Magical Snow Miku 2014 Review

I’m back again, but this time with a Nendoroid. Not just any Nendoroid, my very first Nendoroid. Unlike Izumi, this is my real first figure of this type. I did not have any Nendoroids before her, even though I do own Nendoroids that are in fact, older than her.

As I explained on my MyFigureCollection, I was making this review previously, taking tons of pictures of my original Magical Snow Miku. When I was done, I accidentally dropped a piece. My cat, who did not have his behavior medication quite yet, decided to come over and chew that piece right up.

This, along with the many paint transfers that my old Magical Snow Miku suffered, brought me to the conclusion that I absolutely needed a new one. I went online, found a sealed Magical Snow Miku and shipped her priority across the ocean from Japan so I could do this awesome review.

Personal History of the FigureAs I have previously expressed, I was absolutely enamored with the design of this particular Miku. She was only the second of her kind, the only mentionable Snow Miku (one that truly left the original Miku formulae), wa… — Personal History of the Figure
As I have previously expressed, I was absolutely enamored with the design of this particular Miku. She was only the second of her kind, the only mentionable Snow Miku (one that truly left the original Miku formulae), was Strawberry Snow Miku. The love and care that went into the design of Magical Snow Miku caught my eye.
As an artist, I used very similar color choices in other characters, so not only was her design eye-catching, but she made me feel a bit nostalgic. With such a gorgeous and meaningful figure on my mind, I set out to purchase a figure all on my own for the very first time that was not in a store.
At the time, I had absolutely no idea what to look out for when trying to purchase a legitimate Nendoroid. It’s actually quite funny, because I had happened to buy her in 2014 and so she was openly available all over the place. Where did I go first and made my purchase from? When I was starry-eyed and my wallet was suddenly empty? Alibaba.
Do *not* purchase your figures from Alibaba. The likelihood that the figure is real is extraordinarily low. You have higher chances on eBay, or other random websites with some version of Japan in their name than Alibaba.
In the mail came this awesome box, I opened it all up, and I was thrilled with my purchase. At first. Then I started to become very agitated when I realized that my figure would not stay together. Her arms, legs, and clothing pieces would all fall off. Some pieces did not even fit on her in the first place. She was dirty like someone rolled her in a bit of funk before packaging her. I was ready to get on my high horse and give Good Smile Company a piece of my mind.
Luckily there was a very handy article right on Good Smile’s website that I could refer to. Specifically this one and this one. Off my high horse I fell, dirt all over my face, and feeling particularly naughty. I got cheated out of my money and cheated out of what I thought would be my only opportunity to obtain this awesome figure.
Imagine my surprise when I walked into my local game shop at the time, located at the slowly dying mall in the heart of Cupertino, California. That look on my face when I walked in, looked around at all of the various figures in boxes, then meandered my way over to a section where I saw the figure of my dreams all compiled together inside of a Ziploc baggie on a clothesline. She had no box, no magic circle, and missing her articulated arm… *But she was real.*
Who cares about missing pieces, bad bootlegs, and all of that when I could finally have her in one form or another. You bet I bought that Ziploc baggie Miku and you are also correct in assuming that she had a much higher price tag than she should have. So now I have a bootleg, my original real Magical Snow Miku, and my brand new Magical Snow Miku.

Sculpting

An absolutely amazing recreation of a fan work, missing nothing, and making you wish for nothing more.

I give huge kudos to this figure from head to toe. Good Smile had tremendous quality control with this figure. Nendoroids are ingenious. They hide a lot of molding seams or have absolutely no seams at all that you can see with the human eye. The joi… — I give huge kudos to this figure from head to toe. Good Smile had tremendous quality control with this figure. Nendoroids are ingenious. They hide a lot of molding seams or have absolutely no seams at all that you can see with the human eye. The joints are always wonderfully hidden and the seamless transition between parts is to die for.
This Miku actually came out at the time where Nendoroids were transitioning away from the older style face plate where the joint was actually in the face plate itself to the modern face plate, which can be swapped out without disturbing the joint itself. Nendoroids are often notorious for breaking joints, but this transition was magic for them. It also makes storing the face plates a hundred times easier than their predecessors.
The snowflake on her hat is spectacularly done. It is a magnificent piece that suits her perfectly.
The wand is also absolutely magnificent. No seams that are visible on any part.

Paint Job

My original Snow Miku was a 10/10, absolute perfection, however not my new one.

The pearlescent paint in the hair and on the wand are stunning. They really create a satisfying look.The gold paint on the collar of the cape is radiant and not a drop out of place.The gentle gradients are lovely to look at, creating exquisite detai… — The pearlescent paint in the hair and on the wand are stunning. They really create a satisfying look.
The gold paint on the collar of the cape is radiant and not a drop out of place.
The gentle gradients are lovely to look at, creating exquisite detail that just can not be replicated well by the bootleg makers.
The snowflakes in her hair are just dark enough to stand out and a soft purple highlight to really accentuate it.
The color scheme itself is an absolute winner. It makes me feel like she is a high class mage.

