darkrose of sorrow: Final Fantasy VIII Transcendent Artist's Collection: Squall & Bahamut

Squall is the main guy but ironically, his statue has the smallest box measuring about 33cm (L) x 31cm (H) x 19cm (W) and has the lowest retail price of 19800 yen (the other figures were priced at 24800 yen). Despite having the smallest box, the figure is actually of comparable size with the rest.

Sadly, this is my least liked statue among the five and there are many reasons for that. Firstly, I find the choice of colours are dull (black, grey, dark red) and with Squall's white undershirt as the only light colour. Visually, it simply pales in comparison to the rest. Secondly, the figure fails to convey the majesty of Bahamut (who is supposed to be the greatest summon or the King of Eidolons) and that is a big waste. The other GFs are better except for half-sliced Odin. Squall's pose is actually kinda cool but when you display the statue, Squall is actually facing down! Just a minor detail but the way he is holding the gunblade is also akward, if not unnatural. Instead of having both palms grabbing his gunblade, his left hand is actually grabbing his right wrist. Bleah.. The worst part is that when I display the figures, Seifer & Odin statue compliments Rinoa & Siren statue better than Squall & Bahamut statue!

Similar to Rinoa & Siren statue, the original packaging makes Squall's gunblade very prone to damage. Inside the box, the heavy Bahamut statue is actually resting against Squall's delicate gunblade. For that reason, I own 2 Squall & Bahamut statues: 0438 is undamaged and 0453 is damaged. Sigh.. I regret not returning the damaged one (together with the damaged Rinoa & Siren) to get my USD 900 back.. Boohoo!! Anyway, even the undamaged 0438 is also not perfect as the serial card is lost.. Haiz.. Faints..

Enough of rants.. Picture time!!