Archive for Figures and Toys

Lillie and Nebby Nendoroid Review

January 5, 2018 Jen Ný Figures and Toys No comments

While I usually post collectible and toy reviews on this blog, I decided to publish my most recent Nendoroid review on HobbyLark.com to reach a wider audience. Check out the full review over there!

Pokémon Center Lillie Nendoroid Review

My most recent Nendoroid purchase is Lillie from Pokémon Sun and Moon. I preordered her from the Pokémon Center website back in July, and she finally arrived on New Years Eve (thanks USPS for Sunday delivery!). She came with her Cosmog companion, Nebby, who still refuses to get in the bag.

In addition to Nebby, Lillie came with several accessories. She has the duffle bag that she carries in the games, in which she unsuccessfully attempts to get Nebby to stay. She also has her hat, which is removeable. I also got a Pokédoll accessory with my Lillie Nendoroid because I preordered her from the Pokémon Center website. Collectors who preordered her from Good Smile got a potion bottle accessory instead.

Read the Rest on HobbyLark.com

Tasty Peach Studios – Halloween 2014 Re-release and More

August 5, 2016 Jen Ný Figures and Toys No comments

I’ve posted about Tasty Peach Studios and their awesome plushies before. They have recently hit a patch of bad luck. Their van and containing a lot of equipment and merchandise was stolen while attending a convention in Florida, and to raise extra funds in order to keep their business going, they will be re-releasing two of their retired limited edition Halloween Meowchis. The original black bat and candy corn will be available to preorder starting today. They will also reopen a limited number of preorders for the limited edition white tiger Meowchi that was originally only available at Colossalcon at the same time (there will be an unlimited preorder for him one last time at a later date).

I’m excited for the black bat and original colored candy corn since I only managed to get he recolored variants. I was lucky enough to get the white tiger at Colossalcon. He was the main reason I wanted to go to Colossalcon this year. He is super cute and definitely worth adding to your collection! Look how fierce he is!

Tasty Peach Studios will also be offering a number of new products for preorder this month. The sea bunnies and mint chocolate chip Nomwhal will be available for preorder starting 8/15, and a Kickstarter for giant Meowchis is scheduled to go live on 8/20. I’m hoping to get the strawberry lemonade sea bunny and both giant Meowchis, depending on the price. The nomwhals and sea bunnies will be permanent store-staples, I believe, while the giant Meowchis will likely only be available from Kickstarter.

I just wanted to help promote this awesome company and help them be able to continue to bring us new kawaii plushies. If you have been debating purchasing a Meowchi or other plush from them, now is the time!

Merpug Plush Review

January 20, 2016 Jen Ný Figures and Toys 4 comments

I found this adorable Merpug plushie while browsing the web for cute plush toys. I got it from Shlii.com, a small independent shop that specializes in cute and unique plush toys. As someone who loves both pugs and mermaids, I had to have a Merpug plush of my very own. I am starting to run out of room for plushies, but I can always make room for ones as cute and unique as a Merpug!

It is made from a soft minky fabric and its tail is embroidered with a cute scale-like design. it is about 10 inches long from the top of its head to its tail. Its eyes are embroidered and it has a plastic nose.

If you like pugs, mermaids, or just unique plush dolls, I highly recommend this Merpug!

You can get your own at Shlii.com. It will set you back $25, which seems about average for quality plushies from small businesses like this. There are also products featuring other breeds of Merdogs available, though it looks like Merpug is the only one available as a plush toy.

What are your favorite websites for cute plushies? Let me know in the comments! (Feel free to self-promote if you are a plush doll artist!)

Paleozoic Pals Trilobite and Eurypterid Plush

January 19, 2016 Jen Ný Figures and Toys 3 comments

Awhile back, I backed a Kickstarter campaign for a trilobite plushie and they arrived last month. I ended up increasing my pledge to get a second trilobite and a eurypterid as well. These guys are part of the Paleontological Research Institution‘s Paleozoic Pals line of plushies based on small prehistoric creatures. Trilobites have always been one of my favorite prehistoric creatures, so of course I jumped at the chance to get a plush one.

