The Nanoha series began with Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha where in Nanoha a young school girl helps a mage to collect ‘Jewel Seeds’ she then encounters an enemy who is also looking for the seeds, Fate, that series ends and Nanoha and Fate are friends. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s takes place half a year after the first series wherein another magical girl Hayate is using an intelligent device the Book of Darkness to grant a wish, thus the Wolkenritter, Signum, Vita, Zafira and Shamal, appear to help Hayate fill the pages of the Book of Darkness, Nanoha and Fate then battle it out with the knights. After this series and around ten or so years later StrikerS kicks off with all the characters (Nanoha, Fate, Hayate & the Wolkenritter) and some new characters working in the Time-Space Administration Bureau.
Signum is a returning character originally introduced as one of the Wolkenritter in A’s. She is a usually considered the coldest of the Wolkenritter, however her heart has warmed since meeting Hayate, and she occasionally smiles. Signum is very serious and formal most of the time. Signum’s intelligent device Laevateinn a mythical sword which can transform into a number of different attack modes.
Packaging:
Signum comes in a standard Figma box.
On the front is a window for viewing the figure, on one side is the Figma logo, on the other is a picture of the figure, on the back there is relevant information, all in Japanese, and pictures of the figure in various poses with their various accessories. Instructions for swapping face pieces and other items are usually printed on either inside of the box tabs or on a piece of paper slipped inside the packaging. Also take note that all figures you purchase have the correct authentication printed or stickered on the box.
Inside the box the figure is held between two pieces of moulded plastic, with spaces for their accessories. The extra hands and the base of the Figma stand are stored in plastic bags underneath the figure in the plastic moulding. Figures are usually wrapped with plastic in certain areas to protect the paint. Boxes also come with inserts which act as backdrops in the box and can be taken out and used for backdrops while displaying figures. Signum's backdrop is an evening sky with a picture of her posing valiantly.
Figma’s also are supplied with a small zip-lock bag to store all the accessories in, the name of the figure can be written on this bag so that figure accessories can be stored neatly. Figma’s also come with a neat little device for storing the extra hands in.
Packaging = 6/10
Stand:
Signum comes with the standard Figma stand. Made of clear plastic it has three points of articulation which move forwards and back on hinge joints, one joint is at the bottom where it plugs into the base, one in the middle and one where it plugs into the Figma. The articulation of the stand allows the Figma to be posed in a variety of dynamic poses, and because it is clear it does not interfere with the aesthetic of taking dynamic and exciting photos.
Stand = 7/10
Sculpt:
This is Signum Knight Clothes Version.
Signum's overall design is wicked and she is sculpted very well.
Starting from the top, her hair is very nice with lovely intricate detailing. Her jacket is made of soft PVC, as are the sleeves, both of which can be removed from the figure. Her gauntlets are very nicely designed. Her dress is very nicely in shape and detail, her over skirt is blowing in the wind, which looks really cool, but due to it being made of hard PVC it does restrict posing somewhat, however the over skirt can be removed so that she is just in the main dress. The main dress is designed well, and from the chest piece down it is made of soft PVC allowing Signum a full range of leg motion, there is also a black inner skirt which sits underneath the main dress, but this is only really seen when the over skirt it removed.
Signum's legs look great, and they have made her knee shape very good. Her boots are very cool and do not at all restrict her movement and she is also wearing the standard Figma soft PVC panties, however her panties are black rather than the standard white.
Sculpt = 8/10
Paint:
Signum’s colour scheme is what immediately attracted me to her, pink, purple, and chrome purple, the combination of colour is just great and the fact she has pink hair was the drawing card for me. Signum's paint job is also rather good, for the most part the detail and lining are done well, except around her over skirt, which is messy in some place.
Signum’s accessories are all well painted. Her bow and sheath are a lovely pearl white and all the chrome paint makes them shine and it just looks great, also the shading on her flame sword is wonderful and gives the flame some depth. Only error is that there is a spot of chrome purple on the chrome silver on her Schlangenform, but this is minor.
