Rare figure, GET! Plus a tutorial on how to make a custom base! Let’s get started!
Quite a long time ago, Konami released a bunch of “mascot” character figures for their Beatmania series. Stupidly, I missed out on the opportunity to pick up a wicked-cool nekomimi. Since then, I had been seeking one ever since I was re-introduced to her when I randomly stumbled upon some pix of her on the net.
I was fortunate enough to snag one for a decent price (decent as in more than retail, but still cheaper than what most people were offering) from ebay.
Before I start snapping pictures, I wanted to talk about the base. When Lyli posted pix of her Celica, she had placed her on a CD with a spindle in the middle. I quite liked that idea. Even though Celica can stand on her own, it’s a bit of a risk without pegs holding her up. But I did like the CD idea.
I decided to make a custom base. The technique I’m going to show below is something that you can do for virtually ANY base. Maybe you think one of your bases is too boring? Maybe your old base melted?
You can do this, in combination with my pegs tutorial and a wood base. And you don’t have to use a CD in particular either. You can use anything you can imagine – a pencil board, a mouse pad if you so desire…
So here’s the base. It’s nice, has beatmaniaIIDX engraved in it, but other than that, it’s just a black base. There are three pegs that hold up Celica. I want to basically put a CD on top of this base.
To put the CD on top, I need to make holes for the pegs. To get the reference for these holes, I put a sheet of paper on top of the base, and feel for the pegs. Using a black marker, I mark where the pegs are.
I then puncture the holes using a sharp object, and place the sheet of paper on the base to test for the correct size and distance.
With the base still attached, I trace the outside of it onto the paper. This is so I know the reference point of the base size. Keep in mind that you’ll be a couple of mm bigger by doing this. Also keep in mind that this is the underside of the paper.
I place my CD on top of the sheet of paper, and tape it down. I wanted the beatmania word to still be visible, so I used one of those plastic cover CDs. It has the same rainbow finish, but is clear.
I flip the paper over, and place the sheet on top of an empty box. DO NOT drill on your table! ๐
I used a 1/8 drill bit, and drilled through the holes in the paper. Instead of yanking the drill bit out after it’s gone through, I put the drill in reverse. You don’t want to crack or damage the disc by forcefully yanking the drill bit out.
Using a pen knife, I cut away the excess material. Just spinning the blade around inside worked pretty good.
CD is placed on top. This process took all of 15 minutes. Keep in mind that the CD thickness means there is less peg to hold, so your base may fall off easier.
If you want to make a brand new base, you can do the same technique using a wood or plastic base. You mark the sheet of paper on the figure instead of the base, then you make your own custom pegs, and away you go!
And here she is! I took some shots, but since Lyli put up a fantastic photoshoot already, I’ll just post some real close-up shots so you can see the details. Do check out her post though!
Click for full size! ๐
I really like Celica. Nekomimi visual kei goth? With heaphones? YES PLEASE! I can’t believe I had let her pass the first time.
One thing I will note is that the PVC material they decided to use is of lower quality than that of GSC, Alter, or Max Factory. The pigment is somewhat translucent (akin to trading figures). What I mean is that light refracting into the PVC makes it colorize a little bit. It’s not as opaque as say, Max Factory Ignis for example.
She’s also a little bit small for a 1:8 scale figure… almost an inch shorter than most. The detail is amazingly well done though, there is a lot of intricate parts here, and the clear PVC looks awesome. Especially for the dress and the belt.
Hope you like the splash image. If you guys want a wallpaper of one of these images in similar treatment, let me know. ๐
Woah such a gorgeous figure! first time I see it O_o
Really lovely, and so many moesome details ^^;;
Custome based uh? should give this a try for some figures… since original ones are so damn plain.
She is quite amazing. I’m quite happy that I have her now. There are still some available on ebay, it seems!
Kotobukiya bases are PERFECT for doing this! They’re all just plain, strangely colored bases. O_o
Really nice custom ! This figure is really cute and with your custom i love so much the base ^^
Thanks Leonia! Haven’t seen you comment in a while. How are things going?
Wow nice figure! I love the details on it. Also, nice choice for the base.
heh.. thanks Micchi. Honestly, the base thing was pretty easy. Anyone can do it. ๐
Like, picture-wise. Oooo pretty pictures!
Did you also figure out where to show her off?
Ahh, no before and after comparisons. >3<
Unfortunately, sheโs sitting sorta in limboโฆ Iโve got her crammed on a shelf that has no roomโฆ I donโt have anything thematic to place her in, and I donโt have room. This is honestly the FIRST time Iโve ever truly run out of room, with no idea how to shift things around.
Really nice idea! And congrats on that figure, so lovely!
Nice Oppai, cat ears! NICE!
i give seal of approval! :3
wow to be able to make the base,
id probably give up.
anyway nice get!
She definitely has all the qualities! meganeko would be a final plus, eh? ๐
Seriously, it only took me 15 minutes to make this base. It’s so easy that I’m sure you’d be able to do it too!
I wouldn’t mind making a custome base for my 1/6 Rin Tohsaka (Clayz). She comes with this comically huge black monstrosity that takes up way more space than it should. I hate hate HATE it when a figure comes with a needlessly huge base.
