Unboxing: GSC Nendoroid 410 Fate/Stay Night Gilgamesh

Not sure if Saber is pleased or appalled. Most likely the latter.

I got Nendoroid Gilgamesh around early September and he instantly became a new favourite figure for two simple reasons:

1. Yours truly is a huge fan of Gilgamesh
2. I have always wanted a Nendoroid of Gilgamesh

I usually wait a day or two (sometimes longer) to unbox a figure because I'd always be busy doing non-figure related things, but for Gilgamesh I set aside those tasks to pay attention to him.

Now let's begin.

The figure

Nendoroid Gilgamesh is Nendoroid number 410. Nendoron and Kneadz K@Z sculpted him, and he is made of ABS and PVC. He is almost 4 inches tall (around 100mm) and he was released on August 20, 2014.

Obligatory photo of all sides of the box

When I pulled the blister pack out of the box, I already got a whiff of that 'new figure smell'.

Fresh out of the box

And once you take off the top blister plastic, you can completely smell that 'new figure smell' all you want until you get sick of it. 

The top blister (left) and the bottom blister pack (right)

Close-up of the figure and the other faceplate

Nendoroid Gilgamesh comes with all the props that he is notable for:

• Gate of Babylon (with some weapons)
• A gold goblet (which is attached to one of the extra hands)
• A gold wine jug
• Ea

I'm a bit sad that he only comes with one extra faceplate. I expected two extras, but nope. But that doesn't mean I love this figure any less. :p Hehe. 

Gilgamesh's head, hair, and faces

All Nendoroids have a leaflet where you can check out the parts of the figure and determine what they are or where you need to attach them. It does not exactly help when you need to attach the weapons to the Gate of Babylon. More on that later. 

The leaflet that comes with the figure

And here is Nendoroid Gilgamesh:

All sides of Nendoroid Gilgamesh

I am impressed with the details. Gilgamesh in Nendoroid form looks so cute to me.

Ea

His shoulder guards can come off, so you can easily detach the default arms and attach the arms that you want.

Ea is Gilgamesh's ultimate noble phantasm. It's easy to make him hold it. Get the appropriate hand, detach the handle from Ea, insert the handle into the hand, and then reattach the sword's main body on to the handle. Then, I attached the hand to Gilgamesh.

Close-up of Ea

Detached parts

And here's Nendoroid Gilgamesh with Ea.

He's miffed and going like, "Stop taking my pictures, mongrel!"

Gate of Babylon

This prop made me remember the toy shape puzzle, which one of my younger cousins used to have. It's that puzzle toy that's shaped like 3D octagon with holes shaped like a square, triangle, circle, star, etc., and you have to insert the appropriate block of shapes into those holes.

Ripples of the gate

The weapons

I took me a few minutes to assemble the Gate of Babylon. Instead of doing a trial and error with the weapons, I referred to the box to see which weapon goes where.

Tip: Save time and check out the box

It's ready!

You can place the Gate of Babylon on the peg that holds the figure. Not sure if it should look like this because I had a difficult time balancing it:

How the Gate of Babylon looks like from behind

And finally, here's the King of Heroes with his Gate of Babylon with some of his noble phantasms coming out of it:

Gate of Babylon

The Gate of Babylon slips off or becomes dislocated sometimes. At one point, I just had to make it lean against the background. I have yet to figure out how I can properly place it on the peg.

The wine jug and the goblet

It was silly of me to expect another goblet because of Bandai Chogokin Fate/Zero Gilgamesh, which came with three goblets. Nendoroid Gilgamesh had only one goblet and it's permanently attached to a hand.

A close-up of the goblet and the wine jug

It's not difficult to attach the hand to Gilgamesh. In fact, I had no difficulty attaching any of the extra arms to the King of Heroes.

