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

Unboxing/Review: Good Smile Company Fate/Unlimited Codes 1/7 Saber Lily Golden Caliburn

Good Smile Company released a 1/7-scale figure of Saber Lily without her armor on February 2010. It was first released as an exclusive, then it was re-released on August 2010. I think this version that I got is the third release and it became available on April 2013. Aside from being armorless, this Saber Lily figure differs from the initially released Saber Lily scale figure (Distant Avalon) with her subtly smiling face, more skin exposed, and the scabbard that comes with the figure.

Caliburn is the sword that Arturia Pendragon pulled from the stone, and when it got destroyed, that's when the Lady of the Lake gave her Excalibur and Avalon. Yes, it's different from the original Arthurian Legend where the sword in the stone is Excalibur. ;p

I was initially enticed by this figure's beautiful face, prompting me to add it to my figure wishlist around late 2013. There were a handful of opportunities for me to buy Good Smile Company's 1/7 Saber Lily Golden Caliburn last year, but I only got to buy her on December 14, 2013 as a Christmas gift for myself. She was offered to me at a good price, and I couldn't resist that anymore.

Saber Lily Golden Caliburn and her box

The box itself is a bit huge, but it's not as heavy as it looks. It's shiny on most parts, though:

All sides of Saber Lily Golden Caliburn's box

From the window, you can already see some of the details of the figure, including Saber's pretty face and few features of her dress.

You can also clearly see that goshdarn wire around her

Now let's open the box:

Top view

Contents of the blister pack

Woo hoo! Wires!

All three of my Saber figures by Good Smile Company have wires holding the blister packs together to keep the figure and the rest of the contents in place. You do not force the blister packs apart or you'll risk destroying them, spilling the contents, and hurting yourself.  To properly separate blister packs, you need to remove the wires holding them and the figure. You need to manually unravel the twisted wires (boo-hoo, good luck if they're knotted!), or if you can cut them if you want the process to be quicker.

Saber Lily Golden Caliburn has three wires:

One for each leg and one around her torso

Luckily, they're easy to remove this time, unlike what I experienced with the wires of Saber Motored Cuirassier.

I didn't throw them away, they're just in the box

Aaand she's out of the box!

Saber Lily Golden Caliburn was sculpted by Takayuki Kawahara, and the figure stands 8.97 inches tall. Here's a closer look at the figure without the top blister pack obstructing your view:

Her arms and legs are properly protected by plastics, while the back of her skirt is cushioned by ample sheet of bubble wrap. I'd say this kind of packaging is good to prevent scratches and dents, especially since the back of her skirt balloons much further with pointy parts that appear prone to bending or scratching.

Plastics around her calves. They're easy to remove. Just pull or slip them off.

The figure comes with these:

Caliburn and its scabbard

The base

Caliburn is well-made. If you took a close-up picture of the sword and the scabbard with a plain background and without anything else around them, can probably trick someone into believing that they're life-sized replicas. :p

The base itself features the logo where Saber Lily is from. It has a rugged design with a portion that makes it look like it has been torn or destroyed by impact during battle.

It says, 'Fate/Unlimited Codes' in case you can't read it properly.

Here's Saber Lily, Caliburn, and the base out of the blister packaging for the first time:

She can almost stand on her own, but the back of her skirt supports her.

A close-up

Making Saber hold the scabbard

You can easily slip Caliburn into her grasp. The scabbard is a wee bit tricky because you don't just place it under her palm. It won't magically stick there. To make it hold, there's a clear plastic peg underneath:

Can you spot the peg?

And it goes into that hole in her hand:

Make sure that the peg is securely inside that hole so Saber won't drop the scabbard.

Finally, here's Saber Lily in all her glory:

Making her stand was easy, as long as you know where the pegs on the base go. The soles of her shoes have holes where the pegs must be inserted. Unlike Motored Cuirassier and Triumphant Excalibur, Saber Lily Golden Caliburn figure doesn't come with a paper detailing instructions on how to make her stand and hold her props, but you won't have to be nit-picky about how to make her stand, how to make her hold Caliburn, and how to make her hold the scabbard. You can easily figure them out on your own. :p

What I like about this figure

When I bought Good Smile Company Fate/Unlimited Codes 1/7 Saber Lily Golden Caliburn, Good Smile Company Fate/Unlimited Codes 1/7 Saber Lily Distant Avalon was also available for the same price. Distant Avalon is Gilgamesh's favourite Saber Lily figure according to the Sensha Otoko: A True Tank Story manga, so anyone who knew how much of a big Gilgamesh fan I am would instantly assume that I'd go for that figure. But I didn't. I bought Golden Caliburn. Why?

• She was the first on my wishlist. I only decided that I wanted Distant Avalon, too a few months later.
• I just love her dress and the way it is being depicted to be flowing with her dynamic and graceful pose. The skirt of her dress resembles flower petals, too, like those of a white lily.
• That pretty face. Yes, that pretty face. Most of my Saber figures have fierce and non-smiley faces. This one is actually smiling even for a little. I need this somewhat smiling Saber figure in my life. :p
• She photographs well. Saber Lily Golden Caliburn is flawless, and you can clearly see that with close-up shots.

And right after unboxing her, she immediately had a photoshoot:

Problems with the figure

I read a few feedback from other people who bought this figure and they mentioned these issues:

• A stain on her clothes (around the breast/torso area) caused by the packaging and the protective coating on the figure.
• The scabbard's peg is not attaching properly, so the scabbard keeps falling off.

Luckily I didn't encounter those problems on my Saber Lily Golden Caliburn. She's perfectly clean and the scabbard stays properly in its place. :')

And that's it for my unboxing and quick review of Good Smile Company's Saber Lily Golden Caliburn figure. :)