Snail Shell releases a Swimsuit variant of their increasingly popular Wolf character!
Producer: Snail Shell
Price: Approx. $80 USD
Release Date: May 2021
Item Height: approx. 6.3″
Item Weight: N/A
Batteries: N/A
WHERE TO BUY: AmiAmi
Snail Shell is back with another variant of their increasingly popular “Wolf” character; this time with a swimsuit edition. The look is different enough to set it apart, and it innovates some new things while improving upon what it keeps from the previous releases. Check out the video review above as well as this article and gallery below and let me know what you think in the comments.
Presentation: The box seems to be what’s become “standard fare” for the company (which is a positive.) It mirrors the previously reviewed “Version Armor” to a tee in terms of box type and graphic style.
Build: This figure is a completely plastic piece with good, firm joints which improves upon my major complaint of the previous “armored” release. On both the figure and its accessories the colors, paint, and tampos are immaculate. The fit and finish of this piece is darned good.
Accessories: Here’s a list of the accessories taken from the product listing;
-Main body x1
-Face parts w/full articulation eyes x3 (Smiling, Winking, Crying)
-Mini tool to change the eye direction
-Alternative front hair part x3 (Standard, Wearing sunglasses, Sunglasses on the head)
-Alternative feet parts, left/right (Sneakers, Beach sandals) x2 pairs
-Tail part x1
-Leg bag x1
-Backpack (particle gun) x1
-Attachment parts for the Backpack x1
-Atasshu Shield w/Stand x1
-Beam Blade Gun x1
-Energy particle sensor x1
-Lead wire x2
-Anbu Lancer x1
-Umbrella Shield Mode Activated Effect x1
-Attachment parts for changing the mode x1 set
-Long Blade x4
-Alternative hand parts x10
-Alternative feet parts, left/right (Bare feet) x1 pair
The accessories on this piece are overall very good in theory. A good variety of hands, unique weapons, and a movable eye gimmick that really impressed me with how well done it is. With these accessories and the modular (swappable) parts of the figure itself switched with other Wolf variants, the amount of unique looks you van have for this pieces are plain endless. However, the execution on some of these accessories really just brings things down as a whole.
The complaints I have about the accessories are the weight of the umbrella, staff, and “wires”. The umbrella itself is a very unnecessarily thick and heavy clear plastic (to the point where I thought it was potentially glass until told otherwise.) The staff is a pretty sturdy diecast as well so even if you’re using it in conjunction with the blade end you’ve got something that’s hard on the figure’s joints but put together with the umbrella it’s pretty much a signup for frustration trying to manage the figure holding it in any way. It doesn’t even come with a base for the umbrella to stand on its own so essentially it’s all worthless as there’s NOTHING you can do with these parts unless propped up by something.
With the wires, even though they technically are bendable, they are a thick and heavy metal that are so resistant to bending that it isn’t even worth the effort; particularly when attached to the back cannister/cannon. I’ve resolved to bending it with the sensor (satellite-looking part) unattached, and not even trying to bother with using it attached to the gun. It’s really sad because it’s a great idea but executed horribly.
Articulation: The articulation points themselves are right on par with the Armor version but the improved, stronger joints make this much more fun to pose. This Swimsuit version having limbs that are more proportional than the Armor version makes the posing play and look a lot better as well. Definitely check out the video portion above to see it in action.
Overall Score: 8.0/10 – Snail Shell shows improvements with this swimsuit variant but also shows that it has some growing pains to get through yet. For all of the improvements that were made on the swimsuit variant, it comes with accessories that are executed so poorly that they’re rendered useless. Even with that, the improvements are significant enough to give it a higher score than the prior release and I still give this a recommendation. What I w
Check out the gallery below, and if you fancy any Snail Shell GN Project figures for yourself, keep an eye on AmiAmi.
