Wonderful Hobby Selection Atago & Takao

Hello everyone and welcome back to Tiro Finale where we are joined by these two beautiful ships. After almost two years of previews, prototypes and delays, both Atago and Takao in their Heavy Armament Versions have finally been released. Both are part of Good Smile Company/Max Factory's coveted Wonderful Hobby Selection series of figures and make no concessions at any corner including the box and packaging.

Yesterday, we went through the unboxing of Takao from her shipment parcel revealing one of the largest figure boxes for a 1/8 scale figure that I have ever seen. Put side by side with Atago's box and we can really see just how massive Takao's box is where Atago's is already very large to begin with. Takao's box not only has a significant height increase, it is also have significantly more depth to it as well.

Prior to receiving Takao, I had expected her box to be the exact same size and design as Atago's seeing as to how both figures were both the same scale and size. Hence the significant increase in box size did take me aback quite a little bit especially when it comes to arranging the boxes in my collection. Fortunately, Max Factory were kind enough to maintain the widths of the box to match both sister ships allowing them to be stacked up against one another.

Just like Atago, Takao too has a very impressive figure but sports some rather polar changes compared to Atago. Her short dark hair, red eyes and short skirt are a stark contrast to Atago's long blonde hair and outfit. As such, the color scheme of her box has been changed to match her personality and appearance as well. A change that I do welcome especially since the three core colors used are the same as those on their uniforms. 

Picking between the two, I find it to be almost impossible to select either one of them. Which is why I strongly abide by the belief that the two must be collected as a set to obtain the full experience. After all, Good Smile Company even provided Takao with an additional base allowing her to be posed together with Atago as they have shown in both figure conventions and promotional images. 

Speaking of bases, several Takao: Heavy Armament Versions have been found to have defective bases and Good Smile Company has noted the issue, promptly shipping out replacement bases. Rather than wait on individual requests, Good Smile is covering all their bases to all who have bought the figure regardless of the condition of their base. Such service is why I had absolutely no regrets having to wait more than a year to finally receive my Takao figure.

With that, we come to the end of this little highlight featuring two of the most premium figures I have ever purchased for my collection. If you have any questions about the figure, do not hesitate to ask them in the comments section below. Until the next time, thank you so much for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!