Pokemon Zukan / Zuken Collection Update
Good day everyone!
A couple months have passed since October the 25th, and that means it's time for another collection update! As always there's plenty of new stuff to show including a whopping NINE 10/10 items!
I've also gotten yet another step closer to owning all bird Pokemon! Some really gorgeous stuff coming.
This post will be massively image heavy, as just like with the previous updates I've used a white space (the biggest one yet!) to photograph each figure on their own; so please open this post on a new tab!
PokeStudio Ocean Scene
Photoshoot under the Rock Climb, er, Cut.
Yay you're here! Like always I'll first list all the new stuf in release order. BOLD is 10/10
RSE 01: Bagon/Shellgon/Salamence
RSE 03: Lotad/Lombre/Ludicolo
RSE 06: Spheal/Sealeo/Walrein
RSE SP 03: Snorlax/Munchlax
GSC 01: Pidgey/Pidgeotto/Pidgeot
GSC 02: Diglett
DP 04: Shinx/Luxio/Luxray
DP 05: Lickitung/Lickilicky, Togepi/Togetic/Togekiss
BW Movie 06: Eevee/Flareon/Umbreon, Jolteon/Leafeon/Glaceon, Vaporeon/Espeon/Sylveon
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta
Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
HS Studio: Feebas/Milotic
KING Studio 12: Shiny Psyduck/Shiny Golduck/Shiny Staryu/Shiny Starmie
PKW Studio: Mega Pidgeot
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat, Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
DS Studio 13: Latios/Latias
KING Studio 13: Squirtle/Wartortle/Blastoise
Handmade: Armor Fossil, Cover Fossil, Plume Fossil, Rotomdex
OOF! That's a lot, I'm tired already, and I have yet to get into the actual pictures!
Let's get going then!
RSE 01: Bagon/Shellgon/Salamence
RSE 01: Bagon/Shellgon/Salamence
RSE 01: Bagon/Shellgon/Salamence
More pseudo legendaries! I really like the colour scheme on Salamence. The blue and red go surprisingly well together. I also think it's kind of weird to have "BaGON", "ShellGON", and then "FlyGON" oh, wait, no, "Salamence". I mean, couldn't they have like, switched names or something?
RSE 03: Lotad/Lombre/Ludicolo
RSE 03: Lotad/Lombre/Ludicolo
So, something is not right here. Can you see it? Yep! This line is supposed to have a brown base! I found a bunch of cheap imitation bases on Taobao for like 2 bucks a piece or something. I figured it'd be useful to have to put baseless lines on. Besides, I kind of like green with most lines better anyway. (Not all though!) Lotad's line is really solid design wise I think. Ludicolo looks so happy! .. Now I see Brock with samba balls again xD
RSE 06: Spheal/Sealeo/Walrein
RSE 06: Spheal/Sealeo/Walrein
RSE 06: Spheal/Sealeo/Walrein
Same story with the green base here. I will admit it's not perfect, the colour isn't the right colour of green, it's a bit misshaped, it has spots on the side (though much less visible in real life). But I'm still happy with em. Just as I'm happy with these lovely seals and sea lions! Hoenn gave so many awesome designs!
RSE SP 03: Snorlax/Munchlax
RSE SP 03: Snorlax/Munchlax
RSE SP 03: Snorlax/Munchlax
Snorlax and Muchlax! Honestly, for such an iconic pokemon, I can't believe it took me THIS long to get it! Still, beter late than never! It's got quite some weight to it, not that it shouldn't of course. This lazy fat*ss couldn't stand up on its own, so I placed it against a rock to make it upright!
GSC 01: Pidgey/Pidgeotto/Pidgeot
Oh no! No photo! Hehehe, don't worry, you'll see these later.
GSC 02: Diglett/Dugtrio
GSC 02: Diglett/Dugtrio
Some 12 years ago I found myself once again in the anime/figure store, looking at a Dugtrio zukan figure. The Diglett had gone missing, and so it was only half price, 2 euros. I bought it. Fast forward about 12 years, and I FINALLY found a Diglett piece for sale. To be fair, it came with another Dugtrio, but at least it wasn't with another base too. Reunited at last.
DP 04: Shinx/Luxio/Luxray
DP 04: Shinx/Luxio/Luxray
DP 04: Shinx/Luxio/Luxray
Luxurious! I mean Luxray! Yeah, that's what I meant! A pretty cool pokemon, I loved using it in my team in Platinum, which is why I decided to buy this one now. Shinx is adorable, but I do think the later stages are a bit bland. Maybe a good ol' Mega could give these beasts a bit of love. Or then again, maybe I'm just nitpicking. Probably.
