Fate/Stay Night follows a two week period in the life of Shiro Emiya, Shiro who is a good boy who helps out anyone who asks has a dream of being able to make the world a better place and save peoples lives, however Shiro finds himself in the middle of a battle royal between magi and their summoned epic servants.
Rider is the Servant of Shinjo. Rider is a silent, sultry and vigilant servant, never hesitating to shield her master from harm. However with Shinji incapable of lending her Mana she is forced to seek alternative means to augment her abilities. She employs covert battle tactics and take uses the territory around her to her advantage. Her weapon is a pair of long iron nails fastened to chains.
Packaging:
Rider comes in a standard Figma box.
On the front is a window for viewing the figure, on one side is the Figma logo, on the other is a picture of the figure, on the back there is relevant information, all in Japanese, and pictures of the figure in various poses with their various accessories. Instructions for swapping face pieces and other items are usually printed on either inside of the box tabs or on a piece of paper slipped inside the packaging. Also take note that all figures you purchase have the correct authentication printed or stickered on the box.
Inside the box the figure is held between two pieces of moulded plastic, with spaces for their accessories. The extra hands and the base of the Figma stand are stored in plastic bags underneath the figure in the plastic moulding. Figures are usually wrapped with plastic in certain areas to protect the paint. Boxes also come with inserts which act as backdrops in the box and can be taken out and used for backdrops while displaying figures. Rider's backdrop is purple sky with a picture of her posing on it.
Figma’s also are supplied with a small zip-lock bag to store all the accessories in, the name of the figure can be written on this bag so that figure accessories can be stored neatly. Figma’s also come with a neat little device for storing the extra hands in.
Packaging = 6/10
Stand:
Rider comes with the standard Figma stand. Made of clear plastic it has three points of articulation which move forwards and back on hinge joints, one joint is at the bottom where it plugs into the base, one in the middle and one where it plugs into the Figma. The articulation of the stand allows the Figma to be posed in a variety of dynamic poses, and because it is clear it does not interfere with the aesthetic of taking dynamic and exciting photos.
Rider also comes with an extra L shaped piece which attaches to the end of her stand so that she can be attached to her stand in spite of her long hair. A very nice touch by Max Factory.
Stand = 7/10
Sculpt:
Rider's overall design very sultry, she has luscious long purple hair tight minimal clothing and a rather large chest, her sculpt is sexy and full of attitude.
Starting from the top, her long locks, well her front two hair pieces are made of soft PVC, her main hair is in two parts one on each side, each with a joint and over the top is a layer of soft PVC hair. Her facial expressions are sculpted well and look very true to her character. Her necklace is separate from her and can be removed if wished, so can her glasses. Her dress is lovely and shaped to fit and is all soft PVC pieces. Finally her gloves and boots are also very nicely designed. She is also wearing the standard Figma soft PVC panties, black to match her dress of course. She is a nice shapely figure and I really like this because most of the figures so far in the Figma line are more young girl and loli-type so its nice to see a real women (even if her chest is very exaggerated!)
Sculpt = 8/10
Paint:
Rider has a colour scheme of purple and black, a simple but effective design. Her paint work is all very top notch. Her tattoo is done well, and her silver highlights on her gloves and necklace are well done. Her soft PVC hair and hard PVC hair are slightly different colours but that seems to be running theme with Figma's, perhaps it is just something that happens between the two materials. So nothing much to say about paint, except good.
Rider's accessories are nicely painted and shiny, and her facial expressions are very awesome and kind of freaky, they really have expression and character.
Paint = 7/10
Articulation:
Rider use’s the standard Figma joint system. Figma joints are hinge joints with pegs on either end allowing both forward and back movement and rotation.
At the head Rider has a brand new design of neck joint. Her neck is double jointed with a Figma joint at the base of the neck and a Figma joint at the top of the neck. This allows the figure to look side to side, down and up. To change the faces on Figma’s the front piece of hair is removed and then the faces can be taken of and swapped.
The shoulder consists of a double joint, a ball joint which sits inside the upper body, this is attached to a ball shaped Figma joint which acts as the shoulder, and this allows full range of motion to the shoulder. Further down a Figma joint is used as the elbow and bends in and then out straight and there is some slight rotation for the lower arm to turn in and out. At the wrist the various hands plug into a small hole at the end of the arm. Each hand also hasa hinge joint, which not only allows the hand to rotate but also to move up and down which gives the figure realistic wrist movement.
A waist joint is located under her chest. Waist joints are ball and socket joints, a ball joint will be attached to the upper body and which plug into a socket in the main torso, this gives the body twisting movement and bending forwards and back. At the hips a three jointed ball and socket joint is used. One ball plugs into a socket at the bottom of the torso acting as the hip joint; this allows the hips to turn side to side, lean forward or back, then on each of the other two ball joints the legs plug on. Each leg has an inner socket which the ball joint plugs into, this piece allows full range of motion from the ball joint and also allows the thigh to turn in and out as it pegs inside the main leg piece.
A Figma joint is then used as the knee allowing the knee to bend backwards and then out to straight, and there is some slight rotation for the lower leg to turn in and out. The ankle also is a Figma joint allowing the foot to point and flex turn in and out.
Rider has two points of additional articulation, each part of her hair has a joint and can move up and down allowing her to get into some of her signature poses.
Pose:
Rider is therefore highly posable and can be posed in a variety of ways. With the use of the accessories supplied, her Nobel phantasm the Rider Dagger, she can be displayed in a number of poses, her signature crawling on the ground pose, with claws if you wish, and of course with her Rider Daggers. Rider is pretty well designed with lots of articulation and use of soft PVC.
Articulation & Pose = 9/10
Enjoyment:
I will break down enjoyment into two categories: Accessories and
Play Value:
Accessories:
Rider comes with two facial expressions; her plain expression, and a yelling expression. Rider also comes with an assortment of hands; a pair of open hands, a pair of fists, a pair of clawed hands, and two pairs of holding hands, one closed one open.
Rider also comes with her Nobel Phantasm her Rider Daggers, and they are just awesome. They slide onto her hands nicely. The chain attached to each is also very long around 30cm. So although Rider does not come with many accessories they are very cool ones.
Another nice feature of Rider is that you can remove her glasses and they can be worn with each facial expression.
Play Value:
I will break down play value into two categories: Compatibility, with other figures and accessories, and general play.
Compatibility:
Rider is very compatible with other Figma accessories. She can sing a tune, choose from many weapons and even try playing baseball. So very happy with her in this regard.
Next up is a height comparison, as you can see she is on the taller side of the Figma height scale, and is only just shorter than Aegis.
General Play:
In general Rider is an awesome figure, she has attitude, sex appeal, and she just looks hardcore, I am very happy with her design and articulation and especially with the new Figma neck joint design, well done Max Factory it is great.
Overall Rider is a great figure and I recommend her to any fan of her or Fate/Stay Night, she is just awesome.
Enjoyment = 9/10
Over all Rider scores 7.7/10
