Review: figma Racing Miku 2011

Time to review yet another old figma! This review on figma Racing Miku Hatsune 2011 by Max Factory was a request!

Whereas Snow Miku has become a loathsomely exclusive, yet frighteningly irresistible nendoroid tradition of Goodsmile Company’s, the same can be said about Racing Miku figmas and Max Factory. Subsequently, GSC has Racing Miku nendos as well, but let’s not get into that. Every year, Racing Miku receives yet another redesign from an artist. This design is masterfully paraded as each year’s Racing Miku design adorns everything from key chains, to racecars, to actual race queens. And with the addition of the Goodsmile Racing sponsorship package, she can make her way to your shelf as well.

This particular Miku is Goodsmile Racing’s 2011 mascot, and was designed by Yuichi Murakami. As usual, she was available in several sponsorship packages, but what made getting her difficult is that this was before the days of GSC’s international shop. With her sales essentially limited to Japan, tracking down this Miku was not stress-free, and since she was the first Racing Miku figma, I just knew I had to have her. Thankfully, I was able to preorder one on Big in Japan(this was before their required pre-payment on exclusives too), and one disturbingly hefty sum later, Miku was mine.

This Miku did received a 2012 re-release, but the product I’ll be reviewing is from the original release.

Miku’s box is simply decorated with grey checkers on the outside, and blue within. The checkers even have an effect that suggests speed. Perfect for a racing themed figure!

One of the most distinguishing things about Racing Miku is of course her outfit. She’s wearing what is essentially a leotard with a half skirt along with boots and elbow length gloves. Odd as it may appear, this outfit is quite common for Race Queens.

For anyone who is not familiar with Race Queens, they are essentially models who attend races to represent the teams. Race Queens are usually seen with parasols, and it is their job to use it to keep the drivers cool while their cars are being repaired. Although their outfits are often revealing, being a Race Queen in Japan is a respectable job alongside being and idol. So this is the perfect role for internet diva Miku Hatsune!

Goodsmile Racing’s Race Queens actually wear outfits to match every year’s Miku. I’d hate to be on the track wearing all of that black leather…

Let’s get a closer look at Miku

One of the most defining traits of Racing Miku is her hair. Although it’s tempting to just look at her pigtails, her bangs are quite fascinating as well since the sculpt incorporates a lot of depth. The hair is definitely a highlight of this figma.
You can also see that her usual ribbons now appear as futuristic discs. They remind me of the logo for Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu.

Miku’s pigtails wisp about her like trails of blue smoke. I love the ephemeral feeling that the transparent paint and sculpt work together to create. They practically glow in the sunlight!

Just look at those icy strands!

As with all pigtailed figmas, the hair is jointed. It looks fantastic and when both tails are put above her head, they actually form the shape of a heart.
But as lovely as this hair is, there is indeed a downside. Because of it’s weight, my Miku’s head is very wobbly, and whereas most figma heads stay in one place, hers does not want to do so. It still retains poses, but the wobbliness makes her feel less solid.

The back of Miku’s head features a sculpted part, and there are small strands of hair at the base of her head. These strands thankfully do not inhibit head movement, but I have noticed that some paint from them has rubbed off onto her neck.

Her headphones are oval shaped and have both metallic and teal details.

Miku’s chest features tons of lovely details to admire!
The most noticeable thing is the Goodsmile Racing logo which in spite of being so tiny, is perfectly readable, but also notice the precisely painted stripes, metallic embellishment, and Crypton logo on her side. In addition, viewing Miku up close allows you to see that the chest of her costume area is painted to resemble a translucent material rather than bare skin. You also can’t forget the line of her rib cage and bellybutton which are both visible as well. So many details!

The chest joint helps to emphasize her breasts, but I’d say it is well integrated nonetheless.

On her shoulder can be seen the usual 01, but this time, the 1 extends to become a part of her glove. Also take note that the black parts of her costume utilize glossy paint for a sporty feel.

On her back are more metal accents (painted excellently) and the back of her skirt which is transparent and has printed details reminiscent of the original Miku’s skirt. You can see her chest joint as well. Racing Miku has no waist joint.

More stripes and metallic details. I had not realized it until looking at these close up pictures, but the painting of details on this Miku really is exceptional for a figma– worthy of the price.
The metallic accents on her boots are cool as well. They remind me of car grills!

