There's always a thread like this on other collector forums I'm on and I personally love reading other people's stories on how they ended up getting *insert item here* and what was their first. Or in this case, who.

So, where did you first see Shinkis? What was your first impression? When did you eventually get a Shinki after learning about them? Who was your first? Was it addiction at first sight? What is it that draws YOU to shinkis?

Was shopping for PSP games online, saw the Busou Shinki Battle Masters game. Gave it a whirl and I got hooked.

When I learned that they were based on figures, I really wanted to get one, especially that of Ach, who became my favorite the minute I first got her in-game.

Since I started late, naturally the older waves eluded me.

My first 3 Shinkis (bought all at the same time) were Raptias, Artille and Baby Razz. The family gradually grew and after a year of searching, I was finally able to get my beloved Ach when I saw a listing of her in one of the figure shops whose websites I frequent.

I got to know Shinkis way early, wave 2 was just released, but I really really wanted Arnval, but she was sold out everywhere I knew of, (not that I knew that many places and options, I was a kid using my mom's credit card ), and my second option, Maochao, was just as difficult, so I ended up accepting defeat and never getting a Shinki.
Time went on and I got word of the Battle Masters bundle, but I still only collected Saint Cloth Myth, so I resisted.
Then I started collecting other stuff that I had wanted for years, and line after line, I started discovering them, until one time I asked myself "Which is next to check out?", and I was looking for unique-looking figures, until I saw Sharatang's badass heels, violin arm, and demon-goth-loli-esque design. I went slow for some months because of rarity and prices, but after getting Battle Masters Mk2 and seeing all those armor parts and getting to know the characters (at least their personalities by their expressions and voice), it all went downhill. Last month was Busouctober for me, I've 44 Shinki kits (full sets, EX sets, and bodies) between owned and ordered XD

I have no clue how "new" they were when i first found the concept. it was prior to battle rondo release, as what i saw was most certainly an early trailer, featuring cg fubuki.
All in japanese, no idea what it was at the time.

years pass by and i found out about battle rondo and the figures. no way i could afford any, so i simply appreciated images.
when i finally could import one, werkstra and valona were a fresh release. went for werkstra.
then heck, i should get the set- and got valona. then heck, i should get the OTHER angel/devil, so i got starf (bis). then arnval(tranche). THEN HECK i started thinkin i could keep picking white/black themed sets- HMM YEAH screw that. nowadays i pick up any i like.
All figures i do have are busou shinki, i dont collect anything.

Back in 2009, I was reading the photocomics on TFW2005, and I can't remember what the exact title of the comic, but I saw a comic that featured Strarf Bis in which the Transformers gestalt team called the Stunticons came to her for help in resurrecting a team member that was killed or something. Then, I just kept seeing more and more Busou Shinki figures featured in the comic and I finally asked what they were, where I could get them and how much they cost. I thought they looked really cool, but the prices were turning me off from buying them.

But finally, come August 2009, after reading all these comics featuring Shinkis, I finally caved in and purchased both Strarf Bis and Schmetterling off of Big Bad Toy Store. Within the next few months, I collected quite a handful of them -- Arnval Tranche 2, Partio, Murmeltier, Howling, Mao Chao, Angel Strarf Bis, Devil Arnval Tranche, Harmony Grace, Bright Feather, and Waffebunny (whom I got mostly for the gear).

Would have gone on to collect more, but I had my bank debit card info compromised online when I preordered a couple blank MMS bodies. Now, if I do buy any Shinkis at all, it's via PayPal and it's from American sellers. It was thanks to Machinegeist that I got Vitulus, Tigris, Xiphos, Benio, Juvisy, Zyrdarya, Waffedolphin, and Ianeira; and it was thanks to Icetron that I got Altrene.

I, too, can blame the Funnies section at TFW2005, but, more precisely, I can blame the WTF@TFW crew and ShadowDragon! It started when I heard the WTF@TFW podcast mention these "creepy" little Busou Shinki figures. There were actually hating on them, but it got me curious as to what they were. I checked out the "Show Off" thread over there and they peeked my interest, but not enough for me to buy one. While in that thread, I clicked on SD's sig for his TransShinki World comic, and ended up reading through the hole thing in one night. As I did, the Arnval design really grew on me, so I took the plunge.

Since then, I've started my own comic, and I have made subsequent Shinki purchases based on designs that I want to use as characters there.

2006 I stumbled across this Magazine at "Kinokuniya", a Japanese book store here in Sydney, there was a copy of "Megami Magazine Mecha Musume Edition"






I loved the mix of girls with Mecha armour(mostly from being a big fan of Trigger Heart Exelica series) and found out about Shinkis through that magazine, I came abit too late to get Arnval and Strarf which I was dissapointed about cause they were the ones I wanted most, so I got MaoChao, Tsugaru and Waffebunny but mostly just played with Tsugaru cause she was the only one that caught my interest looking like the mecha musume in that Megami Magazine I bought, I was disappointed with the way the next few waves weren't to my expectation till I saw Eukrante, however by the time they were released I was already in Basic training for Army service here, the Army sees any sort of Cartoon like characters in your living areas as contraband, so the only toys I could collect during Army service was McFarlanes Halo figures, a few years later I was released from the Army, from October 2010(where I still had only 3 Shinkis) till now I have caught up with what I had missed during my service, mostly just Shinkis (which is now 125+ Shinkis)

PurdueAV2003 wrote:I, too, can blame the Funnies section at TFW2005, but, more precisely, I can blame the WTF@TFW crew and ShadowDragon! It started when I heard the WTF@TFW podcast mention these "creepy" little Busou Shinki figures.

Huh, didn't know they actually payed attention to the slowly-growing Shinki fanbase.
Yeah, I blame the TFW2005 for my Shinki addiction too. More specifically, I blame Halconfenix and his Arnval, as well as anyone who has ever posted in the "Show off your Busou Shinkis" thread before Fall of 2010.

It's all Humikane's fault. I'd stumbled across some of his artwork years ago (before Shinkis even existed I think - it was early proto-Strike Witches stuff, maybe circa 2005 or so?), and liked it, but didn't really follow it up at all. Eventually got looking at his stuff again (probably after Strike Witches aired), and stumbled across one version of the old Konami BusouShinki site. Loved the look of the characters and armours, but didn't actually buy any of the figures at that point for a couple of (dumb) reasons (didn't want to get into another expensive hobby, and was kinda put off by the joints and screwholes, plus I probably wouldn't have known where to buy them to start with).

It wasn't until last year some time that I finally took the plunge and ordered one (IIRC it was Tempesta who pushed me over the edge), since I'd started buying japanese stuff already (mostly gunpla, scale figures, and a few other things at that point). Once I had that one preorder in, I kinda snapped, and went and ordered Lavina to go with her, all the other upcoming releases, and started looking into older ones and where I could find them.

i've always been a mecha fan, and began to collect once I had a job. Mostly Gunpla, a few revoltech, some PVC and whatnot. I ordered Valona and Werkstra when they got out since I found them cute, but didn't look that much into it. But with the Mk.2 release, and Humikane design on Sky girls and Strike Witches, I began to get interested, and... well, let's just say my collection went from 2 to 10 VERY quickly.