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Figma, the popular figure company, is selling a special collection of figures this month. For a limited time all figmas and nendoroids that come with the Merry Christmas golden seal (seen above) will include a cool santa hat and mantle.  A nice seasonal touch that I hope we’ll see more of in the future. Sure to bring some holiday cheer to your figure collection, merry Figmas!

Ok I’ll stop with the Figma puns.

[Figma]

We here at Dark Diamond (I say that like we have a central office) know that times are tough. With home foreclosures on the rise, stocks hitting an all-time low, companies conducting massive layoffs and soaring gas prices, which are finally receding after reaching an all-time high (averaging over $4.00 a gallon), one would be foolish not to see these as tumultuous times. And now that the holidays are upon us, shoppers must think wisely and spend frugally when shopping for gifts for the perfect gifts their family, friends and loved ones. But fear not consumer, for we are here to help you save some time and some green with Dark Diamond’s Holiday Gift Guide – 2008 Edition.

Now before you hit the jump get comfortable: grab a cup of Egg Nog or hot apple cider, put on Christmas With the Rat Pack and let the 1080P Virtual Fireplace blaze away.

Read more!

And I, for one, welcome our PVC based overlords! Good Smile, One of the most popular Japanese figurine and hobby products have recently announced a beta version of their brand new English homepage! Right now it is just a RSS feed and list of figure releases, but expect more features such as a product search, a mobile version, and shipping date calendar soon. The recent interest in the English speaking part of the world is part of their new initiative to make their products more available across the globe. I don’t know about you, but that is excellent news for those of us who would rather not pay high deputy fees to import some of their fine products. So, why not head over to their new site and check it out?

[English Good Smile Company homepage]

Gurren Lagann, as a mecha anime, naturally had a lot of potential to generate some sweet toys collectible figures, and here is one of the better and more affordable ones I’ve come across lately.

While this Gurren Lagann stands just less that five inches tall, it features 54 points of articulation and interchangable accessories like a core drill, sunglasses, hands, and head. For $24 US, this should be a no-brainer for die-hard fans.

Whoops: I thought this was new, but it’s actually just been restocked.

[JBOX]

While it’s a bit too rich for my blood, I still enjoyed gawking at this exquisite figure of Gwendolyn from Odin Sphere. Originally seen at the Alter booth from this year’s Wonder Festival, it can now be preordered for $72.79 from Kid Nemo (Tomopop’s suggested retailer, so I’ll trust them). Unfortunately it won’t actually get released until January 2009. More pictures here.

[Tomopop]

Tomopop says that WonFes has made the first Hidamari Sketch figures on the market so far, and they certainly do live up the adorable source material, though fans are already crying foul that there aren’t already figures out of the character’s infamously wide-faced super-deformed personas.

For those of you who haven’t been following the series (one of many Hidamari Series), it’s an exceptionally cute slice-of-life anime tracking the goings-on of some girls attending a high school for art-focused students. I don’t see a price listing, but you can visit this link if you feel like deciphering some moon runes.

[Tomopop]

As if there wasn’t enough merchandise out for this game already, we’ve truly got the icing on the cake here: 7cm tall, young, female, super-deformed, barefoot animé versions of your favorite Metal Gear Solid 4 characters will be available to purchase. Pictured from left to right are Ocelot, Snake, Raiden, and Otacon. They’re priced at ¥2,940 (US $27) and can be found here at komamistyle. Honestly I think these are pretty awesome.

[Kotaku]

Some of you might remember this particular article about augmented reality otakuism written by Nahu a while back. Well guess what? Someone decided to make a potential cash cow out of it!

This augmented reality cyber maid figurine named “Cyber Figure Alice” by Geisha Tokyo Entertainment Inc. looks like it could be the answer for those otakus (or geeks) who don’t have the money or space to invest on actual PVC figurines, nor have the time to go out and look for a proper relationship with, y’know..real girls.

Usage of this deceivingly seedy product seems fairly simple. The purchaser is given a software CD, 2 cybersticks for prodding and 2 cybercubes, one of which is used with a webcam to generate the digital figurine. The cybersticks can be used to do a number of things, some of which include peeping, fondling, and yes, you guessed it, undressing the little thing.

“Cyber Figure Alice” will be out for retail sometime this fall, so those who are desperate interested in acquiring this little gizmo might want to look out for it then.

[CrunchGear via Engadget]

Bandai is running a little expo on Akihabara celebrating the figurine world and inside the expo you’ll find this badass life-sized replica of Sagittarius’ Armor from Saint Seiya. Measuring around 1.80 meters high this sure beats the crap of all those cardboard cosplay armors you see at conventions, hell that thing actually looks lethal!

[Msn Japan]

First 4 Figures, the guys behind the awesome Zelda and Metroid limited edition figures had been quiet for quite a while, turns out they had been working on something awesome, and it shows.

This is their newly released Echoes Gunship model and its their most detailed work yet. Measuring 11.5 inches in length the ship is equipped with 50 LEDs all over the model, in the windshield, engines, the base, pretty much everywhere. The base is also set up so you can tilt the model as you like it and secure it in place. Pretty awesome indeed, this is the first in a series of Metroid ship models set for release.

As usual this figure comes at a premium price of $299.99 USD and its limited to a 750 unit edition. What is different however is that if you buy one you also earn the right to buy the same number of the model next in the Gunship series. Perfect for the fan with $300 bucks to spare, which pretty much counts me out. Ah the life of the starving student.

[First 4 Figures]