MSiA ZGMF-X23S 'Saber' Gundam

Height: 12 cm to top of head (includes tall sensor module)

Articulation: 28 points plus 12. Ball jointed neck; 6 points in each arm, plus hinged shoulder armor - double jointed shoulder, pre-elbow swivel, double jointed elbow, ball joint wrist; Ball jointed waist, plus 10 points of articulation for backpack cannons and 2 for additional transformation elements; 8 points in each leg - ball joint hip, triple jointed knee, double jointed ankle, hinged foot.

Accessories: Shield; beam sabres x2 with removeable blades; beam rifle; Extra hands x4

Colors: Molded red, white, black, grey, plus clear pink. Painted white, black, red, grey, yellow, and green.

Release Data: Released November 18th in Japan at a price of ¥1500. This item is still in production as of this review (December 2nd, 2004).

Gallery: 15 images.

Author: ExVee

The Figure

First off, I have something to say. I'm well aware that the currently accepted Romanization of this mobile suit's name is "Saviour." It even appears on the MSiA's package, and the Collection Data card it comes with. But of course, you've noticed by now that all references to it on this site call it "Saber." RAC and I discussed this at some length prior to the launch of the site and the writing of this review. We both agreed that while the Katakana spelling of the name is consistant with previous Gundam uses of the word saviour, saber was the more sensible translation. While the Katakana doesn't match how the word saber is typically written in Gundam applications, it does match how saber is written in just about every other instance of the word, and we both feel it's a valid interpretation, and feel justified in adopting it as the only name we will apply to the suit on the site. Our work, our perogative. But, I offer apologies in advance for whatever annoyance it may cause to have it this way, and sincerely hope that you will not let it stop you from reading this article. We're just eccentric that way.

So, with that lengthy disclaimer out of the way, let's talk about our Gundam. Saber is Athrun Zala's machine, as indicated both on the box and card, though as of Phase 08 (early December), it has not appeared in animated form save for the opening title sequence. When will it show? Nobody knows! For what it's worth, Saber is kind of a blend of Athrun's previous Gundams, Aegis and Justice. The overall appearance, especially in 'burst mode' are basically in line with Justice, with some features, plus the transformation element are more in keeping with Aegis. The Mobile Armor mode is of course far removed from Aegis, appearing more as an aerospace fighter, rather than the clawed flying energy cannon. But, I'm starting to ramble, so let's move on.

The Head

A fairly basic, almost standard looking head. Except for the very tall sensor up top. One of the design elements borrowed from Aegis. I think it looks sorta dumb, especially considering there's no attempt made to blend it into the shape of the head or 'mohawk', so it really looks as though it was just dropped on there at the last moment. I'm sure it's in keeping with the animation model sheet, but if there's one thing Bandai should know by now, it's that just cause something works on paper, doesn't mean it'll look nearly so good on a 3D version. Oh well. The head has average range of motion on its ball joint neck, with little or no interference from the details around the collarbone area, or the transformation bits sticking up from the back.

The Torso

Clearly, the majority of this part will be focused around the giant gimmick cannons, but first I'd like to go to the waist joint. Bandai's done something a bit different here, and while I haven't gone as far as disassembling the torso to confirm, the normal ball joint appears to not only be elevated to increase moveable range, but the area around the socket seems to be at least partly carved out to further extend the range of flex availble. What you come away with from this design is a torso that can not only freely rotate in 360 degrees, but also has room to bend a fair bit in any of the four major directions. This might seem like it'd lead to torso stability issues, but the torso can be pushed down ever so slightly - just enough so that the bottom surface of the torso rests more closely against the top of the pelvis. This allows the torso to sit relatively level, and not rock back and forth if you move the figure for posing. Unfortunately, I suspect this is a feature never to be revisited in MSiA, simply because I love it so much, just like the Jegan's great left elbow. Anyway...

