Scale statues don't show up very often here because quite frankly, they're kind of expensive. Yes, yes, I'm the guy who regularly import figures, but for most of the stuff I would actually get, a typical scale is probably around what a Hot Toy would cost. I guess when I look at it that way, that would probably explain why the Kotobukiya Bishoujo lineup has generally sold so well - they're like Pop Up Parade! in that you're getting a good quality product for what is comparably a reasonable price. As always, the IP upon which the statue is based also a factor.
When it comes to Street Fighter stuff, it seems these days it's either Kotobukiya or you basically jump right into the PCS resin territory, with the occasional Capcom Girls Project release sprinkled in between. As these are very much blink and you'll miss it offerings, it's no surprise that I blinked and I missed them. Aftermarket prices on most of these are also unforgiving, and it's not a rabbit hole I wish to go down.
So as luck would have it, I happened to stumble upon a lone R. Mika on Anime Export one day, on sale even, It wasn't Chun Li or Cammy, but at that price I just went with it.
R. Mika (Rainbow Mika) was a character introduced waaaay back in Alpha 3. A Professional Wrestler by trade, she's a huge fan of Zangief, though as a character I this is more striking based than grappling. Despite her very appealing looks, I actually didn't have any of her Character Goods until now, and I sadly didn't bite on the Figuarts.
Being a 1/7 scale statue, it's no surprise that Articulation isn't exactly a point of discussion here, and for the most part, neither is Build Quality. The only real discussion points on the latter are you'll want to handle the twin tails carefully when inserting into the head, and you REALLY need to insert the microphone into the hand securely.
Otherwise,, there's no problematic issues per se, but I did notice that some areas didn't seem to be as crisply made as others,. Her breasts aren't evenly shaped, and while it's somewhat there on the original art as a result of good old squeezing, it's not as pronounced as in the final product. There's also a few flaws around how the fleshy part fits into the heart shaped window on her upper back. Being a modern Scale Statue, leaning is also no longer a concern.
So being a 1/7 statue, it's not exactly tiny so there's a good start there. Then you have the modifications that Shunya Yamashita did to the designs to give her and every other design she's ever done that much more curve appeal. But because R. Mika was already pretty stacked to begin with, this process only served to make her that much more glorious. Combine that with a very curve friendly pose, and you have a true piece of art.
It should also be noted that yes, you can place an insert of R. Mika into the base, which is a really weird way of cost cutting and not having to produce customized bases, but I was just to lazy to do it.
Strangely, the typical Yamashita upgrade to the face of R. Mika isn't as noticeable as on other characters. It's a combination of the expression and the fact that she's wearing a mask, though if you look at it you'll instantly see the trademark pouty lips and more importantly, the eyes.
Sculpting on the hair is adequate. It's clearly a bit on the simpler side, but technically this is a statue of a Yamashita drawing rather than her SFV model. Her gravity defying twin tails are of course in place, though it seems for whatever reason the detailing on these is inferior to the hair on the top of her head. You can see on the window on her back how even Bishoujo'ed,, R. Mika is all about that bulging Muscle Power.
Speaking of bulges, it's safe to say that R. Mika is oozing out of every possible window offered by her outfit. There's no bad side to this, because I'm pretty sure if there were you wouldn't be looking at a statue of R. Mika.
Other detailing includes fabric folds and other outfit related items. From what I can tell, again, not astronomical levels of detailing, but definitely adequate.
From a Paint perspective, unsurprisingly the flesh tone paint is masterfully done. Evenly applied, no bubbles or overspray. The rest of it isn't bad, but you can clearly see there are some paint apps that are weaker than the rest, as well as masking issues. Roughest paint applications would be the various pieces of white trim on her outfit. Shading paint applications were solid, though only really present on the boots.
I think it's safe to say that this line will continue to be in high demand so long as the source art, price, and production values don't deviate too much. So much so that there's already multiple versions of the same characters, all of which do not seem to have any problems being sold. While they're all nice, R. Mika is certainly the least shy about flaunting her physique, and that's being compared to the likes of Cammy who practically pioneered the concept in the Street Fighter line up. So yean, I'm saying if you're into the line and it's concepts, you're not going to regret getting this one.
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