Tamashii Nations revealed two new additions to its S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ball Z lineup on August 27, 2026: VEGETA (Z-FIGHTERS) and TRUNKS (Z-FIGHTERS), both depicting the Saiyan warriors in their Android/Cell Saga looks, with pre-orders opening September 1 at retail. Collectors have four days to mark their calendars — and one meaningful detail the reveal makes clear that earlier coverage missed: the Z-Fighters is a deliberate, sequenced Cell Saga wave, not a pair of one-off releases, and Trunks’s first-edition version includes a display base that will not ship with standard reorders.
Two New Sculpts, Two Distinct Looks
Both figures are designed around specific on-screen moments in the Android and Cell Sagas rather than the powered-up Super Saiyan action poses that prior S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ball Z entries have often prioritized.
Vegeta is rendered in his blue bodysuit and white chest armor from the Android/Cell Arc — a look distinct from the Saiyan Saga battle suit and Majin Vegeta appearances that prior Figuarts releases have covered. Tamashii Nations worked with particular attention to the character’s proportions, the volume of his distinctive hair, and his facial expressions, producing what the official product description calls a “meticulous” recreation. Accessories include multiple interchangeable face plates, swap-out hair pieces (an engineering choice explained below), multiple optional hands, a pair of folded arms, and two sets of swappable feet enabling the wide-legged fighting stances the character favors.
Trunks, meanwhile, appears in his tank-top outfit — the casual look he wears during quieter Android Saga scenes, not the powered-up Super Saiyan battle armor of most prior Figuarts releases. This is a first for the standard retail line and a meaningful sculpt distinction for collectors who already own the Super Saiyan versions. His accessories include multiple face parts, swappable hair pieces, optional hands, his iconic sword with scabbard, and interchangeable leg parts for varied poses.
Why the Swap-Hair Design Is an Engineering Choice, Not a Shortcut
The interchangeable hair pieces included with both figures — Vegeta’s distinct upward-sweeping peak, Trunks’s shorter cut — reflect a deliberate tradeoff in premium figure engineering, not a cost-cutting measure.
S.H. Figuarts figures achieve their posability through a multi-axis ball-joint system built on a two-material construction: ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) forms the internal armature and joint pins — the rigid, high-tolerance components that provide durability and precise click-detent positioning — while PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) forms the exterior shells, flexible accessories, and detail surfaces that carry the sculpted hair and clothing. ABS enables the engineering precision the joints require; PVC enables the surface detail fidelity the sculpt requires. Each material does one job well. Asking a single rigid hair piece to look accurate at every head angle is effectively asking PVC’s sculpt priorities to defeat ABS’s articulation priorities. Providing multiple hair pieces, each shaped for a specific angle, preserves sculpt accuracy at every individual pose while still enabling wide posing range. It is the same logic that leads Tamashii Nations to include multiple face plates rather than one neutral face: fidelity at each specific moment, assembled by the collector into whichever scene they want to display.
Z-Fighters Wave Context
The Vegeta and Trunks announcement is the second entry in what appears to be a structured Cell Saga sub-series, not an isolated dual reveal. Tamashii Nations had previously announced S.H. Figuarts Son Gohan (Z-Fighters) — a Limited Edition figure with Group Base Ver.A — scheduled for January 2027 delivery. With Vegeta and Trunks now confirmed alongside it, the Z-Fighters wave is shaping up to encompass the core Cell Saga roster: the half-Saiyan heir, the Prince of all Saiyans, and the time-traveling warrior who trained alongside Vegeta for the battle ahead.
The wave structure matters to collectors beyond display aesthetics. A buyer who pre-orders Gohan now has a structural completionist incentive to also secure Vegeta and Trunks — and Tamashii Nations has built a time-limited purchase incentive directly into the Trunks figure. The first-edition retail version of Trunks (Z-Fighters) ships with the Z-FIGHTERS GROUP BASE Ver.B LIMITED EDITION — a display base designed to integrate with the wave’s other figures. Standard reorders will not include this base. Collectors who place pre-orders from September 1 forward will receive it; those who wait for shelf stock or secondary market copies will not.
Pricing and Pre-Order Timeline
Tamashii Nations lists both figures at ¥4,400 for the Japan market standard retail price. At US authorized retailers such as Entertainment Earth and BigBadToyStore, import margins and distribution costs typically push the shelf price to the $60–$80 USD range for releases at this tier — the same range at which the Gohan Z-Fighters figure is currently listed at $69.99 at US retailers.