DP 05: Lickitung/Lickilicky
DP 05: Lickitung/Lickilicky
Ewwww... But they look awesome! Just that shadow-play behind the tongue! What great figures! ..And with Lickilick in the house, the wifi's never been better! Though upside down.
DP 05: Togepi/Togetic/Togekiss
DP 05: Togepi/Togetic/Togekiss
DP 05: Togepi/Togetic/Togekiss
I've really developed a soft spot for this line lately. I used to think they're fine, but when you walk with a Pokemon for 600 kilometers, you'll start to like them, you'll start to understand them. Hm. Alright, some explanation is in place. March 2018. I received an egg in Pokemon GO, I wasn't a very high level yet, and didn't have lot of stuff. Several kilometers later it hatched. Togepi came out. "Oh nice! Togepi! I didn't have that one yet!" Later when I got home I checked its IVs. 100%. My 2nd 100% ever, and I knew it could one day evolve into a mighty strong fairy type. I made it my buddy to slowly gather gather candy. 1 candy every 3km. I'd need 50 to make it a Togetic, and then presumably another 100 to evolve it into Togekiss whenever it'd be added. A month or what later, I had enough for Togetic. Togekiss was far off though. I walked through wind and rain, day and night. Commuting to school, and for pleasure, and slowly the candy added up. Then somewhere last year, Togekiss was finally added. I evolved it, and then came the powering. Some 250 or so candy was needed, and then it finally reached absolute perfection. Now it's a dragon slayer like none other. To celebrate it, I could not other than buy this now beloved zukan. .. and it's a bird, I like birds.
DP 08: Shieldon/Bastidon, Hand Made: Armor Fossil
DP 08: Shieldon/Bastidon, Hand Made: Armor Fossil
Many thanks to J_Degnan! He generously and skillfully made the missing fossil! In an earlier post I explained how I re-used Lucario's base for these two, to give them their own special base too, like all other fossil Pokemon. But even with this, it still had no actual fossil, like the others. J_Degnan decided to simply make some, and they fit perfectly! Thank you!
Hand Made: Rotom Dex
Hand Made: Rotom Dex
Speaking of J_Degnan, he made this, too! The Rotom Dex! Thank you!
DP 11: Rotom/Rotom Frost/Rotom Fan, DP 12: Rotom Wash/Rotom Heat/Rotom Mow, Hand Made: Rotom Dex
A family photo of all the Rotom!
BW Movie 06: Eevee/Flareon/Umbreon, Jolteon/Leafeon/Glaceon, Vaporeon/Espeon/Sylveon
BW Movie 06: Eevee/Flareon/Umbreon, Jolteon/Leafeon/Glaceon, Vaporeon/Espeon/Sylveon
BW Movie 06: Eevee/Flareon/Umbreon, Jolteon/Leafeon/Glaceon, Vaporeon/Espeon/Sylveon
BW Movie 06: Eevee/Flareon/Umbreon, Jolteon/Leafeon/Glaceon, Vaporeon/Espeon/Sylveon
ALL THE EEVEELUTIONS! When I found out this thing existed I was really stoked for it, until I found out the rarity/price. But bit by bit I found the sets for decent prices, until I had all three! It really is a gem! Even if the grass itself is really plain, and just a single colour, all the -eons on it more than make up for it. Arguably the most colourful Zukan I have! Also, I love how they opted to include a swing!
And with that ladies and gentleman, the Zukan portion is done.
BUT WAIT, There's more! (Billy? Is that you?) A significant portion of my gets this time are Zuken! Studio/Fan-made continuations of zukan figures, still 1/40 scale, and honestly of better quality than Zukan have ever been. Because many of these sets connect with one another, and since they've been made by different studios, I've decided to ignore the chronological release order from now on. Instead, let's start small and cute with:
DS Studio 13: Latios/Latias
DS Studio 13: Latios/Latias
DS Studio 13: Latios/Latias
The latis! I never had the real 1/40 zukan of them. I do have the 1/30 movie zukan, which is nice, but 1/40 is nicer. This is nicer still, with a nice blue wave and really dynamic poses. They actually look at each other, like in the movies. It's adorable. However, one minor complaint. They have peg holes in the underside in case you want to put them down on the black base. The blue wave also has peg holes. Their orientations don't match. To get them like this, where their bodies follow the natural curves in the wave, you'll have to use blue-tack. The pegs don't fit like this. That's kinda dumb, but other than that, a lovely little Zuken.
