I'm almost back from my hiatus from MFC and Figure Photography in general. Almost. I have been trying something a bit different (youtube) since late 2020, during the pandemic, for a change of pace. Other than a burnout, my main problem was I ran out of space for anything figure related, but my new personal studio is on the way and should be ready for partial operation in the coming months - to solve all my problems, once and for all. That's a topic for another day.
Today I’m sharing a review of a highly anticipated figure with everyone. Apex Toy’s 1/7 Ningguang from Genshin Impact.
I’m taking this opportunity to shamelessly promote my youtube channel here - where you can watch the unboxing video and a full review too below. It has been published almost 2 weeks ago. If you prefer to read instead of watching a video, that is what this article is for. Read on.
Being a character of Chinese origin, from a Chinese manufacturer as well, she’s not qualified for a spot in MFC’s database, if I'm not mistaken.
I don’t plan on writing very regularly in MFC, but for a figure like this, I thought it’d be worth sharing details about her with everyone because this figure is something special - both in a good way, and also in not a very good way at the same time - mainly to budget-conscious people.
Before we move on to the box and packaging, here are some details you need to know: I preordered her in Mihoyo’s official store in China via the e-commerce site Taobao, last year, shortly after preorders began, and paid a deposit. That is how you get the figure early (I did the same for Klee).
She was scheduled for June release but Mihoyo told me it’d be delayed to August, but began requesting payment for the remainder in July, and she shipped out on around the 30th or 31st of July. In total, the figure costs 1300 CNY in total, and shipping from China to Malaysia set me back an additional 250 CNY. From what I understand, this is the mainland China exclusive early batch, while international release will be sometime in October to November. (Once again, same thing with Klee back then.)
Shipping. This is where the big catch is.
The shipping weight of this figure is 8.5kg. Yes, I’m not kidding, 8.5 kilos. 250 CNY from China to my country is about 2X or 2.5X higher than usual for shipping a single scale figure. So, you can also expect shipping costs for this figure to be costlier by 2 times or more to any other country, regardless of where you preordered her from. The parcel’s measurement was approximately 45 X 42 X 43cm. Not the largest I have received in my 13 years of figure collecting. So, why is she so heavy?
Because her box is a WOODEN crate.
I’m not exactly sure what type of wood it is - it felt like Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) on touch and some knocking, with laser-cut window opening on two sides. Open up the box, which has a hinge in the middle, you get an ordinary paper-cardboard box with the figure inside.
If you had always experienced dented boxes thanks to your courier treating your waifus like basketball, this would probably be your first time receiving a figure with no dents on the box. At a huge cost that is. This is probably going to deter some people, make them cancel their orders due to the shipping cost and extra attention from your friendly taxman - the import customs.
Well that is one way to make a statement. To let everyone know they purchased a premium, high quality product. Shibuya Scramble Figure, are you reading this? You need to work on your figure boxes after charging us so much, after trying to market your figures as premium stuff. So that your figures don’t arrive… scrambled. But, no wood please, no thanks. This is overkill.
Figure dimensions are 27cm tall overall including the partition behind, with the base at about 29x29cm. So she will fit in a detolf but takes up an entire compartment.
The figure is split into many parts and even as a veteran collector I was a bit intimidated by it. The good news is that the figure isn’t difficult to assemble if you follow the instruction sheet - except for one part. The smoke effect part coming out of a… pot. Let’s just call it a pot.
The instruction sheet appeared to be rather clear but it was still hard to look for this specific hole to plug the smoke effect part in, and even after you located that hole, it is rather hard to push the entire part in. It is very tight.
I left the metal peg partially protruding out - because I want to disassemble it after reviewing her, and move the figure to my new studio (currently under renovation) before taking her out again for display. Every other part, however, gives you confidence in the sense that they are neither too tight nor too loose. Easy to assemble and take apart at the same time. The fit is just right. Excellent.
Of course, the lantern does not come with a button battery due to regulations related to batteries in shipping. You will need to buy your own if you want to light it up. There is an LED inside.
The figure is permanently glued to her chair (or throne), which is unsurprising. And it is best she stays this way, especially with the complexity of her outfit that covers over the handles of the throne.
One early quality control scare I (and many others) had, was when early photos of this figure were published by other people online - mainly in China who received theirs first. In this photo below, Apex seemed to have messed up her face - where her eyes appeared to be too far apart compared to the official photos.
This is a user photo from Hpoi (A chinese figure store)
However, as a figure photographer myself, I was also sure that it was just a bad smartphone photo. The main cameras of smartphones contain wide angle lenses which can distort perception, and the lighting in the above photo was bad. Never trust photos from smartphones.
As it turns out, the figure’s eye placement is indeed slightly different from the official photos or the prototype, but not in a bad way. Yes, it is different, but at the same time, she actually looks pretty good in my opinion. So, I’m not complaining about the difference compared to the product photos. All that matters is, the figure’s face needs to look good. I also had friends who said they prefer the face on this one - the mass produced and finalised version.
Many of us would always be wary of any new figure brands we are unfamiliar with, regardless of their origins. Apex is not exactly new by year 2022, but at the same time, their portfolio is not as large as established figure companies. This figure is like a statement of theirs, their ability to make high quality and premium figures at a “somewhat reasonable price” (by 2022 standards that is). I mean, have you seen figure prices from Japanese companies lately?
Paint work is almost flawless on this figure. Every single part is precise - no paint bleeding, no scratches or scuffs, no badly placed decals, no uneven or poorly finished surfaces. All these close up and macro photos speak for themselves. Remember that these are macro shots, if you see something, either it is dust that has just landed on the figure, or the flaw is so small that you can't see it unless you squint your eyes at a very close viewing distance.
One more thing I like about this figure that is rare in many other scale figures regardless of brand, is a lack of distortion on parts that lie on the floor. You know, sometimes hair strands, dresses or clothes of a figure, they don’t lie on the floor flat - they either float slightly in mid air or bends upwards. But with ningguang, most parts do actually sit flush with the surface of the base.
I’ve also reviewed Klee in my youtube channel in the past, where the first early batch that I got had quality control issues, but the QC issues present in the mainland China batch was fixed in the international release several months later. So, the main takeaway here, do not fret that you have to wait months later for the international release of Ningguang. It is most likely going to be just as good as mine, or better even.
With Ningguang, Apex got the sculpt right, but with some changes to the eyes in the final product. They also got the paint work right. There really is almost nothing I can fault the figure for other than the excessively tight smoke effect part, and an overdone packaging.
To me, it felt like Apex Toys made a major mistake - they should offer a normal and a deluxe version of this figure, where the deluxe one gets the wooden box (if they insist) and warn about the size and weight. If there were two versions, they might be able to sell more units of this figure.
How many people are going to cancel their orders after finding out the size and weight due to a box? I am lucky to live in Asia, so shipping costs are still within acceptable range for normal human beings. What about those living on the other side of the planet - US, Canada, South America, or, at some corner of the planet away from everyone else (such as New Zealand)? Shipping costs are going to be exorbitant.
This is without doubt their best figure to date, and you have every reason to be excited to receive her when the international batch releases in October. Provided you are not deterred by the shipping costs.
My conclusion for this review of Ningguang? Go and get one - if money is no object.
Thank you for reading!
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