1/8 Saber High School Uniform Ver. PVC

This figure was a special mail in only release from the magazine Hobby Japan. I'm not too familiar with the details, but apparently the magazine has figures that are exclusively released. The way you go about getting the figure is sending in a form that is included in the issue. Kotobukiya distributed this figure. Since it's not a mass produced large scale release, it's not some high quality figure but I found it adorable anyway so I snatched it up.



Saber comes with a round base that is fashioned to look like a sidewalk. Her foot is firmly screwed to the base, which is a good thing considering she's positioned on one leg. The paint job is well done on the figure and there's no jarring seams or anything.





She comes with a few extra items. The first thing is a piece of toast. Since Saber is captured in this "oh crap I'm running late for school" pose, she has a piece of toast that can be optionally displayed along with her...since she's eating on the run ^_^ The toast has some sticky on the little area that attaches to her mouth that keeps it in place. I have trouble with the toast falling off though, since the sticky doesn't seem to want to "stick", so I display her minus the piece of toast. She does appear to come with more sticky for the toast, but I just haven't bothered with it.





Another optional item is the lion keychain that attaches to her book bag. This is simply hooked onto the little hook on the side of the book bag she's carrying. Unless you turn the figure upside down or something, you don't have to worry about it falling off.



And last but not least, where would we be without a cast off option? Saber's skirt is removable, but I think she just looks silly without the skirt. If you chose to display her minus the skirt, the sweater does cover up the point of separation so there's no visible line.



I purchased this figure from Play Asia a few months ago, and since then she has been discontinued so she is no longer available for purchase from them. If you want to get your hands on her, I have seen one or two sold on eBay in the past few months so you can keep an eye out for her there. While she's not a spectacular figure, it is a nice little addition to any Fate fans collection.

1/6 Saber PVC

Saber from the series Fate/Stay Night, distributed by Clayz and sculpted by Miyagawa Takeshi. This is hands down my absolute favorite figure of Saber cause it's...Saber. lol She's not dressed up like a maid or something else, she's in the actual outfit she wears in the anime.



The paint job on this figure is good, and Saber is in a generic pose. No real visible seam lines on her either. She comes with a round black base and has four pegs that hold her to the base, two for each foot. She's a pretty stable figure and can actually stand on her own, I don't really see any problem with her leaning down the road. Another thing I noticed the second I picked her up, is that she's a little heavier compared to other figures I own.





Included with the figure is her sword and the sheath. I don't display the sheath along with the figure because I've heard it tends to slip off the sword fairly easy, plus the sword is better displayed unsheathed in my opinion.



Two small pegs hold the sword handle in place in her hand. Fortunately the sword is not difficult to position into her hand.





I highly recommend this figure to any Saber fan out there. It's the only figure I've come across where she's actually wearing her original outfit, plus it's just a really nice figure. The moment I saw it, I had to have it. Unfortunately the figure was released in 2005, so she is no longer in print. If you are looking to get your hands on her, you can always turn to eBay, but be aware of bootlegs. A friend of mine also stumbled across this figure at a convention so there are still copies of it floating around out there.

1/7 Urd PVC

Urd from the series Ah! My Goddess. Urd is 1/7 scale and is distributed by Griffon. This is my first figure from Griffon and I can't say I'm too impressed. Urd comes free from her base. Since she's sitting Indian style you just place her on the base, no pegs or anything to hold her to it. I purchased this figure earlier this year from Play Asia and this is the second figure I have bought from them where the box has arrived damaged. Fortunately nothing was wrong with the figure but I like my boxes to be in good condition as well.



The paint job is probably my biggest gripe about this figure. The moment I took her out of her box I noticed the paint job wasn't all that great on her skin. It just has this odd look about it. I believe it's the type of paint used. There's not too much bleeding of the paint onto other portions of the figure. The sculpt is nice. Urd has this playful sexy look about her and I believe it fits her well.





There's a little name plate fixed to the base that has her name and the series name on it. The base is made out of plastic.



Hobby Link Japan has her listed as a December restock and Play Asia still lists her as in stock as well so she's still pretty easy to get your hands on if you are interested in the figure. There's not too many Urd figures that have been released so if you are a big fan of the character or the series, she's a good buy.

1/7 Kureha PVC

Kureha from the series Shining Wind. I was a little worried about my pre-order for this figure because Hobby Link Japan had her listed as discontinued before they ever had her listed as in stock. Luckily my pre-order came through and she arrived this morning. Kureha is 1/7 scale and distributed by Max Factory. I was drawn to this figure the moment I saw it, even though I know nothing about Shining Wind. I just love the look of this figure. It's such a beautiful figure.

I love how they used Tony Taka's art on the box art. The box is beautiful itself.



One thing I noticed the moment I opened the box to remove her was the smell. She has a very strong smell of rubber/plastic. I have never had a figure smell like this before. lol Hopefully it'll wear off over time.



Her arms are a little rubbery. They give quite a bit when you move them, but I believe it's so you don't have as much trouble positioning her bow in her hand. I'm was afraid of breaking the bow when I was trying to put it in her hand. It has a small peg on it that fits into her left hand. The bow is positioned behind her back and under her hair.



She does have some visible seams on her lower legs but it's nothing too crazy. They are on the inside of her legs so you won't notice them unless you're right up on her.



Of course like the majority of figures out there, she is cast off. Her skirt is removable and the point of separation is well hidden. There's no gaps or anything between her upper and lower half if you choose to display her minus her skirt.



There's no real bleeding of colors. Her colors are very vibrant. She comes with a white oval base with the series name on it.



One thing I'm slightly worried about is her leaning down the road. Her feet don't fit firmly against her base. I had a bit of trouble inserting her feet into the pegs on the base, and there's a bit of space between her feet and the base. It also does not help that her right leg is not flat on the base.



Overall, I couldn't be happier with this figure though. She's a beautiful figure, and a wonderful addition to any collection. I'm not sure if she's a limited run or not, but a lot of online stores (i.e Play Asia, Hobby Link Japan, Hobby Search) are already listing her as "discontinued/out of print" If you are able to get your hands on her though I highly suggest it.

1/7 Motoko Kusanagi SAC 2nd GIG PVC

Major Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG. Released by Alter/Vice and sculpted by Tsuyoshi Takahashi. Released in January of 2007. I never was able to get too into the Ghost in the Shell series, but I still think Major is an awesome character. This in one of the best looking figures out of her in my opinion.



Motoko comes dressed in her combat suit with a black round base to be displayed on. The series title is imprinted onto the base. She also comes with a gun that is placed into her right hand.



She does look like she might do a little bit of leaning in the long run. The feet are held onto the base by three pegs but the way her leg is positioned has me watching her very closely for any further leaning. She might be going back into the box in the long run.





Overall, I was very happy to get a hold of this figure. She is discontinued now so you might have to turn to eBay to get your hands on her.

1/6 Magical Girl Rin

This is hands down the largest figure I own. Magical Girl Rin released by Good Smile Company in March 2006. She's 1/6 scale..but she's larger than other 1/6 scale figures I own. I had to have this figure. I just think it's so cute and I love the expression on her face. In the anime you don't get to see Rin "happy" lol



My camera can't do this figure justice. Out of all companies out there that distribute figures, Alter and Good Smile Company are at the top of my list as the best. She's sculpted by Takahiro Hashimoto.





Since she's so large, her leg is firmly screwed into the base to prevent any leaning. The paint job is great on her and there's not any jarring casting defects on her.



As you can see, even though she is 1/6 scale she is larger than other 1/6 scale figures I own.