Which? Witch?

Witch☆Activity parody by siro

To get into the spirit of Halloween, I've assembled all of the witch-themed petits that I own for some comparison shots along with Deep Sea Girl Miku.

The first picture is of a Niitengo version of Carina Verritti from Shukufuku no Campanella (left), and the Dancing stars on me! version of Toujou Nozomi (right).

Nendoroid Petit version of Metallica the Swamp Witch that came with the Majo to Hyakkihei game.

Marisa Kirisame from the Touhou Shushuroku Vol. 1 Set (left), and Vol. 3 Set (right).

Next is the Marisa produced by Hakurei Jinja Shamusho (left), and the Nendoroid Petit version from the Touhou Project Set #2 Set (right).

Patchouli Knowledge aka the "Witch of the Spring Haze" from the Nendoroid Petit Touhou Project Set #2 (left), and Touhou Shushuroku Vol. 1 Set (right).

Alice Margatroid aka the "Witch of Death", or "the Seven-Colored Puppeteer" from the Touhou Shushuroku Vol. 2 Set (left), and Nendoroid Petit Touhou Project Set #2 (right).

The Nendoroid Petit version of the Shanhai Doll (far left) with Nendoroid versions of the Shanghai doll (x3), and Toranoana Shanghai Dolls.

I also have a Toranoana Alice Margatroid key chain that is based on artwork by haniwa (葉庭). Yakimoki Alice herself is only 5cm tall and noticeably smaller than the Nendoroid Petit Alice.

The Hourai Doll that comes with Yakimoki Alice is only slightly smaller than the Nendoroid Petit Shanghai Doll. The Hourai Doll's hair ribbon sits flat against the back of her head, so it is not visible like the ribbon on the Shanghai Doll.

I drilled out the solid underside of the Hourai Doll, and inserted some hastily sculpted legs made from plastic sprue.

Maybe if I have the time, I'll hollow out the underside of the doll some more, and sculpt some proper bloomers for her.

Yakimoki Alice is too small to go with my other figures, but I think I'll keep her around to use as a model for a custom faceplate.

Next is the Asahina Mikuru no Bouken version of Witch-Yuki from the Nendoroid Petit Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu #1 Set (left), and Caster from the Nendoroid Petit Fate/Stay Night Extension Set (right).

The last picture is of the fortune-telling version of Witch-Yuki (right), and the warui mahoutsukai (悪い魔法使い) version of Konata from the Lucky Star OVA (left).

The conversion is pretty much a simple head-swap, but I had to cut off Konata's ahoge, and modify the witch hat so it would fit on her head better (which involved reforming the brim with a blow dryer, and some Dremel-work).

Witchcraft Works original ED ～ Witch☆Activity ～

Touhou Shushuroku Bootlegs

The Touhou Shushuroku figures from Toranoana are not particularly well known, and often command a fairly high price on the resale market (particularly for the later releases). A few bootleg figures exist, but all are from the more readily available "Volume 1" set.

The bootlegs have many minor differences in appearance and engineering, which seem to suggest that they were sculpted using the originals as models. They are sold glued and assembled, whereas the original figures come disassembled (when new).

I'd classify these as shanzhai figures due to the obvious differences in the way they were manufactured.

The figure stands for the bootleg figures are all identical. A sliding peg allows a single post to be used for any figure (left). The originals all have stands that are individually matched to each figure (right).

The first comparison is of Hakurei Reimu. The bootleg (left) is not too shabby, though the paint job is obviously not as well done. Her shoes are unpainted.

Notice how there is no separation in the ponytail for bootleg Reimu.

The stick on bootleg Reimu's gohei is bent because a softer PVC is used to manufacture her.

Bootleg Marisa (left) does not come with a hat or mushroom. The paint job is so-so, and details such as the buttons of her blouse are not picked out. Her shoes and socks are both painted black.

Marisa, Marisa, Marisa!!!!!!

Bootleg Marisa has a peg built into the hem of her skirt to keep her on her stand. The original (right) has the peg on the stand, which fits into a socket in the hem of her skirt.

Bootleg Marisa does not have any apron strings. Note how the hair on the bootleg is a lot softer in definition.

Next is Princess Kaguya. Bootleg Kaguya (left) has Marisa's mushroom attached to her skirt for some reason.

Is she supposed to be displayed together with bootleg Marisa?

An odd vignette... I prefer the intended configuration of the originals.

Anyway, bootleg Kaguya has a peg built into her skirt to allow her to be attached to a base. Her shoes are also unpainted.

The differences in the patterns on Kaguya's skirt are very telling between the bootleg and the real figure.

Bootleg Patchouli Knowledge (left) is also not very convincing. Note the difference between the sculpt of the hands, the lack of shading, and lack of print on the cover of the book on bootleg Pache.

Mukyuu...

Bootleg Pache has a peg located on her underside to attach her to a stand. There is absolutely no painted detail underneath.

Ribbons are sculpted as part of the bonnet and hair for bootleg Pache. Again, the paint job is poorly done.

Bootleg Chen (left) is okay. Her hair is not the right color, and her socks and shoes are both painted the same color. Her posture seems different from the original figure (right).

Chen!!!!!!!

The tip of bootleg Chen's tails are black, and there is no shading for the color transition to the tip of her ears.

Bootleg Cirno (left) looks self-satisfied, but the original Cirno (right) looks downright smug. The bootleg's skirt is not properly painted.

To be a genius like me, you have to do your best!

Bootleg Cirno's bow seems to sit higher up on her head, and her wings are not translucent.

Komachi is the last figure comparison. Again, the hair is not as well defined in bootleg Komachi (left). The decorations on her hair ties are not painted, so they are the same color as her hair. The bootleg wears a toothy grin, whereas the original has an open-mouthed smile.

Bootleg Komachi holds her scythe with the blade up, while on the original (right) holds her scythe with the blade down. Again, the soft PVC makes the staff bend quite a bit (though the original has a bit of bend as well). The stitching on the sides of her skirt is not painted on the bootleg.

Bootleg Komachi's shoes are not painted, and she has a part number "5" engraved on the inside of her skirt.

Bootleg Komachi's stand peg fits into the back of her hair. For the original figure, it fits into a hole in her bloomers, and is hidden by her skirt.

The final figure of the set was Flandre Scarlet, but I did not bother doing a comparison because bootleg Flan was missing one of her wings.

They did a nice job with the translucent material, and they're actually a lot more robust than on the original figure.

In any event, I plan on using most of these bootlegs for gaming; something I would never dare use the originals for.