Kantai Collection is a very popular online game where you have WWII vintage ships battle the Abyssal Fleet. I've never played the game, but the anthropomorphized character designs - like mecha musume - appeal to me. Cute with big battlewagons and carriers. This game has spawned a big entertainment franchise for collectors goods, manga, more games, and even an anime.
Kantai Collection isn't without controversy though, as it seems to play down the negative aspects of WWII Japanese involvement and glosses over the military hardware with moe. This isn't a problem by itself, but most media / anime / manga in Japan that touch on the subject does this, creating a bit of a moral vacuum that hasn't been resolved to this day. I can still enjoy the art, but these issues could be fixed if Japan actually acknowledges what was done in the past.
It isn't just a online or card game anymore either, an anime version of it is being produced.
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| Kan Colle Models. They come packed in a case of 10, and you won't know which model you'll get until you open the box. The models come mostly finished, with very nice paint jobs, and you have to do a little assembly. Each of these models came with the character card for that ship that displays the moe image, an information sheet, and a piece of gum. |
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Today, I'm going to show you some small 1/144 scale models or even smaller that come in blind box packaging. I'm always impressed with the amount of detail that goes into these little models. I'm going to show a few ship models from the anime series Zipang and Kantai Collection. These models do require a bit of assembly, but are great for display! Later, there is also a tiny bit of coverage about the World Tank Museum kits.
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| Front and back of each individual box showing the various ships. |
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| Zipang blind boxes. Zipang was a pretty good show that talked about all sides of the conflict in WWII as it is about a modern JSDF destroyer time travelling back to WWII. You can see a few of the models here, including the Zipang destroyer itself. I blogged about Zipang previously here. |
Trying your luck is way more popular in Japan when buying gashapon, playing UFO Catchers, or even picking blind boxes. A blind box is basically a small sealed box with an unknown prize inside. Sometimes you can tell, but often it is a mystery as there is no way to distinguish the contents from one box to another. These blind boxes usually come packaged in a larger case that stores 8 to 12 of them for retail display. Often if you buy a full case, you should have a complete set. It is never guaranteed you'll get a set, but getting a case often does work.
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| World Tank Museum blind box. Looks very similar to the Kantai Colle boxes with each tank coming with an information sheet and a piece of gum. Some limited assembly needed for like antennas or machineguns. Nicely detailed and tiny. They had modern and WWII tank collections. I've shown an M1 and a Leapard 2 here. |