Super Duck

Super Duck builds sixth scale heroines in kit form. A typical release is a numbered SET: a head sculpt, a tailored costume and accessories, made to go on the seamless twelve-inch female bodies sold by makers such as TBLeague, and sometimes sold with the body already in the box. A separate run of SDH head sculpts serves collectors who would rather build their own.

The catalogue leans hard on games. Final Fantasy supplies Tifa Lockhart in several eras, along with Aerith, Yuna, Lunafreya and Lightning. NieR: Automata brings the studio back to 2B again and again, with A2 and Kaine alongside. Street Fighter and Dead or Alive add Chun-Li, Cammy, Sakura and Kasumi. Comics, anime and film fill the gaps: Power Girl, Harley Quinn, Boa Hancock, Morrigan, Jill Valentine and Ada Wong. It is mostly heroines, though Ryu, Cloud, Wolverine and Popeye have all had a turn.

Names are where a collector has to pay attention. Many sets are listed under descriptive titles in place of the character's own: a "Chinese Fighter" for Chun-Li, a "Cuban Agent" for Paloma of No Time to Die. These are unofficial pieces, and the listing title is often the only clue to who is inside the box.

Super Duck also runs a line of its own Original characters, which lets the costume department off the leash: a kunoichi, an onna-musha in armour, an oiran, a Shanghai songstress, a Bee Goddess. Because the sets are designed around a separate body, the fit of the neck and the cut of the costume matter as much as the face. Read the compatibility notes before you buy.