GSC 01: Pidgey/Pidgeotto/Pidgeot, PKW Studio: Mega Pidgeot
GSC 01: Pidgey/Pidgeotto/Pidgeot, PKW Studio: Mega Pidgeot
HOLY HELL! This thing is just f*cking gorgeous! As previously stated a million times, I love birds, and damn. These are true birds. Feathered, plain, but oh so awesome. I always dreamt about the GSC 01: Pigey line. It was pretty much THE bird zukan I wanted most other than Ho-oh and Lugia. It's so expensive though. Then this thing appeared on Ebay (Mega Pidgeot and the cloud) It comes with slits to put the tails of Pidgeotto and Pidgeot in! Now, I could suddenly 'afford' to get a Pidey line without base, which'd save some bucks. After some time I found the whole set of 3 for a good price. Some time later the Mega Pidgeot arrived. It's, dare I say, godly, Bird Jesus! (Twitch Plays Pokemon reference). The Mega Pidgeot also comes with a plain round base (of an admittedly pretty cool pinkish colour), but like, why on Earth would you use that if you have THIS.
GSC 01: Pidgey/Pidgeotto/Pidgeot, PKW Studio: Mega Pidgeot
GSC 01: Pidgey/Pidgeotto/Pidgeot, PKW Studio: Mega Pidgeot
GSC 01: Pidgey/Pidgeotto/Pidgeot, PKW Studio: Mega Pidgeot
Look how majestic it flies over the cloud, leaving cloud trails behind! Truly a masterpiece by PKW Studio.
GSC 01: Pidgey/Pidgeotto/Pidgeot, PKW Studio: Mega Pidgeot
GSC 01: Pidgey/Pidgeotto/Pidgeot, PKW Studio: Mega Pidgeot
One last shot from behind. It looks pretty from ALL sides. Also, that peg-hole for Pidgeot. lol. Any lower.. and.. nah, nevermind.
HS Studio: Feebas/Milotic
HS Studio: Feebas/Milotic
Another absolute gem! The water has a completely different colour from all the other water zukans and zukens. Though maybe not a very realistic colour for water, it just works so well with the rock colours! Feebas jumps out of the water so neatly too! And of course Milotic itself. Damn, that maxed out beauty stat really shows.
HS Studio: Feebas/Milotic
HS Studio: Feebas/Milotic
HS Studio: Feebas/Milotic
Here I used a lamp to shine from above to get the water shine onto the ground. It really results in a hauntingly beautiful effect.
KING Studio 13: Squirtle/Wartortle/Blastoise
KING Studio 13: Squirtle/Wartortle/Blastoise
More water! How? How is it possible to put so much dynamic action into a piece of plastic?! I swear, this wave looks like it's about to collapse and make everything wet.. but it's just plastic! Like holy hell man! This is excellent craftsmanship here! The turtles casually riding the wave like it's nothing. Man, this thing is gorgeous.
KING Studio 13: Squirtle/Wartortle/Blastoise
KING Studio 13: Squirtle/Wartortle/Blastoise
KING Studio 13: Squirtle/Wartortle/Blastoise
Here I used a lamp again to shine through the wave. It arguably makes it even prettier.
Graphics Institute: Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
Graphics Institute: Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
Graphics Institute: Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
Alright, gonna be honest here. These are nice, but not super nice. In a bit you'll understand why I have them then.
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat
The bats! With a gorgeous cave scene! Zubat is chilling upside down, as it should. Golbat has.. er.. well, a stalagmite up its butt, ouch.. And Crobat comes in swooping low!
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat
Composite shot. It's dark!
Graphics Institute: Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
Wait, this again? Didn't we just go over this? Nope!
Graphics Institute: Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
The Mewtwo set comes with another beautiful cave scene! Mewtwo is in Cerulean cave!
Graphics Institute: Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
BUT.. you can combine it with the Zubat line!
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat, Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat, Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
But the best STILL is to come yet!
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat, Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
The water is fluorescent! Enjoy the next bunch of photos! The next photo is what it looks most like to the human eye. The photos after are with longer exposures, and photo blending.
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat, Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat, Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat, Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat, Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat, Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
Graphics Institute: Zubat/Golbat/Crobat, Mewtwo/Mega Mewtwo X/Mega Mewtwo Y
Alright, though this looks really cool, it's not THAT strong to the human eye. It's pretty strong, but not flat out a torch.
