AlternateSam.com » Fate Stay/Night

The Fast, the Furious and the Fake Saber Lily!!

AlternateSam — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:11:03 +0000

I think most of the people who know about the Saber Lily ~Distant Avalon~ PVC by Goodsmile will have known that it was just released just a few days ago. While I did not order one, I felt it was a wonderful piece of work with fantastic craftsmanship to boot. Regrettably, some bootleggers have already come up with an imitation PVC of this figure. Here’s a quick guide to show you the differences, courtesy of Goodsmile.

Those bootleggers are pretty good themselves, making an imitation of such a well-crafted figure and releasing it just as Goodsmile released the original, probably to confuse those who are not well-versed in spotting fakes. Not that I blame those who fell for the fakes as some of them are quite well done and even passable for the real thing at times. Goodsmile Company predictably, reacted very fast and came out with the update on their webpage to condemn them and showcase the differences as soon as they learn about the issue.

RED / Left is genuine while BLUE / Right is fake

The genuine version comes with the Good Smile Company sticker as well as another sticker.

The printing on the fake is pretty awful as you can see for yourself. The color is also slightly off as if it was photocopied, which it probably is. ^^

There is an holographic sticker on the back for the genuine box.

For the actual figure itself apart from the box, there are 3 tell-tale signs.

Firstly, the base. Pretty obvious once you compare both of them. One comes with Fate / Unlimited Codes and the other without. The shade of the gray is different as well.

The connector that joins the left hand to the scabbard is also of a different color. The authentic one is clear while the imitation is black.

Lastly, the angle of the head and the ahoge is totally off for the fake. It does however, look alot like Yami from To Love-Ru from this angle. It could just be me though but maybe fans of Yami-chan could do well to take note. ^^

Personally as a collector, I feel there is no point getting a fake. It just decreases the perception of the original figures which you already have just by having a fake in the midst. If you can’t afford the original, maybe save up and hope to get it another day rather than spend your money on a fake which you know will never replace the real stuff.

Also, I feel its good to support the company which release such excellent figures by purchasing their items. But by purchasing bootlegs, you are just feeding the bootleggers who obviously do not pay any copyrights etc to the respective copyright holders. On a larger scale, this will just decrease the motivation of the companies to release such well-crafted figures since they know that people will just end up buying the bootleg copy instead and this will be terrible for the entire market.

On a brighter note, if you want to take a look at the original Saber Lily, head over to AkiraHobby here where there is a fantastic gallery and review of the figure. Terrific work by Goodsmile Company here, can’t wait for Black Rock Shooter

Pictures via Goodsmile.info & akibahobby.net

Max Factory Casual-Wear Saber and Shirou Emiya Figma

AlternateSam — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:16:54 +0000

Max Factory has announced the release of Casual-wear Saber and Shirou Emiya figmas. Both look a refreshing change from their usual armor-clad versions.

Casual-wear Saber comes with a pair of chopsticks and a rice bowl as well as the usual various handparts to hold them. Face-wise, there’s an upset one, a smiling one and a meditating one. A bokken is also included as an accessory and the figma comes with an additional lower body part to enable her to sit on her knees. I really like the bokken as its a pretty unique weapon accessory on a figma. Afterall, any figma with weapons will look pretty good as their joints allow for action poses. I guess the extra lower body part will be something like figma San Seto’s tail and being the first figma to be able to sit properly gives it extra must-get points.

figma Saber: Casual ver.
Release Date: Oct 2009
Price: 2,500 Yen

Shirou comes with the normal neutral face as well as a grinning one. The 2 blades, Kanshou and Bakuya are included along with Berserker’s battle-axe and Archer’s left arm. With this number of great accessories, its a must-buy for anyone who likes figmas or the Fate Stay/Night series! Besides, both figmas will look great together as a set. One without the other will be quite strange as their fate are so intertwined with each other.

figma Shirou Emiya: Casual ver.
Release Date: Oct 2009
Price: 2,800 Yen

Pictures via Goodsmile.info

Weekly Pilgrimage to Chinatown

AlternateSam — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:33:57 +0000

I took my weekly pilgrimage to China Square Central today afternoon but didn’t find anything remotely interesting at all. Quite disappointing. Went to Mickel’D clearance sale at Lucky Chinatown but it was abysmally boring with very few stuff on sale. And to think that there was a long snaking queue to get in and I waited about 40 minutes just to step inside.

Preordered a Hatsune Miku Figma from him though as I couldn’t resist it anymore. Besides, it was a great price but only arriving in May(!!!)

Then, it was off to Cityhall to collect my online purchase of these 2 PVC figurines. I got them at a good price and was quite happy to be able to find them, especially the Saber/Zero as I was on the verge of ordering it from HobbyLink Japan when I saw it for sale online.