October is here! Let's all cheer! The air is cool, the trees are ablaze, and I'm preparing to bunk down tonight with a pumpkin-based treat and a spooky movie. (But which one? The eternal dilemma.) Welcome to the Hobby Haven.
The first full review for October (EDIT: or not, sorry) is the next entry in the Sailor Moon S.H. Figuarts line: the Sailor Senshi of Death and Destruction (and Rebirth, too!), Sailor Saturn! It's kind of fitting, given that Saturn is a little spooky, herself. What could be better timing?
I pre-ordered her from Amazon (oh Amazon, of the generous exchange policy--a necessary evil with these figures, it seems) for $43.99. (I had a gift card, so my out-of-pocket was less than that, but that is the MSRP.) I chose the free shipping offer, as usual. I live near an Amazon fulfillment center (there is one half an hour away from my house), so I usually get my packages within a day or two after it ships. Your case, dear reader, will vary depending on how far away the nearest fulfillment center is.
If you remember from an earlier post, even though I had her pre-ordered, I did not get her until just recently. Amazon had problems with obtaining stock, and ended up delaying orders for weeks. I, and many other customers, were a little peeved, given that there was very little communication on Amazon's part about the issue. Some chose to cancel their orders and place orders with other vendors, I chose to wait it out in order to get free shipping and use a gift card.
I went in very cautiously with this, given the problems that I've had with the other entries in the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Figuarts line. I opened her immediately after receiving the package, and inspected everything closely. I'll let you know what my findings were after the jump.
I'll list my experience with this obtaining this figure, since it's quite a story. Saturn was officially released in North America on September 30th. Amazon, however, was unable to obtain stock of the figures; apparently, whoever was supplying them sold out before the Amazon release date. This left Amazon sending out emails to those of us who had it pre-ordered, asking if we wanted to cancel our orders or wait for a month and see if Amazon could get any stock. I chose to wait, because I wanted to use up a gift card, and I wanted free shipping.
Amazon contacted me on October 21st to say that they'd obtained stock, and would be shipping out my figure the next day. I received it on the 30th. It shipped from a distribution center in Nevada, which explains the long shipping time, I suppose. Excited, I opened it up to examine my long-awaited figure...and was severely disappointed.
The stand and the accessories were in perfect shape, but the figure itself was--I'm sorry but it has to be said--a piece of crap. The figure had several GOUGES, I am not kidding. One on her head--very noticeable, you could see a white hole in her head--and one on her leg, just this huge slice. There were plenty of noticeable seams, and rough plastic blotches. I'm guessing those might have been connected to the molds used to make the figures? The paint job was awful. Plenty of small imperfections, but the worst was a section on her back bow that just...wasn't painted. It was a section on the part of the bow facing the bodysuit, immediately noticeable as you're looking at the figure. And we're not talking a small section, this was about 1/4 of the bow. The absolute worst was Saturn's right foot. Something is not right; it seems like the ball joint was put in cock-eyed. So Saturn's foot doesn't lay flat. It can only be swiveled entirely to the side. It looks like her ankle is broken.
If I was a disturbed lil' puppy, I suppose I could have kept her, painted on bloodstains, and passed her off as "battle-worn Sailor Saturn." But the grotesque is not my forte, so back to Amazon she went. To their credit, the customer service folks sent her via next day rush shipping. This next figure was pretty much flawless.
So let's examine this second Sailor Saturn figure. Bandai is continuing to utilize the smaller box size, which will help with storage if you choose to save the box. Also, it's a little more eco-friendly. It's colored in beautiful shades of purple, from lilac to plum, with some indigo thrown in.
Standard photo set, displaying the range of motion and face/hand combos one can use.
I've removed the top clamshell layer so you can see everything at a glance. Saturn's glaive is stored in a small groove diagonally underneath her; I suppose this is to prevent it from falling out easily. To the side are her three faces, and her hand combos. This method of storing the hands is new, though. They are clipped onto little white Lego-like chunks of plastic. They are quite easy to remove, never fear. I suppose this is Bandai's solution to make the hands less prone to fall and scatter once the top plastic layer is removed. You've got to hand it to Bandai, they improve the packaging each time.
OMG SATURN IS SO WEE AND ADORABLE.
Her uniform and boots are all done in the same soft lilac shade. Just like her fellow Sailors, the paint is lightly metallic. The bows are a dark brick-red that has some hints of brown. It's a little bit off from the anime, which depicts the fuku as a much more bluish purple; consulting some images of Saturn for a color reference, I surprised to see how much her fuku's color varies in official images. So I guess it's technically correct? I was mostly worried about the depiction of her bow's jewel. As you might know (and can see from the pictures), Saturn's uniform is a little more detailed than the others. She has feathered sleeves and a bow jewel that looks like a heart crystal, and a jagged star on her choker. The bow jewel almost looks blobby, and the choker's jewel is pretty symmetrical. But given how tiny the details are, they look pretty good.
The color job is well done; probably the best out of the four I have. I think her shorter hair also helps make it easy when posing her.
And here is Saturn's Silence Glaive, the destroyer of worlds. Not so intimidating now, huh? It feels surprisingly sturdy for how small it is, and is amazingly detailed.
And here is one grand, final shot with the camera's flash activated since the light was awful.
I might have said it before, (in which case I'll reiterate it) but I am disappointed in the quality control for the Sailor Moon S.H. Figuarts series. Yes, there are going to be figures that slip through the cracks, quality-wise, I'm not a fool. But literally every single Figuarts I've gotten from this series has had issues. Some were smaller than others and not worth sending back (Venus), some were literally broken (Jupiter, Saturn), and some were from retailers that didn't take returns. (Moon). I can't give this series a resounding endorsement anymore. All I can say is that if you want to pick these up over the Figuarts ZERO line, be prepared to examine your figure with a fine-tooth comb for defects.
