, teeth, fur and no acne. How irritating. I feel so sorry for my poor little Molly - she's been lumped with all the bullshit. Seeing as she's predominantly a white cat, we have to regulate the amount of time she spends in sunlight as she has increased susceptibility to skin cancer. Rosie is a bit of a bitch sometimes, so that's why I say this - I am glad she's all fine, though, because she's my cuddle monster and I love her to bits. I don't think we could handle two cats going in and out of the vet's office regularly.

On a side note, my mum got out of hospital on Saturday; about a year back she had a hip replacement for severe osteoarthritis and the surgeon fucked up her nerves, causing foot drop. It's basically left her with minimal/no sensation in her left foot, meaning she can't actually walk on it without orthopaedic support. On Friday a neurosurgeon did a nerve transfer surgery to see if she can regain some mobility by reattaching a nerve from another part of the area past the dead nerve. It's all very fascinating, but I don't really know a lot about it. I'll ask her properly sometime. Anyway, she's home and safe and well, and whether or not this surgery has actually worked remains to be seen.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you're all enjoying your days!

Star Wars: Padme Amidala (The Black Series™ 3.75") Review

Hello, readers! I got my The Black Series™ 3.75" Padme Amidala figure in her Geonosis Arena outfit! Today I'll be telling you all about the buying experience - but the main part of this post will be reviewing the figure itself. Hope you like it!

First off the bat, I want to apologise for the shitty stock photo I've used up above - I wanted to keep the theme running from my first Star Wars action figure review of Rey. Because this figure is fairly old (not really, but, in comparison to the new releases it is) it was bloody hard to find any useable stock photos of it. I did what I could, but sorry. It is just for introductory purposes anyway.

I ordered this from eBay from a Phillippines-based user named tunghori - unfortunately, there were no brand new Padme Amidala figures online for less than $70, so I went with buying an opened figure that, according to the seller, was used only for displaying in store. I'm not too fussed by this - I would've opened it anyway - and I got a really good price for it, seeing as it is the first figure made in an adult collectable series. I had it sent to me via standard delivery, and it seems to be the seller's policy not to provide an estimated delivery date or a tracking number; this didn't bother me excessively, but I have to admit I do wish they allowed me the peace of mind of knowing where exactly my package is. I got my package around fifteen business days after I placed my order - sounds like a long time (and it was), but the seller did explicitly state this was common on their site for international orders, so I knew what I was expecting. I didn't mark them down for it either, seeing as it actually did come within the vaguely estimated time frame they set out. I got it at some ridiculously early time in the morning - someone in the house had to have brought it in from the front door before they left for Jake's school at 7:30. It was a tiny little box, basically the size of the figure with a little extra room for packing material. The figure came in a little zip-lock bag and was surrounded by pellets. I do admit I wish it had been packed a little better because the box was crushed a bit, but luckily the figure itself was unharmed.

Like I did with my Rey figure, I asked the seller to ship the best-painted version out of their remaining stock (at the time there were like six or seven left), and like the Rey figure, they really did deliver on that! The paint job, especially for the face, was flawless, and I'm super pleased about this (seeing as my only other decent Padme has a shit paint job), and the overall quality of the figure was outstanding! I definitely recommend the seller if you are looking for expensive figures at low prices, and are willing to accept an item technically marked "used"!

Padme Amidala

 Growing up, I was basically indoctrinated into Star Wars. My dad grew up with the originals; I liked them, sure, but at the time I was aware they were quite outdated and all the characters would be middle-aged by the time I had watched them. I dont know why, but Leia didn't really do it for me at the time; I couldn't connect with her or identify her as a personal heroine. Even now I struggle with this, which isn't  reflection of anything lacking with either character or actress - I do love her quite a bit now, don't worry. But, I grew up with the prequel trilogy; they weren't "great" but they were new, with new characters and a different take on the world built by Lucas. Even as a child I was always a feminist, rooting for the female characters - naturally I gravitated to Padme. I just really loved her - she was so pretty, and later I looked back and saw all the awesome shit she did (a lot of it cut out of the actual film storylines for Anakin's piece-of-shit plot) and I admired her greatly. I got this figure as a sort of homage to that, Padme being the first sci-fi character that really resonated with me.

