Mitsubishi Pencil Uni Colored Pencils 100 Colors Set

For years I have been wanting and had this colored pencil set in my wishlist. Finally, I got it for my birthday this year and oh wow, it's even better than I expected! These colored pencils are made in Japan and are some of the highest quality colored pencils I have ever owned! The pencils themselves are SO SMOOTH and absolutely beautiful colors pigments! The box also, wow.. the mechanical mechanism that allows the rows of pencils to pop forward is AWESOME!! And the box is such nice quality and super sturdy so it should survive lots of love and use! I still can't believe I finally have this beautiful set.. it's been worth the wait! :)

These are so incredible! The storage case is GENIUS and the pencils are gorgeous. Beautiful laydown, wonderful blending and vibrant, rich colors. I love the size of the pencils and the fact that there is a color number as well as, a color name. REALLY FABULOUS

As most of the individuals who have posted on this item have already said, this colored pencil set is really unique because of it's case: it is a rigid cardboard case covered with a heavy plastic wrap and an internal plastic-and-metal mechanism that allows you to stand the case up (like you see in the photos here) and then pivot out each set of four pencils individually. (I will upload some photos that more clearly displays this.) The utility of this design is not only highly unique, but highly functional: so much so, that people scrounge around in art stores for used, discarded sets so they can load their own pencil sets into the case! But don't let that fool you: the pencils themselves are pretty good, certainly not up to the standards of Caran d'Ache in terms of laydown, but certain its peer in quality. I would rate these pencils as somewhere between the Prismacolor Premier pencils and the Staedler pencils in terms of hardness, so they give good laydown and are not prone to breakage. So, you won't get that extremely "creamy" feeling and laydown like you will with the Prismacolor Premiers, but you will get bright, vibrant colors and a modestly hard lead that should last a long time. And the bonus is that, once you have at some point exhausted the set, you have a terrific case to hold any other pencil set you might want (up to 100 colors).These pencils are made in Japan by Mitsubishi, and they have that typical hallmark of Japanese quality. You can feel it as soon as you pick it up and work with the pencils.Grab them while they are available. They are unique, highly usable, and you will want to have them in your arsenal of tools. They are nothing less than a five-star product.

