Fate/Zero takes place 10 years prior to the events of Fate/Stay Night. This time Saber is involved in the 4th Holy Grail War with Kiritsugu as her master. Kiritsugu is a man for hire, hired by the Einzbern family to win the grail war, but through the series he finds himself torn between his family and his goal of attaining the grail.
Saber in this series finds herself at heads with her master as they have differing ideological perspectives. Apart from that Saber is pretty much the same old gal, wielding Excalibur her Nobel Phantasm to fight the other servants and win the grail war.
Packaging:
Saber 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 molded 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 molding. 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. Saber's backdrop is a blueish purple cloudy sky. Saber also comes with a special cut-out to use with the Di: Stage.
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 = 8/10
Stand:
Saber 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.
Stand = 8/10
Sculpt:
This is Saber Zero Version.
Saber's overall design is sharp, this time Saber is featuring a black suit, and man does she look good. The sculpt is very good, you get the clear cute style of a suit and yet its not bulky or manly.
Starting from the top, this time around Saber's hair is tied back in a small pony-tail and her fringe is her typical straight and tidy fashion, the legs and arms of her suit are nicely done with a few creases to show movement, the main part of the suit on her body is soft PVC allowing movement of her waist joint. She has nice darting on the suit and buttons. And her loose silver bracelets add a little something nice to her black look.
Sculpt = 9/10
Paint:
Saber has a colour scheme of black, grey and brown. It's not the most vibrant colour scheme but its classic and cool. However my one qualm is why in this dapper look does she had the most boring brown shoes on, she should be wearing some square toed shiny black ones, then she would look absolutely killer.
Saber's accessories are well painted, once again the detailing on her sword and sheath is amazing, and I like the colour fading on the semi-transparent effect piece.
Paint = 8/10
Articulation:
Saber 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 top of her neck is a Figma joint allowing her 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 has a 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.
Saber has one point of additional articulation which is a ball and socket joint for her pony-tail allowing for increased movement and posability.
Pose:
Saber is therefore highly posable and can be posed in a variety of ways. With the use of the accessories supplied, her Excalibur and Avalon, her invisible air bounded sword, and her wave of destruction effect piece, she can be displayed in a number of poses, in the heat of battle with her destruction wave and at the ready with Excalibur. However there are a few areas in which articulation is restricted although her torso has soft PVC it is still difficult to keep her back in an arched or bent pose, this perhaps is due to not a very tight waist joint, also her pony-tail joint tends to pop out easily so be careful you don't lose her hair when posing out-of-doors.
Articulation & Pose = 9/10
Enjoyment:
I will break down enjoyment into two categories: Accessories and Play Value.
Accessories:
Saber comes with three facial expressions; a battle cry face, a grimacing face, and slightly smiling face. Saber also comes with an assortment of hands; a pair of open hands, a pair of relaxed hands, fists, a pair of hands for holding items, a pair of holding hands with no hinge joint, and a hand for holding her sheath.
Saber also comes with her Nobel Phantasms, Excalibur and its sheath Avalon and also her Invisible Air sword, as well as an effect piece for her destruction wave. To use the effect piece of sheath simply slide the sword into the slit at the top. She also has an alternative wind blown hair piece which gives her a battle blown or relaxed feminine quality.
Play Value:
I will break down play value into two categories: Compatibility, with other figures and accessories, and general play.
Compatibility:
Saber is very compatible with other Figma accessories she can hold a number of other items including Black Rock Shooters awesome cannon. She also is compatible with a number of other figure bodies and Dead Master's head looks pretty mean with Sabers suit.
Next up is a height comparison, as you can see she is on the shorter side of the Figma height scale being a similar height to the Touhou Figmas.
General Play:
In general Saber is a very cool figure, she looks bad-ass while yet retaining some of her cute Saber charm, and her suit makes for some good body swapping. For fans of Saber or perhaps just those looking for a figure that's a bit different than your usual uber feminine dress wearing girl, I recommend picking this version of Saber up.
Enjoyment = 9/10
Over all Saber Zero Ver. scores 8.5/10
