A wild grail appears: Samurai Champloo Mugen!

Following the Story Of Heroes And Grails, here is my first impression of Mugen (Spoiler Alert: I LOVE HIM!)

Year-long storage took its toll on the box. Some small damage on the edges (the edge in the photo above is the worst one, the others look okay) and dirrrrrrrt so much dirrrrrrt…

…which completely came off with the help of only a damp cloth :D

The box looks great! The left one is inside the right one. Completely reminds me of one of these deluxe bento boxes ^^ The box says “cold cast, numbered and limited to 2000 pieces worldwide”. Now could someone PLEASE tell me where I could find the number to my figure? It’s definitely not ON the figure and I don’t know where it’s supposed to be on the box. Troll?

As far as I can tell, this is common packaging for coldcast figures. At least my Tsume HQS was packed the same way. 3-story styrofoam cube. Easy, sufficient, everything came in excellent condition.

Absolutely fantastic base design! Looks and feels like a real LP :D

These are all the parts you’ll get. Hobby Figures decided to implement magnets into Mugen’s limbs, which is a very smart design choice. I don’t have much experience when it comes to cold cast figures. What I did realize was that resin is a very unforgiving material. Measurements which are just slightly off will make it a living hell to join pieces as they either won’t budge or just break. With magnets you’re offered a little bit more freedom, you can also swivel his right shoulder and everyhting’s a perfect fit like that.

Now for something I’ve never seen explained but something that is very important.

THIS. IS. A. LIE!

The prototype shows the possibility of putting both sword and dagger into the scabbard. This is NOT POSSIBLE with the figure you will receive! It seems like the manufacturer had to change this feature for the final product. And because I didn’t know this beforehand I thought the sword was 2 pieces and the very moment I veeeerrrry carefulllyy tried to wiggle it apart…

…it broke… And that was also the very moment I realized why it was almost impossible to get used Mugen figures with an intact sword..lol

As you can see from the first picture of the 3, the scabbard is only made to hold something slightly longer then the tip of the hilt. The end for the dagger looks the same. So you either have to break the sword on purpose to achieve this look or you won’t get this display option. Breaking wouldn’t even work with the dagger, you might have to use some tool to get a clean break.

Remember: You can’t have both. Either, you put the hilt into the scabbard OR you put the sword into his hand. It’s really a shame and I’m thinking of a way of modding the sword into a connection system but I don’t know if that would work.

In the end I decided to repair the sword for the time being because I can’t stand broken parts and just put the dagger on the base beside Mugen.

I did take photos of both options before glueing the sword back together, so here are 3 dagger shots and 3 sword shots:

I love, love, love everything about this figure. The pose is extremely dynamic and true to character. The details on the clothes are great. Metal plates on his shoes, strings on shirt and pants, he also has a belly button :3 The sculpt of the hair is simply stunning!

The only thing you could argue about is the sculpt of the face but it’s not like you’ll ever see the whole thing. Half of it is obscured by his arm anyways and the other half you can openly see is accurate enough, with sliced eyebrow and all.

Ooooooh I’m in love *sighs*

 

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9 Responses to A wild grail appears: Samurai Champloo Mugen!

  1. Pingback: A Story Of Heroes And Grails | The Figure Duchess

  2. Marta says:

    Where did you buy this figure? I really want one, but I think it is no longer being sold… Do you know enywhere I could find one?

    • I bought the last one from an online shop (full story linked in the first sentence of this article).
      I guess your best bet is to stalk myfigurecollection and see if someone sells him. He’s so incredibly hard to find. Wish you luck!

  3. usagi jj says:

    The box says “cold cast, numbered and limited to 2000 pieces worldwide”. Now could someone PLEASE tell me where I could find the number to my figure? It’s definitely not ON the figure and I don’t know where it’s supposed to be on the box. Troll?

    hello from France

    I just want to confirm to you that , there is no ” serie number or certificate ” inside the box ..
    I bought 5 pieces of this figure 10 years ago , for me and offer to friends ,and never see a serial number …

    it rest to me 2 pieces , never open , collector pieces ….

    for mugen ‘s fans , it’s the most beautiful piece ..

    • Thanks for clarifying :) And lucky you for getting Mugen 5 times! He is a very beautiful piece indeed, but also the most fragile one in my collection. I swear, every time I look at him something breaks. Not even the original box and padding will prevent damage *sighs*

    • Hannah Mamun says:

      usagi jj, I know its been a year, but do you still have one for sale?? Id love to buy it!

      Thanks

      • usagi jj says:

        hello
        The Figure Duchess
        Hannah Mamun

        “it rest to me 2 pieces , never open , collector pieces ….”

        I sold 1 piece in 2017 . and the “last” will be in my private collection .
        I think it will be very hard now in 2018 to find after 10 years old ,or perhaps pay a lot of money .

        but soon , on may ( not sure ) , will release a figurine by “F4F ” mugen , around 450 us dollars ….

        search F4F mugen on “Google”
        and a video on YouTube ” F4F Presents The Making of Samurai Champloo – Mugen Documentary ”
        too much big , 60 cm tall , 4.5 kg weight !
        and the sculpt of the face is too much ” cartoon ” , missed for me ….

        good luck for your research Hannah Mamun

  4. usagi jj says:

    yes , this cast is very fragile , worst is the “sword” , “getta” , but is a full “cold cast resin ” , with “high details” , and I think it’s difficult to make something hard with the ” mugen dynamic pose ” ….

    sorry for my English

    bye
    usagi

    • Right, the sword was also the first part to break on mine. I don’t think it’s possible to prevent any damage unless you leave him sealed. I’ve also had one of the magnets on his arms coming off.
      The problem is that a figure with delicate details like Mugen’s shouldn’t have been made cold cast in the first place. Wrong choice of material. Might also be why the company closed down after just releasing one figure although they had a Jin prototype as well.

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