Detailed Saber Arturia photos, doll nudity

So I've seen new Saber pics all around the internet but so far no one has gone into a ton of detail on her. I figured I should do some photos showing how she looks and some of the detailing on her and her outfit/armor. Also, I took pics of some of the different things about her new F3 body. I did NOT take her all apart or anything so don't expect to see the full skeleton of the F3 here.

 

 

Anyway, I'm so happy and proud to be a Saber Arturia owner now! She was THE first DD I ever saw online. Well, it was the original Blue Saber that Danny Choo used to own. She just seemed so cool and amazing to me, especially when she had on her armor. I knew nothing of the Fate/Stay universe so her character wasn't a driving force for me to like her..... I just saw a really neat looking doll that I wanted to have. That was until I found out how much she cost. Then I kinda gave up on ever getting one.

 

 

But that was until Volks did this pre-order for her. Sure, Jeanne is amazing and different and just so badass looking..... but she's not Saber. So having to choose just one to order, I of course went with Saber of Blue.

 

So let's get into her stuff and check her out! This is kind of a box opening setup as well as a tutorial of sorts because if I ran into problems or saw things that were really different I took pics and will explain.

 

First off, her box!

 

DSC_1240 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

It's basically the same size as the Saber Extra and Yoko Littner boxes are. I like the main picture of Saber on the front.

 

DSC_1241 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Inside the box we have the usual board where the girl is tied to it but this one was stuffed with paper.

 

DSC_1242 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Hello pretty girl!

 

DSC_1243 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Here she is! A bit nekkid but what can you do? It's gonna take some time to get her dressed. As you know, she is on the new F3 frame and is the DDS version with the small bust. She will be my first girl to have and keep a small bust. One thing here, I noticed that the vinyl used is MUCH softer than the other girls I have..... even the newer DD3 girls. It has a very pleasant feel to it and is more pliable than the older girls. I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing when it comes to dirt and staining but I kind of like the new feel of it.

 

DSC_1244 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Inside the big box is all the goodies!

 

DSC_1245 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Ohhhhhhh yes! ARMOR!

 

DSC_1246 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The instruction booklet is VERY nice and well done. Even tho I can't read Japanese, the photos made it easy to know what to do when putting her together. Here are all the pages.

 

DSC_1247 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_1248 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_1249 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

We're getting there! I left her wig for later because I didn't want to mess it up by moving her all around while putting on the armor.

 

DSC_1250 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

This is the dress under the armor. It is very form fitting and I seriously doubt it will fit an M-bust because f how tight it was zipping up in the back as is.

 

DSC_1251 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Her blue dress has boning inside all the outer edges for posing.

 

DSC_1252 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_1253 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Her wig and bow. Past Sabers have had the bow already attached or made into the wig but this time, it's a pin you insert yourself.

 

DSC_1254 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Her ahoge hair was a bit flat out of the box.

 

DSC_1255 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

I added some wig wax to it and it's a bit better now.

 

DSC_1256 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Now to start with the armor. First up are the boots. You have to push the black leg parts into the boots yourself, they are not already attached like the ones with Saber Extra were.

 

DSC_1257 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Here you can see the boot with the leg peg inserted as well as her normal foot. You can see the little screw on top of the normal foot. More on that later.

 

DSC_1258 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Here we have out first problem. Just like on Extra, the leg pegs inside the shins DO NOT fit inside the boot parts easily. I tried to twist them in and even use a little oil to lube them enough to slip inside but nope. It wasn't happening. As you can see, the normal foot with the peg has the peg going inside MUCH farther than I could get the peg into the boot.

 

DSC_1259 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

So what did I do to fix this problem? I sanded the heck out of those pegs to make them go inside the boots! I used 400 grit sandpaper and it took me about 20 minutes to get both pegs to where they would fit nicely.

 

DSC_1260 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The leg armor is also different from Extra. On Extra, these are one piece. Meaning you pull off the foot and slide them over the shins then put the boot back on. These use magnets on both halves of the armor as seen here.

 

DSC_1261 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Here's the inside of her side plate skirt armor. As you can see, it has joints in them.

 

DSC_1262 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

So you can move it around like this.

