Review: Selvaria Bles by Alter (Swimsuit ver.)
This figure will be a first for our collection – a swimsuit figure! While I’m sure there are many of you out there that appreciate a girl in a swimsuit, we can find them a little dull next to our more elaborate figures and tend to steer away from purchasing them. So, what changed our minds and led to the purchase of this beauty? For one, she’s a character we like from a game we really enjoy and secondly.. well, let’s take a look at her and find out.
Selvaria is one of the antagonists from a great Playstation 3 game called Valkyria Chronicles which was released back in 2008. According to a Valkyria Chronicles wiki she also makes a cameo appearance in both Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3. She served as one of the main antagonists, Maximilian Gaius Von Reginrave, commanders and, attractive as she is, she quite honestly scared the crap out of me every time I faced her. If you’d like to know more about Selvaria and the game, check out her page on the Encyclopedia Europa.
Manufactured by Alter and retailing for 8800 yen, this Selvaria stands rather tall at 290 mm and is classed as a 1/7 figure. Based off of RAITA’s design, she’s been sculpted by the talented Yagyuu Toshiyuki who has also been responsible for some of Alter’s most beautiful figures such as Dizzy and Chua Churam. She’s actually Alter’s second go at Selvaria which was a fully clothed version that was released back in 2010.
My love affair with this figure started back when I attended the 2011 Summer Wonder Festival and Alter had the unpainted prototype displayed. I didn’t get much a chance to look at it for long (Alter’s stand was really crowded) but what I saw piqued my interest enough to look forward to seeing her get a coat of paint. Of course, she turned out looking absolutely wonderful in the initial promo shots so we preordered as soon as we could.
Before I start talking about all the merits of this figure, I’ll get the negatives out of the way. I think one of the things that might turn people off potentially buying this figure is her elongated face with it’s long nose that sticks out pretty far. While I think Yagyuu has captured RAITA’s style almost perfectly, it does look slightly odd in figure form. Having said that.. I wouldn’t have her any other way and enjoy her stylized look but understand that it’s probably not to everyone’s taste.
The major draw of this figure is probably her boobs. Yes, they’re almost ridiculously large but hey.. look at them obeying gravity! We’re not at all fans of balloon breasts over here at Plastic Parfait so this pleases us greatly. Her tight swimsuit gives the appearance of cutting slightly into her flesh which leaves enough of an indent to make her breasts actually look slightly squishy (sorry – they’re not). Luth isn’t much of a fan of the ribs but I think they look fantastic along with her deliciously sculpted tummy.
Let’s move onto other assets such as her back and butt. They’re not easily viewable even after looking at the figure from a back angle due to her mass of hair but that hasn’t stopped Alter from putting in a lot of effort to make her as desirable as possible. Her bum is fully sculpted and features no flat parts where she leans up against the brick wall.. unlike their lovely but unfortunate Nanoha that was released recently. This makes me happy for I am no great fan of flat bottoms. She simply perches on the corner of the brick rubble and is secured by holding onto the shower pipe and by a peg in one of her feet.
Selvaria’s hair leans more towards grey in the game normally but I think I prefer the look of it with the blue tones of this figure, more like when she gets scary in the game. Her hair here is slightly translucent through some of the length of it, making it look slightly glowy in certain lighting. It features some slight shading but lets the sculpting do most of the work and also has a shiny, almost shimmery finish to top it all off. It’s gorgeously done and really sets off the rest of the figure.
Apparently ready for battle even while washing herself, she comes with a variety of weapons including a sword, two knives and a gun. All of the weapons are permanently attached to her apart from her sword, which slots into a hole on her hip. Unfortunately, none of the weapons come out of their sheaths but that’s probably asking for a little too much.
I’m a bit blown away by the detailing on her right down to the cracked shower handles, the ‘stitching’ on her leather straps, the wonderful gold details and the surprisingly precise painting applied to her fingernails. I know, I know.. it’s Alter, it’s to be expected.. but they deserve credit where credit is due and they have done a marvelous job on Selvaria. She’s a shining example of Alter’s almost unrivaled craftsmanship.
