Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding 2's Collector's Edition 15-inch Magellan Man is part of his studio's "spirit and soul," so the crew went to China to make sure it's good enough

The Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition is a whopping $230 USD, and its centerpiece is a 15-inch statue of the Magellan Man – the fusion of the DHV Magellan ship that the game's heroes travel in with one of those giant tar dudes. Hideo Kojima himself says the studio is taking the quality of this statue extremely seriously, going as far as touring the factory in China mass producing the Magellan Men in person to make sure the details were right.

"The Magellan Man statue was designed by Ryu-san (Entei Ryu), CG modeled, 3D printed, and produced under the full supervision of Shin-chan (Yoji Shinkawa)," Kojima says in a tweet. "It is a product of KJP’s spirit and soul, going as far as visiting the factory to check the quality for mass production. The first photo shows the final mass production product. These show our process of trial and error. The bottom right photo is the version before final one (weight balance is different)."

Ryu is lead concept artist at Kojima Productions, and her ArtStation page certainly suggests she's got plenty of experience creating sculptures equal parts beautiful and macabre. Shinkawa will need no introduction to Kojima fans, as he's served as art director on every Metal Gear Solid title and both Death Strandings.

Kojima previously mentioned that both artists toured the factory at the Death Stranding 2 SXSW panel this past weekend, but his tweet offers a tiny bit more insight into what the production process entailed. In another tweet, Kojima shows off Ryu's first concept sketch for the statue, which featured a tiny Sam riding on the Magellan Man's finger, like a bird embracing the digit of a Disney princess. "It was removed because it was too small to be made into a statue," Kojima says. Maybe another time, Sam.

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