1/8 Scale Yuudachi Kai-II

Hello everyone and welcome back to Tiro Finale! Today I'm gonna be doing something I haven't done in a looong time, as we'll be checking out a piece from my humble figure collection. What we'll be looking at today is Good Smile's 1/8 Scale model Yuudachi Kai-II, the four sister ship of the Shiratsuyu-class IJN Destroyer. Seeing as I already have the 1/8 Shigure Kai-II in my collection and really liking that piece, I pretty much instantly snagged a Yuudachi as soon as it opened for preorder on the Good Smile store!

But before we continue, some info on the kit:

• Product Name: Yudachi Kai-II
• Manufacturer: Good Smile Company
• Sculptor: Beehive Akinori Urakawa
• Paintwork: Luu, Ekoshi/Iwabitsu
• Release Date: March 2017
• Scale: 1/8
• Height: ~220 mm
• Price: 15,556 Yen 
• Material: Painted ABS & PVC
• Official site link

Taking a quick look at the box, Yuudachi Kai-II comes in a no-frills box with a window at the front showcasing the figure. The entire box bar the bottom features a background of a sea on flames, probably alluding to the fierce First Naval Battle of Guadacanal. The inside of the box also features the same flaming background that can be removed and used as a display background (more on that later).

The box itself is actually made of thicker and glossier material than is the norm for Good Smile's scale models. I'd say it feels very similar to the packaging to those seen in Good Smile's own Wonderful Hobby Selection figures, just not quite as thick. What this means is a remarkably sturdy box 

What this means is a remarkably sturdy box that also allows the colors of the unusually flashy figure and background really pop. Definitely one of the more aesthetically pleasing packages I've seen.

On a bit of a side note, I actually do appreciate that at the time of release Kancolle figures actually had standardized box heights among their scales and Nendoroids (a practice that hasn't been in place since 2018), which made them look much neater when stored or displayed.

Being a pre-order from the Good Smile Online Store, the figure also came with a nice B2 poster featuring the original art by kujouitiso. But enough of that, now lets take her outta the box and put it all together!

Now, I know I've had this figure on display for a couple years now, but damn if Yuudachi isn't one damn fine display piece. It a figure with a large, striking presence, partially due to the fantastic sculpt giving it a strong sense of motion, but also because of its considerable size and heft with all equipment attached, weighing in at over a full kilogram.

Zoming in to the front we see Yuudachi with determined and slightly-cheeky expression in the heat of combat. Her design in this figure sticks closely to her original art in the Kantai Collection browser game, with a chubbier, more "potato" face and rounder eyes. Also faithfully recreated are her red eyes (emerald green in her non Kai-II form) and Shiratsuyu-class Kai-II signature 'ear flaps' for glorious headpats, as intended by her designer to represent her 'fierce hound' personality at her final battle at Iron Bottom Sound.

As you can see, every portion of the figure is sculpted to give a strong sense of motion, from Yuudachi grabbing on to her fluttering signature white scarf, her flowing hair, uniform, special effect parts, and even the little black bow on her head! The creases and folds on her clothes are all lovingly sculpted, her rather tight blue-tinged black serafuku showing off her shapely figure. Incidentally, with this pose her skirt is blown up Very high in this figure, making shots from the front below her eye level (!) and rear shot from... any angle a little tricky ^^''

Here we can see Yuudachi's gorgeously sculpted long hair fluttering in the wind, with each strand nicely separated to give a smooth flowing effect. Notice also the pink tips on her otherwise blonde hair, particular to her Kai-II upgrade, yet another ongoing tradition with all new Shiratsuyu-class designs after this receiving a two-tone hairstyle.

The figure itself is kept in place on the stand  via two metal pins attached to the bottom of her left shoe, which is one a pair of nicely polished brown loafers. Also cool is the finish on her black socks which give an impression of transparency.

Now, before we continue on to her equipment, let's take a look at what its all based on. The image above is the Yuudachi's practically identical sister ship Shiratsuyu (image from World of Warships). The Shiratsuyu-class itself is a much needed redesign of the "top-heavy" Hatsuharu-class destroyers. Due to restrictions on designs set by the London Navy Treaty, the Japanese Navy decided to cram as much as possible onto the allowed tonnage when creating the Hatsuharus. However, as they later figured that things like staying upright and keeping the hull in one piece were important things for warships, the Shiratsuyus were quickly drawn up and 10 ships of the class were made. 

Taking a look at her armaments, she had five 12.7cm guns housed in two double turrets and one single turret (a carryover design from Hatsuharu, due to weight concerns). Her other main armaments consist of two quad-launchers with Type 93 "long lance" torpedoes.

Moving on, we can see a close up of one of her torpedo quad launchers. Most of her ship parts feature a slightly weathered, toned gunmetal grey finish with some glossy red parts for accent. The machinery themselves are all intricately detailed, down to the individual ladders and doors on each part.

The heavy metallic finish contrasts really well with Yuudachi's supple-looking pearly white skin. 

Taking a look at her hefty back-unit, we can see the large central smoke stack, antenna, and behind those a white sail, which together with her scraf, signify the white sail flown by Yuudachi in the final moments of her last battle for morale purposes as the crew fought on after being immobilized, before abandoning ship shortly after.

Looking behind the sail, we get to see her other main armaments, three 12.7cm guns in a twin-turret and another single-turret (the other twin-turret usually being a hand-held unit, presumably lost in battle at this point). The turrets, gun barrels, and the leg-mounted torpedo launchers are all articulated so they can be finely adjusted when posing the figure.

In her left hand are a set of three Type 93 torpedoes, likely the ones intended as reloads for her leg-mounted launchers. They come with an additional flame special effect part, which honestly sounds more than a little dangerous. Notice also the cute faces on the torpedoes, as well as their golden propellers at the rear!

As we can see, there is a lot going on with this fine figure! But let's see what more we can do with it.

Seen here is Yuudachi with the previously released 1/8 Shigure Kai-II, which Yuudachi was designed to be paired with. No doubt they look fantastic together! Behind them in the background piece provided in the box. Now under these harsh lights it all looks a little bright and glossy, but move them into the display cabinet and adjust to normal room lighting...

Not too shabby at all! The pair are definitely some of my favorite display pieces to own. Mayhaps someday Good Smile will get around to making figures for their sister ships, many of which have more recently received their Kai-IIs. I don't see it happening unless the new anime or some new game release does well, but one can hope >.<

And that's it for my little write up today. Thank you for reading thus far and hope you like what you saw. Maybe I even convinced one of you to get one! Until next time.

Bonus:

Kabakura is man of culture. Source is Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii, both the manga and anime are highly recommended.