First 4 Figures is making their grandiose convention circuit debut in the United States this week at New York Comic Con 2017! But before Alex and Chockles unveil tons of new statues (and sign a bajillion autographs) at the show, there’s another matter to attend to: the exclusive F4F Soul Calibur II Taki statue is now up for order! Read on for the full FAQ, which includes details, photos, and the answers to pretty much every possible question you might have about this statue…
“How limited is the Exclusive Edition? Will I have to rush to order it on October 3rd?”
First 4 Figures has ordinarily has a two-week order window to order the exclusive versions of their statues, but starting with Taki, things are going to be a little bit different.
F4F Soul Calibur II Taki will open for pre-orders for ten days from October 3rd-13th, 2017, and then orders will close (with no Wait List available during this time). She will then be available for order again from October 27th-29th, 2017 for the first-ever “Last Chance Weekend”.
After the Last Chance Weekend ordering window ends, any additional orders for the exclusive edition will go into a Wait List which will only be fulfilled when people with confirmed orders cancel their orders.
“What’s different about the Exclusive edition?”
The Exclusive version available only directly from the F4F website will feature an elaborate lotus-themed display base for Taki that greatly increases the height and weight of the statue.
The regular version of Taki will come with the same generic black “Soul Calibur II” logo base as the regular edition of Nightmare came with.
“What’s different about the Day One edition, and how long will it be available?”
The Day One Edition is available for only 24 hours, beginning when orders open on Tuesday, October 3rd. The Taki Day One Edition includes everything that the non-Day One Editions come with, as well as an additional art card signed by First 4 Figures CEO Alex Davis, a holographic sticker inside the box and 435 extra Reward Points.
There is no Day One Edition of the Regular Version Taki statue—only the Exclusive version has a Day One Edition.
“Why was this pose selected for the statue?”
F4F wanted to avoid having Taki “flying through the air” with a transparent pole supporting her, so they chose to use this pose from official artwork as inspiration. The pose shows off Taki’s athleticism, style, strength and elegance, and has been done in a classy way to balance Taki’s T&A factor with her acumen as a fighter.
“Why doesn’t Taki have her mask?”
This is a licensed statue based on Soul Calibur II. Since Taki never worse a mask in that game, F4F cannot include a masked head for the statue.
“Is the sword really metal?”
Yes—it’s made of die-cast metal.
“Are there any revisions announced that will be made to this statue?”
One revision has been confirmed by F4F CEO Alex Davis at this time: the purple missing from Taki’s foot on the prototype that’s present in the game will be added on the final production statue. No other changes have been announced at this time.
“When does the pre-order window open?”
The first round of pre-orders will open on October 3rd 2017 at the following time: 8:00am (California), 11:00am (New York), 4:00pm (London), 5:00pm (Germany), 11:00pm (Hong Kong). If you’re not in one of these regions, you’ll have to adjust to see when the statue launches locally for you.
“Are low numbers available for this statue?”
Yes and no. This is the second statue in First 4 Figures’ Soulcalibur II line. Those who already have authenticated the previous statue in the line (Soulcalibur II – Nightmare) will be entitled to receive the same number for Soulcalibur II – Taki from Soulcalibur II line.
However, any numbers from Nightmare purchasers that aren’t authenticated will be up for grabs, so for those who didn’t buy Nightmare, the earlier you place a Taki order, the lower the available number that you’ll receive for her.
“What are the dimensions of this polystone resin Taki Soul Calibur II statue?”
The regular edition of the Taki statue is 19.5″ tall, 12″ wide and 12″ deep. She weighs 3.72 kg (about 8.2 pounds).
The exclusive edition of Taki stands 23” tall, 12” wide, 12” deep and weighs 6.55 kg (about 14.4 pounds).
“Why is the exclusive version of the statue so heavy?”
The lotus-themed display base is not only pretty huge, but it’s also made of solid resin and consequently is extremely heavy.
“Do I need to worry about the figure leaning over time because of the one-legged pose?”
No–A sturdy internal metal pole that runs all the way up Taki’s leg has been implemented to ensure that she’s able to hold her pose for many, many years.
“How many pieces does this statue come in?”
Both the regular and exclusive editions of Taki come in seven pieces (with the base being one of the seven pieces).
“Do I get both bases with the exclusive Taki figure?”
No—the peg on Taki’s foot needs to be positioned differently for her to attach to the exclusive base, so the figure isn’t interchangeable with the plain black base of the regular edition.
“How much does a First 4 Figures Taki statue cost?”
Both the regular and exclusive versions of the Soul Calibur II Taki F4F statue are priced at $434.99.
“Why are the regular and exclusion editions the same price?”
Although the exclusive versions of the SCII statues feature larger and more elaborate bases, the number of orders for the regular edition of the Nightmare statue was so small that it cost almost as much to produce the plain black base as it did the exclusive base.