Paint = 7/10
Articulation:
Signum use’s the standard Figma joint system. Figma joints are hinge joints with pegs on either end allowing both forward and back movement and rotation.
At the head a Figma joint is used at the top of the neck allowing the figure to look up and down and turn their head left and right, however looking up is restricted somewhat by the design of the back of the hair. To change the faces on Figma’s the front piece of hair is removed and then the faces can be taken of and swapped.
The shoulder consists of a double joint, a ball joint which sits inside the upper body, this is attached to a ball shaped Figma joint which acts as the shoulder, and this allows full range of motion to the shoulder. Further down a Figma joint is used as the elbow and bends in and then out straight and there is some slight rotation for the lower arm to turn in and out. At the wrist the various hands plug into a small hole at the end of the arm. Each hand also has a hinge joint, which not only allows the hand to rotate but also to move up and down which gives the figure realistic wrist movement.
A waist joint is located under her chest. Waist joints are ball and socket joints, a ball joint will be attached to the upper body and which plug into a socket in the main torso, this gives the body twisting movement and bending forwards and back. At the hips a three jointed ball and socket joint is used. One ball plugs into a socket at the bottom of the torso acting as the hip joint; this allows the hips to turn side to side, lean forward or back, then on each of the other two ball joints the legs plug on. Each leg has an inner socket which the ball joint plugs into, this piece allows full range of motion from the ball joint and also allows the thigh to turn in and out as it pegs inside the main leg piece.
A Figma joint is then used as the knee allowing the knee to bend backwards and then out to straight, and there is some slight rotation for the lower leg to turn in and out. The ankle also is a Figma joint allowing the foot to point and flex turn in and out.
Signum also has a peg and ball joint at her ponytail allowing her ponty-tail to move in all directions, her ribbon is also able to swivel around on the peg part of the joint.
Pose:
Signum is therefore highly posable and can be posed in a variety of ways. With the use of the accessories supplied, her intelligent device Laevatein, she can be displayed in a number of poses, with her flaming Shiden Issen sword, arrow drawn with her Bogen form, battle ready with her sheath and Schwert form, and on the attack with her Schlangen form. However there are a few areas in which articulation is restricted, due to her over skirt being hard PVC some leg movement is restricted, but as this over skirt can be removed this is not a major flaw.
Articulation & Pose = 8/10
Enjoyment:
I will break down enjoyment into two categories: Accessories and Play Value.
Accessories:
Signum two facial expressions; a plain somewhat determined expression and a yelling battle expression. Signum also comes with an assortment of hands; a pair of open hands, a pair of fists, a pair of hands for holding items, a hand for holding her arrow, a hand for holding her Schlangen form, a hand for holding her swords sheath, and a pointing hand.
Signum also comes with her intelligent device Laevatein with attachments for all its forms, Schwert form, which is the normal sword form, Schlagen form, which is the whip form, Bogen form, which is the bow form there is also an arrow for this form, and Shiden Issen a special attack for of Schwert form where is covered in flames. Each form plugs into the handle of Laevatein except for the Bogen form which comes in two separate pieces which slot together. As the end of the swords handle is larger than the hole in the holding hands what you do it remove the end piece and then slide the hand into the handle and then put the end piece back on, similarly when using Bogen form slide the hand on before connecting the two piece. A nice touch by Max Factory is that Schlangen form is made of bendable wire which means if can be bent into a number of shapes and attack positions.
And last but not least there is an extra fringe piece with the fringe in the opposite direction.
Play Value:
I will break down play value into two categories: Compatibility, with other figures and accessories, and general play.
Compatibility:
Signum is temporarily out of action - will update this section later.
Next up is a height comparison, as you can see she is on the taller side of the Figma height scale.
General Play:
In general Signum is an extremely enjoyable figure. She has a fantastic array of weapons and her pink colour scheme adds to her attractiveness. She has a lot of diversity as parts of her clothing can be taken off and on, which really gives you a lot of options for play.
Overall Signum is a great addition to any figure collection, she has heaps of accessories and lots of clothing and posing options.
