DSC_2242
So in Mid June 2020, I was getting kind of bored as my Sailor Pluto was still stuck in the ether. HLJ happened to be doing their Summer Sale, and this piece caught my eye.
This, friends, is the Nendoroid Doll Saber/Altria(Artoria) Pendragon (Alter) Shijuku version... which is a very long way of saying Saber Alter in casual clothing.
Typically, being a Fate item on sale typically means I'd probably bite, but in this case the Fate association was actually more of a further blessing. What caught my eye was the Nendoroid Doll part.
As I generally don't buy these, the whole line just completely disappeared from my mind. I think it was in 2018, Good Smile Company announced the next evolution of the Nendoroid line as a series of different sublines, one of which was the Doll line. Meant to further merge higher end dolls with the Nendoroid world, these figures would be given larger more articulated bodies, magnetic based bases, and the big one, actual outfits.
Overall, I'd say this was meant to compete with the Cu-Poche line from Kobobukiya.
The various peg sizes and whatnot have not changed, so like before you could combine a variety of parts from different sets and up your custom figure game even further. A standard face plate can replace the one for Altria here, or you could even take this plate/head and put it on a standard body.
The aforementioned magnetic base works with a piece of ferrous metal stuck on the standard base, and the feet of the figure having little magnets. Furthermore, now that there are no peg holes, the standard support arm itself has been modified to have a magnet on the base so it can help in posing the figure. There are no holes in the figure, so the standard peg has been changed to a claw, though there is a arm with the usual peg should you need it.
The magnets in the feet aren't the strongest, probably by design, but you can get your figure to stand without the arm.
I don't think the actual price went up, but to compensate for that these come with fewer parts, at least in all the Dolls I took a peek at. Saber here comes with only one head/face, four additional hands for posing and holding Excalibur (sold separately), the various base parts mentioned, and of course her outfit. I'm not sure if this was a special case, but Saber also came with a set of naked feet.
The body itself is definitely improved over the original Action body, with the improvements being hips, ankles, shoulders/biceps being added, and overall range of motion improved. It's not exactly going to turn Saber into Black Widow, but at least she can kind of a convincing Dab.
Paint wise well, there isn't really much in terms of special techniques. The body and the face are the same colour, thank goodness. Paint on the hair is smooth. Decals are sharp and applied properly. All in all, this is still a Good Smile Company product so there better not be any screw ups in this department.
The outfit is functional. I'm not about to go out and say it's Hot Toys or Mezco quality. The undergarments are just kind of there, but her jacket does seem better made than your typical Barbie outfit, with a relatively thick cotton fabric used. There are a vinyl belt with a metal buckle, and her boots are actually made from hard plastic. The zipper is nice to see, even if it is all looks and no function.
Finally, there's build quality. Being a Good Smile Company product, particularly one that's based on a tried and true platform, there's really nothing else to write other than "all is good".
That, friends, was a Nendoroid Doll. It's not a bad product, though personally I'd trade a cloth outfit for more parts and accessories, seeing as they're priced about the same.
Strangely, both Nendoroid Doll and Cu-Poche have been silent since the end of 2019. Clearly there's no shortage of product in general from either of these companies... just not these sub lines. I'm also seeing some good sale prices of several Cu-Poches I wouldn't mind owning.
Maybe they're dead now?
DSC_2242
So in Mid June 2020, I was getting kind of bored as my Sailor Pluto was still stuck in the ether. HLJ happened to be doing their Summer Sale, and this piece caught my eye.
This, friends, is the Nendoroid Doll Saber/Altria(Artoria) Pendragon (Alter) Shijuku version... which is a very long way of saying Saber Alter in casual clothing.
Typically, being a Fate item on sale typically means I'd probably bite, but in this case the Fate association was actually more of a further blessing. What caught my eye was the Nendoroid Doll part.
As I generally don't buy these, the whole line just completely disappeared from my mind. I think it was in 2018, Good Smile Company announced the next evolution of the Nendoroid line as a series of different sublines, one of which was the Doll line. Meant to further merge higher end dolls with the Nendoroid world, these figures would be given larger more articulated bodies, magnetic based bases, and the big one, actual outfits.
Overall, I'd say this was meant to compete with the Cu-Poche line from Kobobukiya.
The various peg sizes and whatnot have not changed, so like before you could combine a variety of parts from different sets and up your custom figure game even further. A standard face plate can replace the one for Altria here, or you could even take this plate/head and put it on a standard body.
The aforementioned magnetic base works with a piece of ferrous metal stuck on the standard base, and the feet of the figure having little magnets. Furthermore, now that there are no peg holes, the standard support arm itself has been modified to have a magnet on the base so it can help in posing the figure. There are no holes in the figure, so the standard peg has been changed to a claw, though there is a arm with the usual peg should you need it.
The magnets in the feet aren't the strongest, probably by design, but you can get your figure to stand without the arm.
I don't think the actual price went up, but to compensate for that these come with fewer parts, at least in all the Dolls I took a peek at. Saber here comes with only one head/face, four additional hands for posing and holding Excalibur (sold separately), the various base parts mentioned, and of course her outfit. I'm not sure if this was a special case, but Saber also came with a set of naked feet.
The body itself is definitely improved over the original Action body, with the improvements being hips, ankles, shoulders/biceps being added, and overall range of motion improved. It's not exactly going to turn Saber into Black Widow, but at least she can kind of a convincing Dab.
Paint wise well, there isn't really much in terms of special techniques. The body and the face are the same colour, thank goodness. Paint on the hair is smooth. Decals are sharp and applied properly. All in all, this is still a Good Smile Company product so there better not be any screw ups in this department.
The outfit is functional. I'm not about to go out and say it's Hot Toys or Mezco quality. The undergarments are just kind of there, but her jacket does seem better made than your typical Barbie outfit, with a relatively thick cotton fabric used. There are a vinyl belt with a metal buckle, and her boots are actually made from hard plastic. The zipper is nice to see, even if it is all looks and no function.
Finally, there's build quality. Being a Good Smile Company product, particularly one that's based on a tried and true platform, there's really nothing else to write other than "all is good".
That, friends, was a Nendoroid Doll. It's not a bad product, though personally I'd trade a cloth outfit for more parts and accessories, seeing as they're priced about the same.
Strangely, both Nendoroid Doll and Cu-Poche have been silent since the end of 2019. Clearly there's no shortage of product in general from either of these companies... just not these sub lines. I'm also seeing some good sale prices of several Cu-Poches I wouldn't mind owning.
Maybe they're dead now?