Hatsune Miku Is the First Female Character in Bandai's METAL BUILD Line, Alloy Joints and All

Bandai Spirits released METAL BUILD Hatsune Miku in Japan on Saturday 24 October, at ¥36,300 including tax. METAL BUILD is the Tamashii Nations line of alloy-jointed action figures, and Tamashii Nations calls Miku the first female character in it.

The figure stands about 18cm tall. Bandai has given the virtual singer a mechanical redesign, with metallic alloy joints across her body and a back built around articulation, so she can arch backwards a long way. Her hips use several stacked joints for deep forward and backward bends, and part of each heel folds out to give her a wider footing in action poses.

She wears a cloth costume, and her twin tails are PVC sheet with wire inside, so they can be bent into shape. The box includes three swap-in faces (a shout looking left, a closed-eyed singing face and a smile looking right), three pairs of hands, a sound gadget, two backpacks, a right wrist guard, alternative fringe with headdress, spare twin tails and a stand with holographic foil. Tamashii Nations rates it for ages 15 and up.

For now it is a Japan release. The official page lists Japanese stores and online shops, including Amazon Japan, AmiAmi, Bic Camera, Yodobashi Camera and the Tamashii Nations Store in Tokyo, and no UK or US listing has been confirmed. Tamashii Nations says sales channels may change in future.

The official page suggests posing the shouting face with the sound gadget, as if she is mid-concert.