Enjoyment = 10/10
Signum use’s the standard Figma joint system. Figma joints are hinge joints with pegs on either end allowing both forward and back movement and rotation.
At the head a Figma joint is used at the top of the neck allowing the figure to look up and down and turn their head left and right, however looking up is restricted somewhat by the design of the back of the hair. To change the faces on Figma’s the front piece of hair is removed and then the faces can be taken of and swapped.
The shoulder consists of a double joint, a ball joint which sits inside the upper body, this is attached to a ball shaped Figma joint which acts as the shoulder, and this allows full range of motion to the shoulder. Further down a Figma joint is used as the elbow and bends in and then out straight and there is some slight rotation for the lower arm to turn in and out. At the wrist the various hands plug into a small hole at the end of the arm. Each hand also has a hinge joint, which not only allows the hand to rotate but also to move up and down which gives the figure realistic wrist movement.
A waist joint is located under her chest. Waist joints are ball and socket joints, a ball joint will be attached to the upper body and which plug into a socket in the main torso, this gives the body twisting movement and bending forwards and back. At the hips a three jointed ball and socket joint is used. One ball plugs into a socket at the bottom of the torso acting as the hip joint; this allows the hips to turn side to side, lean forward or back, then on each of the other two ball joints the legs plug on. Each leg has an inner socket which the ball joint plugs into, this piece allows full range of motion from the ball joint and also allows the thigh to turn in and out as it pegs inside the main leg piece.
A Figma joint is then used as the knee allowing the knee to bend backwards and then out to straight, and there is some slight rotation for the lower leg to turn in and out. The ankle also is a Figma joint allowing the foot to point and flex turn in and out.
Signum also has a peg and ball joint at her ponytail allowing her ponty-tail to move in all directions, her ribbon is also able to swivel around on the peg part of the joint.
Pose:
Signum is therefore highly posable and can be posed in a variety of ways. With the use of the accessories supplied, her intelligent device Laevatein, she can be displayed in a number of poses, with her flaming Shiden Issen sword, arrow drawn with her Bogen form, battle ready with her sheath and Schwert form, and on the attack with her Schlangen form. However there are a few areas in which articulation is restricted, due to her over skirt being hard PVC some leg movement is restricted, but as this over skirt can be removed this is not a major flaw.
Articulation & Pose = 8/10
Enjoyment:
I will break down enjoyment into two categories: Accessories and Play Value.
Accessories:
Signum two facial expressions; a plain somewhat determined expression and a yelling battle expression. Signum also comes with an assortment of hands; a pair of open hands, a pair of fists, a pair of hands for holding items, a hand for holding her arrow, a hand for holding her Schlangen form, a hand for holding her swords sheath, and a pointing hand.
Signum also comes with her intelligent device Laevatein with attachments for all its forms, Schwert form, which is the normal sword form, Schlagen form, which is the whip form, Bogen form, which is the bow form there is also an arrow for this form, and Shiden Issen a special attack for of Schwert form where is covered in flames. Each form plugs into the handle of Laevatein except for the Bogen form which comes in two separate pieces which slot together. As the end of the swords handle is larger than the hole in the holding hands what you do it remove the end piece and then slide the hand into the handle and then put the end piece back on, similarly when using Bogen form slide the hand on before connecting the two piece. A nice touch by Max Factory is that Schlangen form is made of bendable wire which means if can be bent into a number of shapes and attack positions.
And last but not least there is an extra fringe piece with the fringe in the opposite direction.
Play Value:
I will break down play value into two categories: Compatibility, with other figures and accessories, and general play.
Compatibility:
Next up is a height comparison, as you can see she is on the taller side of the Figma height scale.
General Play:
In general Signum is an extremely enjoyable figure. She has a fantastic array of weapons and her pink colour scheme adds to her attractiveness. She has a lot of diversity as parts of her clothing can be taken off and on, which really gives you a lot of options for play.
Overall Signum is a great addition to any figure collection, she has heaps of accessories and lots of clothing and posing options.
Enjoyment = 10/10
Over all Signum scores 7.7/10
