It has finally come, after months of searching, and now, a wonderfully sculpted version of Naked Snake/Big Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater has arrived....
The superb series that is Metal Gear Solid do spawn some pretty decent figures, McFarlene have made a toy range for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and there was a range for the original Metal Gear Solid. However the Japanese Toy maker, Medicom, have taken the torch and have made a few figures for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Now as in Guy's review of the Asuka figure, Medicom do make pretty expensive figures. However the price is completely justified to a collectors point of view, as they are such high quality. The Naked Snake Croc Cap figure is no exception. He Cost me a good £120 (customs got to me, £20 charge), but considering that this figure line is very very rare and has had a limited production, I personally think the price is justified.
Naked Snake is the protagonist for MGS3, as you have to stop a sadistic Colonel. Volgin from launching Nukes using the Shagohod. This is ultimately the story in how Naked Snake (as is his codename for MGS3) becomes Big Boss, and why he turns against the US Government. The game is also famous for bringing in CQC (Close-Quarter Combat) to the series.
Now I'm a massive Metal Gear fan, and when I saw that Medicom have made figures of the great Snake, I just had to buy it, and I can say with great confidence that this is easily the best Metal Gear figure ever released.
PACKAGING
Well the packaging has retained the style of this particular game through the whole merchandising range, giving the box a very top secret feel to it. This may be seen as bland, but when you open the velcro-secured door inside has a description, in English, of Naked Snake as well as artwork by the series Designer, Yoji Shinkawa.
  
On the back of the box has a list of the staff that were involved in making this figure possible, and for fans of Metal Gear, you will be pleased to know that Hideo Kojima and Yoji Shinkawa closely supervised the design of the figure.
A very solid box, definatly not one to throw away.
SCULPTING & PAINTWORK
This is where the figure greatly excels. The likeness of Snake to the game is incredible, he does have a slight anime look about him, but everything from the splitter camo on his face to his eye patch is beautifully sculpted. His hair sculpt is perfect as it is very faithful to the series in terms of how much mullet he has, most figures would over do it with the mullet, but snake never did have that much of a mullet. They did however give him a bit more beard, but in my opinion, it has given him a more badass look.
 
The body sculpt overall, very closely resembles that of snakes overall posture, physique and bulk. Everything was custom made especially for Snake.
This truly deserves top marks.
ARTICULATION
Here is where the custom-made nature of the figure shows. Snake boasts a massive 40 point of articulation! Each foot has 3 points of articulation which shows how posable the figure is. There is only one hitch, and that's due to the clothing, because on his torso, Snake has 2 layers of clothing, aswell as the belt harnesses and accessories, this can restrict his movement by a bit.
 
However, this does not stop Snake from doing all his signature poses from the series, from CQC, to pointing Assault rifles and so on.
ACCESSORIES
This is where the value for money comes in. The amount of accessories is quite simply, staggering. The list of accessories are as follows:
2 right gloves
3 left gloves
Jungle boots
Stabo harness
XM16E1 rifle with removable ammo
M9 Handgun with removable suppressor
CQC Knife
Combat Knife
Water Bottle
Croc Cap
Figure stand
    
The attention to detail is simply amazing, and has to be seen to be believed. The harness is designed to be removed, just like they would be in real life. The paintwork and sculpt of the weapons is brilliant. The removable clip on the assault rifle even has a visible bullet which is just a testament to the detail Medicom have given this figure. The 3 extra hands are there for full posability with weapons. The Croc Cap looks incredibly realistic. The stand can support Snake for just about any pose. You might say this is the ultimate Action Man. But that's Snake for you. I wish there was a 6 star option.
OUTFIT
Snake could literally survive in the jungle with all this gear even though he is just a 12" figurine. He comes equipped with his "Snake" Camo which you get by beating The Boss without killing her. All the pockets work, and you could put in just about anything that could fit in. Snake's harness and utility belt is based on US 56 pattern webbing which include a universal ammo pouch, 1 waterbottle, one buttpack, .45 ammo pouch .45 holster
The belt is made of a tough durable fabric and metal rings again where you see a real working belt, with real metal buckles, the detail needs to be seen to be believed, the holster is leather with a metal pin to fasten it and the .45 pistol fits in snugly. Snake also has a D.A.C.Q.C. Suit that he wears underneath the camo, this fits snugly on him and is made out of some form of stretch material. The name D.A.C.Q.C. Suit is also written on both arms of the suit.
VALUE
Again, this is a very expensive figure, I grabbed this from an Ebay Seller, and had to pay extra custom charges for it. But, the figure is so detailed, and so beautifully made that the price tag is fully justified. Also the fact that the production of this range is very limited, this gives an extra incentive to Metal Gear fans to go out and buy it. If Hideo Kojima ever came back to do signings and this baby got the pleasure of Kojima's and Shinkawa's signature the value of this figurine would go through the roof, although I have no intention of ever selling this figure.
OVERALL
Naked Snake has made his debut as a figure with the help of Medicom, and his greatness is fully realised with this superb figure. Every Metal Gear fan should own this, It is such a fantastic figure, and I look forward to future Metal Gear figures by Medicom. They have already made a few Solid Snake figures from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. So that's one to watch out for.
WHERE TO BUY?
Like I mentioned, I got this figure of Ebay, many American sites sell this figure, but it is almost close to impossible to find this figure in Britain, it is THAT rare.
 
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