TOYS Mobip Strike Witches Miyafuji Yoshika - Import Preorder

NCS Preorder Synopsis
«©NCSX» In an alternate reality, the Earth has been ravaged by the effects of an armed force known as the Neuroi. To counter their assaults, humanity has developed the "Striker Unit" which is an all-in-one device which grants wearers the power of flight, defensive measures, and enhances one's propensity for magic. In the world of Strike Witches, cat-eared girls serve as the warriors who don the Striker Units and thrust through the heavens to battle the insidious Neuroi. One such girl goes by the name Miyafuji Yoshika who jets through the skies and blasts the Neuroi with handheld weaponry. Toy manufacturer Aoshima Bunka has started preorders for a Miyafuji figure which is being released under their Mobip line of highly posable toys. A mounting stand is also included for display purposes when Miyafuji needs to be positioned into action poses. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late May 2010 at JPY3000 or US$39.90 from NCS.

TOYS Onegai Teacher Mizuho Kazami 1/4 Scale - Import Preorder

NCS Preorder Synopsis
«©NCSX» The peoples of Earth are still in a child-like state when viewed from the lofty perch of the Galactic Federation. In order to observe the follies and foibles of humanity at close-range, an emissary is sent to live amongst everyday citizens and intervene when necessary. In the case of Onegai Teacher, that emissary is named Mizuho Kazami who's not only a ginger but curvaceous and buxom to boot.
A few recent toy incarnations of Mizuho Kazami have allowed the half-alien hybrid to let her hair down but in the upcoming FREEing version of Mizuho, she reverts to her schoolmarm persona. The kind that bunches her hair up, wears a prim white blouse (which is strategically unbuttoned), and handles a pointer. Mizuho also wears fishnet stockings and crosses her legs in a compelling manner while seated upon a student's desk. Miz is sculpted to 1/4 scale and measures 40cm tall. Preorders ship in June 2010.

TOYS Mari Makinami Illustrious 1/6 Scale Figure - Import Preorder

NCS Preorder Synopsis
«©NCSX» It's been a while since we counted but in 2006, NCS had at least 100 different Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley toys in our private collection. From Aphrodite to Santa Claus, the two EVA girls have pretty much seen it all. Mari Makinami is the latest addition to the Evangelion girl coterie and she's going to have to play catch up to match the quantity of Rei and Asuka toys that are already in the wild. Kotobukiya gives Mari a hand with a new figure which is sculpted to 1/6 scale and measures 24cm or 9.44" tall.

NCS is hard-pressed to describe the pose that Mari adopts in her upcoming figure. She's leaning forward with her knees bent on top of a piece of mecha and she looks backwards as if modeling. Is she waiting for something? No one knows. Her haunches are remarkably thick and her posterior displays evident cleavage. Repeat: cleavage. Mari wears a pair of red-rimmed glasses which may be removed to reveal her baby blue eyes. Preorders are welcome to ship in May 2010 at JPY7800 or US$89.90.

GEAR Leiji Matsumoto Romantic Collection Watch - Import Preorder

NCS Preorder Synopsis
«©NCSX» The worlds envisioned by Leiji Matsumoto in his Galaxy Expresss 999 and Captain Harlock properties have taken readers and viewers on sweeping adventures that spanned the cosmos. Ever see a non-aerodynamic old school locomotive trailed by box cars thrusting through outer space? That's Leiji's vision at work in Galaxy Express where he chronicled the adventures of Maetel and a lad named Tetsuro as they visited different worlds and encountered various personalities and drama.

Leiji hit his 72nd birthday earlier this week (January 25) but he's still an active creator and one of his latest creations is the result of a collaboration with watch designer Seahope. The Leiji Matsumoto Romantic Collection Watch sort of looks like a nautical device that might be used by offworld submariners to locate sunken loot. Or something like that. The face of the LED watch features a hodgepodge of lines, a dial, and a gauge which may seem indistinct and muddled at first glance. However, if you look at the perimeter of the face, you'll see quadrants have been demarcated with lines along with more minute lines which delineate the seconds. If that sounds confusing, wait until you see a Movado watch. They don't even have numbers. Two smaller gauges may be found below the face.

The body of the watch is constructed of a scratch-resistant aluminum alloy and is available in either Silver or Gunmetal. Every watch is serially numbered on the back plating which is also etched with the visage of the Jolly Roger. Preorders are welcome to ship in late February 2010.

TOYS Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4 Lily Chihiro - Import Preorder

NCS Preorder Synopsis
«©NCSX» In the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4 game from the summer of 2008, a high school student named Ashihara Chihiro is teleported to a world called Toyoashihara where she has an important job to do.
One of the things that Chihiro wears in the game is a pearlescent hair ribbon that's decorated with blue lilies. Cospa takes inspiration from the game and designs a shiny hair accessory that can be used to tie up one's tresses or failing that, be worn as a wrist accessory. NCS is fairly certain that it can also be used as a headband. The "Lily Chihiro" is made of 100% polyester and preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late March 2010 at JPY1000 or US$14.90 from NCS.

NEWS General Updates

PSP Fate Extra [Regular and Limited Editions] Delayed Publisher Marvelous has pushed the release date for Fate Extra from March 18, 2010 to an unspecified date in 2010. All preorders will be kept on reservation and we'll post another update once the new ship date is announced. Preorders are welcome for both versions of the game.

Server felled by a CR2032 battery One of our servers rebooted during the twilight hours of Tuesday morning but didn't come back up. We tried rebooting it remotely. Thrice. When that didn't work, a visit to the co-location center located downtown was necessary. The server looked okay and the lights were on but when it was hooked up to a terminal, the system wouldn't reboot into normal services because the little CR2032 battery had croaked. Gave up the ghost. Dead as dirt. Guess we should've changed it after 10 years. The server needed the time and date to be entered and saved before rebooting properly. Of course, no one has CR2032 batteries when you need them the most but after a 20-minute boy scout trek to Chinatown, we popped in the new CR2032 (cost: $1.25, no tax) and the server saved the time, date, and CMOS settings and rebooted normally with all services intact.