Background: I recently got back into the 1:18 military customizer realm and I quickly became a little obsessed with the products of one Wei Weihua, released under the brand "Planet Green Valley." Beyond the fact that they appear to be some of the best proportioned and detailed female action figures on the market at this scale, their desirability is further enhanced by the fact that it's kind of a pain in the ass to get them.

Long Story Short: I recently ordered 4 figures directly from Mr. Wei.

In my research into the best means of acquiring these figures, I found very little information available and much of it at least a year old. I don't want to bore anyone, but if you're interested in the steps I went through to place my order and would like further reports on the progress of the order, I'm happy to share. Just let me know below. Otherwise, I'll keep my stupid trap shut!

i've only seen them a few times, online that is and i'm not sure where. ebay probably. i seem to remember they were really good looking and came with a lot of alt. hands and stuff. too much $$$ for me, but i usually read whatever is posted here even if i'm not a player. if you want to write about it i say go for it.

_________________

I got two of them from the first round when they were expensive but not crazy. Even used one of the alt heads for a custom. They are good figures...not like 100$+ a pop figures like now....

_________________

It really is crazy what they go for on eBay and such. People are asking over $200/figure, which is insane and the main reason I wanted to report on my experience ordering directly from the designer. He sells them for $30 - $35 each. Shipping from China came out to $48, whether I was buying 1 figure or several, so I bought four. All told, I paid $45/figure, which is definitely more money than I'm proud to have spent on an action figure, but not too far off what I'd pay for a JoyToy or a fully outfitted BFS or MTF figure.

So, for the public record, here's how I placed my order:

I emailed the designer, Wei Weihua, at weiweihua@hotmail.com saying I wanted to order some of his figures.

Within 24 hours, he emailed me photos of currently available figures. It's a small selection of 7 figures and an accessory pack, but a good assortment of options. He asked me to provide a list of which figures I wanted and my address, so he could provide a shipping estimate.

I sent him my order and address and then nothing for 5 days. Finally, I got a response with a total cost, including shipping, and his PayPal account info. (I had read he only accepts payments via Alipay, which would have been much trickier to deal with, but that has apparently changed.)

I sent payment through PayPal and within a couple of minutes he emailed to confirm receipt of payment. (From here on communication was quick and thorough.) He requested I confirm my shipping info, which I did, and within 12 hours, he sent me shipping confirmation and a tracking number. Current ETA is May 5.

The big question marks now are a) will I actually receive the figures, b) will they be the ones I requested, and c) what condition will they be in when they get here. The whole operation feels a little too casual for an international transaction, but by all accounts, he's a trustworthy fella.

i had much the same exp. with a croatian seller of stripper clips. prices here went nuts, like from .15c up to over $2 a piece for a small piece of metal. i ended up really happy.

_________________

I have between 6 and 9 figures I think. The last time I ordered by contacting Wei about a year ago, Alipay was the only way to then. I had to go through Adam Nicholls in order to pay. But, I got my figures and they arrived promptly and in excellent condition.

kowalski would you mind sharing what was available when you contacted Wei? I'm hoping the astronaut figures will be available soon.

Sure! No new figures, I'm afraid. But a fine assortment of already released figures. Here's a link to a folder with the photos he sent: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7rhxyfipg7kq ... 7neJa?dl=0

Update: My figures arrived yesterday, April 27, a week ahead of schedule and exactly 15 days after I first emailed Wei. They were well packaged and arrived in perfect condition. Packaging is simple, but high-quality. He even tossed in a bag of extra accessories.

There are plenty of pics and reviews out there, and I'm among the least qualified to make a proper review. Suffice to say, I'm "LASER BLAST" in love with these things. I haven't seen everything out there, just Hasbro, Marauders, Boss Fight, and JoyToy, but these are the best of the bunch, by my estimation. Okay, I'll say a little more:

Proportions, materials, and function are spot on. See the photo below of the PGV along side a JoyToy figure.



I like both, but I feel like the comparison really calls attention to how wonky the proportions of the JT figure are. Also, there's something about the materials and paint of the JT figures that feels fragile to me, like something's going to snap or chip. (To be clear, this is just perception, as I've yet to break a JT figure or have any paint chip off.) On the other hand, the PGV feels as solid and play-withable as any ME GI Joe.

Also impressive is the posability. Joints move freely, but hold their position. The figures are very well balanced with feet that provide stable footing in most any reasonable position.



If I have a complaint--and it's mostly a matter of aesthetic taste--the printed facial features are very soft in the way that digitally printed faces often are (see also, the "Photo Real" Black Series figures). It works in its own way, but it almost feels... out of focus?

By way of comparison, here's the PGV head versus a head painted by Spartan118:




The PGV head could be argued to be more "realistic," but I personally prefer the sharp lines and bold colors of the Spartan118 head.

That's all for now. Overall, a very smooth and easy transaction and, for me at least, worth the premium price (though I won't be straining my credit card to buy any more in the near future).

Thanks for the review: I hadn't seen the second wave of Planet Green Valley figures yet, so it was great to get a look at a couple. They really are impressive figures: the plastic quality is shockingly good for one of the smaller action figure producers, and the paint applications are excellent. I was able to get one of the first-wave figures a while back via a long-distant preorder through Boss Fight Studio, and it's an amazing figure. I mainly bought it for the accessories, but having gotten it in hand, I wish I had ordered several more. I had a second preorder for the blue-jumpsuited figure, but that one still hasn't shown up; I haven't given up hope yet. Now that I know I can go directly to the creator, though, I might have to order a few of these newer ones.

Thanks for the information.

By cheapness prevents me from buying high end figures for customizing. (Do I want to pick up some Marauder suit bodies? Yes. Will I? No, because I have a pile of less-than-perfect DCIH The Questions to use up.)

But I enjoy seeing others take the plunge!