Over the last 20 years or so, one of the growing segments of the hobby has been in the subject of anime. Anime is Japanese animation and it has a certain style that sets it aside from Western cartoons. The biggest differences are the large eyes and longer legs of the characters and a certain buxom quality of many of the female characters. This is an art form that you either like or you do not as, to my knowledge, there are few anime artists in the US, though you will find some in Europe and quite a lot more in Eastern Asia.

One thing about the various anime television series and movies is that they are ripe fields for characters and equipment. The Gundam and similar robot kits come to mind and you'll find plastic kits of many of the various vehicles used in various shows. This sort of stuff is perfect for the figure maker. They get to express their artistry in a medium that will ensure steady if not huge sales. Many figures are premade plastic figures, some with articulating joins. These often get transferred over to the resin medium and at a reduced price over the rather pricey (at least outside Japan) figures.

About 15 years ago, I started getting interested in anime, mainly through the Tsukuda kits from Nausicaa. I then found E-2046 while searching for other figures from the series and have been a rather steady customer ever since. You have seen many of the completed projects here in Modeling Madness. E-2046 not only has resin figures made based on the 'dolls' that are ready made, but has recently gone into having their own line of figures. One of them in called ORI. I have no idea what it means, but their figures are usually alluring to say the least.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by E-2046 to see if I would like to review one for the web site. They offered me two options and since I had already bought one of them, I chose the other.

E-2046 has to be one of the finest resin figure kit makers around. The resin is absolutely flawless and E-2046 not only removes the majority of the pour stubs, but they also polish away just about all of the mold seams. I have never heard of another figure company who does this for its customers. I would be remiss if I did not mention that these kits come superbly packages. First of all, the parts are either in individual sealed bags or in a sealed compartmentalized poly bag. Those parts that could be broken in transit are also bubble wrapped. As you can see in the image, even those in sealed compartments are bubble wrapped. That is one reason why I included the parts image from E-2046's web site.

This is not one of their more complex kits, consisting of about a dozen resin parts that includes a wine bottle and wine glass in clear resin. The parts all have very positive attachment points so that alignment is not a problem. One should test fit every part just in case some adjustment needs to be made.

Detail on the parts is excellent and crisply done. No worries about soft edges and these sorts of details makes it easier to mask and paint. Clothing is molded onto the torso and is very nicely done. As is the norm, hair comes in several sections and so will probably need a bit of filler to smooth things out. When I do these sorts of kits, I use a motor tool to engrave over the filled area so things are not too smooth.

A few other things that are becoming more and more common with these sorts of kits are decals for the eyes. This is by far one of the more complicated areas to get right and for those who have difficulty with eyes, the decals are very much a positive thing. Also included is a large decal to fit on your base. Considered a bonus for this initial boxing are labels for the wine bottle.

Instructions are several pages, much of which consist of general instructions for building resin kits and applying decals. An exploded view of all the parts is pretty much the norm for an assembly guide and I've never had a kit where this wasn't more than sufficient. Also included are a couple of photos of the completed kit just to give you some suggestions as to colors. There is no rule regarding how to paint these sorts of figures so you can change both the color of the clothing and skin tone to meet your own desires. One thing I should also mention is that the kit is molded in a light skin shade, a very nice touch.

In all, it is a very nice figure. It is something that many will find appealing and thanks to the low parts count, will make a super first kit for those interested in getting into the genre. I should mention something about availability. E-2046, like many similar places, will not always have stocks on hand for every kit. What they do is initially accept preorders for new kits. Once a minimum is reached, they will have them made and only when they come in, will payment be requested. They usually order extras, but popular items will sell out quickly. Most times, the wait if an item is sold out and is fairly popular will be only a short time. In extreme cases it will be years, but since you are not charged until it comes in, it isn't all that bad a deal.

I'll be starting on this one as soon as I get a few other kits off the work bench so stay tuned.

November 2013

Thanks to E-2046 for the preview kit. Depending on stock, you can buy or order yours at this link.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly quickly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note to Contributors.