Metal Gear Rising Revengeance 1/6 Raiden PVC Figure

[Liad]

I completely agree with Silas Loki, but I don't know how this works in Japan. they have festivals to celebrate Garage Kits produced by individuals that obviously don't have the proper license. In fact, artists often create sculpts to be used in competition. If they win the competition, a manufacturer that holds the license will sell it for them, and the artist gets some recognition/a small piece of the royalties. Battle Coliseum is one of these competitions.

I know for a fact that Headlong produces sculpts from anime like Berserk, and they don't hold the proper license - far as I know, only Art of War holds the right to create Berserk statues for sale. Even so, they still sell them at festivals, and they make a VERY limited number of them, probably not enough to break even. It's a hobby, and it's their way of showing off their talent. Money is usually not the primary motivation.

There's also Comiket, where amateur artists create Fan fiction of existing series, and sell them (mostly pornographic in nature), and they MOST DEFINITELY don't have the license.

In the end, this is what makes getting garage kits and certain collectibles almost impossible for anyone outside of Japan. You either have to know Japanese and visit, or have someone get them for you. This is what makes Recasting almost the only option we have. Having said that, I hope it's possible to get this original kit.

Tl;dr : Japan is weird.

[Liad]

e2046 has posted some pictures of their own pre-painted kit. This kit really does look amazing:






Only a couple more days until WonFes.

[Luminous]

That looks insane.

[DynamicMenace]

damn right it does.
man i want this so bad. i need this.
please post where to buy. an original kit from the producers. not a recast

[Liad]

It doesn't exist dynamic, atleast not yet. All we have is a recast (which does look pretty spot-on), and i'm so desperate for this GK that I bought one. I'm waiting for WonFes, and HOPING that it's up for sale there, so I can buy through a middle-man in Japan. "Summer" 2014 is most likely Summer Wonfes , which is in February. let's just hope.

[Gyro Zeppeli]

Japan has a long history of fan commitment and contribution. The lines between fan work and official work are very thin and if anything almost irrelevant when it comes to things like video games and anime. Many unlicensed kits and statues end up being licensed if the company likes it enough and those sculptors become part of an official team able to have their products be mass produced. Likewise, doujinshi, fan made works, is a HUGE industry in Japan. People make fan made stories to various manga and anime and video games and some of these get produced enough to be in doujinshi stores. Some doujin become so huge the people later become a company that makes official products. I've always found the way sites like this one treat customs and such incredibly silly because I understand the background of Japanese licenses.

Look at Gouken for example. Fan made interpretations of the character ended up going back into the official canon and completely reshaped what kind of character Gouken ended up being in SF4. Where this Raiden kit comes from shouldn't matter, just the quality of the kit itself. Physically the difference between these things does not exist. An official Raiden and unlicensed Raiden are the same. If this was a Law and Ethics forum, I could understand the discussion being brought up, but not in a forum dedicated to figure collecting.

[Liad]

I will post pictures of the kit when I get it. Personally, this 'recast' looks like an official mold, and looks identical to the prototype. I can't find any differences whatsoever.

Recasting is not supported by this forum, and I get that, but Japan works differently, so their idea of recast isn't the same as the one we're used to (i.e make a crappy mold with cheap ingredients to scam people out of the legitimate product).

If i'm proven wrong here (and I hope that I am), and it does get an official, international release, that would be amazing. But speaking from experience with HEADLONG sculpts, there will be 20 kits sold at WonFes, and you will never see a single one of these kits ever.

[DynamicMenace]

well recasting is recasting. so if thats what they are doing. your supporting them by buying a recast.
unless of course they were sent or purchased the model prototype and made copies to sell. then that isn't recasting.

[thx217]

Awesome piece! Good thing I'm not collect MGS stuff or this will be a must have.

[Silas Loki]

Originally Posted by DynamicMenace

well recasting is recasting. so if thats what they are doing. your supporting them by buying a recast.
unless of course they were sent or purchased the model prototype and made copies to sell. then that isn't recasting.

Well, I bought a kit from E2046 as well, and I feel no shame about it what so ever. If you feel so strongly, that's cool, have at it.....don't buy the kit, and do without.

What you need to consider, is the "spirit of the law" rather than pure dogma. Recasting, when the item is available to purchase, is and will always be theft. When those recasts are produced at a cheaper price, and lower quality, not only does this prevent sales going to the originator, it can also damage the originators reputation (its not always clear that a recast is a recast) and can prevent further products from being made. So no one is disputing these points. But that isn't the case here.

Here we're talking about a fan made product, that was itself made without a license. This product is going to be a very limited run available to a very small group, in a very specific location. The "recasts", in this case, do no damage to the IP holder, and steal no funds or sales from the originator.....if anything, what these recasts do, is promote both the original IP holders product, the game, and also provide a wider exposure to the artist, the he/she would never have otherwise achieved.

I'm happy with my purchase, and if this means, in your limited view, that I'm a supporter of petty crime (according to US / UK national law).......so be it.