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Thursday, October 11, 2012

Play Arts Kai Meryl Silverburgh - Metal Gear Solid Review

"Good things come to those who wait" indeed, i have misgivings about the latest SQEX release: Play Arts Kai Meryl Silverburgh from the Metal Gear Solid series so i did not include her in the priority list, (with DMC3 at her heels and Solidus) but then an "unexpected SALE" came up and i decided to give her a shot. 
Meryl's one of the most memorable personalities during the Shadow Moses incident in Metal Gear Solid for the PS1. She's basically the sidekick of Solid in that game but she's far from the "Girl to be rescued" stereotype, though she did required some in-game rescuing a couple of times or so, in all fairness to her, she can still kick some @$$ on her own. Guns of the Patriots will attest to that and all Solid Snakes (players) who got killed with a slap when messing around with Meryl.

One thing that made this release less attractive than the other MGS Play Arts Kai:
She could really use a larger arsenal or perhaps an alternative Genome soldier masked head and a FAMAS rifle. I know that as far as game accuracy is concerned, these are all she really got in the game: Desert Eagle,  Combat Knife, closed fist hand, knife hand and trigger hand but it wouldn't hurt to use your imagination SQEX.
Accessory issues aside i think she's pretty good, except maybe for some paint issues most evident in between her...ummm...chest area...see pics below. There's an orange area in between those barely covered by her tank top...anyway, i can't help but notice also that Meryl's paint finish is pretty 'shiny.' Glossy tank-top, chest and hair. I've seen that in the upcoming DMC3 Dante and i'm wondering if after the 'icky black makeup' trend SQEX are now going with the 'oiled body' trend. A modified 1/6 Orange vest can easily cover that up.
Meryl: Snake aren't you coming down that vent? Snake: No i'm good, i kinda like the view from here...
Notice the shine made evident by the camera flash? Looks like someone rubbed oil on her chest. Not that i mind that much...ahem...right Snake?
Details on her body's simple enough but finely done, she's got two holsters on her belt: one for the knife and one for her Desert Eagle. She's got a different pair of elbow pads also, thinner and loosely connected compared to that of Solid and the Big Boss figures. Do be careful of those, there's a chance that they may get detached, i almost lost one last night. The connecting hooks are not closed tightly enough on mine.
The overall design is not really game accurate if you ask me, she's missing her tattoo on the left arm and her bust is greatly upgraded, there is also a missing 'detail' on her...ummm...bust which i will not discuss here but if you've played the PS1 MGS game you'll notice it too. Just look it up on Google if you want.
I love the face sculpt of Meryl though it's very noticeable that they veered a bit away from the MGS look and gave her a touch of anime with her large eyes. I also love the permanent mischievous smirk they gave her, it's really, very Meryl.

Her scale is, thank goodness, accurate beside Solid, Fox and the other MGS figures released so far. Though she's kinda tall compared to the other female Play Arts Kai releases.
Overall, Play Arts Kai Meryl is a good buy IF you are an MGS fan like me but for a casual collector you are better off with Snake and Fox. If you can spot a Meryl selling for less than 60$ then that's a fair buy already, though personally, i'm expecting her to be a shelfwarmer just a notch higher than Kaz Miller. She's still a famous MGS icon so i could be wrong.
Come on Snake, don't be shy, it's just a picture!

11 comments:

  1. Great review sir ! she's really H-O-T for me. lol ! this review inspired me to get Meryl (since I had snake na, thanks to your review na din I got a Legit one. yay!)and I agree that she needs more accessories but hey, it's better than nothing. although I saw bootlegs of these (it hurts, tough I got it for 1.5k and also a legit one. whew)anyhow, I managed to inspect it from the original --- bootlegs has no make-up *lot like that lady from twilight* and no orange lining on her ... bust. and the tank top is not glossy.

    aaaand speaking of bootlegs, I saw a Solidus Snake bootleg also (with a whopping price of 4.8k) but I got confused when I saw the box of over 20pcs of Solidus snake, says "Play-Arts kai, Kowloon Hongkong) with the logo correctly aligned and printed. I dunno, if these really are bootlegs or overruns but they are deceiving ! :|

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    1. thanks, i'm happy to be of help. ANyway, where did you spot that Solidus and Meryl? Do you have pics of those? We might need to add that to our bootleg list. Thanks and happy collecting!

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    2. Spotted those two @ Divisoria (new mall on 168, near foodcourt. not going to mention the name of the shop though)they are the only shop who sells Meryl and Solidus respectively, although I can't get pics of figures due to their *No Photography* rule on items. :(

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    3. hmmm, no photography, that sucks. Anyway, we need to stick to the legit shops and avoid those. i just hope some won't get duped in getting bootlegs.

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  2. You made my day man, thank you!!! I got an authentic meryl!!! Youre awesome bro, take care.

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    1. Happy to help you out bro. thanks for the support.

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  4. excuse me,but my meryl have the skin too orange,she is bootleg?

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  5. thank you for your reviews! It helps us starting PAKers a lot

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  6. Hello
    I really wanted to thank you for all your work.
    Thanks to you I was able to buy old Kotobukya Play Arts Kingdom Hearts 2.
    I found Meryl at cheap prices and the serial number under the box is DGTC1209.
    I also have photos to show you if you want, so you can help me figure out if the Play Arts Kai is original or fake.
    Can you help me?

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  7. Is there bootleg version of this? I bought this fig but I dont know whether its bootleg or not, painting looks good and it has 25th anniversary sticker on the box front.

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