Unboxing Lacia – 2018 Black Monolith Deployed Ver. – 1/8 Scale Figure

Feels like it’s been so long before this figure came into being. It opened for pre-order in May 2019 and it finally got released in April 2021. It was initially pegged for release in July of 2020 and was delayed to January 2021. It was delayed again to April 2021. Sure, the pandemic happened but really, when was the last time Good Smile Company met their release date target? I’m still thankful it only took around 2 years when Good Smile Company’s Albedo took 3 years (if I remember correctly).

I consider myself having pretty high standards as a collector and this one hit the right spots in terms of quality. Unboxing Lacia was a real joy and (as of this writing) you can still grab her for a decent price.

Honestly, I don’t know a lot about the source material because I dropped the anime. From what I’ve heard though, the novel is good. I loved the character design so I pre-ordered nonetheless. She reminds me of KOS-MOS who, incidentally, is also an android. I might revisit the anime now that the figure has arrived. With that said, do forgive me if I don’t know what certain things should be called.

First Impressions

The box is huge. Not the biggest I’ve had shipped but I’m pretty sure it’s in my top 3. I wasn’t planning on unboxing her right away as I had planned on unboxing some other figures that arrived first. I was worried that I was hearing some rattling noises when shaking the box as if some parts had come loose. After reading some comments on the figure, some have been saying it was poorly packaged and all the monolith parts came loose and scratched each other inside the box. The box didn’t have a window so you can’t really see what was going on inside.

Thankfully, mine arrived in one piece but moments away from disaster as the seals on some of the blister packaging had already come loose. Perhaps it was pure luck that the monolith parts did not scatter.

The Unboxing

The box for this one is a bit unconventional. You open it from the top but you have to lay it flat on its back to lift the flap.

First look at the figure out of the box. I am already horrified that the monolith might be difficult to assemble. Thankfully, everything is still secure.

Setting Up

We have the main figure, the monolith base, the monolith cannon, a separate base, and 14 monolith parts.

Did I mention that there is a version of this figure without the monolith? Even without the monolith, this is a beautiful figure. If you got the monolith version, you can still display it without the monolith. However, if you plan to display it with the monolith, do not prop her on the circular base as I did. It was too late when I realized I had to remove her from the circular base if I wanted to display her with the monolith. Let me tell you. It was a harrowing experience. Removing her from the circular base was quite an ordeal. She is very slim and this is a 1/8 scale so the legs are not as thick as the 1/7 scales. The pegs on the base were a tight fit and I was worried I might break her legs or snap off something. I had to wiggle and pull her off the base very very carefully.

And then there’s the manual. Keep it on hand, You’re going to need it.

You can remove her head and that belt armor thing on her lower back with the wing-shaped plates to remove the rest of the protective plastic.

The Review

And now she stands nicely on the base. At this point, little did I know that that base will give me a hard time. All I can think of at this time was how gorgeous the figure looks. If you don’t have a lot of space to display her, I won’t fault you for displaying her like this. The monolith is huge and takes up a lot of space. This one is minimalist and that’s not a bad thing.

The following shots show more details on the face. The eyes are an elegant blue and the skin looks pale almost as if she’s a fragile existence.

Thankfully, they didn’t overdo her breasts. It’s irksome when figure manufacturers overdo the boobs to up the sex appeal of a figure as if that would increase their sales. Okay. Maybe it would to a certain extent but it is also a disservice to fans who like the source material and are genuinely fond of the character’s design without it being sexualized.

A view from the sides shows her feminine curves. This also shows the great level of detail in the figure.

The view from the back shows off her perfectly shaped butt just slightly obscured by that armor piece.

The hair looks great overall. The light purple-cyan-blue gradient is nice. But perhaps my only gripe on this figure is there is some uneven sculpt on top of the head. Thankfully, it is not very visible and your attention is mostly drawn to her face.

Assembling the Monolith

With that, we’re just about halfway done. We still need to assemble the monolith. It might seem daunting but it’s actually easy to assemble. If you’ve got experience building gunpla model kits, this will be a cinch. You just attach the support pegs to the monolith base and then slide over the six identical monolith parts to each peg. You will need to refer to the manual to know which part goes where.

You then snap on the cannon to the tallest support peg. Make sure it goes all in. It will still be a little wobbly so you’ll want to display it on something sturdy just to avoid accidents. Below you can see the figure with the black monolith assembled.

Here you can see the finer details of the monolith cannon. Really adds to the sci-fi feel of the figure.

I’m not sure if her hand was made to be touching the cannon but it’s about a centimeter off.

Overall, this is a very great figure though it’s a shame it’s only a 1/8 scale. The figure alone feels small when displayed with the more common 1/7 scales. Still, if you consider the monolith, you’re going to need quite a bit of space to display her. Her pale skin makes her look like a fragile girl equipped with a giant rail cannon that can level a skyscraper.

Quality-wise, the sculpt on the hair could have been better. The paint otherwise is perfect. The gradient on the hair is splendid. The box has no windows and the packaging is not the best. It will cost a bit to have her shipped as the box is huge. Still, you get good value for this one.