CapcomÃÔ been doing a real hell of a job of celebrating the 15th anniversary of their best selling videogame title, Street Fighter. Not only have they released ANOTHER version of the SF Collection (with SF3: Third Strike and on-line capability) now on the Sony Playstation 2 along with an extensive arcade and nightclub tours in Japan, ToycomÃÔ PVC Mini Figures, SOTAÃÔ Marvel Legends quality-like action figures, character busts, comic books and a slew of Capcom/SNK female related merchandise to hold us by patiently. But the biggest announcement that everyone was sure to hear, is that long awaited Street Fighter 4 is another 5 years away. Bah!

So while we sit here for another five years waiting to find out yet again, how much ass Ryu & Co. can kick, Toycom is back again with new efforts that promote not only the success of Street Fighter but also the branding of sexy Capcom females! The Capcom Girls Statue Series is an on-going collection of statue quality figures, which every month the spotlight will shine on one specific Capcom lady. The first to witness is none other than Chun Li, the Interpol agent hell bent on destroying the international terrorist, M.Bison and his army, Shadowloo.

IÃ×e been a dedicated fan of the Street Fighter property for a long, long time now but unfortunately, something just doesnÃÕ feel right about this. ItÃÔ Capcom for one, thatÃÔ always good for me. A line dedicated to the females of Capcom, which is REALLY good for me, and itÃÔ produced by Yamato/Toycom. But what is it about this line that just doesnÃÕ sit right with me?

Packaging: Oddly enough, Chun Li is sealed on blister card packaging with a large display bubble. The card measures about 10¡¦tall and 8¡¦wide with a 3 ¡¦ deep bubble. The card uses official Capcom art that closely matches the soft and gentle feminine side of Miss Li. The back has another illustration used from the earlier Capcom Figure Collection and several highly detailed images of the front and back with two close-up shots.

When I was first told that these statue figures would be sealed on blister card packaging instead of the sealed box type, I was really mystified. WhoÃÔ ever heard of a marketed statue collectible sealed on a card? But with reason, it only makes sense that Toycom would use a lesser expensive type of packaging on a collectible that is made of PVC. Any other option would become too expensive and itÃÔ never a good idea when your packaging costs turn out to be more expensive than the product is inside.

Sculpt: taking a change from the normal, fast-paced, ass kicking style that Miss Li is normally found posed in, sheÃÔ been captured in a serious but calm demeanor now. Chun Li stands exactly 7¡¦tall, fists planted firmly at her hips, right foot of set slightly and head turned to the right. Sculpted into her sexy and very slimming Chinese dress that was found in the Street Fighter 2 titles. Delicate attention has been made much attention to making sure of the authenticity of the outfit, from the puffy shoulders and gold striping, the tails in her hair buns, to her strong sexy legs. Her butt has been sculpted as a part of the rear flap of her dress (seriously, look underneath and youÃÍl see itÃÔ flat) and her black bracelets with silver spikes are sculpted separately and are quite sharp.

Paint Application: Chinese dresses, from what I hear, are usually quite elaborate and sparkly and it would do justice if Chun LiÃÔ was everything of that, and more. Four basic colors make up her entire outfit, a basic soft blue with gold trim, a white belt and boots with olive colored nylons. The main colors are very glossy and reflect the detail and minor wrinkles of the dress very well, the gold striping is very precise and are painted on delicately. ThereÃÔ very little sloppiness to be found anywhere. On her belt is a soft white color and features a carefully stenciled Chinese dragon and layers of clouds that wrap completely around her waist. The hair ties and boots have a slight gloss to them but use light blue highlights to bring out the detail in the laces and her olive colored nylons use a slightly sparkled effect and softly detail her enormously strong thigh and calf muscles.

The pale skin tone is a wonderful match for this beautiful lady, itÃÔ very soft shadowing that shows off some nice details on the knuckles, nose and cheek bones. Toycom has brought back the odd orange/yellow lightly painted highlights to give the skin a little more depth but it still just doesnÃÕ look right.

Display Stand: A truly uninspiring attempt of giving this nice looking statue a deserving stand to keep her standing upwards, each of these figures comes with a plain, boring black circular stand with two measly pegs. The stand is 3¡¦in diameter and serves only a single purpose. No name engraving, no design, no style, no nothing.

Variants: Well, I wouldnÃÕ really call her a variant in so many words but more a repaint. Chun Li is also available in her Player Two color. Basically, all the blue tones have been switched to pink. These alternate versions are packed evenly at 6 each so thereÃÔ not going to be much of a demand for these repaints, and eventually that will likely be the only color version left remaining on the pegs. However, for you extremist collectors who donÃÕ mind importing, Yamato offers, for a limited time and in limited numbers, offers a life size Chun Li. The construction is the same but sheÃÍl set you back about $2,700.00.

Final Thoughts: Ideally, this is an exceptionally beautifully sculpted figure. Chun Li possesses a wonderful likeness, great proportions and smooth style, but the sculpting is about the only thing that I canÃÕ complain about. These orange/yellow tones they used to give the figure more depth is really ugly. Taking a close look at her head, it seems that Chun Li requires a severe ear cleaning, and why, for the love of god, is this found at her hairline??? The display stand is really cheap and doesnÃÕ help with the figures over all appearance plus thereÃÔ a pretty nasty looking seam found at the side of her leg that really sticks out. But last, the worst problem is the retail price, $27.00 is an absurd amount to ask for, when not even a month ago Toycom had released the King of Fighters 5¡¦PVC figures, which possesses action-like sculpting, tremendous if not better detail, a better display base (okay, it was a rock but itÃÔ still way better than this), which all has so much more appeal and cost only half as much.

For die-hard Street Fighter collectors, especially Chun Li loyalists, than this figure will make for a wonderful addition to your collection. But for most others, although they might be captivated by the appearance of such a wonderfully sculpted product, 9 times out of 10 itÃÍl be placed right back on the pegs when they see that sticker price.

As I mentioned earlier, this series is going to continue throughout the summer and fall of 2004. Coming in mid June is Morrigan, the bloodsucking succubus of CapcomÃÔ monster fighter Dark Stalkers aka Night Warriors and about a month after that you can expect to see Tron Bonne and her mini-mech sidekick Kobun from the Mega Man Adventure games and her own title. Will these, or better yet, can these turn out any better than Chun Li did? In my opinion, the success of this line will be sincerely determined by how much the customers will want to shell out for these collectibles.