Micro Yamaguchi Revoltech Revolmini Solid Snake Review

 

I don't usually bother with Revoltech figures. As much as they are wonderfully sculpted and detailed, I do not like how the articulation works with them.

I have the Optimus Prime and Megatron figures that were produced, based on the Dreamwave comics designs, but despite being very poseable, the articulation always seems very awkward.

back in February I was pre-ordering Masterpiece Wheeljack on Anime Export when I spotted a new Solid Snake figure listed based on the original PlayStation game.

I had to order it, despite my reservations about Revoltech figures.

Year ago I had the Macfarlane toys Snake and Meryl figures, but the head sculpt on Solid Snake was derpy to say the least.

So how does this Revoltech figure stack up? Has it changed my opinion on Revoltech figures? Or have I flushed some money down the drain?

Hit the button below to see more photos and find out

Despite my dislike of Revoltech figures, there is one thing I can't deny and that is good their sculpts always look great. There is so much detail in this figure, and every element from the original design is carried over into beautiful plastic.

It is an even more impressive feat when you take into account Snakes size, he is about the size of GI Joe figure. Sadly I do not have one to hand, so instead he has been partnered up with criminal mastermind Lex Luthor for demonstration purposes.

What is great about his size, is that he can fit in with the likes of the aforementioned GI Joe figures, and who does not want to see him team up with Snake Eyes to take on Storm Shadow and Cobra Commander?

There are no peg holes or anything like that, which maintains a very smooth and sleek look. Everything that is attached to Snake, is incorporated into the sculpt for the most part.

Snake feels like he has just stepped out of the original game. Usually when we get Metal Gear game figures, they are iterations of Snake from the later games, which as much as I love those games, I don't really want figures of. They usually have more standard military style gear, whereas MGS snake had a more futuristic body armour approach, being as that game was set in a near future that I still wish would happen.

I have mentioned how much I dislike Revlotechs articulation, as it never works in the way you would expect it to, and well that carries over to this figure.

In spite of my issues, it is an insanely poseable figure, and what I perceive as annoyances, in a lot ways actually work to give you way more expressive poses than you would get from a more traditional action figure.

You can get all the punching and kicking poses you want, and it looks way more natural than say a GI Joe, or a much larger DC or Marvel Universe figure. Those figures all have great articulation, but none allow you to get the great poses you can with Snake, and often if you pose Batman punching someone it looks stiff and unnatural.
They just don't seem to get the anatomy correct for movement, but Revoltech does to give you a much better look for posing.

However, this is not all great news. You may find yourself spending a lot of time trying to get the pose right, as things just don't seem to move in an intuitive manner. The stylised way in which the sculpt is done, means that turning things often turns other things and it ends up with you trying to be patient and lining things back up.

Imagine just wanting to pose the figure with one one arm forwards, doing a punch. As you can see from the pics further up, it is possible, but instead of simply rotating the arm at the shoulder, as is the case with almost all other actions figures aside from Revoltechs. you can of have to swivel the shoulder, then swivel the elbow and then the wrist to get it straight. It looks far more natural and dynamic but at the same time feels like a chore.

Overall, the articulation you get out of Snake is really good, for all my moaning, and works to the characters strengths. You can get him into tons of poses that you would expect to Snake in, and the figure is well balanced enough to hold them all nicely (though you may have noticed in some of the photos I am using the supplied stand, because it is just easier).

One thing that is curiously missing, is the ability to have Snake hold his finger to his ear as if he is using his Codec. It is a fairly iconic feature of Snake, so it is odd that no matter how hard you try, you cannot quite get that pose. It is strange when you consider the lengths they have gone to in terms of articulation, and also giving him the hands with the finger posed perfectly to do it.
In fact, there is even a picture of Snake doing this very pose on the back of the box, but his arm physically does not bend enough to allow you to do it.

I mentioned earlier how the Macfarlane toys figure I used to have, had a terrible face sculpt, and thankfully Revoltech did a much better job here.

Actually, it looks pretty good overall and is a decent depiction of snake. It is far from perfect, but the small size helps to hide any problems.