I love cute toes as well as cool looking boots and shoes on figures and hey, lucky me, Selvaria has both of these covered! Her toes do look a tad too long because of they way they have been sculpted but it’s hardly noticeable under regular lighting. The foot on the rock sits on a peg to stabilize her while the other foot sits comfortably against the brick wall. As to why she’s wearing heels while showering, maybe the ground is contaminated or something? Well, whatever.. they look good anyway. Trying to apply logic to this figure is clearly futile so I’ll just enjoy her for what she is.
The superb detailing doesn’t stop when it comes to the base with the brick wall and sand texturing being rather impressive themselves. The vines creeping up the wall, the loose bricks scattered around the back of the base and the seashell in the sand add interest to an already elaborate base. I think it’s the little things like this, along with the old rusty shower, that pull the whole thing together and stop it from becoming just another swimsuit figure.
Speaking of the shower, I didn’t get a lot of photos of it because it was hard to fit into some shots because of the way I was doing the shoot. The pipe comes apart just above the shower taps and you thread it through her hand then reconnect it and this’ll offer her the final bit of stability she needs to safely sit on her base. Apart from this, pegging her foot into the base and attaching her sword to her hip, there is no more assembly which makes her a pretty low fuss figure.
Selvaria’s box is of a decent size considering her large scale, I don’t think they could have made it much smaller without compromising her safely during shipment. If you’re into the boxes, the design is nice but nothing terribly fancy.
To wrap things up, I’m obviously quite impressed with her and both Luth and I are happy to welcome her to our collection. Selvaria is an Alter figure so you know how it goes – if you like the look of her then go ahead and place an order because what you see will most certainly be what you get. We purchased her from AmiAmi’s online store but it appears she’s sold out at the major online Japanese retailers as of writing so you might have to scour the internet for her or get lucky and find her at a local retailer.
For a couple of different takes on this figure, check out these great reviews of her over at Hobby Hovel and Otagamers.
I’ll finish up with a bit of photo spam now, I hope you enjoyed my review! I’m thinking of starting up loot posts again just so we have something happening in between figure reviews so keep an eye out for those and even request a review if you like. ‘Til next time and thanks for reading!
17 comments on “Review: Selvaria Bles by Alter (Swimsuit ver.)”
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Yay, you finally posted it! BUENO. Lovin’ the photos, by the way: I really like how contrasty they are and how well they bring out her body sculpt. I tried to do that as well, But the lighting ended up being a little too flooded on most of my shots, boo boo.
It’s good to see others FINE CONNOISSEURS of boobies. Torpedo/balloon tits might have worked for me in the past, but nowadays when I see stuff like Native’s Sonico, I can no longer appreciate it through my gold-rimmed monocle. I don’t know how Raita does it, but his (or is it her?) way of incorporating the real and absurdly unreal elements in his doujins is just so goooood.
By the way, is the way you display her sword intentional? I always let it ride at an angle with the help of the wall instead of letting it hang straight down. Except for this one shot, which I totally OCD’d over
Chag recently posted..Review: 1/10 Beach Queens Kobayakawa Rinko
Hey, don’t insult Sonico ○(`д´川)
*lol*
Wieselhead recently posted..Super Sonico – Bath Time version by Native
Uh oh! xD
Haha.. I whinged about it enough, hey? Thanks! I used mostly natural light from one side with a little extra help from a desk lamp placed a good deal away from her. She’s a bit more shadowy on the right side than I’d prefer but I found that I couldn’t add any light coming in on that side without totally dulling down the shadows so I lived with it. I was going to comment on your photos here but I guess I should do the courteous thing and go comment on your review instead, lol.
Indeed! And while in the the topic of boobies, I believe I said I was going to link to your boob essay and never did.. will correct that after this comment! Hah, it never once crossed my mind that Raita might be female although I can’t say I’d be all that shocked if he was, I remember being initially surprised when I found out that there are a good deal of female doujin artists out there.. it’s kinda neat. That’s a great way of describing his stuff though, personally I enjoy his stuff not because of the content but because it’s always so stylish and interesting to look at. Man.. that’s probably the lamest reason to look at his doujins ever, haha.
No, not really. I can’t say I put much thought into her sword! I just popped it on according to how it looked in the promo shots, lol.
As I saw the prototype of her I actually thought something would be wrong with her look and proportions, but in the final product she looks just gorgeous I have to say. I don’t think there are big differences between these stages, but the style grow on me after seeing several user pictures of Selvaria.
