Ordering off the AOW website is pretty easy.  Basically, load up the English site and click "order" on whatever items you want.  It'll prompt you to add your shipping information and email, etc.  There, you will also be able to choose your shipping preference: EMS or Seamail.  DEFINITELY choose EMS because it's insured and it takes a week (at most) to get your statues.  Seamail is not insured and it takes 3-4 weeks.  I've also received damage items when using Seamail, but have had flawless experiences with EMS.  So, though it's more expensive, the extra cost for EMS is very much worth it.

After you submit your information, Art of War will simply send you a confirmation email within 24-48 hours.  Reply to that email and your order is confirmed!

When your items are ready to ship, they will send you another email with all the information you need to bring to your bank for the money transfer, or to pay via credit card, or to even pay via paypal.

The Troll was a gift to qualifying "Young Animal" readers in Japan.  I am not aware of the exact details of the giveaway, but in other words, the statue was never available for order on Art of War's website.  The same goes for several other "Young Animal" exclusives, such as the large green and red Behelits and the Guts/Griffith/Casca busts.

With regards to the Wyald statue, it isn't listed because the only way to get him is to send in a preorder ticket that is included with the first several Guts: Maken (Limited Edition) statues.  However, that statue has been released for a long time now, and so all those preorder tickets have now expired.

Unfortunately not.  This sculpt is so extravagant and delicate that AOW only released it as a unassembled/unpainted kit.  However, at that time, Art of War offered painting and assembly services, so many of those 100 kits were actually built by AOW themselves.  What a treat, huh?  I asked Art of War how much they charged their customers for service on the Griffith on Horse kit and they told me $300.  That's quite cheap, in my opinion, for this particular kit.  Whoever was lucky enough to get one of the 100 kits and also get it painted by Art of War is one blessed bastard!  Hehe, oh well, I shouldn't complain... I actually own one of the original 100 kits but it is not assembled yet.  All in due time.

A prototype / artist proof statue can be a variety of things:

1. The first few statues that are made and painted to be approved by the original sculptor, which are then given to the other artists to mass reproduce.

2. The inspection models that are pulled out from the middle of mass production for examination and quality control.

3. Gifts, demos, or display pieces given to vendors, affiliates, VIP's, or employees.

These artist proof statues are usually not numbered (or have a serial number of # 0000), or have no nameplate at all.  They are also hard to come by because they are not sold by Art of War.  I've emailed them about this and they informed me that ALL statues sold by Art of War are numbered starting at # 0001.

However, this of course doesn't mean that if you own a # 0000 statue then yours isn't a legitimate AOW statue.  It simply means it belongs in one of the 3 categories above, which sometimes make the piece even more valuable.  It is also said that prototype and artist proof statues can be painted better than the mass production ones.

From what I understand, all AOW statues that are sold are numbered on their nameplates (with the exception of Toycom releases and the non-bloody Zoddo: Apostle statues).  The limited edition variants almost always start numbering first.  After all the limited edition statues have been numbered, then the numbering for the normal edition statues picks up from there.  Meaning, if there are 300 limited edition statues, then the first normal edition statue will be numbered # 301.  Therefore, when a statue is numbered, that number doesn't necessarily describe how many of that EXACT variant exist, but rather it describes the TOTAL amount of all variants put together for that statue.

I came up with my "estimated values" by averaging the prices those items usually sell for on online auctions (either Ebay or Yahoo Auctions Japan).  I have been checking both auction services multiple times every day for the past 4-5 years, so I think I've developed a good sense of value for these items.  Of course, prices on auctions always fluctuate, but I think these numbers offer a good price reference when you are looking to buy one, or if you are planning to sell one.

Also, I will obviously try and continue to update the "estimated values" on this site in order to keep these numbers as accurate as possible.

With regards to my "limitation" numbers, If there is a "<" or ">", then those are simply educated guesses.  If I have never seen a statue numbered above # 2000, then I estimate that the limitation is less than 2000 (also taking into consideration that other variants can help add to this number as well).  If there is no "<" or ">", then that means I have confirmed those numbers with Art of War.