The main visible feature here is the pair of giant cannons hung off the back. Now, the Collection Data card isn't specific on what weapon is what, but RAC and I believe these to be the Amfortas Focused Plasma Beam Cannons. Granted, this leaves the Super Fortis Beam Cannons unaccounted for, hopefully their location will become evident once Saber appears in the show. The cannons themselves are solid blocks of plastic, attached to the body by way of swing arms, and each cannon has a wing attached by a combination of ball joint and hinge. These cannons actually are decently weighty for their size, and can upset the balance of the figure, causing posing difficulties until you work out the center of gravity. because of how they're jointed, the wings can be brought into a useful position with the cannons not in use. You actually have options here. You could angle the wings so the wingtips point to the ground, or point up and look like a Decepticon jet, or have the wings paralell to the ground. Of course, if none of that appeals, or you don;t want to take up the shelf space, the wings will fold neatly against the cannons and you'll barely notice they're present.

Now, when you want to swing the cannons around into a firing position, you'll have to fiddle with them a little. All the joints make the swing range a bit ill-defined, and you have to work with them until they end up where you want them. Fortunately, the connecting arms have slider joints in them. If these were not present, the cannons would not be able to sit over the shoulders except to point to a somewhat upward angle. You might want that sometimes, but not always. With the slide points, they can sit level, pointing directly in front of the figure to whatever unfortunate target you choose. be careful, though. The slide joint is hard to get started, and is quite likely to come apart entirely when you finally get it moving. Don't worry though, it goes right back together very easily. With the cannons in their active position, the wings can again be posed, but due to the proximity to the shoulder joints, you have a much smaller range of options. In fact, you're essentially stuck having the wings out to the sides, paralell to the surface the figure is on. It's also possible to tuck the cannons under the arms, to do an impression of the Blast Impulse Gundam. This actually looks quite good, I find.

Wrapping up the torso, there's a poseable tail binder on the back, whose range of movement can be restricted by how you position a small sliding piece which is used in transformation.

The Arms

Though I'm trying to avoid comparing Saber directly to other similar transforming figures, I will point out it has shoulder armor done basically the same way as the Wing Gundam second version. That is, there's an inner piece which is what fits over the shoulder joint. This has a simple hinge where the outer armor piece is attached, allowing it to fold down smoothly for Mobile Armor mode. This also leads to shoulder armor that's at least slightly more secure. The actual shoulder joint is quite nice. It's the usual hinge connecting to the body, with a ball joint on the other end. Handily, the shoulder armor design makes for good clearance around there, so the double jointed shoulders are quite effectively utilized. Otherwise, the arms are more or less standard, with two exceptions which will be better covered in the Accessories section.

The Legs and Feet

Unfortunately, this does not continue the trend Impulse began with skirt armor that doesn't necessarily fall within the path of leg movement. The skirt here is actually structurally more tightly together - there's little or no space between panels for the legs to move. In addition, the hip joints are fairly stiff, moreso than the knees, which may mean you'll end up moving the lower leg out of place before moving the thigh when you go to pose. This is an advantage for the Mobile Armor mode, of course, as the hip joints support the weight of the legs very securely. The knees are again triple joints, and the leg can actually fold in half, calf and thigh resting squarely against each other. This could probably kneel just as well as Impulse, except for the slight interference of the skirt armor, which prevents the thigh from levelling as far as it needs to work right. Otherwise it'd be great, since the feet can hinge, in addition to the flex needed in the ankle, which really makes it even more of a shame that it can't do it.

Now, the hinge in the feet is meant for the mobile armor mode, and really doesn't contribute much in the Mobile Suit mode. But, you will want to be sure that the feet are opened all the way. It took me about five minutes to notice that the feet on my Saber weren't, and simply could not figure out why Saber wouldn't stand right in the meantime.

Mobile Armor Mode

Y'know, ever since MSiAs got into the area of transforming, which started back with the giant Psyco Gundam, there's always been shortcomings with the transformed states, usually resulting from instability due to lack of securing loose pieces. It's true of Psyco, Raven Gundam, the Zeta Second Version, Dark Gundam Final Mode, and to lesser extents, Grand Gundam, and the Second Versions of Wing, Wing Zero, and Epyon. While I enjoy accuracy in my MSiAs, and therefore am in favor of transformations, I always kind of dread what I'll get when I buy a figure made to transform. And even though I enjoy accuracy, I simply cannot help but want for some extra pegs or tabs or *something* to hold the transformed modes together, even if it upsets the lines of the MS mode.