If there was a way to buy just the box I would do so in a heart beat. It is really sturdy and even though not leather the material covering it has a luxurious hand feel and look.The outer box is just thin cardboard which is fine as most people won't use it anyway. Amazon had those air bags packed around the box and they ended up only on one side so the box was dented and dinged (the thin outer one not the fabulous pencil carrier).The outside of the pencils are beautifully made. The pencils are covered in a corresponding color to the lead. I noted that they didn't always match very closely. There are covered ends which is great for protecting the lead.If I was getting this for general use I would have kept it in a heartbeat.Edit: As I have had more experience decided to edit my review. The biggest issue with these pencils is that they are not available in open stock. So when you run out of your favorite pencil color, you are just out of It took forever for me to purchase this set. I had purchased it a year ago and it was damaged in shipping so it was returned and I did not reorder. I love my Uni-Posca colored pencils which come only in a set of 36 so after much thought decided to try these again.I received the order yesterday. The case frame was rubbing on one end and lower on the other with some sections either not moving forward or failing to return once moved out. I found there was a hard plastic piece loose within the case which upon close examination I determined that it was why the frame was damaged. After carefully examining the end which was intact I gently placed the missing piece to the other end. As it is hard plastic and might break easily I was very careful! I was successful in putting it back in place and now the frame is straight and the sections move back and forth as designed. I have concluded that you need to be very gentle and careful when moving the pencils forward and back. I am hoping that this fix is permanent as I want to keep the pencils. It does concern me that both orders had been broken either in transit or when first made. (As this box was undamaged, I tend to believe it was broken before it was shipped.)After fixing I colored a portrait that was a practice page with an image on both sides of the paper. While I found that these do not blend well at all, there were other positive features. The point remains sharp when using . The color selection is good, without any one color being under or overly represented. They remind me a bit of the Tombow Irojiten pencils in that they are hard, but I think the Irojiten pencils are higher quality. I use the Irojiten for detail work but they blend much better than these.The pencils are beautiful. All the Japanese pencils I have seem to be superior in appearance. The cases they come in are likewise a better quality than other makers. The pencil feels good in your hand.Unless I can find an openstock replacement for the pencils used up, I expect I would not order these again. It is too expensive to have to replace the entire set because you need 10 pencils. I will however carefully use other pencils in the case which is markedly better in its features than any other case!I am not sure why all the lovely Japanese pencils are not available in the United States. There is a huge market for colored pencils here and they would sale very well.. Do you really want to buy a whole set when you need only those that you use frequently?Trying to figure out the company information is trying but after a good translation program, I was able to determine that in Japan these may be available in open stock. There are some Mitsubhisi single pencils on websites there. I can't determine whether they are these or the Polychrome ones. The company that sold them in Japan won't ship to the United States! (This is a lot like the Holbein Pencils made in Japan also. They are an even more expensive brand and I admit to loving them. but both the sets and the open stock replacements are not sold in the US)The Mitsubhisi Uni Posca pencil is now available in the United State in a set of only 36, but you can order individual open stock. (At Blick's web site.) I have those and LOVE them. I also have all the Tombow Irojiten pencils, again open stock is available, and they are my favorites along with Verithins for detail work.I am adding this edit because it seems Japanese pencil companies are just a bit better, particularly in presentation. Perhaps if enough people request it the Japanese companies will start selling here in the states!!Second Edit: I bit the bullet as the temptation was irresistible and purchased these again! Here is the new review!It took forever for me to purchase this set. I had purchased it a year ago and it was damaged in shipping so it was returned and I did not reorder. I love my Uni-Posca colored pencils which come only in a set of 36 so after much thought decided to try these again.I received the order yesterday. The case frame was rubbing on one end and lower on the other with some sections either not moving forward or failing to return once moved out. I found there was a hard plastic piece loose within the case which upon close examination I determined that it was why the frame was damaged. After carefully examining the end which was intact I gently placed the missing piece to the other end. As it is hard plastic and might break easily I was very careful! I was successful in putting it back in place and now the frame is straight and the sections move back and forth as designed. I have concluded that you need to be very gentle and careful when moving the pencils forward and back. I am hoping that this fix is permanent as I want to keep the pencils. It does concern me that both orders had been broken either in transit or when first made. (As this box was undamaged, I tend to believe it was broken before it was shipped.)After fixing the case frame, I colored a portrait that was a practice page with an image on both sides of the paper. While I found that these do not blend well at all, there were other positive features. The point remains sharp when using . The color selection is good, without any one color being under or overly represented. They remind me a bit of the Tombow Irojiten pencils in that they are hard, but I think the Irojiten pencils are higher quality. I use the Irojiten for detail work but they blend much better than these.The pencils are beautiful. All the Japanese pencils I have seem to be superior in appearance. The cases they come in are likewise a better features than other makers. Typically I discard the case they came in and store in a soft sided case. The pencil feels good in your hand.I will use the case carefully with other pencils when I have the original ones down to the stub. I saw a wooden organizer on the Ebay site that was somewhat like this frame. It had interior sections which slid forward and back but in it the entire row would move back and forth and there is only one pencil hole per row. It was $85 and as it is wood rather than plastic perhaps would have fewer issues. So I am looking at this purchase as a pencil AND a case purchase to justify keeping it!

These are equal to the pollychromos and the Primacolor pencils. Expensive, but in my opinion, worth it! They hold a point for an extended amount of time and they lay down color beautifully! I have had no problems with layering and blending, they do these exceptionally well. Having decent paper play a part in how they perform, in my experience. These are one of my favorite sets of colored pencils, and I love working with them.

The case is amazing. However, I'm not impressed with the pencils, they're too hard for me. The colors are amazing, I just wish they had a softer core. I use FC polys and Prismacolor Premier and there's just no comparison. These pencils just don't lay like the others. Ended up selling them to a friend. I did buy this empty case from another friend to store all my other pencils in - love it.