When I got Padme, I noticed the legs weren't as widely spaced as they are in stock images of the figure - I figure the legs must have been bent a bit, because there's a little bit of a tilt to one side that indicates to me a leg has been pushed in a bit too far. I'm working on fixing that, though, and it most definitely is not a deal breaker! Just be aware that these things can happen if you order opened items (or used items, semantics). Luckily, the paint job more than made up for this, and with a little bit of bending I've already started to bring the legs out to a normal angle! The figure, much like other Padme figures, doesn't really resemble Natalie Portman; however, this one, unlike the others, does a much better job at resembling her. There's a reason this is the Black Series! I will say this - the sculpt looks pretty similar to my other Padme figures, so at the very least it is consistent. If you squint you can see Natalie in her features - it's the eyes, I think. But, again - expecting this! Hasbro's ability to replicate real-scale people as tiny little 3.75-inch figurines is not perfect, and I wouldn't have the coordination to make something that tiny into something resembling a person, anyway. As of this year, I'm pretty sure this is the best Padme Amidala figure on the market; the 6-inch series has yet to release her, so I'm placing my money on this one. There are "prettier" versions of this character available, but this one's probably the best in terms of poseability and overall quality.

Unlike some figures that have terrible posture, the midriff joint enables Padme to stand straight and proud.

Articulation: Padme has 14 points of articulation. These are:- head, shoulders, elbows, wrists (swivel, not ball-jointed), midriff, hips, knees and ankles. All the joints have a great range of movement, although the legs are limited by the T-crotch joints at the hips, meaning her legs can only move back and forth.

The flaws to watch out for: the figure is cast in two separate parts; a flesh-toned head and a white body. This means the brown hair has been painted on, and the skin colour on the body has been painted. The effect? No matter how hard Hasbro may have tried, the plastic head doesn't match up with the flesh paint tone on the body - it is very close and only noticeable in certain lights (or if you stare at it too closely for too long), but I thought it worth mentioning.  The inevitable problem with this also is that for the elbow pegs, you can see the white plastic when you bend Padme's arm (particulaly irritating on the right arm, which is skin-toned and "bare"), as it is for the knees and ankles on Rey. As with any of these figures, you run the risk of acquiring a lazily-painted figure - I was lucky not to have this happen to me for either of my Black Series figures so far. Like Rey, Padme has a little bit of streaking in the flesh paint, but it seems that's unavoidable.

There is no blush on this figure, unlike Rey - the implementation of this tool must be new. Also, just look at those scratches! Aren't they awesome?

Weird manufacturing choices: in light of the fact that this series commenced with Padme, I'm willing to let the whole T-crotch thing slide. That was the mode, the standard, and they didn't come up with something better until later. Still, it is a little irritating for both function and aesthetic; not only does it limit the figure's movement but there are two great gaping cracks on either side of her crotch, which is a little unsettling. I'd also like to talk about the holster for her little Naboo blaster - um, penis much? Again, not a new complaint, but I couldn't see it until I had actually looked at it up close. It isn't so awkward when the gun's in it, so I figure that's the way it's gonna stay. Speaking of the guns - the massive droid blaster she comes with poses some problems, too. Because the grip is so large, you really have to wedge it into the tiny grasp of Padme's hand. The figure doesn't appear to be properly moulded to fit the gun, so any sudden movement will make the gun fall out of her tenuous grip and onto the floor - be careful if you have dark floors or animals, or you'll never find it again! The company decided to alter the articulation of the figure at the waist; instead of actually articulating at the waist, the ball-joint is just below the boobs at the midriff where the shirt cuts off. Unlike the rest of the stuff I've put in this little section, I actually think this one works in their favour. Not only does it create a seamless look, but it enables for more dynamic posing like leaning forward or backward (in a manner a little more natural than waist articulation is).

Still pretty bad at posing here; I don't have many articulated figures to practice with! But anyway, here's a general idea of what to expect from this figure.