Her body and the detailed outfit look great and of course I like her big boobs :p
I haven’t played the game and I am a bit biased after watching the VC anime.
I can’t lie, I like Alicia the most (>◡<)♡ Anyway congrats to purchasing this beautiful figure, she seems to be a gem.
My favorite picture is selvaria09 I love how you captured her face there. selvaria22 also captures her beauty very well.
Wieselhead recently posted..Super Sonico – Bath Time version by Native
Hehe, i thought you might like her boobs. people have been taking some really beautiful photos of her although her being an attractive figure doesn’t make it hard I guess! I’m actually a bit surprised she wasn’t more popular but I guess she’s pretty stylized and she’d have too much boob for some collectors.
I saw a couple of episodes of the anime and didn’t like it much compared to the game. I actually forgot it has been animated and forgot to mention it in my review, haha! Alicia is such a sweetheart, it would be nice to have a really good quality figure of her.
Thank you! The one of her face is actually my favourite too. Her expression looks a little surprised from that angle, it’s actually a bit cute.
Probably for the best…God was that anime awful. Never played the game so I can’t compare but just on its own merits alone…ugh.
Ashlotte recently posted..Review: 1/10 Beach Queens Kobayakawa Rinko
It’s amazing how different a figure can look. The difference between how she looks here and the ones Chag did are something else, especially the hair.
Ashlotte recently posted..Review: 1/10 Beach Queens Kobayakawa Rinko
It is! I guess that’s part of the fun of figure photography. The translucent nature of the hair might let people create some cool looks with different setups but I didn’t experiment much. She looks pretty different over at Otagamers too with the lovely natural setting.
Best PS3 game ever, heck I bought it before I even had a PS3. Selvaria did come out as my favorite for a variety of reasons with the biggest one that she is one of the few characters that genuinely scared me in the game.
Also it seems like all my friends are getting this figure and everyone is really in love with her. As for me I’m not a fan of her elongated look, not just on the face but the body over all. Still really nice figure, love all the little details on her swimsuit and accessories. Speaking of which, first swimsuit figure? For being relatively prolific that is a bit surprising.
Miette-chan recently posted..Nendo Giveaway: Let’s Anniversary
I actually played Luth’s copy at his recommendation and I must say it was certainly one of his better ones! It looked really hard after watching him play it for a bit so I was initially a little turned off but it was surprisingly easy to pick up.
Shame you’re not a fan but can understand that her look isn’t for everyone. Her elongated look didn’t bother me none but it took Luth a bit to get used to.
Yeah, the first. Unless you count school swimsuit mecha nurse Nana, I guess.. but she hardly even looks like she’s wearing one.
What a beautiful figure! She’s going on my “to buy” list for sure. The detailing is just unreal. I don’t mind the shape of her boobs because they have weight to them–something I’ve come to appreciate as fairly rare in busty figures these days. Thanks for the great review.
Thanks Halberd! She’s a stunner alright and I hope you’ll love her as much as I do when you get her. I agree with you about the boobs – far too many figures out there with floaty breasts. It’s quite refreshing to see something like this.. if you could call boobs refreshing, lol.
Wow what a beautiful version of her. Im so used to seeing her baddass actually i dont recall this appearing in the anime meh doesnt have too.
The base looks okay the sand looks a bit like liquid cement or some sort. but the bricks looks nice.
man she should wear a smaller bikini
bit tight on her lol
Fabrice recently posted..Shibuya
I didn’t watch much of the anime so no idea if she appears in a swimsuit! Perhaps I should watch it if she does, lol. She’s very beautiful here, I agree.
Haha, you’re right about the sand. Not sure how they could have done it any better apart from glue actual sand on there.. which would probably be pretty damn messy, lol.
Even smaller?! Geez Fabrice, hehe.
The attention to detail is amazine, especially after seeing close-ups of the base and that shower head. If I weren’t hesitant about displaying a swimsuit figure in my room, I’d probably get Selvaria just because of the quality.
Nopy recently posted..Have Magical Girl Transformations Gone Too Far?
I was wondering about including the picture of the shower head because it seemed a little boring but I’m glad I did now, so thank you! I can’t blame you for being hesitant about displaying a figure like this in your room. I’m not sure if I would if many people got to see my collection.. she’s a bit risque even for a swimsuit figure.