Where it does get interesting, is the face can be removed, because this figure has articulated eyes. No, I am not making that up.
Hasbro managed to get articulated eyes in their giant Metroplex figure, so Revoltech have taken on the challenge and got it into this tiny figure.
Impressive.

Well, yes it is and no it isn't. To get that level of functionality out of such a small scale figure is undoubtedly extremely impressive, but how it is implemented causes causes it to be an exercise in frustration more than something that adds to the figure.

Removing the face, you will see on the back the two eyes each with a tiny hole in. Revoltech kindly give you a white plastic stick that you use to move them. So far so good.
However when you go to movie them, they don't really move freely, so each movement is almost like a click. Think of when you move a ratchet joint on a leg of a figure, where you are trying to find some middle ground to get the figure straight.
It is like that.

On mine, each "click" away from the default setting seems to move the pupil away from the eye socket, so he sort of looks like an Undertaker impersonator. There is not the fluidity of movement you need, though this may just be the case with mine.

Revoltech have also included a ton of accessories to make this figure great value for money, and give you a huge range of play and display options.

You get the classic Socom pistol, Snakes most endearingly iconic weapon.

Even with this small accessory, you get a small play feature. It comes with an attached silencer barrel, that can actually be removed. This is something that only a Japanese company would do with a figure at this size, and I love it.

You also get a second Socom of sorts, this time molded into a holster which can replace the regular holster on his right thigh, by simply pulling it off and swapping it over.

These are the sorts of wonderful little touches, that really make figures like this and keep toy collectors eyes (and wallets) locked on Japan.

An Famas is also included, which is the rifle weapon from the game. Again, the sculpt has taken precedence over functionality (like in some areas of the figure), as whilst Snake can hold it-it is not convincingly. You have to wrap one of his hands around the handle, but due to the placement of the ammo clip, it cannot be held straight.

To switch things up, a tiny little claymore mine is included which is attached to a piece of string with a detonator for snake to hold. Even though the detonator is tiny, detail has still been molded in to make it look functional.

The actual mine has words sculpted onto them, but I cannot make out what they say.

On top of this Snake also comes with a pair of binoculars, which you can see in photo's above. To hold it, one of his hands has a peg hole which you tab the binoculars into. You can get some great poses with them, even with him lying down.

Snake does come with 3 pairs of hands for different functions and gestures. The easily peg in and out of the wrists and unlock the larger Revoltech figures, they don't get stuck which is a relief.

Two stands are included in the box as well. A circular one which is featured in several of the photo's on this page, and then a traditional Revlotech stand which I cannot find a purpose for with Snake being as the only peg holes are on his feet.

The final accessory is the most interesting, and that is his cigarette. In the games, Snake frequently smokes and you can do this to relax him and improve his aim. This is where you can see a clear difference in Japanese and Western toys.

No Western toy company would ever include a cigarette, due to the times we live in, and if this had not come with in I am sure no one would have even bothered. But Revlotech have gone to that extra level of detail to make sure Solid Snake is as game accurate as possible. In fact they they think it such an important feature, that they give a spare in case it gets lost. That could easily happen as it is the tiniest piece of plastic in the whole set, clocking in at an even smaller size than the Socom silencer.

So where do I stand with this figure?

After playing with it a bit, I have to say I really like it and am glad I purchased it. Shipped from Japan it cost me about £17, which is only marginally more than Forbidden Planet are charging for those tiny DC Multiverse figures (though oh how I want a Keaton Batman).
For all my grumbling about past Revoltech figures articulation, it seems to work a lot better in this figure which in turn makes me happier.

The level of detail in this figure is incredible, from Snakes amazing array of accessories, to the sculpt on the suit, right down to the feet having grip.

I am really pleased that I picked this up, because as a package it feels like real value for money. That is not something you can often say about collectible action figures, or ones of this size. It is a rare example of an action figure actually benefiting from being shrunk down in my opinion, as I would guess he should work with GI Joe vehicles, and the articulation seems to work better at this scale.

So yeah, I would highly recommend that if you are thinking of buying this you do so, before its price sky rockets on the secondary market. There is also a Gray Fox figure coming in October which I now need to buy.

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