And welcome to today’s figure review of Apex’s 1/7 Keqing from Genshin Impact!
Once again, “How did you get it so soon? She’s supposed to come out in December!”. Just like my Ningguang figure, it’s a China-exclusive early batch. The release date was in late September. Apex shipped a copy to me on around the 29th or 30th of September, but the 1st to 5th of October was a public holiday week in China. Otherwise I’d have gotten her a lot earlier - as early as last week.
Company: Apex Toys / Apex Innovation
Release date: 29 September 2022
MSRP: CNY848 (approx US$120)
Scale: 1/7
Height: 29cm (overall), 27cm (Head height)
I have already published a full unboxing video, assembly, and figure review in my Youtube channel. Do check it out.
The two words I’d use to describe this figure?
“Astonishing Value.”
Before we dive into the details, a quick mention about her box - it is solid, hard cardboard. Many Japanese brand figures that set you back for $160 or even $200 come in flimsier boxes that barely offer any protection to the figure in it. Apex did not cheap out on the box, which is good news. And it’s pretty attractive too. This is a 10/10 packaging for a scale figure that costs only $120.
Assembly is straightforward, easy and almost no fuss (unlike Ningguang’s incense pot and the smoke effect leaving you scratching your head for 10 minutes). All parts fit with just the right tightness. It is not difficult to take apart this figure should you want to put her back in her box for transportation. However, there are 2 parts that will require some attention and care - her sword and an effect part on the base, which I will mention below in their respective sections.
[/url]
This time around, unlike Ningguang’s slightly controversial change to her face (which, to be fair, was actually okay), with Keqing you are getting exactly what you see in the official product photos.
Whether a figure resembles its original 2D art is another topic altogether. I use official product photos as a standard for comparison, because that is what figure companies use to promise you what you will get. The great news is, you do get what you see.
Overall, sculpting is detailed, backed up by precise painting. Her dress is a joy to look at. No paint blemishes, bleeding, stains or scratches to be seen.
More macro photos:
As a figure collector for the past 13 years, I am very hard to please (or I should say, it is my job to review a figure properly in detail). I tried my very best to find faults with the figure, and I did spot two minor issues with the figure. The first one is the top of her left twintail.
There is nothing quite wrong with the paint work - just that you can see some irregularities with the seam lines where two separate hair strand parts are glued together. There are no paint issues, mind you. Just that the seams look a bit irregular - maybe because slightly too much glue was applied and it started leaking into the seams between two separate parts. An irregular seam yet it has a very smooth and well painted surface - it is most likely resin-based epoxy. There is room for improvement here.
I’ve also read some people saying her hair can make do with some additional weathering or shading. I do agree with that assessment, but I would like to remind you that this is a $120 scale figure. An acceptable tradeoff.
The second one, also very minor, is this strap here behind her dress, where you can see a bit of black paint seeping over the edges into the gold color trims. Do remember this is a macro view, which means, it is very minimal.
Moving on to her sword - it can be a bit tricky to get it into her right hand, even if there is a peg for you to plug the sword into her hand. If the sword is a bit diagonal and ends up blocking her face, then you know that you are placing it wrong. The sword placement is quite horizontal.
The best way to do it is to wedge her sword between her right hand and her upper left arm, before pushing the peg in. Once you get it in, the sword is very secure and doesn’t fall off easily - even if you didn't plug the peg fully into her hand.
Oh yes, you get two swords to choose from.
Moving on to her base, the first larger effect part in front gets a pair of metal pegs. Definitely a necessity.
This second effect part is the one I wanted to warn everyone about. Not difficult to get it into the hole at the side, and not hard to remove either, but it won’t take much to break it because it is extremely thin. Be very careful, or maybe, omit it altogether and keep it in her box if you think you are not a very gentle person. The decision is yours to make.
There is only one single metal foot peg which goes in snugly into the base. You may assume the figure is not durable or stable because of this, but the figure is surprisingly sturdy due to a good balance of weight distribution of the figure.
The figure is light while the base is much heavier. Even if I shake the figure, the figure doesn’t wobble around much. This is something better demonstrated in my figure review video above.
[/url]
Overall, this figure has a similarly high level of craftsmanship as Ningguang, but without all that wooden box and large diorama base craziness, saving you a lot of money in the process without sacrificing quality and making it an amazing value offering. The two shortcomings I mentioned above can be easily forgiven. She is a must-have for all fans of Genshin Impact.
Oh yes, one more thing, before I end my review of Keqing:
Mona is already in my hands! Do expect both a video and a written review sometime next week.
Thanks for reading!
You can also find me in:
Youtube: www.youtube.com...
Instagram: www.instagram.c...
Facebook: www.facebook.co...
Twitter: www.twitter.com...
ncG1vNJzZmilqZu2qMHRnpqopJyasLW1zqdlp52kZK%2Btu8ZobG9pZmg%3D