We have here an unboxing review of Bandai’s Formania Sazabi MSN-04 Neon Zeon Char Aznable Mobile Suit. The FORMANIA line is targeted towards Gundam Collectors who value form, design and detail. Bandai was already successful with the release of the Formania Nu Gundam, but the Formania Sazabi proved far more better than it’s predecessor. Formania Sazabi has so many details that some modelers use it as basis for customizing their kits. It weighs around 1400g and has a dimension of 8.5″ x 8.5″ x 10.5″ (inches) when displayed. It was released on September 2010 and was priced at ¥18,000. There is only one word to describe Formania Sazabi — AWESOME!
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BOX ART
some details on the back regarding the gimmicks of the figure
Bandai 2010 Made in China
supposedly some specs of the Sazabi
Top of the box – its black… darn dynamic lighting on the camera turned it grey
bottom of box
box of Formania Sazabi compare with box of MG Heavyarms EW
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UNBOXING
It opens on the side. Once opened, the first thing you will notice is the big styrofoam with the manual sticking on it.
the colored card is like a post card that you can display around
the manual is only one sheet folded to make 2 pages
So let us open it up!!!
contains around 12 items wrapped individually
with the plastics removed
Let us take a look on the pieces
FUNNELS
MINI ROBOT WORKER with pilot
STAND for mini robot
METAL ROD to connect stand and worker
SHOULDERS
The shoulders alone give out so much detail. I felt really happy holding these parts…
MAIN BODY (Torso, Backpack and Head)
There was a piece of plastic that should be removed located between the torso and the backpack
The chest armor can be removed to showcase the inner parts…
Moving the head armor also reveals the cockpit
Gotta love that stand!
The plastic I removed from the back
Back pack details
Combining all the pieces gives you this!
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SIZE COMPARISON
against an SD Red Frame Astray and an HG 1/144 Gundam Age-1 Normal
against the 1/35 Gundam Bust Display
against the Great Balancing Sasuke! (Sa-Zeong-Ke)
we just fitted sasuke with a coin back on the head
against an MG 1/100 Metallic Coating Sazabi
against a DX MSIA 12 inch Sazabi
see the difference in details
left: DX Sazabi
right: Formania Sazabi
Comparing the 3 Sazabi
As you can see among the 3, Formania Sazabi is the biggest in terms of scale. We just can not pinpoint the exact scale.
But we think the Formania Sazabi is between the scales of 1/40 to 1/43. Yes, it is bigger than the Mega Scale 1/48 RX-78-2 Gundam but looks small because it is just the bust and nothing more.
Just standing there still, the Formania Sazabi already boasts a lot of detail
Pistons on the waist (they do not move by the way). But they wiggle a little bit.
The back view and the boosters
some details from behind like the shoulder armor with the gold heat-sink like design
the funnel holder is really lovely
details are way better than Perfect Grade kits
A LOOK at WHAT is INSIDE ^_^
so you have already seen some of the details of the torso, but here they are again at some different angles
this is the removable chest armor
armors from the shoulders can be taken off as well
the boosters and some other parts can be moved as well
Sazabi can tilt forward…
and backwards…
moving forward or backward does not affect the pistons
Funnel holders can move independently
also, you can tilt them up and down
the same goes for the booster
some moving parts on the center of the back pack
the backpack can be pulled-out halfway, like a service mode of something, revealing the backbone of the mobile suit
some more random pictures
MINI WORKER ROBOT
its actually a unit driven by someone most likely an engineer to help repair Sazabi
this is actually cool because on the Nu Gundam, they only had men in space suits plus wires
RANDOM PICS
Sorry but I really can’t help to take lots of pictures… It looks so good at photos that I seem to like every shot. I actually made some of them my wallpaper.
details… details… details… there are just lots of them!
CONCLUSION
This is a must have on your collection. Very very detailed! So lovely to look at. Truly an eye-catching cabinet piece. Worth every peso I spent.
-END
Gundam Philippines 
The details of formania are great but i guess the bust types of g-system is better. Expert modellers could do “robotics” which make it more impressive with its transformation and movements. But for those who are into straight build, i guess this will do. 4 stars for this 🙂
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thanks Jose for the input! You are right, G-System resin kits can be better since they are bigger and the detailing is based on the modeler. And yes, you can do robot-stuff if you like, though we rarely see that except for the LED effects.
However, formania is a not a like the g-system kits. You do not need to put it in a solution, build the model, paint and detail it. It is already pre-painted and is ready for display. Think of it as a highly detailed Gundam Figure that is like figmas or nendoroids or figure-arts.
So we really cannot compare the two since they are both unique in their own way. IMHO
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Yeah ur right.. I saw one in youtube where they have a resin kit that moves. Hope you could review one hehe it can be purchased unbuilt or built already 🙂 here’s the link http://www.e2046.com/product/13313 so coooool 🙂
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wow that is really nice! haha… they have both unpainted and painted version… thanks for sharing
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Very AWESOME indeed
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