 

DSC_1263 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Now we have the next issue. In the instructions, they tell you to put the belt/bodice thing on Saber and THEN loop the belt straps through the armor plates. There is absolutely NO room to do this. I tried for about 5 minutes and then took the belt off and threaded them like you see here. It still took a bit to get these done properly because the belt moves around while you're holding the armor and the straps twist around too. I suggest doing this off the doll for ease of access.

 

DSC_1265 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Armor and hands! Saber comes with normal skin hands and 4 different armored hands. She also comes standard with the new 3 way wrist movement parts. So plenty of posing options here. Do be careful with the armored hands tho as when I tried to put her sword into one, I forced it a bit much and the finger section came out of the main hand part. I had to glue it back into place.

 

DSC_1266 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Her sword pops apart at the handle to make it easier to put into her hands.

 

DSC_1267 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

And here she is all together!

 

DSC_1268 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

I ADORE the little crown.

 

DSC_1269 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Ok, that was all the pics I took of her in the first round of pics. But I needed better pics of things to share with people who don't have her and want to see her or for people who ordered her but she hasn't arrived yet. So here's the next wave!

 

 

Saber is now fully dressed in her coat and crown and sword!

 

DSC_1270 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

I do find it odd that they gave her Excalibur but not the scabbard Avalon. Luckily I have that set from the original release so she'll have it.

 

DSC_1271 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The coat is soooo cool! It's super fluffy and is also boned for posing. The little closer on the front is leather.

 

DSC_1272 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The armor is highly detailed and looks amazing. Every line on the parts is painted well and fits perfectly.

 

DSC_1273 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Now we'll do some close ups of the armor and outfit.

 

DSC_1274 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_1275 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The bottoms of the boots are VERY slick so if you have her on a smooth surface like the shelves I have her on here, make sure to pose her well so she doesn't have any balance issues. Otherwise she will slide right off! XD

 

DSC_1276 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_1277 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

I love the gloves. I wish Extra had some.

 

DSC_1278 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

WHOOSH! I like how the cape can be posed with the boning inside. Dramatic poses!

 

DSC_1280 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

All closed up.

 

DSC_1281 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The crown has this little spike thing on the front that you slip into her hair.

 

DSC_1282 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Here's a close up of the details on it.

 

DSC_1283 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Now we'll take off her armor and show you how it looks and how the outfit underneath is.

 

DSC_1284 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

All the little details are so well done. Seam lines are well hidden.

 

DSC_1285 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Here's how the magnets look that hold the front and back of the breastplate on.

 

DSC_1286 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Here's the side armor flexing. Saber isn't sure about this posing.

 

DSC_1287 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

And from the back and with the armor plating straight.

 

DSC_1288 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_1289 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The very top plate on the gauntlets also move up and down.

 

DSC_1290 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_1291 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

A quick lesson in posing. Extra had a bit of an issue when I tried to pose her kneeling like this. Extra needed her sword to balance properly but Arturia doesn't. I'm guessing the newer frame and body allow a bit more flexibility for this type pose.

 

DSC_1292 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Here she is with her sword. Secret: Her side plate armor is helping steady her kneeling pose.

 

DSC_1293 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Ok, here's her default outfit sans armor.

 

DSC_1294 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_1295 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The outfit is very well made and fully lined! I only saw a few spots of blue threads that may cause staining but I put some of the Volks body tape on her at those points. Also, the poofy shoulder pads do tend to cause some posing restrictions. She doesn't have many issues with it but some arm poses will either not go all the way up high or they will make the shoulder pads scrunch up and look odd.

 

DSC_1296 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

It is also a tight fit on her. I didn't try it but I doubt it will zip all the way up on a medium bust girl.

 

DSC_1297 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Here's her hair braid and ribbon. As seen earlier, you have to put the ribbon in yourself.

 

DSC_1298 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Alright, time to talk about her feet. On the old DD3 and earlier bodies, there was no adjustment for the leg pegs. But now, there are tiny screws that you can use to loosen or tighten up for leg pegs. This is a really awesome thing because now if you do have to sand down any pegs, you can make up for that easily here. If they make these available separately, I will get them for my Saber Extra since hers are super loose now due to me having to sand her pegs down to fit her armored boots on.