Pose

Perfection. Really raises the bar for other Nendoroids, most of which cannot reach this score because of her.

Base

Once again, raising the bar for figures all around, even to impossible heights.

Most Nendoroids only come with a boring clear square with some copyright information and the articulated arm to hold the figure up, but this figure comes with a book base. There has never been such a fabulous base for a figure and they also never di… — Most Nendoroids only come with a boring clear square with some copyright information and the articulated arm to hold the figure up, but this figure comes with a book base. There has never been such a fabulous base for a figure and they also never did it ever again. The inner lid of the book can be used as a base, there is a hole built in right for it. The articulated arm works to hold the book open. It is amazingly well done.

This base has fabulous gold inlays that make you feel like it was an actual older style book. This isn’t just a flat gold color printed on, this is some actual foil (not made out of real gold or else it would be more expensive), but golden color. The one problem that can arise from this magnificent gold foil is that not all book prints were created equal. The print on the left had unfortunately gained too much gold, not allowing the crisp lines to shine through like my original book base on the right.

When you open the book, you’ll notice that the book has a soft texture on the back of the front cover. It isn’t just flat boring paper, it is an actual cloth-like substance with intricate designs printed on it. The baby blue with white and dark snowflakes are gorgeous.

There is also a second inner lid, this lid has the peg hole for the articulated arm and it is secured to the book via one small magnet that is visible in this photo. The inner lid is completely removable and the magnet inside will also help to keep the outer lid closed.

The lid can be opened to reveal a small cavity that scales most of the book and can be used as a box for the figure itself. The inside of the cavity is also lined with the soft material, hopefully to prevent your figure parts from moving around too much.

On the articulated arm, there is an optional lower attachment for the magic circle to be slid into for even better photos.

Due to the colors used on this particular Nendoroid, I highly recommend using a different container for Snow Miku’s permanent home as the dark purple can be quite easy to rub around.

Packaging

A unique experience that was made for this figure that wasn’t quite replicated in future Snow Mikus.

Thanks to a certain kitty cat chewing my figure, I was finally given the excuse to go out and find a new copy of Snow Miku 2014, but this time I made sure it was brand new and in-box. I made sure to take the time and care to take photos of opening this figure. I forgot to take a separate photo of the cardboard box, but it will be visible in the Snow Miku Bootleg review, so no worries.

I unwrapped her with great haste. I was just so ecstatic to finally have this real box and figure. The round spine is particularly awesome.

I also forgot to take a photo of the spine, but you will most definitely see it in the Bootleg review as well. No worries.

The back of this box is particularly exciting. The colors are rich, vivid. It reminds me of older style American manga when there was a character placed next to the synopsis. Super nostalgic.

Another awesome point to this figure that was never done again was the inner cover. You get to see the gorgeous original designs as well as the history of Snow Miku. How Snow Miku came to be, what it was established for, and of course a blurb about Miku Hatsune herself. It is really cool to see all of the previous Snow Mikus all lined up for me to look at. It’s almost an advertisement!

Now how do I know that this is a legitimate Snow Miku 2014? What is the first sign?

*gasp* The box lays flat when opened!

But seriously, the Bootleg’s box is similar but very different. It cannot do this. I do love the addition of the weird extra piece of cardbord, whose literal purpose is to keep the spine round. Nice touch. I’m keeping it.

But we finally get to see the Snow Miku in all of her fabulous glory! Her face plates, her hat, her supplies, and of course the girl herself! The only piece that is really obstructed is the book, but that’s okay. That makes the base all mysterious (even though we’ve already seen it).

Underneath the round bit of cardboard is a display of all of her poses! I’m glad that this detail, which is a staple of Nendoroid boxes in general, was not forgotten. I was so used to the fake that I didn’t even realize that this could be here.

Here’s the close up we’ve all been waiting for! You can see that I have not opened it yet, because she is still covered in that protective plastic. I was so excited that I dug right in.

Here’s our girl in her blister packaging, with everything revealed! Please never leave my side again and stay in amazing condition forever. Please and thank you.

The only complaint I had about this project was that the boring base that I’m so used to seeing was actually turning yellow from age. Otherwise, she was actually not even sticky. I was really surprised by that. Figures at her age tend to not breathe well in the boxes and the chemicals stick to their skin, but not this Miku. She was as soft as ever!

So yes, a gorgeous box that I am keeping forever. I can’t even fathom someone getting rid of it (Let alone sticking her in a ziploc baggie and hanging her on a clothesline. Honestly he could’ve gotten more out of me if she had her original box…).

I keep all of my Snow Miku boxes, but this one is my absolute favorite.

Enjoyment

This is the bread and butter, the peanut butter and jelly, the absolute soul of a Nendoroid! Falling short here is not an option.

