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Triad Toys Otaku 1.0 sixth scale female body

Triad Toys Otaku female sixth scale body

I remember being at a Toy Fair back in 2000, maybe 1999, and wandering by a small booth for a distributor of Japanese toys and collectibles.  In a case on one side they had a new sixth scale body from a company called Dragon, and it was most impressive. The number of joints and the level of articulation was unlike anything on the market at the time.  Since then, other companies have followed their lead, and have developed their own versions of these highly articulated 12" figures, taking the posability and realism of their figures to new heights.

But that doesn't mean the job is complete, and new designs are coming out regularly to improve on the old. Triad Toys is a small company that specializes in high quality bodies, outfits, and fully developed figures in the sixth scale market. Their latest release is the 'Otaku' body, with the female figure shipping soon. Tonight I'll be looking at the red head caucasian figure, but Triad produces these in a variety of skin tones and hair colors.

If you're a customizer, it's well worth your time to check out Triad's website. They produce a ton of cool costume pieces, from boots and shoes to tan colored 'tights' that hide the joints nicely on those sexy Otaku legs. They've also picked up their first license in Samurai Champloo, and I expect to see them move more into the licensed arena in 09.

You can pick up one of the female Otaku bodies for about $30 directly from Triad, or hit the sponsors listed in the Where to Buy section.
Triad Toys Otaku female sixth scale body

Triad Toys Otaku female sixth scale body
Triad Toys Otaku female sixth scale body
Triad Toys Otaku female sixth scale body
Triad Toys Otaku female sixth scale body
Triad Toys Otaku female sixth scale body
Triad Toys Otaku female sixth scale body
Triad Toys Otaku female sixth scale body

Packaging - ***
The package here is similar to the packages from companies like Dragon, bbi or Hot Toys wth their nekkid bodies. The two halves of plastic fold together, holding the figure and extra hands. It's nothing special, but it is properly sized (no waste!), and keeps things safe. It's also easy to take the figure in and out of the package, and very collector friendly.

Sculpting - ***
Triad's figures (especially the females) are all done in a very Japanese anime style. Large puppy eyes, a very thin, small nose, and a small but pouty mouth. She's attractive in a non-realistic way, and her appearance works well for a very wide variety of custom female characters, from sexy school girl to dangerous vixen. The anime look is not an accident - this is the look that Triad is going for.

The hair is not sculpted, but rooted, and they do a very good job with the scalp coverage. You can still see the 'plugs' along the hair line, but there are absolutely no bald spots across the rest of the pate.  The hair is very long and quite fine, and very good quality.

They body sculpt is less cartoony and more Pamela Anderson before she had the implants removed. The body is quite anatomically correct, at least for a figure in this scale. She's not quite a Real Doll, but she has all the appropriate peaks and valleys. That makes her all the more provocative in tight clothing. Homina, homina, howwa!

Often with female sixth scale figures, the arms and legs are quite skinny.  That's not qute as much of an issue here, and the final dressed product looks much better because of it.  Check their site for a variety of available complete figures using this base body to see the results.

Of course, one of the most critical aspects of a body like this is the articulation, and the sculpt does have an effect on how well those joints really work. The marriage of the sculpt and articulation is fairly good, with only a few issues around the ankles and hips.  The sculpt tends to allow for a decent range of movement with most of the joints, but to allow for a well rounded butt, they had to restrict the amount of movement in the hips.  The sculpted butt looks good in clothes (as they always do), but this means the legs can't move backward from a center line.

There are a number of included hands, and all of these are sculpted to hold accessories or poses quite nicely. Some of them are a bit large (I was reminded of the Man Hands episode of Seinfield with the open hands), but it's a fairly minor issue.

The body (with head, but barefoot) stands about 11 inches tall, making her a good female companion to the Hot Toys or Sideshow lines. That puts her at about 5' 6" tall without shoes, and a little shorter than that in comparison to the slightly taller than 12" bodies currently on the market.

Paint - ***1/2
There's not a lot of paint here, but there is a very interesting color to the body that helps boost this score.

The paint details that are here - the eyes, the eyebrows, and the lips - are clean and neat.  Folks that hate catchlights being painted on may be a bit dismayed to find not one but two catchlights added to each eye, but they are fairly small.