 

DSC_1299 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

From the back you can see the little cuts in the pegs that close up or open up when you adjust the screws.

 

DSC_1300 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Manami - "Hey look, I got one in so far! I don't think both these girls will fit together tho."

 

Saber - "What in the world....."

 

DSC_1301 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

"Dangit, it would have been cool to have this on and have Ryomou try and punch me. Heh."

 

DSC_1302 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

"I am so glad I do not have issues like THAT."

 

DSC_1303 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Almost done yall!

 

Now for some comparison pics.

 

Here's my Saber Extra and Arturia.

 

DSC_1304 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Definitely the same head scuplt, just different face up and eyes.

 

DSC_1305 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_1306 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

DSC_1307 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

I know Sinclair had some questions regarding Saber Alter and the armor. I tried everything out except for the side plates because I knew those would fit since the belt is velcroed on easily. As seen below, the gloves and feet and shin guards all fit perfectly, no issues at all. My Alter is the V2 version so she is on the WS DD3 body with the M-bust.

 

DSC_1308 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

But that M-bust causes the issue of making the breast plate not work.

 

DSC_1309 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

I tried to adjust her clothing under the armor to make it get closer to snapping together but there was no way. *Maybe* if she had no shirt on underneath the armor it might work out.... or if the shirt was super thin and skin tight. Otherwise, it ain't gonna happen.

 

DSC_1310 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Alter likes the crown tho.

 

DSC_1311 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

And just to be patriotic here's all 3 of my Sabers doing Old Glory a solid. Red white and blue forever!

 

DSC_1312 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking and I hope this helps answer some questions for people!

 

 

 

Billy

Thanks for all the pics.

 

A few random comments...

 

You can buy the new feet, here they are on Volks Japan:

https://www.volks.co.jp/page_ex.jsp?CONTROLID=SC0040&BUSINESSID=InitDisp&jancd=4518992422060&version=en

You can barely see that adjustment screw there in the picture. I had noticed that and suspected it's what it was before anyone confirmed it.

 

It's clear how tight her dress is because I don't think I've ever seen the headlights poking through before on any outfit on a small bust DD.

 

The comparison between her and Saber Extra confirms something I thought might be the case. She has a little more of a smile compared to the old Saber release, who looks more grim like Alter. It's also nice to see the blush is pretty subtle because some of Volks official pics made it look a little intense for Saber.

 

I happened to stumble onto this site earlier today which compares original Saber's armor to Saber Lily's:

http://awtlblog.vitsco.com/2011/01/the-two-sabers/

Comparing that to your pictures you can see how much nicer the new armor is than her original release.

I like the red dress you have on Extra, it suits her well.

 

When I tried the breastplate on Kaede I took her shirt off first, so as not to wrinkle it. She's wearing the September shirt and pants set, and the blouse has a lot of fine detail I didn't want to ruin by compressing it. Doesn't work on M bust even without clothing in the way. Same with DDS-M Anastasia when I tried it on her. The issue isn't the fabric, it's the width of the breasts making it impossible for them to fit far enough into the breastplate. The back part fits just fine on DDIII.

 

Kind of like with Manami, but less extreme with the standard Volks M bust.

 

Saber Lily's breastplate is basically a tortoise shell shape so plenty of room for an M bust.

 

It's clear how tight her dress is because I don't think I've ever seen the headlights poking through before on any outfit on a small bust DD.

 

Yes, this is a DDS sized outfit for a change. I was a bit worried they would try to make it fit a range of sizes, but they made it properly for DDS this time, and S bust DDS to boot.

She looks beautiful! Makes me wonder though, with the dress being so tight, will there be a possibility of putting a body suit on her?

Congratulations, she's spectacular! It looks like the final faceup is much closer to the first blue Saber than the preorder promos appeared, which I'm quite glad for. She's a classy girl.

 

I still feel somehow like Rei should be the one to summon her; maybe because they've both got that ladylike aloofness.

