Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Banpresto Gundam Seed Destiny DX Image Display Figure Lacus

The best pink hair

Almost like the review on "Transformers: Prime" Cyberverse Commander Class Megatron earlier this month, this new review is more of a follow-up in nature instead of a standalone one, except the first part was set back in March. ^^;


This is Lacus Clyne from Banpresto's Gundam Seed Destiny DX Image Display Figure set. She was paired with Cagalli in this prize item set, who was reviewed in late March. And as I mentioned back in the posting about Cagalli, their large size and high finishing quality give them the feel of being regular figurines, and because there's no special gimmick to connect the two, they can be reviewed individually, which is exactly what I did. ^^

In her pink pilot suit, the character image for this figurine is based off her descent to Earth to deliver Infinite Justice Gundam to the Archangel. I don't remember too much of that particular scene, or what she did other than just sitting in the cockpit of Infinite Justice Gundam. ^^; I certainly don't remember seeing her in this joyous mood as depicted as her expression in that brief scene either. Then again, since she's Lacus, her brief appearance in a pilot suit must be realized into figurine releases to cater to her fans I suppose. ^^ Apart from this prize item, I remember there were a few gashapons of her in this pilot suit. One of them can be found in MS Gundam Seed Destiny EF Collection 5 set - Lacus in pilot suit can be seen on the box images of Lunamaria Hawke and Talia Gladys who were also part of that particular gashapon set. ^^


Front view of the box.


Merchandising seal of "MS Gundam SEED Destiny" on the bottom left corner of the box.



Top, bottom and side views of the box.


Introduction of the two figurines and information about the product on the back of the box.


A quick look at both Lacus and Cagalli as a pair in this prize item set.

More images of Lacus through the box front window:





Closeups on the details:












With camera flash turned on.






Interestingly, even though Lacus is associated to Infinite Justice Gundam in this pilot suit, the partial Gundam-hand display base included is actually based off Strike Freedom Gundam. It's painted gold, and the image shown on the back of the box clearly showed Kira's unit instead of the Gundam she delivered to Athrun. Still, since I didn't bother removing any of the content from its box, the partial Gundam-hand display base and the backdrop image are not really important to me. What's important is the nice figurine herself. ^^

As compared to Cagalli, Lacus's pilot suit is a lot simplistic in design. However, the beautifully applied gradient paint work on her hips and knee area is more than enough to make up for the lack of special details I think. ^^ And of course, the amazing sculpt work of her pink hair is quite a marvelous sight as well. ^^ For me, some of the gashapons reviewed in the past already captured the smooth and natural look of the character's long hair very well. Their designs may not be as detailed as that on this figurine because of their size, but I still think the designers did a great job in realizing their look. With size restriction removed on this figurine, the beautiful flow of Lacus's hair can be realized in greater details, and the outcome is very nice indeed. ^^ I felt tempted to remove the figurine from her box just so that I can have a look at the hair's details behind the figurine. ^^

In terms of the face sculpt and detailing, the theme of gentleness and subtlety as seen on Cagalli is inherited by Lacus as well I think. ^^ Her eye expression and smile don't really fit the character's image at the stage in the anime when she was shown to be in this pilot suit, but I can imagine her to look like this in other times. ^^ So, in terms of likeliness to the character, Lacus is slightly better than Cagalli I suppose, even thought I kind-of feel that this gentle look and smile is suitable for all figurines of female anime characters as well. ^^; My point is, the expression is beautiful, but not unique to Lacus. Like Cagalli again, the sculpt work of the hair, paint work of the pupils and accurate design of her hairpin are the elements that define this figurine to be Lacus in my opinion, not her face sculpt and facial expression. ^^;

With the HD remastered version of "MS Gundam SEED Destiny" going on right now, I wonder if we are going to get another figurine release of Lacus in pilot suit when the show reached that particular stage. ^^

View full gallery:
Banpresto Gundam Seed Destiny DX Image Display Figure Lacus

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