Figure: Black Dress Saber

• Character: Saber
• Series: Fate/Hollow Ataraxia
• 1/8 scale pre-painted figure
• Sculpted by Kawahara Takayuki
• Presented by Alter
• Slideshow (16 pics)

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Sculptor Kawahara Takayuki’s “Black Dress Saber” stands as a figure of gothic elegance. An Alter release, the 1/8 scale figure boasts the high production quality a fan of the company has likely grown to expect.

The pose is a simple one, but is excellently done in that Saber visually feels like she has three dimensions and weight. She stands with a blank expression on her face, holding a sword pointed toward the groud in one hand and the other arm shields the area over her heart. She looks vacant and possessed. At first the pose seems boring, but the more I look at the figure the more captivating it is. What prevents this from being a random standing pose is how well it fits into the gothic thing, and that there feels like there is a story behind the blank expression on her face. What the clean pose does is shift attention to the focal point of the piece, the costume.

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Her costuming is amazing. First off, the paint used for the charcoal colored portions of her dress is perfect. It reflects just enough light to give the illusion of satin. Subtle highlights also aid in creating that illusion, softening the reflections a bit, as well as the soft gradiation into shadows. And while I’m talking about the paint, the cleanliness of the paint is well above the norm and among the cleaner paint jobs of the figures in my collection.

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The folds and drapery on her clothing are fantastic, having the shape and depth appropriate for the stiffer material this type of dress would have. Check out the lacing and stress folds on her corset, the attention to detail keeps the all black scheme interesting without becoming busy. I guess what I’m trying to say is all the folds make sense and none of them feel random or extraneous.

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If I had to knock something on this figure as being merely average it would be the moderately visible mold lines on the side. Fortunately, when viewed from the front, they can’t be seen.

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Saber has been the subject of quite a few figures and she’s had quite a few different faces, some good and some bad. The face Kawahara gave this version is among the closest at capturing the look of Saber, even if it is for the tripped out black Saber. Makes me wish Kawahara would sculpt a 1/8 or 1/6 scale Saber in her armor.

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In all, Alter has released another excellent figure here. If you are inclined to get this, I wouldn’t pass it up.

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