The trilobite plushie is based on the Greenops boothi trilobite. He his made of a soft green material and is a pretty solid plush. He is about 8 inches in length.

The Eurypterid was offered as a stretch goal reward for everyone backing the project for $25 or more. He is quite a bit longer than the trilobite and he feels a bit floppier.

These are both high quality plushies. I’m not sure if they offer them for sale outside of the Kickstarter campaign.

The next Paleozoic Pal in production will be an Ammonite. I hope to be able to add it to my collection as well!

Tasty Peach Studios: Christmas Meowchi

January 18, 2016 Jen Ný Figures and Toys No comments

I just realized that I haven’t yet reviewed my newest Meowchis. My Peppermint Candy Cane and Cream Reindeer Meowchis arrived back in December, just in time for the holidays. This review will be short since I have already reviewed a number of other Meowchi plushies.

Cream Reindeer is a variant of the 2014 Reindeer Christmas special edition Meowchi. Tasty Peach Studios offered this recolored version for everyone who missed the original. He has adorable little antlers.

Peppermint Candy Cane is the 2015 Christmas special edition Meowchi. He has a two-toned red and white body.

As always, these two Meowchi plushies are made from a soft minky fabric.

The Reindeer design has been retired, but Candy Cane will be available again sometime this year for anyone who missed out. A second-chance pre-order for the Disapproval and Bumblebee Meowchi is currently available on Tasty Peach Studios‘ website. I have already pre-ordered my Bumblebee!

Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival Review

November 20, 2015 Jen Ný Figures and Toys, Gaming No comments

Though a lot of Animal Crossing fans were disappointed that the two newest installments of the Animal Crossing series are spin-offs, I am enjoying Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival.

Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival is a lot like Mario Party. It is a virtual board game based on the Animal Crossing series. The biggest difference is that there aren’t mini-games throughout the main board game (though there are mini-games available to unlock in the main hub). Each board features a different month, with each turn representing a day. Throughout the month, various fun events will happen, just as they do in the main Animal Crossing games.

The developers admitted that this game was made just so they would have an excuse to make Animal Crossing Amiibo. I am okay with that!

This game centers around the use of Amiibo. Each player uses an Amiibo to represent their character. The game comes with an Isabelle and Digby Amiibo to get you started, as well as three Amiibo cards. Tom Nook, Mable, and a three pack containing KK Slider, Reese, and Cyrus are also available now (Lottie is scheduled to be released this Sunday 11/22, and more characters are coming within the next few months. The Villager Amiibo doesn’t work in this game.). If you play by yourself, you will have three CPU controlled Villagers to play against (or you can select 2-4 players and play using multiple Amiibo by yourself as though you actually have friends to play with. Not that I have tried that… #foreveralone).

The only controller required for the main board game is the Wii U GamePad. Each player takes turns using it. To roll the die during your turn, you have to place your Amiibo on the GamePad. This does get a little annoying after awhile.

After rolling the die, you land on a space where either something good or bad happens. You can earn or lose Bells and/or Happy Points. The player who ends up with the most Happy Points at the end is the winner. The Bells aren’t completely useless, however. At the end of the game, Bells are converted to Happy Points (1000 Bells = 1 Happy Point). On Sundays throughout the game, Joan arrives to sell turnips. You can sell these turnips during weekdays at the end of each turn to try to make a profit on your investment, just like in the main Animal Crossing games.

As you play more games with a specific character, you can unlock new outfits for them to wear. You will also earn tickets to unlock new mini-games and new features for the game board. You can also use the Animal Crossing Amiibo cards to play these mini-games and let the featured animal move into your town and appear on the game board.

This game is a bit slow-paced, just like the regular Animal Crossing games. The overall mood of the game is incredibly happy and upbeat. It is difficult to be sad while playing this game, even when you land on a “sad” space.

