Fraulein Ayanami, Rei - Test of Time*

Revoltech

#001

height: Approx. 6 in.
My cost: $39.00 USD
SRP: $35.00 USD 

Kaiyodo

2008

*Test of Time (sort of) as I bought this as a used item. 

So this figure has sat on my shelf for a while, as I could never bring myself to actually open it and play around with it. It was a spontaneous purchase and when I brought it home, I realized I had bought the equivalent of a Barbie Doll...but not quite a Barbie nor a Doll. 

This is considered a toy and/or an "action figure," or rather a play on semantics. It depends on what the beholder defines as a toy, doll, and/or action figure. 

in the broad sense this is a figure as the hair is painted plastic. There are no fabric like garments. It's all plastic.

Let's go into some history of the figure: 

The character hails from the Neon Genesis Evangelion series, as a supporting character and almost secondary protagonist. 

The setting is in a future world that suffered from the "Second Impact" and she along with two others must work together to thwart destructive beings known as "Angels" by piloting giant mechanical humanoid constructs known as the "Evangelions", or "Evas". This incarnation is the character in her pilot suit. 

Contents: 

1 x figure

1 x pair "regular" hands - attached

1 x pair of posed hands

1 x pair grasping hands

1 x stand

1 x Spear of Longinus

Assembly: The stand and staff are in separate pieces that require little effort to build.

Let's get the negative aspects out of the way first.

There's not  a lot of accessories aside of hand poses. The whole point of this line from Kaiyodo is super poseability and articulation, which is a hit and miss. The articulation is limited by the design of the plug suit and it feels wasted (to me anyway).
The figure by itself is well balanced enough it can old the Staff accessory. But there's really no reason for it.
Another issue is the face feels a bit flat. Yes, anime faces look flat, but I think her nose could be little more pronounced. Oh and "expressionless" face is only good for certain angles. Though this looks almost dopey like.
The last real issue is, possible due to a defect, wear or tear, or just time itself. The chest holding in the ratchet joints in place for the shoulder and arms...does not sit flush together. So the arm does fall out...
The same ratchet joints are used in the legs to hips, and aren't very flattering, or natural.

So is there anything positive about this figure?
Fairly accurate to the source material. The Spear of Longinus is a nice touch as it is a key item in te series. Posing and balance are OK, not amazing or terrible.
There's little to no defects in the paint application or details.

Verdict: B
Test of time: C

A consignment purchase is always risky. The item can be broken, or missing accessories. In this case it was either a quality defect or the passage of time caused an issue. This incarnation feels a bit bare-bone, but at the same time accomplishes the theme: a premium production of a series' female character accurately.
Is this a must have for a collector? Not sure. Depends on the collector. This is definitely one version that has poseability versus a static pose.