It's been a while, but Snail Shell is still a thing, and going strong. Probably one of the most successful and widely accepted Chinese figure makers in the past 5 years or so, they've got a very solid figure platform, decent control over their QC, and it seems like a pretty good stable of IPs from which to make character goods from. Like Figma and Figuarts, it's more about who they make now, and I wouldn't expect any real engineering improvements for a long time.
Their most recent release, Assassin, is one I was actually planning on skipping not so much that it would suck, but rather because these figures aren't THAT cheap (even though the company is playing for the Value crowd)... but then, I discovered companies based in China that sold these online, instantly dropping the price by at least 1/3, and that's AFTER shipping.
Anyway, basically that's how I ended up purchasing this figure from Bombusbee for $75 USD shipped.
So, it isn't that Assassin comes with few pieces... it's just that for a character that kills for a living, she really has very few tools of the trade:
- 1 x Main Figure
- 1 x Waitfu Head w/Braid
- 2 x Waifu Head Faceplates (Normal, Confused)
- 8 x Posing/Gripping Hands
- 1 x Tailless Groin Piece
- 1 x Knife w/Sheathe
- 1 x Grapnel Gun
- 3 x Grapnel Gun Tips
- 1 x Coiled Wire
- 1 x Base/Stand
Like with most other recent Snail Shell releases, the base features space to store your loose parts.
Here she is in her default form, right out the box. I'm sure somewhere there's an explanation why Assassin looks like a reject from the Metal Gear school of design, tail and all. But I got nothing. Unlike Wolf Girl, who had some pretty obviously Wolf themed cybernetic parts, I really don't see her metal bits giving her any sort of Field Advantage.. especially the tail. Overall though, she does follow the typical futuristic killer rule where everyone must wear an impossibly skin tight suit and have gravity defying breasts, though clearly having a nice ass is optional.
I have no idea what animal this is supposed to be, but I can say that Snail Shell put some decent articulation into this giraffe necked piece. I believe there's at least one double ended joint contained within the fabric cover, along with an independent joint at the base of the head for tilting and swiveling.
Here is Assassin compared to other recent releases. From the left we have Figma Sopha F. Shirring, then the BigFirebird Sunflower, Snail Shell Milk T. Girl, and of course, Assassin. I believe that Assassin is the default size for Snail Shell figures, with Milk T. Girl being unusually short (probably to reduce costs) and other figures like Wolf Girl larger on account of the large limbs.
I guess this is as good a time as any to mention that there are two holes you can expose on the lower spine area that allows you to connect and store her weapons.
Articulation of the body is effectively the same between the two modes, though technically the Beast mode features more points of articulation thanks to the neck as well as the single joint for the tail. Double jointed elbows and knees supplement the usual gamut of ankles, thigh swivels, bicep swivels, wrists, and mid torso. The body lacks a waist joint and butterfly joints for allowing the arms to come closer together, though minor amounts of that motion are permitted by the extended ball joint for the arms.
Now, because you actually need to disassemble this figure, this is the first time I've taken a look at the hips in more detail. I can't say for sure they all have this design, but I'd be willing to take that bet. Unlike other figures, where a pulldown system is probably the most complicated you're going to get, this body features rotating joints deep in the torso connected to two "L" shaped ball joints. Each part can rotate independently and overall lends to the posing capabilities of the leg. Does this more complex system work better than your typical pull down hip? Not really - at the end of the day it's still a matter of having enough clearance, but it doesn't seem to be making things worse.
Conversion to Waifu mode is pretty much swap out the head/neck and the groin piece. The two faces, like with all other Snail Shell product, feature articulated eyeballs. The long hair on her back is also mounted on a joint, so you can have some articulation there to give the figure a more dynamic appearance.
For.. reasons, the Grapnel Gun was not meant to be held in any of the hands, so my guess is that it's meant to be aimed while mounted to her spine. One of the three tips is meant to be inserted into the tip of the gun, whereas the other two are meant to be used with the Coiled Wire and feature the hook in collapse or expanded form. The wire seems t be strong enough to support the projectile, though I wouldn't be able to work this into my display.
Paint Applications have generally been solid on every Snail Shell figure I've seen, and this is no exception. The work is crisp and clean, even the smaller details. The main thing, however, is that none of it has been particularly complex. So it'll be interesting to see what happens if something really complicated shows up - will they meet the challenge, or simplify things like BigFirebird?
Finally, with regards to Build Quality, there are no loose joints to report (which to be fair, only happened with Wolf Girl) and generally seems to have reached a steady state of being good. There are some questionable design choices, of course, with the biggest one being the really slim joint that connects the tail to the groin piece. That piece is so slim that I actually worry I'll snap it if I move it too quickly or if the tail gets squashed. So far, so good, and I hope to keep it that way.
There's not much in terms of moulded details on the main body, but there are some lovely details on the cybernetic parts, as well as the weaponry. All-im-all, though, there are no rough edges or poorly finished components to speak of.
Assassin is another solid entry by Snail Shell, and considering they're really only making one product, it's kind of expected that things would level off in terms of their product quality - I'm just happy it settled at a good level. So while, yes, you're going to have deal with some aesthetics issues and articulation limitations, at least there will be no surprises in terms of how good the finished product will actually be.
I think the Sand Sisters are next up for Snail Shell, and I gotta say... expect some BIG surprises.
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