It's been over two months since Anime North 2024, but adulting means I get to deal with things like making sure people don't go hangry. Still, eventually one has time to revisit the second of two pieces of swag they bought at the convention, the Kotobukiya Bishoujo Street Fighter Decapre statue.
Being only playable in Ultra SF4, I believe the story is that Decapre is what Cammy would be if she had completed her Assassin/Bodyguard training under Bison and was activated. So in terms of a statue, it was very much a no brainer for Kotobukiya to make this. After all, they had a very solid Alpha suit Cammy to work off of, kind of like with Convention Exclusives.
You'd think this combination would mean that this would easily sell but collectors are fickle. Despite being what could be seen as a cool alternate skin (visually) to Cammy, people threw down for the OG (and still are, based on the insane aftermarket prices) but all things considered, 6 years after release you can still find Decapre at effectively MSRP (8,500 Yen). even here in the Americas., which is effectively how I ended up purchasing one.
Contents of the box are straight forward. You get the statue, anchored to the base by screws, and an insert for the base with the Shunya Yamashita art work that inspired the piece.
Out of box, things look pretty sharp. I like this colour scheme, and I think it would work nicely as a standard colour selection for Cammy herself. Unique to Decapre are the face mask (and expression) along with the Katar on the right arm.
Comparison to the official artwork shows that as per usual, there were some deviations from the Shunya Yamashita artwork. I can understand slimming down the face a bit so it resembles the actual game art more accurately, but I don't understand why the position of the right arm changed. The curves, particularly her hips, were also toned down but I suspect this was done to keep things in proportion with the slimmer face.
So the face in question. Fairly nice sculpting work though admittedly the teeth look kind of rough. You see a bit of scaring where Cammy has a scar, which I believe is the part of her facial scaring that the mask can't cover.
Detailing on the hair is not bad, but mainly shines on the braids. You can also see some of the work on the musculature, though at this angle it's mainly the back muscles that stand out. It is this particular view that highlights what I would call the weakest aspect of this statue, namely how obvious it is that the two braids are just glued on.
I like the work on the Gauntlets/Katar. They're proportioned properly (something I can't say the same for with current Sixth scale offerings) and unlike the rest of the body there is the use of glossy paint that makes them pop and denotes the use of different materials. Sculpting is nicely done as well.
Cammy has always struck me as a small and spry character, and as a result I'd presume the same for Decapre. Good curves, but in the proportions I'd expect on a Gymnast. The detailing on the torso is adequate, but it feels like things should be a bit sharper, more crisp. I figure the uniforms were made of something skin tight or is like a Military Uniform and made of stiff fabrics. Decapre looks like she's wearing a sweater.
The sculpting on the legs show case her beautiful glutes and leg muscles, which are appropriately sized and in quantity. Fun fact, Cammy doesn't wear leggings so Decapre is actually more conservatively dressed, and perhaps is another reason why she didn't sell as well. Boots are adequately detailed with some creases around the ankle area.
Paint Applications are, for the most part, pretty solid across the board. I don't expect anything beyond Competent to Above Average from Kotobukiya and in that regards they delivered. There aren't any real areas of intricate painting, which probably helped in this area, but I'll take the win wherever I can. Build Qualit wise, there isn't anything glaringly wrong, but there are spots where improvement would have been ideal. Starting with the obvious, there are spots on the rear of her legs that could use a bit more sanding just to make it pop that much more. Less obvious are the various assembly related flaws where larger than anticipated gaps show up or you can see the glue that they used.
As an added bonus, if you've ever wondered what a KO version looks like, I gotchu fam. Sort of. I actually ended up buying a KO Cammy (which is why I'm in the market for a legit one). You don't really need to look that hard to see things that don't quite look right, and seeing how is one of the more bootlegged Bishojo's, it's probably worth your time to familiarize yourself. Fortunately this lesson cost me more in time than actual money, as it was only $20 CAD.
From what I've seen, if you're a fan of Decapre this is probably the cheapest actual character good that is available, with prices peaking out with the 1/4 scale PCS offering. I'd say it is just as solid as all the others - the line in general is pretty good, even though the prices have started climbing in the recent years. It's just a matter if you're a fan of the subject matter. At least you can rest assured that chances are pretty good you can find one at MSRP.
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