Kaiyodo ChocoQ 9 Asian black bear cub

I just had to show: isn't he cute?
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Lovely figure indeed! The pose is very funny and the figure looks really good. It is an Asian bear what turns it even more interesting. Thanks for showing.

Very cute

Lovely, wonderful model

It is probably not possible to make a model of a baby bear more cute then thry are in real, - and this one cought it just right

Everything about this model is great. It has captured the personality of this family of animals so well, species and pose are rare in this hobby. Congrats on this awesome figure.

Asian black bears are less commonly made than American black bears, but because the Asian species exists in Japan, Kaiyodo made several. When the bear is magnified in a photo, you see details that are almost impossible to see with the naked eye, like the pupils exactly in the middle of the 1 square mm eyes. I wish I knew more about how they produced so much detail. Clearly, the Kaiyodo (and other Japanese) models aren't hand painted, but do they use a very tight fitting mould for painting, a highly accurate painting robot or a different technique?

rogerpgvg wrote:

Asian black bears are less commonly made than American black bears, but because the Asian species exists in Japan, Kaiyodo made several. When the bear is magnified in a photo, you see details that are almost impossible to see with the naked eye, like the pupils exactly in the middle of the 1 square mm eyes. I wish I knew more about how they produced so much detail. Clearly, the Kaiyodo (and other Japanese) models aren't hand painted, but do they use a very tight fitting mould for painting, a highly accurate painting robot or a different technique?

I agree ! It is amazing how they can make the paintwork so great, when many western brands struggle, or just make black eyes, clear spray paint-lines etc

It might be a difference in purpose as to the accuracy.

Many of the European/American companies’ main target audience is children/people who buy for children, so the need for accuracy would be considered a lower priority than saving/earning money. I mean, as long as the basic identifiable features are present. Because children, unless they have something particular in mind, will usually be less likely to make it an issue. It’s a toy. It’ll be roughed about, it’s got to take rigorous play and be safe. Because of the materials they work with, the majority of the toys will already have proportion issues, what’s a bad paint job as long as the kids and parents recognize it.

However, Kaiyodo and the like are definitely aimed at an older, more vocal audience. It is an audience who want beauty and detail. It is supposed to be accurate. It’s been turned into an art. They sacrifice durability for accuracy.
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Also, Perhaps it could be a combination of hand-painting for the larger features , with precision robot for precision details?

Yes, I am sure you are right that the specific audience matters.

I always think it's funny when Western brands (made in the East) proudly advertise their animal figures as hand painted, as if this must be superior to machine painted. I would have thought that machine painting is also more cost-effective, because hand painting is very labour intensive.

I have a lot of admiration for the people who paint though, they do an amazing job. Nowadays, the standard of hand-painting is very high (compared to the Britains 60s-80s era), it's rare to get a figure that has an issue. I hope the workers aren't underpaid.

Alas, the terms hand crafted, hand made, hand painted, all imply a certain degree of skill, time, specialization and/or uniqueness.

With the sheer quantity of inferior “made by hand” things we encounter regularly, we should be immune.

Then, when we encounter a skilled artist/crafter/maker - such as many on this forum have proved to be- and we go, “ah, this is why hand-made/hand-painted/hand-crafted still has a positive reputation!”

Based on how little piecework for non-skilled jobs can go for, it might actually be cheaper to just pay a workforce than to make specialized machinery / calibrate it for various models and run / maintain said machinery. Which would explain the low quality, because the painter is trying to output as many as possible to make money and the people above them can say they “provide jobs”.

Oh, forgot to mention earlier: Congrats on such a lovely model!