Accessories: Padme comes with two accessories here. These are one Naboo blaster and one droid army blaster, both directly from the fight sequence in Attack of the Clones. Padme actually loses the Naboo blaster in the film, forcing her to pick up a droid one; however, the inclusion of two accessories for a female non-Force-sensitive character (what is the term for that?) is pretty cool, and I'm not complaining. Both accessories are able to be held by the figure (to varying success), even both at the same time!

Things to love: there are a lot of things that make this figure a real winner. Firstly, I think the hair sculpt is awesome - they did that cool bun thing really well (on a side note, how impractical is a fancy bun in a battle? Jeez). I can't tell how well the scale fits in with the rest of the characters, seeing as the figure is a little bent out of shape; she seems the same size as Rey (whose feet are slightly further apart at the moment), and I'm definitely sure Daisy Ridley is taller than Natalie Portman, so... I dunno. The figure balances really well, and definitely doesn't need a stand if that worries you! She also keeps good balance in some more interesting poses, too. The figure I got has really solid joints - even used, the joints are quite stiff (they've gotten a little looser as I've played with her), so ensuring she holds poses won't be difficult. The overall sculpting of the outfit is awesome; they've even included the piping on her shirt and the ridges on her boots (here I was thinking there was nothing decorative on her outfit in the movie; guess I was wrong). The accessories are awesome and the figure is a really great representation of Senator Amidala from the prequel trilogy. I definitely recommend this to Padme lovers if you don't have this already!

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about this figure, feel free to drop in on the comment section below!

The Black Series™ 3.75" figure of Padme Amidala from Attack of the Clones.

Star Wars: Rey (The Black Series™ 3.75") Review

Hello, readers! Here I am, back as promised! Today I will be reviewing the Black Series™ 3.75" figure of Rey in her Jakku outfit. I'm super excited about this, you guys, so I hope you like it as much as I do!

I'd like to start off with my buying experience of this figure because I feel like it's important. Also, I feel like animetropolis deserves more attention (not that they're at all struggling, but still). So, as I mentioned in my previous post, I sought this out on eBay after comparing the basic figure and the Black Series figure through JediBusiness.com, only to find that the most inexpensive price listed for it in mint condition was somewhere around $70 AUD. I was not willing to spend that much, so I dug a little deeper. I found a really great deal for it from the Taiwan-based seller animetropolis, who had it for $34. I was willing to pay this, seeing as she's a rare figure from a limited release of the series. And I really really love Rey, so it was worth it, I reckon.

The shipping costs were free, and that came with the expectation that the package would take quite a bit longer to ship than usual. I was okay with this, provided the package came within the expected delivery time frame. Before shipping I had asked the seller if they were able to ship to me the best-looking figure out of their stock; they were more than happy to oblige my request, and very understanding of it also. For such a collector-based stocklist, I'm sure they are asked this quite often. I ordered it on Tuesday the 9th of August; they delivered it to the post office on the 10th and the package shipped on the 12th. The delivery arrival time estimated between the 25th and the 7th of September, and so I waited. I was admittedly a little nervous about the purchase, seeing as the price was so much cheaper than everyone else's and I was hoping I hadn't been scammed.

My package arrived on Tuesday 23rd, two days before the earliest estimated delivery date!! I know that might sound like a long time, but for me, it's lucky for me to get anything within two weeks if I've ordered from overseas. The fact that it was quicker than items I've bought with extra shipping costs both surprised and delighted me. I wasted no time opening the package, and the product I received was amazing. Seriously, the seller took my queries into consideration and really delivered on them. The figure I received had no flash or excessive flaws in the paint and the accessories were super cool!

Rey (Jakku)

The first thing I'd like to address here is why I chose the 3.75" series and not the more expansive 6" series. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Star Wars collecting: since the beginning of Star Wars, the accepted action figure format was 3.75 inches. My dad collected them when he was younger and we all grew up with these; before the 6-inch set the prequel series also followed the same format, admittedly with much more articulation. So, when TFA rolled around, it was a no-brainer. That, and quite honestly - while the 6" Rey does come with a BB-8, she also looks like a man. The little Rey is much more feminine, much prettier, and - in my opinion - much more similar in appearance to the actress herself, Daisy Ridley. That's my reasoning for you. But I do have to admit, the 6" line looks good for those who want to move on from the classic style and get a larger format. No judging here.

