Unboxing & Quick Review of Two Banpresto Saber Prize Figures

There are two Saber prize figures that I thought I wouldn't buy soon: Banpresto SQ Fate/Stay Night Saber Lily and Banpresto DXF Fate/Zero Saber. SQ Saber Lily was released on November 2013, while DXF Saber was released on November 2012. I didn't buy DXF Saber at first because back then, I prioritized the other servants like Gilgamesh, Lancer, and Berserker. As for SQ Saber, I refused to buy her at first because the face looks off on pictures and overall, it just looked derpy.

And suddenly, I bought them on January 25 because I had time on my hands to roam around and then they're cheap. I got these two girls from Great Toys Online's store in Shoppesville, Greenhills.

You could probably say that I also bought these out of boredom

But before anything else, prize what?

If you're new to figure collecting or if you're not really into figure collecting at all but you're still here reading this and you're wondering what a prize figure is, I'll attempt to explain: They're called, "prize figures" because in Japan, you can win them from convenience store lotteries and crane games. If you're not very anal or obsessed with the details and the finest quality on the face, clothes, and overall construction of the figure, or if you want a figure of your favorite character but don't have enough money to afford a scale figure, then prize figures might suffice.

I'm from Manila, Philippines, and there's no such thing as winning prize figures from your friendly neighborhood convenience store. I'm not even sure if there are already crane games where you can fish out a prize figure of a character that isn't from Naruto or One Piece, so if I want to get a prize figure from a series like Kuroko no Basuke, Fate/Stay Night, or Neon Genesis Evangelion, I'd have to look elsewhere. Fortunately, there are reputable local figure stores that are selling authentic prize figures imported from Japan.

Banpresto makes some of the better prize figures around, and most of them are affordable, too. SQ and DXF are some of Banpresto's lines of prize figures.

Banpresto DXF Fate/Zero Saber

Again, an obligatory picture of all sides of the box

This figure is part of Banpresto DXF's line of figures featuring Fate/Zero servants. Two Sabers were released: an armored and non-armored one. The non-armored Saber was released on February 2013.

I also bought this figure because I pre-ordered Banpresto DXF Fate/Zero Kiritsugu Emiya (yep, Banpresto also released a Masters line of DXF figures, starting with Kayneth and Waver in 2013) and I thought he needed a servant to go with him.

DXF Saber was packaged neatly, with some parts packed individually. I think this is a great way to pack the figure to prevent scratches, paint transfer, and of course, to prevent fragile parts from breaking or snapping.

Banpresto DXF Saber is very easy to assemble. If you find yourself unable to make her hold Excalibur, check the palm of her right hand. There's a circular dent there where the pommel (or the topmost part of the sword's grip/handle) goes to be supported, so Excalibur won't slip off.

One problem I found with her: the back portion of her blue skirt had moisture stains on them. Even when she's packaged well, humidity can cause the figure to be sticky. I was able to get rid of the stains by wiping it off with a wet washcloth.

Banpresto SQ Fate/Stay Night Saber Lily

She doesn't look very nice on the photo

I didn't find her face that attractive on the photo of the box. I also checked out some user pictures of her from MyFigureCollection.Net and found her face derpy. When I inspected the figure myself, it looked much better in person than it did on the pictures.

Sides, back, and top of the box

Not really a box within a box

It looks like they just stuffed her inside the packaging, but she came with bubble wrap and the parts were individually wrapped.

From left to right: ahoge, Caliburn's grip, and  the rest of Caliburn

Nope, not broken. Just needs assembly

The base

AAAAAAH

Nope, this is not how the figure should be assembled

There's a reason why the sword comes in two parts: you need to make them connect inside Saber Lily's fist. It can be tricky, and you're probably lucky if you can get it right in one try. It took me three tries before I finally managed to make the parts connect, but before I show you the finished product, let me show you how Caliburn looks like once assembled:

It looks bent

And then I finally managed to make her hold Caliburn without making it look too bent:

The ahoge is easy to place on her head, so you shouldn't have any problems with that. Just be careful when making her stand on her base, and beware of paint transfer, which unfortunately happened in my case when one of her feet slipped from the peg:

Gerdemmet -_-'

More pictures

Banpresto DXF Saber with DXF Lancer and Gilgamesh (and Berserker behind Lancer)

Size comparison between Banpresto DXF Saber and SQ Saber Lily

Size comparison between Good Smile Company 1/7 Saber Lily Golden Caliburn and Banpresto SQ Saber Lily

Kinda rough on some parts, but hardly noticeable when you don't care about the details

January 2014 Figures

I wanted to share the first few figures that I got this year, so I thought I'd write about them. Most of them are articulated figures and the rest are prize figures.

I pre-ordered Nendoroid Fate/Extra Saber Extra and Nendoroid Shingeki no Kyojin Colossal Titan with Playset on 2014. Both figures were manufactured by Good Smile Company. Pre-orders for Nendoroid Saber Nero started on July 25, 2013 and I immediately secured a slot for her. Nendoroid Colossal Titan became available for pre-order on July 31, 2013. Shingeki no Kyojin was all the rage back then because of the anime and the Colossal Titan was just so cute in Nendoroid form that I couldn't resist getting one, too. 

Good Smile Company Nendoroid 360 Shingeki no Kyojin Colossus Titan & Attack Playset

This Nendoroid was released on December 16, 2013. I got Nendoroid Colossal Titan on January 11, 2014. If you noticed, the text on the the box reads "Colossus Titan". Not sure if that's the real translation of the titan's name in Japanese, but let's not think that this is a bootleg. If you're wondering if there's already a bootleg Nendoroid of the Colossal Titan, well yes, there is, and bootleg manufacturers released this ahead of the authentic figure. The abomination looks something like this:

No, seriously, don't buy something like this (Image from My Figure Collection).

