Jing Le SD SBBW Giga Taifu Shibai Sazabi Mini Review

The final of my "bootleg SD trio" that I got to gauge my interest in the line, which is also the trio that got me into buying SD's. The Shibai Sazabi is in my opinion the weakest of the trio. He's a nice thing to have but doesn't really do anything impressive, and the fact that he's a bootleg makes things a little bit worse. Still, i'm happy I got him, because he's the reason I ever got into buying SD's.

The kit itself is a mediocre one. It's articulation is very limited, standard SD stuff. Do not expect poses from him, he has no elbows. He has is Frame Gundam Mode as shown in the first image, and two alternate pieces for his helmet crest, the larger one being the default one. A positive this guy has is that he's actually different to the original in the fact he has that this kit is molded entirely in pearl-like plastic, while the original is mekki. This can be used to differentiate itself from the original product, but the bootleg quality feel makes it seem very cheap. Most colors on this kit are in the form of stickers, and due to being a bootleg, they are a bit miss-cut. Fitting is mostly good like the Taishiji Dom, but could've been better in some areas. For accessories, he has a sword that can split into a fan and smaller sword, however he only comes with one right holding hand, with the left hand only being a weirdly open hand with a hollow handguard, not very nice. It also has detail on the feet which can be used to leave stamps with an inkpad.

Verdict:

This is definitely not the most impressive SD I built, honestly, the kit is quite bad. Articulation is crappy, plastic feels cheap, stickers were miss-cut and don't stick nor look amazing either. This kit would be mediocre kit if it were the real thing, however due to being a bootleg, it did not go to it's favor. However, I will give it credit, the pearl plastic does look unique in it's own way, and it does look decently good compared to other SD's. However, I strongly recommend going for the Bandai one if you can, while it is rare, the kit isn't a great one and you don't need to prioritise it. Still, the satisfaction of completing my third SD encouraged me to give the line a chance, and got me into building SD's of my own. Now, I love them.

Pros:

- Very cheap

- Pearl plastic gives it a unique look, and differentiates it from the original.
- Feet have engravings which can be used with an inkpad for stamping.

Cons:

- Stickers are miss-cut. (!)

- Limited articulation due to being an SD, this guy is a brick.

- Plastic quality both feels, and due to the pearl molding, looks cheap.

- Hollow left open hand, no left holding hand.

- Stickers don't stick very well.