Gilgamesh holding his wine goblet with the jug by his feet

Close-up

More pictures of Nendoroid Gilgamesh

And of course, I can't resist taking more photos of this cute version of the King of Heroes. Here are some of them:

Gilgamesh brunch with Saber

Figures That I Want From Summer WonFes 2014

Wow, I haven't written anything here in months, and now I'm writing about Summer WonFes 2014! How's your wallet so far? Mine is still surprisingly alive because I tried my best to just stick to my figure shrine, except for two. Here are the figures that I am most likely to get:

Wing Fate/Stay Night -Last Episode- Saber

Saber (Source)

Based on this lovely art:

And it's Arturia so I'm definitely getting her. :p Not sure about the scale though. Wing is the manufacturer, so I am hoping that she'll look as cute as Pajama Saber, a figure that I failed to pre-order and buy because I thought I didn't like it until I finally saw the finished product and wept in regret then regretted ignoring her. :')

Good Smile Company Nendoroid Hoozuki no Reitetsu: Hoozuki

Nendoroid Hoozuki (Source)

Hoozuki is a cutie in his Nendoroid form, and I really enjoyed his anime, so I'm definitely getting this, even if he is no Saber. XD

Brave Act (Sentinel)  Shingeki No Kyojin 1/8 Erwin Smith

Erwin Smith (Source)

Probably my most favorite guy in Shingeki no Kyojin. And then he's getting a scale figure. If there are no other Sabers or Gilgamesh figures and goodies around, then he's a sure buy.

Hey, you only have one Saber in this list!
Well, yes. I do. :p 
I narrowed down the choices and even considered Sakura Saber, but she is not Arturia (as far as I know!), so I may have to bypass her. I have yet to see her painted version though. Maybe I'll make my decision by then.

Sakura Saber (Source)

Other figures that caught my attention
Of course, there were figures that definitely caught my attention, but I'm not sure whether I'll get them or not:

1. Kotobukiya Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus - Sebastian Michaelis

Source

2. Union Creative International Ltd., Hoozuki no Reitetsu: Hoozuki

Source

3. Aniplex Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus, Sebastian Michaelis

Source

Nendoroid Gilgamesh by Good Smile Company

We first heard about Nendoroid Gilgamesh in mid 2013 during Summer WonFes 2013. Back then, we were only shown this teaser:

*insert rabid fangirl scream here* (Source)

Just that mere image made avid Gilgamesh fans excited (including yours truly). I'm surprised that they're actually making a Nendoroid of him when he's one of the villains in Fate/Stay Night. I was even nervous and hoped they'd follow through and actually make one because I expected MegaHouse to finish making the 1/8 Gilgamesh scale figure for their MMS Collection line but now we don't know if it's still going to be continued. Until now, it's still a prototype.

Then last month (January 2014), I checked out the page for Nendoroid Gilgamesh on My Figure Collection and saw this:

Yep, they're already working on him. :) (Source)

Winter WonFes 2014 is on Sunday, February 9, 2014. Kahotan posted a blog entry that talks about the busy atmosphere in their office (Good Smile Company) in preparation for Winter Wonder Festival this year. There were pictures, too, and this is one of them:

Le prototype (Source)

Yep, finally there's a prototype of Nendoroid Gilgamesh! :) I have been waiting for this Nendoroid since last year, so seeing this prototype really made me feel super excited. I can't wait to see actual images of him from  WonFes this Sunday!

I'm sure the release of this Gilgamesh Nendoroid will be timely because there will be a remake of the Fate/Stay Night anime, which will premier in fall 2014. This time, Ufotable is the studio in charge of producing the show. Ufotable also handled Fate/Zero, I'm expecting Fate/Stay Night to be more interesting with better art and a better script.

Apart from Good Smile Company's Nendoroid Fate/Stay Night Gilgamesh, I'm also anticipating Medicom Real Action Heroes #655 Fate/Zero Saber Suit ver. She is set for release on Sunday at Winter WonFes, and I read that she's a limited and exclusive figure and that there will only be 500 pieces available. I still hope that I can get a chance to order her. Her price is ¥19000.

Unboxing and Review: FREEing Y-Style Fate/Stay Night 1/8 Saber yukata ver.

FREEing released a 1/8 scale Y-style figure of Saber in a blue yukata on December 2012. I didn't pre-order this figure and didn't have any intention to buy it any time soon, until I saw it being sold at a cheaper price on Rakuten. That's when I decided to get her in mid 2013.

It took me a few months before I finally decided to unbox her. Actually, I only did that towards the end of December 2013, and it was done on a whim. :p

Obligatory pic of the unopened box with the figure inside

This figure was sculpted by Atsushi Yoshino and the materials used for making it were ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Google them for more info. :v 

Now let's get started with the unboxing.