These same thoughts ran through my head as I waited for my Saber to arrive in the mail, but amazingly, almost all of it was completely put to rest as soon as I finished transforming to Mobile Armor mode the first time. It was completely opposite of what I was expecting. Through a combination of stiff joints, and actually having some parts secured down by clever means, Saber's MA mode turns out to actually be quite strong.

Most of the credit goes to the shield, which has a pair of large tabs made to fit into the figure's chest, and the peg that plugs into the arm in MS mode fits into a space on the rear skirt plate and locks up the main body of the Mobile Armor. Along with the stiff joints in the legs, all the important parts are held in place quite well. The cannons aren't exactly secured, but by their position, they're not really prone to getting bumped around. The only real problem area is the arms, which don't stick to anything. The joints are tight, but due to the placement they can get pushed out of place pretty easily.

In addition, the shoulder armor has slots made to accept the beam rifle in this mode. However, the rifle only has a tab on one side, so it can only mount on the left side armor. Regardless, it doesn't work terribly well, as the shoulder armor doesn't fold down as far as it needs to in order to allow the rifle to point straight ahead. It was a good attempt to let the figure carry all its major parts, but it ends up being less than effective.

In any case, they did a great job with the Mobile Armor mode, all things taken into account.

Sculpt and Detailing

Overall, everything is quite good. Well detailed surfaces, and nice paintwork. There's some minor errors, mostly just a matter of poor coverage, and is not likely to be a common mishap. The only really annoying thing is that the forehead, which includes the V-fin and stupid giant sensor piece, is glued on a bit off center, just enough to be really distracting. But, hey, who ever looks at the head?

Sculpt and articulation get 9/10

Accessories

-Shield

Well, it's not as gimmicky as Impulse's shield, but it's a nice, solid design. It has a handle and a tab, but it doesn't seem like both can be used at the same time. I haven't managed it, anyway. But, the shield can be used equally well by handle or tab alone, so it's not a big deal. The only really bad part is the size and shape of the shield can get in the way of the shoulder armor, and sometimes the giant cannons.

-Beam Rifle

This is a simple, solid piece of plastic. But it looks really good. It may be slightly on the large side, but that seems to be the trend for SEED Destiny weapons. It's held nicely in the trigger or regular open hands, and has nice molding and good paint work. Besides, sometimes it's nice when a rifle is just a rifle and doesn't try to do too much.

-Beam Sabres

The trend of stiffer beam blades lives on, though I think these may have slightly more give to them than what Impulse has. Anyway, these are quite long, and very clear, but have stronger coloring, which I appreciate. The grips for the beam sabres store somewhat awkwardly in the shoulder armor. In theory it's a nice change from the typical waist or backpack mounting, but in execution it kinda looks stupid. The art, and even some of the official photos of the figure show the grips going really far into the shoulder, with just the very ends sticking out. This actually looked quite good. Sadly in the real thing, they only stick about halfway in, so the look really gets ruined. Oops...

-Extra Hands

These are actually sort of a switch. For a good long time, hands have had the socket for the balljoint in the hands themselves. In Saber's case, the sockets are in the wrists. Obviously this is to keep the MA mode looking good. But, I kind of like the way it turns out from being done this way. Plus the hands seem to be made of a little different plastic than normal. I can't quite pin down what's different, but it just feels better when you pop the hand in the socket, or put an accessory in the hand. Really, I wouldn't mind more hands being made like these.

Accessories get 7/10

Closing Remarks

What I find is that we have what is basically a great figure, hampered slightly by details ranging from minor, to moderatly unfortunate, and what ends up being lackluster accessories. Should the largely good qualities of the figure completely offset the less than phenomenal rest? Probably not, but it does anyway. I won't pretend it's perfect, it's certainly not to the same grade as Impulse. But that's really just damning with faint praise. For anything under $18, this figure is a great buy, and would be a worthy addition to anybody's collection.

I give Saber an overall rating of Very Good.

-ExVeeBrawn, 12/02/2004