April 2025 Loot

 
 Probably the first time Realm of Darkness being active for a whole month and might as well wrap up with a loot post with another strings of Great Haul! Over past three months as my Big ticket items started to pour in during this period which started to put some serious dent on my wallet. Unlike most of my haul these days, for once this month's haul is mostly dominated by Japanese stuff with Kotobukiya's model kit begin to trickle in along with KD Collec Konosuba as well as Figma Ciel quietly joining ini. The main attraction from this lot is definitely Diaclone Diabattles X-1 and Hot Toys John Wick which seems to blend in with the crowd quite well just like the character himself. I think I might consider to let got of the Konosuba KD Colle since they just appear to be slightly improvised version of Pop Up Parade. Given the incoming batch of my preorders, next month's haul might get even more sumptuous than this one.

Azur Lane Plamatea 1/12 Baltimore

Being one of the veteran Gacha game by this time, Azur Lane does have good amount of merchandise support dedicated for the series whether it is Nendoroids or Scale Figure which the latter category does have amazing selections. But up until now, the series did lack in Action figure category which Yostar most likely aware of and try to remedy. While Figma seems to be rather difficult and prohibitively expensive, Azur Lane decide to compromise and make itself available as Plamatea model kit with Baltimore being the first Candidate! Scheduled for December 2025 release, Plamatea Baltimore will be sold for 9800 Yen.

Baltimore is an SSR Heavy Cruiser unit from Eagle Union who was around the 2^nd-3^rd year of the game as she was already available when I tried the game. Overall Baltimore is a good all rounder Azur lane waifu with her cheerful and slightly tomboyish personality and was not too overkill when it comes to her allure either. Overall Baltimore do make good choice for the first candidate of Azur Lane action figure as she got the perfect fit as Mecha Musume and doesn’t have too much baggage either. I wonder which Azur Lane waifus will have the opportunity for the next candidate but I think Iron blood Factions do have a good shot to be featured in Plamatea with their Dragon mecha aesthetics.

Uma Musume Pretty Derby Global Server debut

Took longer than most Gacha games, but after 5 years we finally see Uma Musume Pretty Derby got localization and make it to Global market! I never expect to see this thing could happen to this day given the stringent attitude of the Horse Owner boomers who wants profit but doesn’t want the risk that comes along with it, but I guess Uma Musume need some more extra revenue despite it is a top ranking gacha game in JP Market.

Scheduled for Late June release, Uma Musume Pretty Derby is now open for Pre-Register. While I won’t be returning to this game since I left on the 1^stAnniv as I don’t have the time to put up the grind anymore. Uma Musume Pretty Derby is one of the best available Bishoujo game simulation in the current market with it’s AAA production value. Never expect Japan could make a good waifu game out of Antromorphized horse girls, but Uma Musume proved that it could work out very well despite having Boomers breathing down the neck whenever they have something that they don’t like. While I won't touch the Gacha game anymore, I always will have Grass Wonder and Symboli Rudolf as my favorite Uma Musume.

Nuke Matrix Cyber Forest Fantasy Girl: Shadow of War Yefuna Malkina

 Back in 2023 before the Bat Sonic and Mad Wolf model kit made their appearance, Nuke Matrix made a rather kickass Mecha Musume which belonged to same lineup. As I got into Mecha Musume lineup around 2024, this piece of artwork eluded me despite being a quality product that could have easily caught the toy collectors attention. This particular Nuke Matrix Mecha Musume model kit is called Shadow of War Yefuna Malkina was sold for 228 RMB back in Q2-Q3 2023.

Being part of Cyber Forest Fairy lineup, Shadow of War Yefuna Malkina is a Centaur Exoskeleton Mecha Musume that comes with Lance Gun as its primary weapon. If mechanical Centaur mecha musume is not impressive enough, the exoskeleton is transformable into Motorbike which is very impressive. While Japan hobby maker could likely replicate those sorts of gimmick, they certainly will not be able to sell this sort of product very cheap like what Nuke Matrix did. This hidden gem of mecha musume caught my attention as some hobby resellers opened a Rerun preorder which certainly caught my attention. Apart from their previous impressive lineup for Cyber Forest Fantasy, I am quite sure Nuke Matrix still have plenty of things in store to surprise the Mecha Musume enthusiasists