Review: Nendoroid Sleeping Bags

Good Smile Company Nendoroid Sleeping Bags

I pre-ordered these Nendoroid Sleeping Bags last year and I got them today. I thought they looked cute and that I could use them for my favorite Nendoroids, Saber and Gilgamesh. I initially ordered a pair (red and blue), then added another red for a friend.

Here's how the sleeping bag looks like without the block of foam inside:

Nendoroid Sleeping Bag in red

I love how the sleeping bag was made. The fabric provided the look and feel of an actual sleeping bag. The zipper glides smoothly, so it is easy to close the sleeping bag once the figure is inside.

Back of the sleeping bag

Every aspect of the Nendoroid sleeping bag was well-made, including the interior as you can see here:

It looks comfy in there

Here's a first attempt at placing a Nendoroid inside:

*muffled crying*

You might be thinking that it does not look like anything from the promotional material. The figure's face must be exposed, right? However, the figure just keeps slipping down, causing the lower half of the face to be hidden.

There's a solution though, and you can find it in the back of the packaging:

Comes with instructions!

You might be saying, "Boo-hoo I can't read Japanese desu~" but when you observe the pictures, you might be able to understand what they are trying to say. Remember the block foam that came with the sleeping bag?

DON'T THROW THIS AWAY!

It's still useful! Follow the instructions and cut it into a certain shape. Then place the Nendoroid figure on the piece of foam that you cut from block of foam.

Something like this. Even Rin is unsure
what this shape is called. :p

After that, you can now insert the foam and the figure inside the Nendoroid sleeping bag, or you can put the foam in first then fit the figure inside.

It should probably look like this, haha. :p

And then you're now ready to zip it up and adore the cuteness of your Nendoroid figure.

Saber doesn't seem too pleased

The sleeping bag fits snugly around the Nendoroid. Hence, you do not have to  worry about the figure slipping out or falling off, even if you swing the sleeping bag around or dangle it upside-down.

Aww, babies.

If you noticed, each Nendoroid Sleeping Bag gives you the option to hang them wherever you want. Well, I tried:

The King of Heroes is not pleased

No, of course I won't go out looking like this.

But I don't think I'll be hanging them on my stuff and go out with them. I do not want them to get snatched from my purse. :p

Are Nendoroid Sleeping Bags worth your money? I'd say yes, especially if you collect Nendoroid figures and you love to play with them. The sleeping bag has ample cushioning, so I think it can somehow protect the Nendoroid if you intend to travel with it or put it inside your bag.

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 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