It's really not that bad.

At least this has actual justification - to keep the price point low so that anyone can just hop into the line without feeling like they have to make a huge investment. After all, since Zi-O, main Riders have been extremely cheap, but this is the first time where they absolutely have to include the weapon. I believe it's a fair compromise. It's something Bandai has acknowledged and explained; unlike the lack of details on the annual trinkets.

Seems a bit much for just the bare Seiken. Would have liked to see it include the other emblems, though so that it also doubles as a second Seiken for Saber like dual wielding Ikazuchi.

With that money, you could buy some silver spray and do it yourself.

Nah, honestly... I'm sorry, but I really can't buy "we have to make cost-cutting measures" on figures that are supposed to be the high-end collector's range (mostly because you don't have another option) and aim to be as accurate as possible. Even if it's a minor thing like this, it's just another thing that makes me resent SHF especially when it's pulling so many other shenanigans elsewhere. I don't think there's any excuse when they have a complete monopoly on Kamen Rider collectors and get away with high prices, premium exclusivity and minimising accessories.

It's also not just the grey instead of silver -- it's the way they done the inner red detailing. It's far too opaque and SHFUpgrade's version really calls out how bad and inaccurate it is.

I suppose to each his own. Like I said, I don't its too difficult to do by yourself. At that price one could probably just buy the paint by itself anyway

and honestly though, if I enjoyed Saber more I would probably be more upset. But the main figure itself, outside of the accessories, is perfectly acceptable for me and at a good price

I agree, honestly.

Easiest comparison is this: In 2012 you could get Ryuuki, Dragredder and all of Ryuuki's accessories for like $50 to $60 bucks. Today, you can get Saber.

That's not Bandai going "We can offer less for more", that's material cost rising over time. There are things you can point fingers at them for. Why do Zi-O's Figuarts not have printing on the watches when you do other collectibles at similar price points with that level of detail? Why are you forcing me to buy a web exclusive just to get accessories for my retail releases?

But I'm not gonna point my finger at them for plastic and certain paints naturally going up in price over the years. It sucks they couldn't do what they wanted with Saber, but it's what it is and imo the figure's great even with the limitations to its production.

Can someone please explain to me why plastic prices are rising? Is there another factor besides the obvious, ie. monetary inflation?

Common answers are usually oil inflation, material, and gasoline costs. There is material that needs to be bought, and to buy these, you need services to get those materials to you, and these materials need to be manufactured in to the product. A price increase in any of these aspects can add onto the overall cost of the final product.

I don't think Saber Brave Dragon should fit the SHF standard since he sits at the entry level price point like his other main rider counterparts, the only difference is that he has, arguably, a more complex design and a required sword to boot. That's a lot more painting to be done compared to Build or 01. He's more comparable to something like the SROE Goku SHF whom is very sparce on the paint as well. He doesn't have much problem in that department considering his design, but it's a comparison.

To really gauge the quality of the Saber SHFs, we have to look at the actual standard SHF release. Blades. I have this pic of the Swordriver trio and notice anything? Saber's rekka is also in the unpainted grey. The Tamashii Nations showroom last year may be the point where they decided to switch some things with Saber. Noticed it a few months ago round here.
http://www.tokunation.com/showthread.php?p=777109

Looking at Blades here, he looks pretty fine. Though, that may be just studio lighting playing a trick on me. We'll have to see the final product to actually deduce for ourselves.

Then where is the "SHF standard" Saber?

This is my issue here -- in terms of a collector's grade figure of Saber, this is as good as it's going to get; and it's a figure with a terrible Ridebook, a joke of a sword, a static cloak, the need to swap out friggin' hand guards, and basically no accessories. This is as good as it's ever going to get, and it's just... okay, barely distinct in quality from a model kit; which is not the standard I expect from a line proclaiming itself as the collector figure line with no other option around.

I'd be fine with this if there were say, another version of Saber being sold at a higher price point with extra accessories and all those issues fixed - perhaps take a cue from Figma's 'DX' releases? - but as-is all there is is this one, and it's just a little pathetic compared to the sort of quality we know this line is capable of.

Well hey, with MAFEX getting into Ultraman, maybe they'll get into other Toku brands in the future. Or atleast, I really hope so.

That said, should they ever do Kuuga, it'd be REALLY hard the top the Seihou.

I'm sorry but that's a hell of a stretch. Literally all the qualities of an SHF are there. Is it missing some paint apps? Yes, but it's still compensated via plastic coloring. Plastic quality's still there. Articulation is still there. Sculpting is still there. The paintwork that is there is still quality. It's still a lovely-looking figure.

Like I get the disappointment on some of its fronts for sure, but let's not go as far as to say it's no better than a model kit just because the sword isn't painted silver...