There is a variety of anime figures when shopping. What is the difference between them? How do you distinguish between so many different types of figures? Here, we will introduce the most common ways to distinguish the types of figures, hope it will help you. 

In the eyes of the public, figures mostly refer to physical collections of characters or monsters derived from anime, comics, movies, games and other media. It is a high-precision, small-sized sculpture，which is the objectification of virtual characters of movie game in real life.

However, the real sense of figure is that the unpainted resin module kit, which is a kind of collectable model and a kind of Japanese anime accessories, especially model kits that have not been colored and assembled. It is made to express the personality of the prototype, originally called Garage Kits (GK) in English, meaning Model Kits. GARAGE KIT is quoted from the original meaning that people often make things by themselves in the garage. Most of the figures are semi-finished white moulds provided by the factory, requiring a series of complex craftsmanship such as polishing, assembling, and coloring by themselves, which is far more difficult than that of general model making. Therefore, the figure needs to be DIY,  which is also the greatest joy of purchasing figure.

Resin is mainly used to make it. Later, due to misunderstanding, the figure was also used to refer to the humanoid works including all resin materials of the finished product, as well as the humanoid, which is a general term for all collectable character models, which may also refer to models of cars, buildings, videos, plants, insects, ancient creatures, or fantasy objects.

The characteristics of figures are as follows: Firstly, it is relatively small and most of its size is between 20cm and 40cm high, similar to dolls and models. Secondly, it is of high precision with delicate coloring and exquisite workmanship, which can indicate the essence of the character.

How many types of figures can be divided into? And what are they?

1. Painting Finished Product

Finished painting products are actually models that have completed the assembly and painting process in the factory. It covers various types, including: character models, mechanical models, animal models, etc. According to the materials used in the model, we can also divide it into two types: PVC-coating products and resin-coating products.

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(1) The finished product of PVC coating is relatively cheaper, faced with the mass market. But the disadvantage is that its details are too simple to make some complicated shapes.

(2) While in terms of material, the finished resin-coated product is superior to PVC, so it won’t be deformed easily for a long time. As its material is harder, the weight is heavier. However, due to its high cost of raw material cost, the output is not large and the price is more expensive.

2. Gashapon

Gashapon, is a kind of toy from Japan, which is a transparent round Gashapon with a small toy inside. Generally speaking, people can find Gashapon station at the entrance of toy stores or convenience stores in Japan. You can clearly know which style of toy is on sale according to the promotional card in front of the Gashapon station. As long as you put a coin, and then twist the button in the front of the station, the round Gashapon will fall out of the outlet which is under the station. The toy in the Gashapon must be one shown on the promotional cards, which enables customers to enjoy the fun of joining a lucky draw.

Sometimes, there is a 1:1 type Gashapon toy written on the promotional card, which means that the original types of toys in the Gashapon station is added with the same proportion of other types of toys. In this way, the chance of customers to get the original style decreases.

If everyone wants to draw a set, it will spend a lot of money. And there is the possibility of getting the same toys several times. Some toy stores on the market will sell the whole set of toys, which is much more convenient than drawing a Gashapon by yourself. Besides, you can get them in hand much earlier than when the Gashapon enters the candy machine!

A Gashapon is a plastic eggshell that can be opened in half with toys and instructions contained. The manual for the Gashapon is also called egg paper. Due to the limited size of the Gashapon, most of the toys inside have to be assembled by customers themselves, which greatly increases the playability. The egg paper is a promotional leaflet introducing the Gashapon. If the player wants to collect the Gashapon, remember not to throw away the egg paper for the reason that the egg paper is very memorable and of economic value. In order to reduce transportation costs, intermediate wholesalers often remove the shells of the Gashapons. Therefore, most of the Gashapons sold in the store do not have eggshells, but there are definitely egg papers.

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3. Shokugan

Shokugan, Candy Food, is a kind of toy enclosed in the food packaging box.SHOKUGAN (SHOKU = food + GAN = toy) originally refers to INEXPENSIVE, yet HIGH QUALITY toys packaged with a piece of candy which are sold on the candy shelves in Japan. Developed by Bandai, it has over 30-year history and has been loved by all generations of toy collectors and fans.

In fact, there are nicknacks that can be collected in the candy box. Therefore, and it increases the willingness of customers to collect them.

Shokugan has a beautifully printed carton package, which contains candies, toys and instructions. The candies generally have related toy logos. In addition to the instruction manual, some food toys also come with a toy collection card. While apart from the exquisite printing of the toy content, the Shokugan packaging box also contains the ingredient description, origin and taste period of the candy.

In the later years, the bonus toys were more popular than candy. So Gashapon was developed, which is mainly in the form of toy figures. There is usually a series, whose outer box does not show the content. Because the nature of the extraction is similar to that of a Gashapon, so it is called a Gashapon. Compared with the Shokugan sold in the Shokugan machine, the Gashapon is placed in a large carton and wrapped in an opaque eggshell. It is also randomly selected by luck. Bandai calls it "EX CASHAPON" (luxury plus Gacha). shokugan are generally more exquisite in workmanship, about 10 cm high, and the value of the collection is greater than that of Shokugans. If you are lucky enough, you can still get the hidden version. 

