Kotobukiya 1/8 Kazami Mizuho First Look

By Tom Grossman

First Look

Going back a few years, anime and manga fans may remember the series “Please! Teacher” and the sexy alien in the classroom Kazami Mizuho. More of a school boy’s dream than a parallel to “The Faculty”, Mizuho was thoughtful and loving. She was also a woman of great determination.

This kit captures that spirit down to the last detail. Dressed in her teacher’s uniform, she sits on a strikingly rendered office chair. The chair rests on four delicately sculpted wheels. Little knobs to adjust the height and the back are included. The seat is supported by a styrene rod that must be cut to fit. She holds a stack of books on her lap and a box of Mizuho’s favorite treat, Pochy. A 1//8 Pochy box printed crisply on good paper is included. The castings are so fine that the Pochy in her mouth is part of her left arm. Her hair is exquisitely rendered in a creatively gathered bun with curly tails.

There is little flash and minimal pour spouts. The joints are well keyed and fit nicely. The major joints have matching locator points for easy placement of pins. But that’s nothing more than the usual with Kotobukiya kits. She even comes with two sets of glasses printed on a thin sheet of plastic. Cut out carefully, either with scissors or on a hard cutting surface with a fresh Excel blade Instructions include Arabic numerals for Parts List and Assemble(sic) guide. Both of these have clear, understandable diagrams. The assembly of the chair details is in two small inserts in the larger diagram for the figure’s assembly. Nice box art and a quality color picture of one pose top off the presentation.

It’s a good idea to pin as many joints as possible. That will help keep the parts securely in place. Copper makes forgiving pins while some prefer more rigid materials. Even though the chair will sit nicely by itself, it’s also a good idea to pin it to a base of some type. A short pin going into the base and up into the chair’s support rod.

This well produced kit of sexy Mizuho represents the huge variety of anime girl kits on the market today. It’s helpful in searches to know the name of a favorite character or two. But looking thru HobbyLink Japan’s on-line catalog is a pleasant experience. So many wonderfully crafted models to build!