My last curiosity piece was the 1/12 scale MU-2 Type Heavy powered armor from Spirit Cage: Incarnation which you can read here. I ultimately got the last remaining copy over at HobbyLink Japan and as if in perfect timing, another 1/12 power armor showed up in their pre-order listings. This time though, it’s an action figure and it didn’t came from an existing fiction, not that I know of at least. These are the 1/12 Heavy Armor Tiwaz Commander & Mass Production Types from the company Snail Shell.
First up is the Commander Type of the Tiwaz and I have to admit, this design looks really good. It’s very angular and gives off an industrial aesthetic without being all too dirty though the figure does have weathering. You can also see the buttload (literally) of weapon storage at the back, including a tactical shotgun, peacekeeping rifle, and the tactical tomahawk “Twitenmon.”
One thing I don’t like, and this is more of a personal preference, is using painted yellow parts to differentiate the commander type from the mass production type which we’ll see next. As far as I see in these images, there are no differences in the sculpt in the yellow parts, just the color and a special mark for this particular commanding officer.
Speaking of the commanding officer, and again I don’t know any existing lore or fiction for these guys, we have a werewolf or an anthropomorphic wolf for some reason. Now, I have nothing against wolves or anthropomorphic takes on these animals, but it takes me away from the realism of this set. They could’ve included a generic soldier sculpted head and everything should still work. They might be planning some animated series for this, hence the inclusion but for now, you’re getting a wolf head with this version.
Here’s everything that comes with this figure, besides the aforementioned weapons this set will also include the tactical machete XM185G “Hammer Head” that comes with the mass production version, as well as removable forearm gauntlets and replacement hand parts.
1/12 Heavy Armor Tiwaz Commander Type
August 2022 / ¥8,600
Pre-order via HobbyLink Japan
As mentioned earlier, this is the Mass Production type of the Tiwaz which is practically the same figure minus some weapons and the replacement wolf head. Personally, my preference against yellow and the that whole wolf head makes me lean towards getting this guy. Not to mention it will look better with the MU-2 Type Heavy kit I recently purchased.
And as also mentioned, you’ll only miss the tactical tomahawk and the wolf heads when picking this guy, which also cuts the price down by 1,800 yen, quite the difference in my opinion.
1/12 Heavy Armor Tiwaz Mass Production Type
August 2022 / ¥6,700
Pre-order via HobbyLink Japan
Following mecha, I also like collecting power armors, hence my preference towards Iron Man figures and other similar 1/12 scale figures. So, it’s no surprise that these would catch my interest, especially after building the Figure-rise Standard Ultraman Suit Zoffy model kit. We are also getting a couple of MODEROID kits in the same vein, like MADOX-01 and the Power Loader from Aliens. In any case, the more options we have, the better!
