Aegis

There are times when a particular piece is announced, gets discussed in the figure feeds in piquing interest here and then it vanishes without warning. On occasion, the most stunning models disappear from the market this way, their evanescent brilliance leaving behind a blinding trace like after burn on the retinas.
After being covered by the impeccable Foo-bar-baz, Alter’s Aegis from the game series Persona 3 was destined for this fate. By the time I remembered her amidst my gargantuan backlog of invoices, she was history. A lesson to all that if something piques your interest, get the preorders in pronto.
By the power of United Publications, Aegis was recently acquired is impeccable beyond a level I could not have hoped for.
The Android body, sculpted by Fumiko Saito, is feather light, despite the appearance of a heavy industrial composition. At the junction of her limbs bare metal joints are exposed, which gives the body a steampunk quality as though it functions off pistons and pneumatics. With a colour palette as bleached as bone, she fixes a target in her sights with a purposeful stare. Aegis right arm is held before her, the gun ending in the tips of her outstretched fingers as she prepares to fire. A blood red flash of colour emblazons her chest and arm in a militaristic sash and fluttering bow.
Aegis is a vital piece in every sense of the word. She commands such abundant dynamism and life despite the cold combative form she inhabits. The details and casting are exceptional, even for Alter and the balance and attachment of figure to base is unbelievable and has unflawed structural integrity.
Utterly breathtaking and completely beautiful this is the purest image of automaton love.