Pre-orders open September 1, 2026 across retail channels. Release windows differ between the two figures: Trunks is scheduled for March 2027 delivery, Vegeta for April 2027 — a one-month gap that may allow budget-conscious collectors to spread the purchase across separate months.
Authorized US retail channels for pre-orders will include Entertainment Earth, BigBadToyStore, and Premium Bandai USA. Tamashii Nations exclusives and limited editions have historically sold through quickly at pre-order open — collectors who want the Trunks Group Base variant are advised to move promptly when the window opens.
What Is S.H. Figuarts?
S.H. Figuarts is Tamashii Nations’ flagship articulated figure line, produced under the Bandai Spirits division of Bandai Namco Holdings. Launched in 2008, the line’s name is a contraction of “Simple Style” and “Heroic Action” — a design philosophy centered on achieving maximum posability inside an exterior aesthetic that reads as clean and anime-accurate from any angle. The series’ engineering approach uses internal skeleton-style joint systems with exterior aesthetic shells, enabling pose ranges impossible with the traditional peg-joint figures that preceded it.
The Dragon Ball Z catalog represents one of the most extensive sub-lines in the series’ history, having covered characters from the Saiyan Saga through the Buu Saga. Characters like Vegeta and Trunks command consistent collector demand, with prior releases at event exclusives regularly appreciating significantly on the secondary market — a pattern that has made Tamashii Nations pre-orders a time-sensitive proposition for serious collectors.
Dragon Ball Z at 37
Dragon Ball Z premiered in Japan in 1989. As of this announcement it is 37 years old and remains one of the highest-grossing anime franchises on the planet by merchandise revenue. Bandai Namco continues to invest heavily in the IP across video games, trading cards, and premium collectibles. The Cell Saga — the backdrop for this Z-Fighters wave — occupies roughly Episodes 140 through 194 of the series and is widely considered its dramatic high point: a narrative arc built on father-son legacy, sacrificial choices, and some of the franchise’s most iconic transformations.
For collectors, a well-executed Cell Saga wave from Tamashii Nations is not nostalgia for its own sake. It is an opportunity to display, in a few inches of ABS and PVC, a moment from a story that has not finished mattering to the people who grew up watching it.
Currency conversions referenced in this article (¥4,400 to USD) are approximate and based on exchange rates as of August 28, 2026; actual retail prices at US retailers reflect import margins and distribution costs and will differ from direct yen conversions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What outfit does the Z-Fighters Trunks figure depict — is it Super Saiyan?
No. The S.H. Figuarts Trunks (Z-Fighters) figure depicts Trunks in his tank-top civilian outfit from the Android Saga, not in his Super Saiyan battle armor. This is a first for the standard retail line. Collectors who own previous Trunks releases in Super Saiyan form are looking at a genuinely different sculpt. The figure includes his sword and scabbard, multiple face parts, and interchangeable hair and hand pieces.
When do pre-orders open, and what does the first-edition Trunks include that later orders will not?
Pre-orders open September 1, 2026 at authorized retail channels including Entertainment Earth, BigBadToyStore, and Premium Bandai USA. The first-edition retail version of Trunks (Z-Fighters) ships with the Z-FIGHTERS GROUP BASE Ver.B LIMITED EDITION — a display base designed to integrate with the wave’s other figures, including Gohan (Z-Fighters). Standard reorders placed after the first-edition allocation sells through will not include this base. Collectors who want the complete display-ready package should plan to order at or near the September 1 open.
What does the Z-Fighters label mean — is this a full planned series?
The Z-Fighters designation appears to identify a deliberate Cell Saga sub-series within the broader S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ball Z catalog. Son Gohan (Z-Fighters) was announced before Vegeta and Trunks and is scheduled for January 2027. With three key Cell Saga characters now confirmed under the same sub-series name — each with a matching Group Base accessory designed to display the wave together — the lineup suggests Tamashii Nations is building toward a coherent display set. Additional entries (Piccolo, Krillin, or Perfect Cell as a villain counterpart) have not been announced but would be consistent with the wave’s internal logic.
How much do S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ball Z figures cost, and where can I buy them?
Tamashii Nations sets the Japan market retail price for these figures at ¥4,400 each. US authorized retailers typically list equivalent figures in the $60–$80 USD range after import costs and distribution margins — the Gohan (Z-Fighters) is currently listed at $69.99 at Entertainment Earth. Secondary market prices for popular characters can significantly exceed retail, particularly for first-edition variants, which is a further reason to pre-order during the September 1 window rather than waiting for shelf availability.
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