The figure is very well balanced on its own, but has holes on both heels should you want to attach it to a stand.

Articulation: Rey has 14 points of articulation. These are the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles. Each join has a pretty awesome range of movement, although the left leg is inhibited by the thickly-cast plastic draping of Rey's costume.

The flaws to watch out for: the eyebrows seem to be missing a little bit of paint in the middle of the brow at either end - it's a little bizarre, and I might end up fixing that myself, but not all that noticeable until you get up close and personal. Also, the majority of the flesh tones - wait - all of the flesh tones on the figure are painted on rather than cast plastic. You have two pieces, it seems; a brown plastic head and a tan plastic body, also with mustard-coloured plastic gloves. The skin colour is painted, and if you aren't careful you could end up with a really shitty paint job. I have a tiny bit of streaking here and there, but again, it isn't incredibly noticeable unless you're a nit-picker. I have seen some pretty fucked up paint jobs on the internet, so I think I got pretty darn lucky with mine.

There is a strange dot matrix application for the blush on the cheeks, but it isn't incredibly noticeable.

Weird manufacturing choices: they've obviously cast the majority of the plastic in the dull tan colour of Rey's Jakku outfit - this means the pegs for the joints, too. Since the joints are quite tight and stiff (at first) I imagine this is why they chose not to paint them. The result is a little annoying, with the tan joints showing at the knee and the ankles; unless you are an elitist this shouldn't be too irritating. Nothing's perfect, guys. The hip joints are pretty weird, too - I don't know what the actual name of the joint is, but instead of moving the leg back and forth, they actually move side to side; as in, out and in. It is pretty cool for action poses, but irritating if you want to put her in a running pose. You'd have to twist the leg out and the knee joint back in to make it do so. Also, Hasbro made the choice to create Rey specifically in her Jakku outfit; this means she comes with gloved hands rather than bare hands, a fact that pisses off many collectors - I personally like it, and it's still a faithful representation of the character anyway.

My posing ability is lacking, but this should give you some idea - also, check out that cool cowl and backpack!

Accessories: the figure comes with some really awesome accessories, guys! She comes complete with a backpack (one that actually slips over the shoulders rather than being pegged in or moulded on), a cowl, and her Jakku staff. She is able to hold the staff in both hands well and easily interacts with the accessories in more dynamic poses. The cowl can only go on if the head is popped off, which has been made super easy to do; you thread the left arm through the hole and press the cowl over the ball joint, and voila! Scavenger Rey. This does limit articulation in the arm, but no biggie - I've put mine away in the box, simply because I prefer the Rey head to the interchangeable cowl. All the accessories have been painted really well and are a lot more accurate to the movie than the basic figure's accessories are.

Things to love: the likeness to Daisy Ridley is definitely there, and the proportions of the body also bear resemblance to the character. The figure is really well sculpted and highly accurate to the film, and the articulation is super awesome, and definitely the winner to this figure. If you're buying Black Series, you are looking for articulation, after all. Everything has been assessed with the highest detail, even down to nailing the actress's proportions herself and in comparison to other characters in the movie. The figure stands well both posed and unposed, and the accessories are super easy to use. The joints are nice and firm - a bit stiff at first, but with a bit of moving around they loosen up a bit. This figure is definitely the superior of the bunch (both of all the Reys in circulation as well as all the other Black Series releases this year), and I highly recommend you get it if you love Rey, and if you love Star Wars.

God, this is cheesy, but - thanks for reading, and may the Force be with you!

The Black Series™ 3.75" figure of Rey in her Jakku outfit.

A New Obsession!

I haven't actually updated this thing in a while - I mean, I've been on and doing some edits and stuff, but I haven't actually posted anything. So I've renamed my blog again - now all my social media stuff matches. I'm thinking it'll be the last time I do this - for a while, at least. I have no desire to change the name, but I might change the design, seeing as I can't ever seem to keep to one thing. I've been a little scatterbrained lately, I don't know if its the stress of uni or something, but I'm not trying to look too much into it.