Kaiyodo’s “El with Reideen” comes with this puny diorama-ish base that takes up no space at all. Why can’t more companies do something like that? (I’ll be reviewing El soon, by the way)
That Celica figure looks great. I’m not a fan of the neko-mimi, but the rest of Celica’s outfit is wonderfully designed. And the purple hair goes surprisingly well with that black/white/pink outfit. I also love the use of transparent plastic.
Hmmm, does it really look that big? It’s alright, I think. I agree that El has a puny base. But you have to remember, El also has her legs together, where Rin has them further apart.
Reminds me, El is one of the figures I’m planning to sell… maybe. But yeah, I’d like to see your review of her. She’s got pretty sweet details, that’s for sure.
You’re not a neko-mimi fan? Why not?! It’s so cute! :3
Yeah, I’m pretty glad I took the plunge for this one, even though she is a bit over-priced… glad you enjoyed the pics! ๐
Aw, gonna sell El? I’d say keep her. She’s not much of a spacehog and her steampunk outfit and mature look make her stand out from all the moe characters out there. I’m kind of disappointed Kaiyodo didn’t release more stuff like El.
I think Rin’s base could benefit from being a bit smaller. Maybe give her a flat base like most figures instead of that weird…thick one she has.
Never really got into the whole neko-mimi craze. They look more ridiculous than cute to me. But I’m also not a fan of a lot of other moe crazes (sukumizu, twintails, etc) Guess I’m just a party pooper.
Yeah I might just decide to keep her. I’ll see how it goes. She’s been in storage for two years now, and haven’t had a chance or place to display her again.
The only problem I have with El is how inaccurate her face looks compared to the resin/prototype one. The steampunk thing is cool, but I think her outfit could use some more detail too.
You’re right, she does have a pretty thick base. But this is a good height advantage more than circumference issue, as that means you can place her behind other figures and it’d still be relatively ok. Honestly, if you make a custom base say out of wood, it will be just as thick. You’d have to buy one of those acrylic bases from e2046, I suppose.
Twin-tailed neko-mimi wearing sukumizu meganekko moeblob saying “nyan nyan nyaro~n” :3
The base looks much better after your mod! The more reflective surface is really nice. As usual, great tips for DIY figure projects, thanks! ^^
Thanks Steve! I hope that these tips will help you if you ever decide to do a figure base mod!
Awesome tutorial!
All the drilling makes me think I need a power drill… or maybe something like Simon’s drill to drill stuff. XD
LOL. Too many drills in one sentence!
I think she’s a very sweet get! Even though I don’t know the game itself, I already fell in love with her, she’s so cute and her outfit… so divine! ? I even went to see Lyli’s photoshoot and it made me love her even more with her diversity. Why can’t scaled figures be like that nowadays? They’re all static now besides their faces and their hairstyles :c
I also love the coloring you did on your header photo. X3
Thanks Ninjovee! Actually, I’m getting a little sick and tired of my power drill. It’s an older drill so it doesn’t have much power. The battery on it runs out really quickly too, so it’s good for little crafts like this, but not for actual renovation work.
I love how Celica has all these arms that enable her to pose differently. It’s like a nendoroid! ๐
I suppose that if more figures were like this, costs would go up. There’s also the fact that it has to be designed in such a way that it would support that kind of variant posing.
Glad you like the coloring for the splash photo! I should do more of that. ^_^
Nice tutorial. I’m totally digging the design on the boots, that’s pretty sweet.
Thanks, AS! I quite like the design too. It’s so visual kei/goth! ๐
This tutorial route you’re taking can indeed prove to be very characteristic of a blog… This is all a lot of ballsy editing, which could probably do the figure owning masses some good. I am supportive.
Now this one’s an awesome figure, fashion sense, and stylistically, now that you’ve added that base.
Though, Beatmania still shows through the disc, right? It’s a cool enough logo to warrant keeping around, imho.
I hadn’t noticed it until Ninjovee pointed it out though, Radiant Dreamer is getting pretty intense, with all the drilling involved…
My blog has mostly always been about tutorials, just more art oriented. I don’t have a whole lot of ideas for tutorials, so I’m quite limited to doing only a few more posts before I run out of steam in that regards. But hopefully, what I do provide is helpful.
You’re right! There is a whole lot of drilling going on! It’ll be less soon though. :\
Nice base.. got the disco feel.. maybe you shld add disco ball too.
Now it makes me feel like partying >_<
lol! that’s a good idea! Maybe I will do a photoshop with disco balls and lights! ๐
I have been thinking about replace my ALTER Fate T Harlaown’s rectangular white base with something else. This may come handy if I can find a suitable base first since I want it to look more interesting. I wonder what I should use though – in hobby shops I’ve yet to find a round base that fits her. May have to look elsewhere.
Try going to a doll shop or a crafts shop. They usually sell wooden bases there. You can spray the base, put a CD on top of it, and then follow the peg tutorial that I did previously.
You’re not limited to CDs either. Pencil boards, wrapping paper, anything will work!
I almost bought her off at Play-asia but damn, I canceled the order cuz I had a second thought of her price.. way too costly.
I admit I really liked this figure, I wanted to pre-order but a combination of not knowing the character, being unfamiliar with the manufacturer, and the high price point made me pass. But I wish more figures were as detailed as this one! The outfit is awesome.