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In 2008 Studio Ghibli suffered an unexpected blow when the head of Cominica, the long-time holder of merchandise manufacturing rights for many of their films, was convicted of massive tax fraud. Whilst not directly involving Ghibli in any way the conviction was pretty embarrassing for a studio that prides itself on integrity, and much of the merchandise the company manufactured for Ghibli quickly disappeared from the shelves. Although the Ghibli merchandise machine rolls on unabated some of the limited edition figures Cominica produced were lost to the past, and are unlikely to ever be released again. When you see figures like this Laputian Robot statue you realise how disappointing this is. Merchandise for the older Ghibli films is generally limited to a few standard items with limited edition statues and more unusual merchandise released to coincide with anniversary years and film re-issues. This Laputian Robot statue was released to coincide with the DVD release of Laputa Castle in the Sky, and is an alternative version of the one included in the extremely limited Laputa DVD Box Set. The figure stands at about 11" (27cm) tall, which is quite a decent size compared to a lot of Ghibli figures, and is sculpted with a pitted and suitably aged finish. |
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The eye pieces are made of blue plastic which shines like crystal when the light catches it, and its chest carries a tiny but perfectly sculpted representation of the Laputian crest. However, whilst the detail and design of the figure is excellent, what really sets it apart is the material it is made from. Nowadays PVC and similar plastics have overtaken resin and cold-cast porcelain as the main material for making collectable statues, but this Laputian Robot statue is the first and only one I've seen made of a Foam Rubber style material. The advantage of this is two-fold, firstly it makes the statue a lot more durable than those made from brittle materials like resin, and secondly it means that the figure is poseable. Yes, poseable. The statue appears to be moulded around a wire skeleton, which means that if you bend the arms they retain their shape, plus the statue is jointed at the shoulders and waist. The shoulder joints are pretty stiff which means that the arms will stay in place if you move them, but the stiffness also makes you worry about whether it should bend. This is the only real issue I have with the figure, it's brilliantly executed, but there's nothing that comes with it that says that the figure can be posed. This means that I'm always worried that I'm moving it too far, that it will break, and because of this |
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I have never been brave enough to put it in the position I would like to. If I did break it I would be highly unlikely to be able to replace it, especially now following Cominica's troubles. However, whilst the poseability is a great and unique extra, the statue itself
is great on its own. The material used makes it look unique and alien,
with a pitted texture that gives it an authentically older feel. The
details on the face plate and eye crystals are well picked out and the statue is
an excellent representation of the robots from the film. My only problem
with Cominica's Ghibli figures is that they rarely managed to capture
human faces very well, and this sometimes detracted from them quite a lot.
However, when they do figures of non-human characters and creatures they
generally get it spot-on, and this is certainly the case with this one.
Finding these statues is like finding gold dust now, but if you're a Ghibli
fan and get the chance to pick one up you can't afford to miss it. Superb. Extras: The statue comes in a beautiful box embossed with the film's title in English, and comes with a wooden base and metal support stand that fixes firmly round the statue's waist. Also included is a small metal plaque engraved with the Laputa logo (again in English), which is self-adhesive and can be stuck to the wooden base. All in all it's standard but pretty classy stuff. Ratings Feature:
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