I saw the actual bootleg figure being sold in three recent anime conventions from December 2013 to January 2014. It's nasty. It looks so fake. You wouldn't want to be laughed at or ridiculed for buying something cheap like that bootleg, so just don't.

Max Factory figma 195 Steins;Gate Kurisu Makise white coat ver.

Pre-orders for this version of Kurisu Makise began on June 12, 2013. At that time, I wasn't ready to get her because I wanted to prioritize Saber and Gilgamesh. She was released on December 12, 2013, and I bought her on January 18, 2014 when she was already in stock in one of my favorite figure stores.

Good Smile Company Nendoroid 358 Fate/Extra Saber Extra

Saber Nero was released on November 26, 2013. I picked her up on January 25, 2014. She's my second articulated figure of Nero (my first one is figma Saber Bride).

Prize figures of Saber

Banpresto DXF Fate/Zero Saber

I didn't intend to buy Banpresto DXF Fate/Zero Saber at first until I realized I needed one because I recently pre-ordered Kiritsugu (and my Banpresto DXF Gilgamesh will be lonely without a Saber that's just his size lol). 

She's really cheap now, so I decided to get her. The figure store didn't have the one without the armor, though I'd love to get that version, too.

Banpresto SQ Saber Lily

At first, I wasn't sure about buying Banpresto SQ Saber Lily because of the derpy-looking face on the box. I also checked out My Figure Collection for pictures taken by those who bought her, and I read comments like her eyes looked dead. When I checked for myself, the eyes didn't look that dead and her face was pretty, not derpy. Or perhaps that's just my POV. Nevertheless, I'm glad she was also cheap and that I finally bought her as an addition to my Saber shrine.

Attaching Another Figure's Head Into A Nendoroid's Body

There are times when I just have to take a few Nendoroids out of their boxes, swap heads or faceplates, and have a mini (no pun intended) photoshoot with them. Sometimes, I use non-Nendoroid heads.

click to enlarge or check it out here!

But before you get excited over a Nendoroid Rintarou Okabe, let me reveal to you that I simply used the body of Good Smile Company Nendoroid Steins;Gate Kurisu Makise white coat version and the head of Banpresto Ichibankuji Kyun-Chara Fate/Zero Lancer. Though honestly, I think we'd all be happier if they actually made a Nendoroid of Okabe, right?

I had fun doing this shoot because the back of Lancer's head could somewhat pass as Okabe's. The head of a Ichbankuji Kyun-Chara figure can easily be pulled out of the body, and you can easily see a hole. The neck is permanently attached to the body, leaving a hole where you can  can easily attach a Nendoroid joint into the head to make it fit into a Nendoroid's body. I used the neck joint of a bootleg Nendoroid for this one. (yep, you can buy a really cheap bootleg so you can exploit the parts if you don't like the idea of taking your genuine figures apart).

You need to be careful when attaching the joint so it won't snap or break. However, since the joint is made for Nendoroids, don't expect the round part to be concealed inside the head of an Ichibankuji Kyun-Chara figure as you can see here: 

Seriously, it's an eyesore and somewhat disturbing

Nevertheless, you can attempt to conceal the visible joint by trying different angles.

Taken using a higher angle

There are times when you can tilt the head, too, and that may somehow conceal the visible joint. Again, it will depend on how you're taking the picture. Sometimes, it takes a few or more clicks before you can get it right, but you'll get the hang of it. :)

Doing this is fun if there's no available figure of a character yet, and you desperately want to shoot them with a character that already has a figure. The first time I did this was for a Saber and Gilgamesh figure shoot where I used Banpresto Ichibankuji Kyun-Chara Gilgamesh's head and GSC Nendoroid Bakuman Akito Takagi's body:

Saber doesn't seem too happy about what I did though

And here's Banpresto Ichibankuji Kyun-Chara Fate/Zero Kariya Matou's head on GSC Nendoroid Gakupo's body:

This is what your master does during his free time, Berserker.

Then here's Lancer's head on Gakupo's body, too:

Nice eggplant, Diarmuid.

January 19 Haul

More Sabers for my collection :)

When pre-orders came out for Nendoroid Saber Zero, Nendoroid Hakase, and the re-released Nendoroid Saber Lion last year, I immediately jumped at the opportunity. It's a "shut up and take my money!" moment. I got them last Saturday with Nendoroid Hetare Saber limited edition and Banpresto Ichiban Kuji Kyun Chara Fate/Zero Berserker.
I haven't opened Nendoroid Saber Zero and Hakase yet. Probably when I have more time in my hands.

In the meantime, Berserker is now enjoying his time with his new friends:

Gilgamesh is like, "Oh hello, mongrel." And Berserker replies with "BWARHRAURHGLFH!"

And two of the new Sabers are busily ogling the doughnuts from J.Co.

No Saber was accidentally eaten after this photograph was taken.

Figure Greetings

I usually draw stuff for greetings, but because I lack time, I am more motivated to take pictures of figures and use them to greet people on special occasions. Here are some of them:

Christmas Greeting with Saber and Gilgamesh

New Year with Ohana, Gilgamesh, Saber, and Lancer

Birthday greeting for one of my friends.

Birthday greeting for another friend. All the Saber Nendoroids I currently have with Gilgamesh.

Hungry Sabers to greet another friend on her birthday.