Beautiful photos and thanks for the info! Saber looks lovely

Thank you very much for all the information and photos! I like the new Saber very much, to the point that now I kinda regret not buying it XD

The tiny crown is just awesome!

On a side note, are you a fan of the new f3 body skeleton? Can you see that much improvement, poseability-wise?

Thanks for the review and checking out the outfit. So the dress will only fit a DDS S bust, not even a DDIII S bust? I don't mind buying another bust just so I can get my Saber in the whole outfit, but if it doesn't fit the DDIII S bust, then I have to get the DDS S bust and DDS waist. I can use the DDIII arms and legs on the DDS bust and waist, right?

Or would it fit on a DDIII SS bust, then I don't have to buy as much.

What a lovely trifecta of Saber's you have there! Arturia is so cute as a DDS. I knew I'd regret not ordering her

I can use the DDIII arms and legs on the DDS bust and waist, right?

 

There is a thread around here showing DDS & DD body parts mixed and matched with each other. AFAIK the frames are totally compatible, but the arms and legs may look a bit long.

 

The DDIII arms will probably be a bit long in the dress though. The sleeves come right up to the ball joint on the hand on the DDS, so you may find the DDIII arms protrude a bit farther. The skirts will look a bit shorter, but I would think they will look fine.

 

I think the big issue here is while DD clothing can also fit DDS if you don't mind it being a bit baggy, DDS clothing won't necessarily fit DD. The bloomers and petticoats have elastic waists and will just be a bit shorter on DD, but the dress itself is likely to be too small in the chest / shoulders. From what I can tell the waist just below the bust is about the same size on DD & DDS. I can't be positive without using calipers, but eyeballing it with a ruler the difference is minimal. AFAIK you can put an DDS bust on a DD, and that might work with the outfit.

 

I took her armor off to see how much play there was in cloth around the torso, and I was thinking of maybe trying it on my Sakura DDIII-S, but I am honestly worried I might damage it if I tried to zip it up on a DD body. There is no play at all in the waist or chest area, and while the waist might work the chest is going to be a problem.

 

I'd probably recommend grabbing an DDS-S in WS, because ultimately Saber's head really looks great on the DDS body. A DDS should also be able to wear Alters outfit, but it's going to have a baggy chest even if you used a M bust on the DDS when she wears the Alter outfit.

Edited October 23, 2018 by Guest

I'd probably recommend grabbing an DDS-S in WS, because ultimately Saber's head really looks great on the DDS body. A DDS should also be able to wear Alters outfit, but it's going to have a baggy chest even if you used a M bust on the DDS when she wears the Alter outfit.

 

And whatever is chosen, it's best to not wait any longer than necessary. White skin is over; f3 parts do not exist in WS.

 

I need to make a thread on this with more information which I'll do when I stop being overworked, but the Volks Dreamy DD blog posted that as of 10/19, with the exception of Dollpoint and the webstore, old body parts are discontinued at all Volks locations. So unlike with DDII, DDIII parts may not continue to be available for years to come.

wow, looks like Volks has made toooons of armor improvements since ver1! All the lil magnets and bonus plate joints look like they'd make life hella easier.

All those bonus armor hands tho... jeaaaaaaaalous

 

and OMG, that lil bit of sword hilt coming apart to fit nicely into hands is the biggest "yes plz!!" bonus

400 grit sandpaper did the trick. I got them to the point where they went in smoothly and still had good friction, and then used some higher grit polishing paper to buff them. Tensioning screws took less than a quarter turn to tighten up her normal feet.

 

Oh, and you aren't kidding about how slick the bottoms of the boots are, her feet want to slide around even on a Volks saddle stand.

It's interesting to see how different Volks's version of Saber's armor is from the Parabox Saber I have. It's a lot fancier, which makes sense given the cost difference. It's too bad about the pegs not fitting. I'm not sure if that's better or worse than the Parabox version, where you have to unscrew the foot from the ankle connector... probably better, since the plastic got stripped pretty quickly and her feet wouldn't stay on. Though the part about the instructions telling you to put the armored skirt on after attaching the belt are the same between them.

 

Seeing Nero (Saber Extra) being taller than Artoria is a little surreal, since Nero is supposed to be shorter in canon, lol.