With that in mind, the regular and exclusive Taki statues are priced the same, with the thought being that far more exclusive editions than regular editions will be sold.
“Will I be charged outright for the entire statue when I order?”
Nope! You’ll only be charged the non-refundable deposit (NRD), which is usually around 10% of the total price ($43 in this case for either edition of Taki). Then you’ll either pay for the remainder of the balance (including shipping) at once when First 4 Figures Taki is ready to ship, or in several monthly payments if you choose a Flexipay option.
“What if I want to pay for the entire Taki statue at once up-front?”
You can arrange making a full payment for the Taki statue(s) by contacting F4F CS using the Contact Form located on the website here.
“Are Payment Plans available for Taki, and if so, what do they cost?”
Yes–4-month, 7-month and 9-month Flexipay payment plans for Taki are available. With the 4-month plan, you’ll be charged three scheduled times for $98, with the 7-month plan you’ll be charged for $56 six times, and with the 9-month plan you’ll be charged for $43 in eight scheduled payments.These scheduled payments are in addition to the deposit and final payment plus shipping cost that’s due when the item is ready to be shipped to you.
All of this information is also broken down in table form on the website page for each version of Taki under the “Additional Information” tab.
“Can I order Taki using PayPal?”
YES!!! Paypal is finally a default payment option built right into the First 4 Figures website! Just select “Paypal” as your payment method during checkout, and you’ll be all set! No more need to E-Mail CS in order to place a Paypal order!
Yep!! Since you can use Paypal as a default payment method on the F4F website now, available low numbers will be assigned to everyone on a first-come basis, regardless of whether you pay using Paypal or a credit/debit card.
“Why is the First4Figures Soulcalibur II Taki statue so much more expensive than the PVC statues from other companies?”
Most PVC figures and statues released by other companies have an open edition size, whereas this version of Taki is much larger and more detailed and is a highly-limited limited polystone resin statue.
“What makes resin statues so much more expensive than PVC statues?”
The expense with non-PVC statues comes from the fact that resin statues are fairly small limited edition pieces (whereas PVC figures are produced in tens of thousands), require extremely expensive production (factory workers’ wages in particular have exploded in the past few years), and are far larger, much heavier and vastly more detailed than PVC figures.
If you’re looking to get into collecting high-end resin statues, F4F is one of the cheapest companies around cost-wise and one of the best companies around quality-wise, so you’ve picked a great place to start.
“What are the shipping rates for this statue and when is shipping charged?”
Shipping is charged along with your final payment for a statue. The table of shipping rates for the Taki statue has not been posted as of writing, however. I’ll add the shipping rate table once it’s available.
“What if I’m buying both versions of Taki? Do I have to pay more in shipping?”
Yep! If you order multiples of either version of Taki or one of each, they will ship separately so you’ll end up paying for shipping two statues at the time of shipping (not when you place your pre-order).
“What other Soul Calibur games will First 4 Figures be producing statues from?”
Right now, First 4 Figures is focusing on SC 2 statues. Statues from the other games are not on the radar at this time.
“Why was Taki chosen as the second character to release in the First 4 Figures Soul Calibur II series instead of Ivy?”
First4Figures CEO Alex Davis chose Taki over Ivy to get a statue first because he’s better at using Taki than Ivy, and Taki is one of his personal favorites.
“What other Soul Calibur II characters are in development for the statue treatment?”
Along with the Nightmare statue that was previously available for order and set to be released this fall, F4F has shown teasers for Mitsurugi and Ivy statues, and has said that some development work has been done on Kilik and Cervantes.
“Which Soul Calibur II statue is scheduled to be released after Taki?”
First 4 Figures has teased that the samurai, Mitsurugi, is next in line after Taki.
“What was the easiest part of the development of this project?”
The easiest thing to do for this project was the regular edition black base, which is the same SCII Logo base that came with the Nightmare statue (for the sake of consistency across the line).
“What was the hardest part of the project of developing the F4F Taki?”
Balancing the T&A aspects of this sculpt with the athleticism and power that Taki has as a fighter was very challenging. The detailing of the armor was also difficult, as the accents of armor have to have an impact.
“When will the Taki F4F statue be released and ship out?”
The Taki statue is currently estimated to ship out in Q3 2018 (July to September 2018).
“So where can I order the Exclusive versions from again?”
The regular and exclusive versions of Taki are now up for order via the official First4Figures website from Tuesday, October 3rd 2017 to Friday, October 13th 2017. Pre-orders will then close until Last Chance Weekend from October 27th to 29th. The Wait List for Taki will open up for the first time on October 30th.
If anyone has any further questions regarding the launch for this sculpture that I didn’t answer here, please feel free to leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer your question myself or get you the information that you’re looking for. And if you’re interested in seeing our future articles, updates and Q&A recaps on First 4 Figures statues, please be sure to follow the Gamer Toy News Facebook Page and Twitter Feed!
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