I took these pictures ages ago but didn’t do anything with them except to dump them in my gallery.

Haruhi for life!

Here’s a full review of the nice Haruhi recast I bought from e2046 for a even nicer price tag of 120 USD.

First of all, a lot of people probably get allergic reactions from hearing the word “recast”. Yeah, this figure wasn’t assembled using the original BUBBA Haruhi Bunny garage kit sold at WHF and through mail order, but it’s not like those Hong Kong bootleg PVC figures from Ebay either.

Haruhi for life!

Resin recasts are generally pretty good and any defects can be overcome with enough touch-ups. Generally, the skill of the person building the kit makes a much greater impact on the final product. The problem is that mass-produced pre-painted resin figures had never been good and commissioning one from an experienced builder can cost hundreds of smackaroos.

Haruhi for life!

Not long ago last year, e2046 launched a new line of products called “Gathering“. From what I gather (lol), Gathering is the name of a garage kit hobbyist circle in Hong Kong and e2046 partnered with them to produce good quality pre-painted resin for reasonable prices. BUBBA’s popular Haruhi Bunny figure was one of the first product introduced in the Gathering series.

On to the actual figure…

Haruhi for life!

Generally speaking, the figure is AWESOME for viewing. The overall feel of the original is present and its details and finish stand out quite distinctively compared to PVC figures. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to say that it gives off an unique aura of quality and class, or maybe that’s just the 120-dollar hole in my wallet speaking.

Haruhi for life!

While I love every inch of Haruhi, I have to say that the face is the best part of this particular figure. It is not easy to recreate the same feel of a 2D character in a 3D figure, but this figure certainly does a brilliant job of showing off the grandeur of Haruhi, unlike a certain PVC attempt. The eyes are particularly well done. Eyes are probably the hardest part of painting a resin figure because they can make or break (usually break) the whole feel.

Haruhi for life!

The bunny suit has a pretty nice gloss over it that looks soooo purdy, but can be a pain for photo-taking because it is really reflective and can pick up colours from the surrounding light.

Haruhi for life!Haruhi for life!

The guitar looks pretty cool, but it is far from the BUBBA original. The surface is not glossy, the strings are not as fine, the part with the number 7 engraved is not reflective and the logo near the top is missing. The tuning pegs are also very, very fragile and I had one fall off after I accidentally knocked the guitar out of Haruhi’s hand. I glued it back with some clear household cement.

The way Haruhi holds the guitar also leaves much to be desired. Not only is it somewhat dangerous in that shaking the figure slightly may cause the guitar to fall out, the fact that the guitar is pivoted round her hand with most of the bulk at the bottom also means that a lot of stress is placed on the portion above. The same portion that contains the fragile tuning pegs. Ops. It is possible to position the guitar such that the turning pegs are not in contact with anything, though. Anyway, this is more of a fault with the original figure design than with e2046.

Haruhi for life!Haruhi for life!

The greatest flaw is of course the two thick, thick lines running down Haruhi’s stockings. I’m not sure what the original used, but e2046′s version uses some fine net material that comes in rectangular pieces which have to be wrapped around the legs and the excess ends folded into that line you see. The lines in the original are really thin, so the creator probably used a different method or maybe he just has some l33t h4x0r skillz.

I guess the thick lines are a pretty huge turn-off but if it’s any comfort, it doesn’t look bad in reality. I blame my lousy photography. A lot of pre-painted Haruhi on Yahoo Auctions had the same problem and some of them even had lines that were all fluffy. At least e2046′s version achieves consistent thickness on the lines and has a pretty smooth surface.

Haruhi for life!Haruhi for life!

I like the hair. Also, shiny bunny ears.

All in all a very awesome figure that is very well worth the money despite having its share of flaws. Haruhi-sama approves!

Haruhi for life!

Sadly, e2046 has stopped making any more of this, although it is entirely possible that they may suddenly decide to start taking orders again someday. Meanwhile, you can try the special red version.

I swear this is the last post on Haruhi Bunny. Ever. Probably. Maybe.

P.S. Manabi Straight‘s main character is like a loli Haruhi. Getsumento Heiki Miina is pretty awesome fun.

P.P.S. All photos in this post are licensed under a Creative Commons License. Please do not remove the watermarks.

P.P.P.S. You may have noticed the e2046 logo on the main page. I’m trying out their banner exchange programme.
e2046