4.Dollfie Dream(DD)

The DD figure refers to all movable humanoid dolls with replaceable clothes. In the narrow sense, the clothing-like movable figure generally refers to Ball joint Doll， also called BJD. In Chinese, it means "spherical joint human shape".  Ball joint Doll originated from Europe, which was made of ceramic material in the early days, and then evolved into the universal resin or PVC material currently. The price is usually over 12,000 yen in Japan, for example, Super Dollfie (abbreviated as SD) and Dollfie Dream  (abbreviated as DD).

The height of the Dollfie Dream is about 60cm, of which the surface material is soft vinyl. Most of the DD Base Body II that we can buy on the market have built-in movable joints, and the Base Body I with elastic movement are also available. But they are not on sale any longer.

There are also Super Dollfie and Ball-jointed Dolls on the market. The biggest difference between them is anime and non-anime. Because of this, Dollfie Dream belongs to the figure category, while Super Dollfie and Ball-jointed Dolls do not.    

5. Brick

The earliest concept of the building block man originated from the children's assembling toy produced by the Lego company of Denmark (LEGO). The square parts are covered with protrusions of the same size, and the back is a hollow division area. Multiple units can be produced by assembling.

This kind of gameplay was originally used to enlighten children's intelligence. But when it comes to the hands of adults, many surprising works are created, and this "modern building block" is gradually being accepted by adults.

Among the toys released by Lego company later, it is not just a single toy scene part, but a lot of characters that match the scene. The characters themselves are simple in shape, divided into head, body, limbs. Some characters also have guns or hats and any other collocations. Due to the exquisite workmanship and its mobility, this role was quickly developed independently by Lego as a separate project and sold separately. This kind of villain was firstly called the Brick. Until 2000, some designers from Japan and Hong Kong took a fancy to this well-known toy model and began to use its model to make artistic alterations.

6. Doll

The doll is a term spread from Hong Kong, mainly referring to the meaning of dolls. In recent years, a kind of doll that is similar to real people has gradually become popular. The difference between this type of dolls and other is that these dolls have quite their own personality.

In the era when toy dolls advertise their individuality, even doll toys must hold the banner of individuality high. The toys with an ugly appearance, short stature, and fierceness may be synonymous with individuality.

In addition, vinyl is just a material for making toys. It is a bit soft and has good characteristics. It is generally used to make dolls. For example, the CS dolls that were very popular in the previous period are made of vinyl.

7. Scale Model

Scale model usually refers to a model that scales down real objects such as cars, aeroplanes, and ships. The military model and car model that we often mention are scale models. But we should make it clear that although the Gundam model is also proportional, it cannot be counted as a proportional model but a character model.

8. Character model

The definition of the character model is that the models made by the characters from any anime, comics, games, and movies. Robots or human models are divided into this category. The most common one is the Gundam model and various cartoon character models. The character model is a general term for a broad category, so the figures and various finished products we mention usually belong to the category of character models.

The main materials that model toys use to produce: PVC-Polyvinyl Chloride and Polystone, a material made of resin and stone powder.  It is a kind of cold resin, often used for making Garage Kits.

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9. Keihin

Keihin refers to the anime figures obtained through entertainment activities, sales of specific activities, or through a lottery drawing. People in Japan can only get Keihin through the above methods, while it can be bought directly overseas. Owing to this nature of the Keihin, the quality is generally poor.

In recent years, the level of all aspects of Keihin has become higher and higher, and it has attracted more and more attention from humanoid players. For example, the prizes of Game Center's claw machine and the gifts of the night market festival are all Keihin.

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Keihin appeared earlier than the Gashapon. Keihin is mainly grabbed by Keihin machines, but some of them can be exchanged for game points or sold directly in stores. The main Keihin machine is similar to the claw machine. The main manufacturers include Sega, BANPRESTO, FURYU, etc., which use coin-operated iron to capture the Keihin. If the number of points is 5, it can be figured out. While the total point of 3 beats is less than 5, you fail. Therefore, there is no official pricing for scenery products. Generally, the direct-sale shops in Japan mainly sell Keihin at 1,100 yen.

What we mention above is the introduction of the definition of figure and its basic types. Do you know what figure is now?

Keihin refers to the anime obtained through entertainment activities, sales of specific activities, or through a lottery drawing. People in Japan can only get Keihin through the above methods, while it can be bought directly overseas. Owing to this nature of the Keihin, the quality is generally poor.

In recent years, the level of all aspects of Keihin has become higher and higher, and it has attracted more and more attention from humanoid players. For example, the prizes of Game Center's claw machine and the gifts of the night market festival are all Keihin.

Keihin appeared earlier than the Gashapon. Keihin is mainly grabbed by Keihin machines, but some of them can be exchanged for game points or sold directly in stores. The main Keihin machine is similar to the claw machine. The main manufacturers include Keihin, BANPRESTO, FURYU, etc., which use coin-operated iron to capture the Keihin. If the number of points is 5, it can be figured out. While the total point of 3 beats is less than 5, you fail. Therefore, there is no official pricing for scenery products. Generally, the direct-sale shops in Japan mainly sell Keihin at 1,100 yen.

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What we mention above are the introduction of the definition of Figure and its basic types. Do you know what figure is now?

Moe Energy has all kinds of anime figures and cute stuff you'd love to collect! Come here to collect your favorite anime figures and get Free Shipping for orders over $35!

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