MS Gundam Seed Heroines 5 Part 7 [Final]

Stella Loussier (Part 2)
A look at the face swapping feature of Stella Loussier from MS Gundam Seed Heroines 5 gashapon set after the previous posting. ^^




As "previewed" in the previous posting, the part swapping design to switch between Stella's two face parts is the same as that on the other two figurines from this set with this feature: Lunamaria Hawke, and Meyrin Hawke.


Comparison between the option and default face parts.
Stella in her closed-eye, singing expression:







Closeups on the figurine's face:




While the closed-eye expression does capture Stella's look from that special moment in the TV anime very well, I prefer the second, innocent-looking type for the additional details contributed by the paint work for the pupils that are obviously not available on the former. ^^

With two other figurines from this set, Cagalli Yula Athha, and Meyrin Hawke to compare their volumes.




The spread arm pose, and the dress (especially) really makes Stella seem much bigger as compared to Cagalli Yula Athha, and Meyrin Hawke. That look isn't deceptive, given that the figurines and their parts that fixed in shape. Stella looks bigger because her dress part is indeed bigger than Cagalli's and Meyrin's uniforms. ^^

Like Lunamaria Hawke, and Meyrin Hawke from this set, the figurine has the "cast-off" feature that allows her to be displayed without the large dress. ^o^

Then again, Stella's design in that aspect is slightly more elaborate as compared to the same feature on the two aforementioned figurines. ^^


The dress, ribbon, blue skirt piece, and support stand are detached from the figurine.


Without the dress, the figurine suddenly becomes much smaller, and way lighter as well. ^^


The two sleeve pieces can be detached as well.


The "minimalist" display of the figurine. ^^


Unfortunately, with the sleeves removed, the peg slots that hold them to the figurine's armpit areas have now been exposed. ^^;










Even with the dress removed, the proportion design of the figurine still looks pretty good in my opinion. If you don't mind the exposed peg slots, this is another display option for Stella, besides the different facial expressions introduced earlier on. ^^

So, as it turns out, the cast-off feature, which is usually just a fan-service bonus on other figurines in this gashapon series, is actually a "valid" optional display option for Stella. Instead of really aiming to give the figurine that amazing bonus, I think it's an "unintentional" benefit just due to how the parts are designed for Stella. ^^ Due to the wide pose, much of Stella's arms and legs are exposed beneath the sleeves and dress respectively. For that, the limbs cannot be molded together with the dress components, and then painted to separate between the details. From there, one can theorize that since the dress, sleeves, legs, and arms are separately molded pieces, it's not too special that they are removable. ^^ If the cast-off feature is indeed intentional, there would be some kind of indication about that on the box, but more importantly, those exposed peg slots shouldn't be there anymore. ^^

With the other figurine of Stella from the same gashaspon series but another set, Vol. 3 to be exact: ^^





Besides the obvious difference in their costumes, Stella from this particular set has longer bang than her Vol. 3 counterpart. ^^

Finally, a gathering of all figurines of the set to conclude the review. ^^






Overall, the quality of the different figurines in this set is very uneven in my opinion. ^^; Cagalli is pretty good; Lunamaria Hawke, and Meyrin Hawke both have bonus parts, which don't really help much in countering their weird designated poses unfortunately; Lacus is just mediocre in terms of her face sculpt and detailing, as well as her pose; Stella however, is unevenly outstanding as compared to the other four, as detailed in the previous posting, and this one.

Besides observing and enjoying the figurines' own details and beauty, pondering about the reason behind that imbalanced quality is quite an interesting point of this review series, an unexpected one at that. ^^; For that, perhaps 'weird' is another descriptor I can use to summarize the reviews of this gashapon set. ^^

All reviews on MS Gundam Seed Heroines 5:
Part 1: Cagalli Yula Athha
Part 2: Lunamaria Hawke (Part 1)
Part 3: Lunamaria Hawke (Part 2)
Part 4: Meyrin Hawke
Part 5: Lacus Clyne
Part 6: Stella Loussier (Part 1)
Part 7 [Final]: Stella Loussier (Part 2)

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MS Gundam Seed Heroines 5