S.A.F.S. "Snow Man" Super Armored Fighting Suit
Allegiance: Mercenary Army

Kit currently in production from Wave Corporation, available from HobbyLink Japan.

I am pleased to offer a review of the Maschinen Krieger SAFS "Snow Man", as currently produced by Wave Model Corporation as a limited joint release with Irisawa, and obtainable from HobbyLink Japan (click the link above). The SAFS is of course the original design in the SAFS-based releases, and this limted release represents the now-classic Snow Man, a fun variant from Yokoyama-san's Winter-themed illustrations. The Snow Man has been released before in 1/35th vinyl pre-painted figures (featuring variant facial expressions), but never before as a 1/20th kit, and certainly never in styrene! It comes packaged in a box showcasing Kow Yokoyama's splendid art. Like the Wave S.A.F.S. previously released, this kit differs from the traditional Nitto SAFS in a few subtle ways, and the sprue breakdown seems very logical, following the hints that the Snake Eye kit (which preceded this) laid out for coming other variations in the line. This is clever on Wave's part, by offering a parts breakdown that allows for more variant sprues (as I am about to show), the company can offer more varied designs, and Ma.K. fans get more suits into their collection!

So let's start with the box art.

Another wonderful illustration by Yokoyama-san, with the box echoing the old style Nitto boxes, a thing Wave usually does not do.

This is probably due to it being an Irisawa kit, which means this is limited to about HALF of the normal sprue run - buy one FAST!

Contents show that this time around, the plastic has been injected in an austere white, much like the Model Kasten Gans from 1999.

Here we see the star of the kit, an adorable little orange sprue containing the Snow Man's nose and a new sensor for the hatch.

Interestingly, the nose features a peg that cooresponds to a hole you are asked to drill out in the SAFS's main shell. If you look inside the SAFS piece in question, you can see a pre-made divot to aide the drill's placement - which means this release was planned from the beginning! Be sure to look at your model parts carefully, gang! You never know what clues those unused divots might give!!

Decals are wonderful as always, with the Snow Man's face, unit marking, kill marks, and the usual suit labels.

This kit is bound to sell out quickly - and it is a great special edition, as it nods to a design fans have held in playful regard for many years.

Next up - assembly!

Maschinen Krieger © Kow Yokoyama