Kits are basically unassembled and unpainted statues.  They are generally made of the same material pre-painted statues are made of too (resin).  Kits are usually created and sculpted by amateur artists that sell their models at hobby shows exclusive to Japan.  However, when I say "amateur", by no means am I implying that these kits are of lesser quality than "professional" models (such as Art of War).  This just means that they aren't mass produced and sold to a production company that can distribute to all parts of the world.

Thus, kits are in many ways much more valuable than pre-painted statues.  Most of the time, no more than 50-100 copies of each kit are made because the original artists usually don't have the time, money, or equipment to produce anymore.  Also, each mold made by the original sculpt will lose detail and pretty soon become unusable.  So, if you think about it, limited edition statues by Art of War usually number around 300 in the world, and are already insanely difficult to find.  Divide that number by 5, and that's how many kits exist... Pretty crazy huh?

Well, as I stated above, these kits are usually limited to around 50-100 pieces, which means they are VERY RARE.  And as you know, rare items tend to shoot up in value, especially when it comes to collecting.  However, sometimes there are kits that are sculpted and licensed by a company, such as Kotobukiya, Wave, Field, or Kaiyodo (to name a few), and those kits are usually mass produced (to a certain extent) and can cost a little less.  However, everything of course is dependent on how high the demand is.

A recast is an illegal copy of an original garage kit.  You can find these pretty easily and they are much cheaper.  But, just as the price suggests, they are cheaper in quality too.  Many of these recasts are Thai recasts, which are notorious for being even worse.  However, some recasts (like certain Hong Kong recasts) can be decent and some artists believe if done properly, a recast can even turn out better than an original if the original's casting was poor to begin with and was prepped and fixed up before recasting it.

Well, this is a topic that is quite controversial in the hobby world.  Of course, the main reason for most is morality.  Recasts are technically illegal because their is no agreement made between the original sculptor and the recaster.  So then copyright issues come in to play, and everything gets messy.  "Well, it's not like I'm making money off it." or "Well, only 30 exist and I don't live in Japan.  How else am I supposed to get one?" or "With such low availability, recasting actually helps the model industry because it allows more people to have a chance to work on one."  It goes on and on.

I for one, don't have anything against people that paint recasts.  I don't think they are hurting anyone or the sculptor for that matter.  However, I personally buy original kits because in my mind, if it's not the original, it's not the real thing.  I think for most hardcore collectors, they will agree.  It's like a baseball card.  If you are a collector, you wouldn't want a copy even IF it LOOKS exactly the same.  Authenticity is important.

Additionally, I prefer originals because I believe the quality of the kit is better (and most of the time it is).  I'm always one that strives for quality.  I buy CDs over mp3s, I buy official DVDs over bootlegs, and I buy originals over recasts.  Simple as that.

Easy.  Just email me and take nice pictures. =)

I am fine with giving you the contact information of my painter, John Allred, but you should know that he has already agreed to paint Berserk kits exclusively for me.  This is because many esteemed painters will not paint the same kit twice.  Doing so will devalue both completed models and more importantly, it's not artistically exciting for the artist.  Imagine if you are a artist/painter, and you had to paint the same picture twice...

With that being said, since I own many Berserk kits and because I intend to have him paint every one of them, he'll be occupied with them for quite some time.  Moreover, we have made an agreement that as long as I continuously supply him Berserk kits, he will not work on any other Berserk items (even if I don't have that kit, in the case that eventually I do get it).

However, if you need help finding a painter, I will gladly try my best to help and possibly point you in the right direction.  Thank you for understanding.

Hmm, in general, no.  I've done a lot of selling and trading before, but now I've finally achieved the collection I've been striving for for many years.  As of now, I think I'll be more interested in trading than anything else, but mostly for garage kits.  My Art of War statue collection is pretty much complete and I intend to keep it that way. =)