The box

Obligatory pictures of the sides and back of the box

The box is rather slim. Even with the figure inside, the entire package remains lightweight. I have small hands, but I can easily grip the top of the box with one hand.

But this is not your plain, ordinary figure box. Aside from the decorative façade, the box attempts to show you various sides of the figure. As you can see from the image above, the sides and the back have windows where you can take a peek and check out what's inside.

You can only open the box of this figure from the top, unless you want to destroy the bottom. Once you take out the blister packaging that holds Saber, her base, and her props, you can check out that nifty design inside. If you want, you can probably use that cardboard as a background when taking pictures, too.

Oooh more blue

And you can proceed to ogle her some more.

No "new figure smell" yet at this point

There are some clear tapes holding the blister pack together. After carefully removing them, you can now excitedly proceed to relish that new figure smell.

Mmmm you gotta love that new figure smell, figure collector!

What's inside?

Saber Yukata version comes with a fan, a candy apple, and a ponytailed hair. And of course, it comes with a base. 

It's plain, round, and white

There are two pegs that need to go inside the two holes under her right sandal. It's easy to make her stand on that base. Once you do, you'll easily notice those child-bearing hips, especially when you're taking pictures with a frontal angle like this: 

But we'll discuss those hips later. For now let's move on to the props. First, there's the fan, which, according to the box and other pictures you can find online, must be grasped by her right hand.

And then there's a shiny red candy apple that goes to her left hand:

I haven't tried switching them yet, like what if I make her hide the candy apple behind her back and she's showing off the fan. But then again, I don't think Saber would be hiding her food. She'll show it off and eat it regardless of who's watching even if Gilgamesh might be stalking and watching her from afar as she takes a bite out of that sweet, juicy goodness.

Anyway, it's easy to slip the sticks of the fan and the candy apple into her fists. So far, I haven't encountered any paint transfer issues.

The hair

We often see Saber wearing her hair in a bun, which exposes her nape. If you have a nape fetish, this figure might be good for you:

Dat nape! ... I mean, DAT BUN!

I personally like seeing Saber wearing other hairstyles like her hair down or in a ponytail. Luckily, this figure comes with an extra piece of hair in a ponytail. The ponytail looks appropriate for her outfit, too.

Yay ponytail

It's easy to remove the bun and attach the ponytail. I didn't struggle pulling out the bun, unlike with Wave Beach Queens Fate/Hollow Ataraxia 1/10 Saber, which comes with an extra piece of hair so you can see your beloved Arturia Pendragon wearing a bikini with her hair loose. It's easy to attach the ponytail, too.

How the bun attaches onto the head 

Both the bun and the ponytail have pegs behind them, and they're easy to place into that hole. Just follow the shape and your life will be easy. In other words, don't just carelessly force the peg into that hole.

It kinda looks like a V... or a heart. Or maybe even an L block from Tetris.

And here's Saber with the ponytail: 

Let's pretend Gilgamesh took this picture while she wasn't looking

The hips

FREEing Y-style Saber Yukata version has noticeably wider hips when she's directly facing you. I have nothing against child-bearing hips but on this figure, they make taking pictures with a front, straightforward angle quite difficult because she ends up looking awkward and you can't see the fan or her right hand anymore:

Look, master! No hand!

Although Gilgamesh will probably like the child-bearing hips, which might give him thoughts of Saber saying, "I shall be the mother of your descendants, King of Heroes!" XD

Or perhaps it's the way her right hand is positioned? Anyway, you need to adjust her (or you take a picture from a different angle) a bit to make the angle more flattering.

Saber yukata ver. during her first photoshoot

Saber displayed with other Fate girls in their yukata versions during Otaku Expo 2014

When I lent her for Team Oniichan's display in Otaku Expo 2014, I purposely made her stand sideways so people viewing the display cabinet from the front can at least see the fan. :')

Hips aside, of course, I love this figure. Saber has a pretty face here, and I like the design of her yukata. And the ponytail is a bonus that I couldn't pass up. However, if you must return her to her box and you made her wear the ponytail, you need to revert to the bun.

And that's it for my unboxing and short review of FREEing Y-Style Fate/Stay Night 1/8 Saber yukata version. Let me end this post with a few more pictures of her:

Saber by the Christmas tree 

That's a Gilgamesh file folder.

Rin belongs to my friend, Nami. :p