It doesn't look like the skin is painted, but cast plastic. However, it's some sort of unique PVC coloring that makes it almost translucent at the surface, making it very soft and realistic in appearance.  The finish is also very flat, with no gloss at all, adding to the realism. It's also extremely consistent from body to head to hands and feet.

They make this base body in a number of skin tones - white, pale, tan, etc. - allowing you quite a few choices in the ethnicity in your customs.

Articulation - ***
The articulation in the upper body is terrific, but the lower body brings the score down a bit.

The neck has a ball joint at the top, right below the jaw line. It works extremely well, giving the poses that extra bit of personality.

The shoulders are also ball joints, the kind that's really a post into the body with a peg through a disc in the arm.  There's also a cut joint on the bicep close to the shoulder, but this isn't a straight cut joint. As buyers of the 13 DCD figures know, straight cut joints on arms and legs can result in weird looking limbs under tight clothes. Here, Triad gives the 'cut' a scalloped edge, and that allows for a much more attractive look to the upper arm under clothes.

There's double jointed elbows, and a true ball jointed wrist. All this arm articulation allows for some very natural upper body poses.

Ah, but then things slip up a bit. There's no waist or chest articulation, and the hips are pin/post ball joints like the shoulders.  Just like the shoulders, the post goes straight into the pelvis, not up into the torso.  That means the legs can move outward and and forward, but can not twist in relation to the torso at all. That, combined with the sculpted butt restriction mentioned earlier, means that the hips are a bit disappointing.

The knees are pin/post joints as well, which means that they turn as well as moving forward and back. These work well, but the anles are another disappointment.  I suspect there's a ball joint up in there someplace, but the foot is so tightly attached to the leg, that it works as a simple cut joint with very little other movement.

The articulation is good, with some real innovation in the design of the arms. Improvements can still be made in the hips and ankles though, and with no torso articulation at all, she's forced to remain in the "I'm too sexy for my clothes" arched back pose.

Accessories - **1/2
There are two extra sets of hands included with the figure.  One set of fists, and one set of pistol grip hands.  She comes wearing a pair of relaxed pose hands.

As I mentioned earlier, the sculpts and paint work on these are all good. Swapping the hands was a bit of a task, and I suggest using some hot water at least the first couple times. I had some concerns that without softening them up a bit, the wrist pegs could end up broken.

She also comes wearing a white bikini, which you'll probablly never use for anything, but which at least allows the girl some level of privacy in the package.

Fun Factor - **1/2
These could provide interesting replacements for your daughters Barbies, but if you were concerned that Barbie is already setting bad body image expectations, then this is definitely a step in the wrong direction.

But for customizers in the sixth scale market, this body can provide all kinds of 'fun'. The company claims that the heads, hands and feet should be compatible with bodies from companies like Takara (Cy Girls) and bbi, as well as some other manufacturers. The top of the neck post is similar in style to the Sideshow female body, but I haven't tried swapping it yet.

Value - **1/2
The figures are a solid value, matching up pretty well with the costs of other sixth scale bodies in this market. You aren't getting a steal, but considering the size of the company and the likely production runs, the price seems pretty much in line. As such, the results of this category won't raise or lower my personal Overall.

Things To Watch Out For
Not much.  Unless you're taking photos of her, and want to keep it PG...various parts tended to peek out every time I reposed her.

And as I mentioned, I'd soften the hands up a bit with some hot water before trying to swap them.

Overall - ***
This is a solid base body for customs, providing very good upper body articulation with reasonable lower body articulation.  I love the skin tone, and the various hands work well. I plan on swapping out an appropriate Sideshow head when one comes along. I considered swapping in Aayla, but that didn't quite make sense.

If you liked the older Takara Cy Girl (Cool Girl) figures, you'll probably like these. They reminded me of them, but with better upper body articulaton.

Score Recap:
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***
Accessories - **1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy -
As I mentioned earlier, you can get these direct from Triad, or:

- you can pick her up (or a number of the other Triad figures) from CornerStoreComics. They have the Otaku body listed at $28.50.

- or you can search ebay using the sponsor MyAuctionLinks.

Related Links -
If you're looking for other good sixth scale bodies to buy for customs, check out the guest article on the TrueType body from Hot Toys.


Discussion:
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Triad Toys Otaku female sixth scale body



Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.

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