The party can’t begin until you get your fingers all over those amazing accessories that every Nendoroid comes with. Snow Mikus are usually in abundance of optional goodies. You can even see her second bum that is dedicated to standing in the background. Magnificent.

I don’t know why, but maybe it was fate that this particular Nendoroid was so easy to put together. These days, a lot of the Nendoroids are kind of hard to put together or take apart. Joints are the most common breakpoints in them, with ponytails being probably the number one joint that just falls apart. I have had new Nendoroids that were straight out of the box and the ponytail joint literally broke in my hand. Luckily, this older figure has much more robust joints so you can take some really awesome photos.

She can weave magic for you with the wave of her wand.

If you were worried or wondering about my old legitimate Snow Miku, you don’t have to be. I made sure to place her in the box so she can be used as spare parts for the new figure if it ever comes to that. She’s mostly likely going to live out a long, healthy retirement. She can be taken off of the shelf and looked over again. I can remember all of the good times and bad times that we shared. An absolutely fabulous figure that was the fantastic beginning of my small collection.

I would say 10/10, would buy again… But I already did! So 10/10, did buy again.

Scores

Overall Score

A figure that really raised the bar for its type. If you can get your hands on her, you absolutely should. She is a must have.

FAQs

Do you have any tips on caring for this particular figure?
With this figure you have to be extra careful about being gentle when it comes to adding the wand effect to the wand. Sometimes the effect can get stuck, which is no fun. Cautiously ease it up the wand until you feel it stop and that is good enough. Otherwise the effect gets stuck and then you’ll have a stupid little effect arm stuck on your pretty wand forever.
Paint transfer is a huge risk with this particular figure. It has happened to a fair number of my original Miku’s parts. The purple is so rich and dark compared to the rest of the figure that a little bit of rubbing can get that dark purple all over the place. So I recommend keeping this figure in a place where her parts are more evenly spaced out. Purple can touch purple, that’s totally fine.
I don’t recommend that you keep the figure inside of the book due to the possibility of paint transfer.
Keep the skirt pieces on the lower body parts as much as possible to prevent shrinkage. Over time, my old Miku had issues with getting her skirt on and into place. Make sure to keep the skirt as far down as possible on the joint, over the ball, so that you can prevent that shrinkage.
The hat is fragile. I recommend storing it separately as much as possible.
Where can I purchase this figure?
I have found a rare few legitimate copies on the internet. Due to the fact that I have not purchased from these particular people and I bought the last copy of the figure from my particular seller, that I don’t feel comfortable recommending particular sellers for this figure.
I’ve seen a couple of legitimate copies on Amazon.com, be sure to check the comments for real feedback that doesn’t seem like someone copy and pasted similar responses over and over with photos of the figure. With my bootleg review, you will be able to see some of the differences with one of the bootlegs that is out there and what you can look out for when you’re looking at these comments.
I purchased my particular Snow Miku off of Amazon.co.jp, which is Amazon Japan. The seller that I purchased from would not send it to the United States, so I used the FromJapan service to purchase and ship the figure to myself. If you need to purchase something from stubborn sellers that just do not feel like shipping to your country, I do recommend this service. I have used it often and I have found it to be 100% reliable so far and they wrap up the contents of your package extremely well. They also have insurance options in case your items do get lost in the mail.
Do you recommend Nendoroid?
I absolutely recommend Nendoroids. They are unique and amazing experiences that cannot be replicated by scale figures. The sheer possibilities of face swaps, poses, and different accessories between a vast collection of Nendoroids can bring you a lot of fun.
You want a man wearing a maid outfit? It can be done. You want Snow Miku 2016’s face on Snow Miku 2014’s body? It can be done. The possibilities are only limited by the collection that you have.
What is the average price of a typical Nendoroid?
So there is no set average price of a Nendoroid, however, I usually see Nendoroids straight from preordering off of Good Smile’s website. Typical figures that aren’t special editions of any kind usually fall in the range of $40 - $65 on their GoodSmile US website.
Special edition figures such as Snow Miku definitely raise the price tag. Most special edition Nendoroids usually start at $50 and I have seen it top out at close to $80 with the new Hatsune Miku: Symphony 5th Anniversary Version. However, preordering saves money. Nendoroids tend to not lose value. Sometimes they even gain value. Purchase straight from Good Smile when you can.
Did you keep any of your original Snow Miku 2014 parts out, or is all of it retired?
I did keep some of my original Snow Miku pieces out of retirement. My original book base had a better gold print on it, so I kept it out.
The new Snow Miku’s wand hand had a stray drip of paint on it, so I kept the original wand hand to replace it.
I also kept the majority of her articulated arm and base pieces out as well as the magic circle, because I really don’t mind that the magic circle is a bit scratched.

Thank you again for reading my reviews and prepare for the next one: Snow Miku 2014’s Bootleg Comparison Review, where I compare the bootleg against the original and how I would score it accuracy wise.

Personal History of the Figure