3D Printed Pokemon Planters

November 19, 2015 Jen Ný Figures and Toys No comments

I recently decided that I needed some house plants, so I got a few 3D printed Pokemon planters from Etsy. I got the obvious Bulbasaur and Oddish, plus Chikorita, which has always been one of my favorite Pokemon.

Since I’m not much of a green thumb, I decided to go with succulents, cacti, and an air plant. These types of plants are supposed to be easy to take care of and difficult to kill. The planters are a bit small, so these plants may need to be transplanted to bigger containers eventually, however.

The Bulbasaur planter is really awesome. I bought this little guy from Etsy seller 3DUniPrint. It’s a high quality print and has a drainage hole on the bottom so I won’t drown my plant if I over-water it. I originally kept the plant with its original plastic pot sitting inside Bulbasaur, but then decided to just re-pot it directly inside of Bulbasaur using better cacti potting mix.

I got my Oddish and Chikorita planters from Etsy seller MultiForm3D. They aren’t as nice looking as Bulbasaur. They are both kind of rough around the edges. Chikorita has a weird bump around the top, and Oddish has a weird discoloration on his face. The discoloration is present on both Oddishes, so I believe it is an artifact from the printing process.

My first Oddish had his foot broken off in transit, but the seller was nice enough to send a replacement. Oddish didn’t have drainage holes on the bottom, so I used the broken one to see if I could drill holes in it without cracking the plastic. Since the drilling was successful, I added drainage holes to the second one and super glued the foot back onto the broken Oddish. The foot came off again after the first super-gluing attempt, but the second attempt seems to be holding.

The opening on the Chikorita planter is too small for any regular potted plants I’ve seen, so I filled it with stones and got a small air plant to stick on top of its head. It looks cute, but the plant had a tendency to fall off sometimes. It would have been better if they had made this planter just a little bit bigger so that small plants that come in 2″ pots would fit.

I also got another cactus that wouldn’t fit in the Oddish planters, so I got a bigger ceramic planter and added a plastic Maractus and Cacnea figurine to keep with the Pokemon theme.

I’m thinking about getting a Venus fly trap later on and planting it in a similar way with a Carnivine figurine. I might wait and see how these plants do before getting types that need watered more often. If these plants do well for me throughout the winter, I will get some more types in the spring.

Tasty Peach Studios: Purple Vampire Bat and Chocolate Candy Corn Meowchi

November 13, 2015 Jen Ný Figures and Toys One comment

Halloween Variant Meowchis from Tasty Peach Studios

I missed the preorder opportunity for the variants of last year’s Halloween Meowchis (and didn’t get the originals last year either), but Tasty Peach Studios offered a last chance to order the remaining Purple Vampire Bat and Chocolate Candy Corn Halloween Meowchis last weekend, in addition to the remaining Witch and Demon Meowchis that were introduced this year, so I woke up early that day and scooped them up as soon as they went live.

The Purple Vampire Bat Meowchi is a variant of the black Vampire Bat that was available last year. He has felt wings, just like this year’s Demon Meowchi. He also has spooky red eyes and adorable vampire fangs. His whiskers are also red, presumably to show up better on his dark-colored fur. He reminds me of a cross between the Bitey Bat and Meowburt animal orbs in Castle Crashers.

The Chocolate Candy Corn Meowchi is a variant of last year’s Candy Corn Meowchi’s. He has a chocolate face instead of the original yellow. He has an orange stripe across his middle and a white stripe across his rear, just like a real chocolate candy corn! He has the same adorable happy facial expression as the original Meowchis. Chocolate Candy Corn Meowchi is a delicious addition to any Meowchi collection!

Here’s all of my Halloween Meowchis, as well as my entire Meowchi collection. I think I may have a slight problem, though my Meowchi collection does pale in comparison to some of the photos that other fans have shared on Tasty Peach Studio’s facebook page. I love how stackable these things are. They’re like potato chips. You can never have just one!

These limited edition Halloween Meowchis were definitely worth adding to my collection, despite Halloween being over. They are cute enough to display all year!

