A look at Play Arts Kai Chunli's accessories and option parts, and more images of the figure herself after introduction in the previous posting. ^^
Just six parts on Play Arts Kai Chunli's accessory list.
Combat-type option head part.
The sculpt work of the hair, and detailing of the eyes and mouth area are very beautiful details to look at. ^^
To swap between the head parts, the pair of "ox horns" (buns) on the default part have to be detached first.
The double ball-type neck joint that connects the head to the body. The design is exactly the same as that on Cammy actually.
Comparison between the two head parts.
The consistency between the parts' detailing is amazing. ^^
With the bun parts attached onto the option head part.
Chunli with the option head part.
The only pair of option spread palms included for Chunli.
Besides the light but still detectable gradient paint work for the fingers, all the fingernails can be seen clearly on the two spread palms. ^^
The swivel-hinge wrist joint.
Chunli with the option spread palms.
The default pair of closed fists.
A semi-clear blue effect part to realize Chunli's Kikoken (気功拳) attack effect.
The gradient paint work featuring light blue, yellow, and white on seemingly a single-piece part is just incredible. ^^
I think a shade of orange should be added to the bottom of the yellow "spike" to give it a more powerful, explosion-like look. ^^
Ignoring the "spike", the effect part looks like a flower bud when viewed directly from behind. ^^
The base and display stand to display the Kikoken effect part.
The stand's length (height) is 13cm.
A very simple-looking round base.
A slot on the "spike", which is undetectable in normal view due to the part's color allows it to be mounted to the display stand.
As you can see, the joint is of ball-type, allowing the effect part to be adjusted to different angled positions while it's on the stand to support Chunli's poses. ^^
With the effect part mounted on top of its display stand.
Comparison between Chunli and the mounted effect part.
Obviously, the stand's height is designed specifically for Chunli in a forward-leaning pose when executing Kikoken. ^^
As compared to Cammy, the inclusion of a display base for Chunli's attack effect is much more important, since there's no inherited connector between the figure and the effect part to realize the sepcial pose. At least with Cammy, her effect part can be attached to either one of her feet, even though that still doesn't excuse the unfortunate flaw of not being able to show her in any actual kicking pose involving the effect part, as there's no display stand to support Cammy herself. ^^; The limitation of not having a display stand for the effect part would have been worse on Chunli, as one would probably have to hold the part up himself to show it off in an action pose involving it, if there's no external display stand available. ^^; That would be an extremely goofy look for the figure, and a very unpleasant experience for the figure owner I imagine. ^^; Luckily, that issue is nonexistence with the actual content. ^^
More images of the figure herself:
Closeups on the details
[Head]
[Body]
[Back]
[Arms]
[Legs]
I was right to expect for the same level of details as Cammy on Chunli, as mentioned in the previous posting. ^^ In fact, when it comes to paint work and detailing, I believe Chunli is much more impressive than Cammy, so much so certain parts on the figure seem somewhat uncanny to me. ^^;
The most impressive feature of Chunli's detailing is definitely her awesome gradient paint work display. All the shades of blue on her costume are painted, which really helps to bring out the elevated sculpt details on the figure. From the seemingly fluffy "buds" on her shoulders, the folds on her dress to the fabric-look of the skirt, the gradient paint work is very impressive in outlining their details, turning a rather simple-looking costume into an intricate part of the figure. ^^ I would also use "artistic" to describe the quality of the paint work as well, since the super glossy finishing on the costume, which helps to emphasis the appearance of the gradient paint work really makes Chunli fit for display as an fixed figurine. ^^ Echoing my comment about Cammy, the requirement for an awesome paint work is absolutely necessary on the figure because of her large size, and that's certainly well executed on Chunli. ^^
The paint work on smaller details is equally impressive as well. The wavy look of the stripes behind her hair buds, the face sculpt and detailing, the curvy stripes on her costume, especially the lining on the edges of her sleeves, and the lining on her front and rear skirt pieces are all very well done. In terms of face sculpt, I still prefer the 12-inch RAH version for the cuter anime look, ^o^ but in terms of detailing, there's no doubt that this Play Arts Kai version has more details to offer for its relatively smaller size. The very light but still noticeable shade of pink around the eye areas is certainly a good example of that. ^^ For a large-sized figure, more details is good.
Or is it? ^^;
The gradient paint work as mentioned earlier on can be seen very clearly, excessively so I should say, on the large thighs of Chunli. While her masculine legs are a trademark of Chunli's appearance, over-emphasizing the detail is not exactly necessary in my opinion. ^^; Don't get me wrong, those details are just as impressive as her costume in terms of sculpt work and painting, but it's exactly the same clarity that gives them a really awkward look on the figure. ^^; Why do they have to look like the legs of a professional footballer, or a bodybuilder? Can't they be toned down to look a little bit more feminine? ^^; For someone who like Chunli a lot, I understand the link between the figure design and her character setting to accept those huge thighs, but honestly, I'm constantly irked by how "well" and "detailed" they look on a figure based off a girl. ^^; Three subsequent releases from Play Arts Kai's Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition series, namely Cammy, Ibuki, and Sakura do not feature such musculine legs. Take Cammy for example, despite having more of her legs exposed due to her outfit define, doesn't exhibit the same kind of emphasis for her almost equally masculine thighs. ^^ However, instead of assuming that Square Enix learned their lesson from Chunli's design, and actually toned down on said details, I think the "thigh business" is just "uniquely" Chunli's, be it a good thing, or not. XD
A look at Chunli's articulation design and some action poses next. ^^
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