Seamlines show up easily on transparent plastic, so there’s not much to do about that. This also reminds me that because of all the gloss and transparency, it is important to dust Miku to keep her looking her best.

And…Sorry Miku, but this is a review!

The details continue underneath the skirt! Her “underwear” is made of hard PVC. This slightly limits her ability to bring both legs together or cross them in front of each other. It is possible to do so, but this causes her leg to pop out after a while. Still, there’s no permanent damage–just an obstacle.

Aside from the hair, my favorite thing about this Miku is her legs. Whereas most anime style legs have a pronounced thigh with slim calves or are very slender overall, Miku’s are actually kind of chunky and shorter. This isn’t negative at all, and I like that it represents a different body type since there is so much more to the female shape than boobs or no boobs.

Like the other black parts of her costume, Miku’s thigh-high boots are glossy and even feature a lovely blue line which twists about them.

More metal on the tips of her shoes~

The undersides are painted blue with a metallic heel. This area is admittedly a little sloppy, but it would be nitpicking to complain.

Because of Racing Miku’s lack of a true skirt and sleeves, she is actually quite pose able!

Dance, Miku, dance!

And what’s even better than dancing?

Sitting!
Sit, Miku, sit!

Let’s move on to the obligatory figma accessories.
Racing Miku 2011 comes with two faces:

Standard and cheerful

A positive point on this Miku? Her mature face! This Miku departs from the normally youthful image of Miku, and gives us a charmingly mature face(and body) instead. I love the narrow eyes and adult smile captured in the first face.
The second face contrasts with a victorious smile that is perfect for her role.
And even though two faces is below the figma standard of three, I do not blame them for only giving us two since Racing Miku is a mascot character, and does not have a personality anyway.

Racing Miku also has five pairs of hands:

open, fists, pointing, gripping, and sign holding

Now for the accessories that are essential to a Race Queen!

First, of course, is a parasol!

The parasol is a combination of blue and white, and has a metallic stem and inner parts.
The parasol is packaged disassembled, so to put it together, all you have to do is attach the stem to the top. The handle is not a separate piece, so to have Miku hold the parasol, you need to slide it into her gripped hand. Sadly no joint less hand is included, so it is often difficult for her to hold the parasol without it flopping around. It works best when balanced on her shoulder.

The top of the parasol is decorated with Miku’s silhouette, GSR’s logo, and the number 4(which I can only assume is their car’s number).

When not in use, the parasol needs to be tucked away, so there is also a folded version!

The folded parasol offers more posing options, and is decently painted. I see an area at the base that’s completely blue.

Something else that’s important when at the race is keeping track of the score. Miku makes use of the special sign holding hands for this.

I copied the numbers on the box, but the sign actually comes blank and can be personalized.
This accessory is creative, but I honestly never use it.

And after a long race, there has to be a winner, so Miku has a bright checkered flag to herald the victory of the winning team(whoever they may be).

The flag has sculpted ripples just like any flag.

And what does the winning team get for all of their hard work? A trophy rewarded by Miku herself!
I’d rather have Miku >_>

The trophy has a gold cup with silver lightning bolt shaped supports and rests on a brown base featuring GSR’s logo. Having Miku hold it is harder than it looks if her hands are floppy. This figma really would have benefitted from some joint less hands…

On the inside, you can see that the trophy was airbrushed. Seems they didn’t paint all of it XD

This is everything within the box, but an external accessory was included!

Ta da! A crystal championship trophy!
I prefer this trophy. It’s a crystal clear prism, and is quite pretty.

The prism even made a little rainbow on my review table~

Now that we’ve seen Racing Miku and everything she comes with, let’s take her out for some pictures!

I’ve had Miku for quite some time now, and have always found her extremely difficult to photograph. Even with her lovely hair, I’ve just never been able to take a picture of her that I feel truly captures the spirit of Racing Miku. And I think that until I can get near a good road or small car for Miku to stand by, it will stay that way, so I’m sorry about the short photo shoot section for this review.

This is as close as I was able to get to my ideal Racing Miku shoot. I wanted to create a racing memorabilia display area.

That trophy case is awfully empty.

Final Thoughts
Expensive and limited, Racing Miku 2011 is not everybody’s figma. But she does offer beautiful hair, a one of a kind costume, a lovely face, and great quality to anyone who manages to hunt her down. My Miku is lonely for the time being, but I fully intend to hunt down the other Racing Queen incarnations which I believe will make Miku even more fun to own.