Nanoha fans rejoice, the long wait is over! Hayate to be released in October! Another Alter figure to add to the collection.

Alter’s Fate was pure awesome, both Alter’s Nanoha and Reinforce Zwei were above average, and both of Alter’s Vita figures are look damn good, but right now Alter’s Hayate looks to maybe top them all. Considering that I’ve been aching for a Hayate figure for ages and that Hayate has been one of my favorite characters pretty much since watching Nanoha A’s, what Alter is offering has been on my “To Buy” list more prominantly than anything else. Fully painted promo shots definitely outdo just the unpainted sculpt.

Hayate is going to be MASSIVE. Alter Fate was about 22 cm tall (though most of the size was from her cape), while Hayate is looking to stand 29 cm. Alter’s Vitas are at 19 cm, so this is going to be a hefty one, despite only being 1/7 scaled. Zanber-sized.

A very nice added feature apparently looks to be interchangeable heads–Unison Form with Rein (whitish hair, aquamarine eyes) and regular (brown hair, darker eyes). I personally always like regular Hayate over Unison Form, but it’s great to have the different options available.

The pose is a bit better than Alter’s Fate figure in the sense that there is more “happening” in it. It’s quite reminiscent of the series (more A’s than StrikerS, because Hayate did nothing in StrikerS), which gives it more charm. I do wonder what her outer skirt is made of though. Fate’s cape was made of ABS and, iirc, screwed into her body, which gave it a whole lot more pizazz (and ate up a ton of space). Hayate’s skirt doesn’t look as grand, but it’s big enough to be pretty. I also love the wings. I just hope they’re sturdier than the Flier Fins on Alter’s Nanoha.

I am curious about the base though. Alter Fate had a simple, yet spectacular look base (Alter Nanoha was also a pretty translucent blue), so I wonder about Hayate. Judging from the pose, I would expect some elevated pegs like Alter’s Reinforce figure. Not a huge fan of that look though. Nanoha had that translucent color, and she wasn’t that elevated from the base, so it wasn’t too big of a deal; however Reinforce was a few centimeters and change from the base, and the base was a solid color. It didn’t necessarily take away from the figure, but because Reinforce was nowhere as grandiose as Fate or this upcoming Hayate, it was noticeable. Hopefully Hayate’s base works better and looks great. With an overall height of 29 cm, I’m thinking the base is going to be actively involved with this figure, hopefully to the same extent as Alter Fate.

I was surprised to see Small Boss was included with the figure, but it’s a cool addition. I am curious what she will look like though and how detailed she will be. Alter’s Reinforce was pretty detailed, so I would expect that to get translated over to the smaller scaled version. Schwert Kreuz and the Tome of the Night Sky look great as well. Nice to see actual text written on the pages instead of a cheap solid-colored book page.

The only problem I have with the figure is Hayate’s face. Both Nanoha and Fate were lackluster, but worked (that is, they fit the character enough to make the figure look good), while Reinforce looked very good. Unfortuantely, Hayate falls into the same category as Nanoha and Fate–good enough, but not spot-on or great.

Overall, things are looking great. It’s Alter, so you know it will be a quality piece of work. Hayate is out in October at a huge retail price of about 10,000 yen (~$US 92). It seems quite steep considering that both Vita’s are going to be in the 6,500-7,000 yen range, but taking the size into consideration, it’s makes more sense. Still holding out hope for figures of SIGNUM, Shamal, and Caro. Just the thoght of Alter doing a Signum figure gets me excited.