So, I do have some things to update you all on. Um, firstly, my rabbit died. She was old, and she'd been a little flat for the couple days before she went. I went to check on her and change her food and water like I always do before I go to sleep - she wasn't moving, and so I opened the hutch and went to tap her (something I usually did when I wasn't quite sure if she was okay). She was rock hard, and cold, and I knew she had passed. So I went and got my dad to help me bury her, and we quietly removed her from the hutch, wrapped her in her sleeping towel with her toys and placed her beside our other rabbit that died a couple years previous. It was a little hard, and I was quite upset by it; I'd never actually found one of my pets dead before, never witnessed death or had to physically deal with it, so it was a little jarring. Within the next couple days, dad and I removed the hutch from its spot and disposed of all her things.

That was a few months ago now, and I've made peace with the fact she went peacefully. She was old, and I knew her time was coming, and I also knew she wasn't feeling that great seeing as there was a significant lack of psychotic behaviour when my new neighbour's 3-year-old held her. But yeah, it was sad, and we'll all miss her.

I've started up university again, after forever on holidays. I'm doing some really interesting courses and some really difficult ones. In Lit, we did this study on Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity that was kinda vague, but I think I'm getting it finally. I might do a post on it, see if I can shed some light on it. I dunno, though - my understanding isn't all that great. I get to study Shakespeare in this class - The Tempest - yay! I have to confess I really, really love reading Shakespeare. I found it really difficult and boring in high school, mainly because I didn't understand it, but with practice makes perfect! The more you read Shakespeare (and the footnotes), the easier it is to understand his language. Now, I barely need to use the footnotes in the texts, because it is easy to infer meaning from the context of the characters' dialogue. I'm currently reading Richard III, seeing as I absolutely love the Wars of the Roses and the Tudor era. It's really fascinating to read into the obvious bias the playwright has against Richard III, seeing as the play was probably written to help legitimise the rule of the Tudor dynasty.

I'm currently watching and rewatching Star Wars - help me, it's an addiction! It has always been a favourite of mine; I mean, I grew up watching them. The Star Wars culture in my family is pretty big; my aunt, who has a costume-making hobby, enjoyed making Queen Amidala costumes. I wore one once for Book Week, the costume from the end of the Phantom Menace, at the parade. I won a prize for it, actually - she's really bloody good at it! So, I've been rewatching these. And, what kind of pop culture collector would I be if I didn't collect Star Wars figurines? Yes, I've started collecting these. I have a few from the prequel trilogy that I collected when they originally came out, and I had also stolen a couple of my brother's, so I have around six from these movies. My dad collected heaps during their original Kenner run, and he has heaps and heaps of these; an entire box full!

I really love the new Star Wars movie. Like, really. It split my family into two ideological sides, so to speak. My cousin Allie is a traditionalist; she hates the prequels and really disliked the new movie, only preferring the original trilogy. I feel like some of the oldies are on her side (i.e. the parents of the cousins), but the rest of us liked the new one. I'm a hardcore feminist, so the fact that there was a female lead really floats my boat. And I love Daisy Ridley, which may or may not be platonic.

Anyway, I noticed when going on eBay (because let's be real, they don't stock anything in Australia, let alone in Perth) that the conventional basic figures only had 5 points of articulation. This really bothered me, especially at the price they were going for (more expensive than ever) and they just didn't really appeal to me. But I kept looking and found the Black Series figures - but I found out the aren't sold in Australia (at least that I'm aware of) and eBay had them priced at at least $70. But I managed to find a really awesome seller animetropolis who had a Rey figure for $30, which was, I thought, a really good price! I'm posting a review of it soon, so I'll talk more about it there, but definitely check them out if you want good stuff for very reasonable prices! I've ordered a Finn figure as well, and that one was only $20 (probably less popular... poor Finn). I'm waiting on him - apparently he's literally just been shipped out! I'm so excited for this!!

That's me for now. I'll be updating soon, now I've gotten over the speed hump of updating again (I had a lot to say and didn't feel like taking the time out to say it, but I've started this good chunk during the breaks of my Politics lecture - the one place I'm actually productive).

Thanks for reading, and hope you all have a lovely day!