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp; Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta; Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp; KING Studio 12: Shiny Psyduck/Shiny Golduck/Shiny Staryu/Shiny Starmie
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp; Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta; Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp; KING Studio 12: Shiny Psyduck/Shiny Golduck/Shiny Staryu/Shiny Starmie
Dear mother of god. What have I bought. Do I even have room for this?! You bet! For this I MAKE room.
These are five separate Zukens, as well as two handmade fossils, again by J_Degnan!
Tirtouga Line with a seabed is one zuken. J_Degnan made the cover fossil!
Archen Line with water is one, again the Plume Fossil made by the one and only J_Degnan
Shiny Staryu and Psyduck lines with water scene is one zuken.
Mega Gyarados with Magikarp and water scene is one massive Zuken
And lastly Gyarados with Magikarp, water spouts, whirlpools, water, seabed and more is one gigantic zuken.
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp; Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta; Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp; KING Studio 12: Shiny Psyduck/Shiny Golduck/Shiny Staryu/Shiny Starmie
From the other side.
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp; Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta; Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp; KING Studio 12: Shiny Psyduck/Shiny Golduck/Shiny Staryu/Shiny Starmie
These shots were not easy to make. This thing is over half a meter long. Try and get a white space that big!
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp; Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta; Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp; KING Studio 12: Shiny Psyduck/Shiny Golduck/Shiny Staryu/Shiny Starmie
Let's get in closer!
Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta
Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta
The Unova fossils! I love the look of the Archen line, truly the prehistoric birds! (Again, birds, I like them). A bold move to have a bird zuken line ontop of water. Of course, with this whole thing it works wonderfully, but still, were they planning for that in the begin? I don't know. Tirtouga line looks great, too. Turtles actually used to be my favorite animal. And there's a Staryu on the bottom!
The Plume and Cover fossils are hand made by J_Degnan, thanks a bunch, truly!
Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta
The same shot, but with more contrast in the water due to the light.
Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta
From the back. Note how the line next to it has a protruding rock that connects to the pillar Archeops flies above.
Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta
Another shot with different light.
Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta
Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta
Poke Studio 04: Archen/Archeops, Tirtouga/Carracosta
Golduck is prety big huh? Oh, I love how shiny Psyduck is blue. There's this meme going around where you see shiny Psyduck in pokemon Go standing in the snow, and it's like "Don't let your Psyduck freeze! Take better care of him!" or something like that, tis pretty funny.
KING Studio 12: Shiny Psyduck/Shiny Golduck/Shiny Staryu/Shiny Starmie
KING Studio 12: Shiny Psyduck/Shiny Golduck/Shiny Staryu/Shiny Starmie
KING Studio 12: Shiny Psyduck/Shiny Golduck/Shiny Staryu/Shiny Starmie
Onto the HYPER SHRIMP.
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
It's so big! The water is so dynamic!
It actually comes with a big larger base that you can connect to the ocean diorama from the DP series. In order to connect it to the Psyduck line, like here, you need to remove part of the base, I've now put that on the DP line.
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Truly a massive Shrimp
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poor Magikarp getting splashed away xD
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
From the back. Sadly, one of the whiskers (the one this side) got broken during shipping. Super glue made it worse. I ended up using a piece of tape :/
Poke Studio 02: Shiny Mega Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Somehow, I almost think normal Gyarados is more ferocious than its Mega Form (though both would scare me ****less). This zuken really steps up the game EVEN FURTHER. Corals, a stone bridge, water spouts, whirlpools. It's truly got it all. The tall coral broke off cleanly during shipping, but super glue put it right back in place. Now you can't even tell it ever broke at all!
Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
It is MEAN. But oh so cool. It is also male :o Blue whiskers.
Poke Studio 06: Gyarados/Shiny Magikarp
You thought the other Magikarp had it bad, hah! This one's straight up getting sucked up by both the whirlpool, AND the waterspout!
One last look at this whole piece of art together.
Pure Zuken Beauty
Pure Zuken Beauty
Lastly I'd like to close the images with my team from ORAS, which I now finally have complete. Hoenn is my favorite region, so I'm quite happy to have the team full now.
My Hoenn Team
Phew.. That took a long time. Over 4 hours for photographing, then 6 hours editing. (Lots of editing this time with all the water shine, and the glow in the dark), and then some 6 hours for writing this post. But it's worth it! So much worth it!
I hope you enjoyed the photos, and my commentary in case you read it. I am expecting more in the future, so I'll definitely make another post in a few months time. Can I exceed this? Probably not, that majestic five piece Ocean scene will be very tough to beat, but it'll be nice regardless!
See you then, and enjoy your week!