This yr actually feels prefer it’s SNK’s second, with the brand new NEOGEO AES+ launching in November and a year-long Metal Slug anniversary catching the attention, which is why SNK has introduced that, in partnership with Wave Corporation, it is reissuing the 1/24 scale SV-001/I mannequin equipment to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Metal Slug.
There aren’t many online game automobiles as immediately recognisable because the SV-001. The little tank from Metal Slug someway manages to look cute, powerful and fully indestructible suddenly, and practically 30 years after it first rolled onto NEOGEO arcade machines, it is getting one other probability to sit down in your shelf, this time as a buildable plastic mannequin. If the equipment appears acquainted, that is as a result of it first appeared in 2015, adopted by one other manufacturing run in 2017, each of which proved standard with collectors. Now it is again once more, and truthfully it is easy to see why.
Part of Wave’s Memorial Game Collection, the snap-fit equipment recreates the long-lasting one-man tank at round 12cm tall. It comes moulded in a number of colors to match the in-game design, consists of marking stickers and would not want glue, so it is a straightforward weekend construct whether or not you are already into Gunpla and scale fashions otherwise you’ve merely spent years admiring SNK’s pixel artwork.
The SV-001 is beloved as a result of it is probably the greatest car designs ever created for a 2D recreation. Designed by Akio Otsuka and the unique Metal Slug group, each a part of it oozes persona, even when static in a mannequin equipment. The outsized treads, chunky armour plating, outsized rivets and rounded bodywork make it look extra like an animated character than a navy car, and as soon as it is shifting, the sprite work takes over, bouncing and recoiling with exaggerated squash-and-stretch animation that somehow makes several tonnes of steel feel light on its tracks.
That’s part of what has kept Metal Slug looking so good while so many games from the same era feel rooted in the ’90s. Instead of chasing realism, SNK’s artists leaned into expressive animation, bold silhouettes and meticulous hand-drawn detail, creating sprites that artists still reference today. It’s a reminder that pixel art wasn’t simply a technical limitation but an art form, and one the Metal Slug team absolutely mastered.
The Wave 1/24-scale SV-001/I is available to pre-order now through hobby retailers, including HLJ and Nin-Nin Game, with extra particulars on the official Wave Corporation website.