Tasty Peach Studios – Halloween 2015 Meowchi Review

October 26, 2015 Jen Ný Figures and Toys 2 comments

I got this year’s limited edition Halloween Meowchis from Tasty Peach Studios as soon as they went live on their website. If you’re not familiar with Tasty Peach Studios, I have written about other plushies from them before (here and here). I couldn’t choose between the adorable witch and demon, so I got them both.

They are both super soft and are made from the same minky fabric as the other Meowchis. Both of these limited editions also have their own unique facial characteristics.

The witch is green and has a felt witch hat attached to her head. She also has cute little warts on her face and one tooth sticking out of her mouth. Her eyes are slightly slanted to give her a mischievous look, as though she is thinking about putting a spell on you. The felt that makes up her hat is stiff and a kind of scratchy. There are ear holes on the hat to accommodate her ears. Witch Meowchi is the perfect familiar for any kawaii witch!

The demon is red and has devilish horns sticking out of his head. He also has felt wings on his back, which are made of the same type of material as the witch’s hat. Rather than the standard rounded tail that most Meowchis have, he has a pointy tail, just like a real demon! On his face, he has evil little fangs and the same mischievous eyes as the witch. Demon Meowchi is ready to cause all kinds of mayhem on Halloween!

The witch and demon Meowchis are still available on the Tasty Peach Studios website (as of this writing), but they probably won’t last long, being limited editions. They are $25 each, as are all of their limited edition Meowchis (the standard Meowchis are $20). If you miss out, they will be available again in January during their “last chance” offering of this year’s limited editions.

Tasty Peach Studios: Lychee Meowchi Review and Comparison

September 24, 2015 Jen Ný Figures and Toys One comment

I said in my review of the Disapproval Meowchi and Nomwhal that I would post a comparison of Tasty Peach Studios‘ different Meowchi plushies as soon as my Lychee Meowchi came in. It just arrived today!

The Lychee Meowchi is a darker shade of pink than its Strawberry counterpart. Whereas the Strawberry Meowchi is a softer, more subdued shade of pink, the Lychee Meowchi is a darker, more vibrant shade. The Lychee Meowchi has light pink in its ears instead of the normal white. It also has a different face, featuring an open mouth. All of the previous non-limited edition Meowchis have the same face as the Strawberry. The new summer Lychee and Mango varieties have unique new faces (the Mango has a winking face).

I mentioned in my previous post that the Disapproval Meowchi was a little bit bigger, felt more densely stuffed, and had a slightly different fabric texture than the Strawberry Meowchi. The Lychee Meowchi is the same size and feels stuffed about the same as the Disapproval Meowchi. The fabric also feels most similar to the Disapproval Meowchi. The two newer Meowchis feel a little bit smoother than the Strawberry Meowchi. I’m guessing they changed how they are made at some point, and I would guess that Strawberry Meowchis from the newer batches would feel more similar to the other newer Meowchis.

The tag is on the left ear, like the Strawberry Meowchi, but it hangs from the top of the front of the ear like on the Disapproval Meowchi and tends to obstruct its face. It is also looser, so it is difficult to get it to stay out of the way. I prefer the tag placement on the Strawberry Meowchi much better. It is off to the side of the ear and stays out of its face. I can never decide if I want to remove the tags from my plushies or not, so I just end up leaving them on. If you collect plush toys, please let me know in the comments whether or not your keep the tags on them. I’m genuinely curious about what other collectors do.

The Lychee Meowchi’s color is similar to that of the Nomwhal’s strawberry syrup, but just a little bit lighter. I took a photo of Nomwhal, both pink Meowchis, and Kyandi to compare the pink colors in each plush:

I also have the limited edition Cream Reindeer Meowchi Variant pre-ordered, and I’m sure I’ll get some others in the future as well. Tasty Peach Studios posted a photo of a prototype giant Strawberry Meowchi that is even bigger than the Nomwhal! I will most likely have to get that one when it is released! I think it’s safe to say I’m addicted to these little guys now!

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