Tuesday, December 21, 2010

1/48 ARX-7 Arbalest Review


Uruz-7 Reporting

 Last week i finished working on this kit and i would say my opinion about this kit changed. At first i am disappointed with lack of weapon accessories, the gimmick make me justified that the price really worth it. Overall the kit quality is slightly improved compared to M9 Gernsbacks, but it still inherits some of their flaws.



Arbalest is one of the Experimental Arm Slave created by Mithril intended for close combat and it is the only Arm Slave that is equipped with Lambda Drive in Mithril. The design of this Arm Slave is led by Tessa Testarossa, captain of Tuatha de Danaan who is a young genius and a whispered. Compared to the standard Mitril AS: M9 gernsback, Arbalest Overall Performance are slightly better and much more powerful when Lambda Drive is activated. This Arm Slave is piloted by Sergeant Sousuke Sagara who got this AS when his M9 Gernsback is destroyed by Gauron early in the FMP story.


Sousuke Sagara is the main protagonist of Full Metal Panic and a Mithril mercenary who has been in battlefield since childhood. He is Japanese who grew up in Middle East since his parents died in plane accident in Middle East and Sousuke happen to survive the plane crash. Sousuke is a professional soldier and AS pilot despite being young though he has difficulty to adapt normal life of a teenager. The mission given to him is to protect Chidori Kaname who happen to be another whispered as well which change his fate.


Well you couldn't see the eyes clearly since the transparent plastic part is not that good, Aoshima should just give eye decal like Bandai or Prepainted faces like Kotobukiya. At first i would thought the kit construction will be pretty much the same with M9 gernsback since some ofthe exterior parts look similar. However most of the parts are built slightly or completely different compared to M9 Gernsback. This kit still has serious articulation problem with the legs just like M9 Gernsback.


Main Armament of Arbalest is the Shotgun which also happen to be Standard Equipment of M9 Gernsback. I decided to remove the Recoil absorber since i don't think it really fit Arbalest Characteristic. I suppose Arbalest only need Shotgun since this unit usually Spearhead the Assault in a mission and engage enemy in close quarter combat most of the time.


Arbalest also equipped with Anti AS dagger just like M9 Gernsback. Probably it doesn't need any Longsword considering Sousuke is pretty proficient with Hand to Hand Combat which he apply in his AS piloting skill and besides that Sword is not really practical for Military themed mecha.


I painted the weapons and some of the parts in yellow. I don't paint some of the part in yellow since i need to prime the parts first. The issue is that i need to prime with handbrush since the part is small but i don't have the necessary tool first thus i left it as it is. You don't really need to paint the kit since most of the parts has the color matched already.


Probably the reason why the kit is as expensive as M9 gernsback + Flight pack is due to the Lambda Drive Gimmick which i should say to be well done by Aoshima and probablyone of the reason why the kit is delayed.


Lambda Drive is one of the main plot of FMP, it is another Whispered technology just like Arm Slaves. Lambda Drive enable the user to manipulate the reality to a certain extent such as Bullet Deflection, Bullseye hit or Shooting through an Obstacle. Basically it provide Arm Slave a limited Super Robot ability, though it require Pilot's Focus to activate the Drive.


One of the Application that Sousuke used with Lambda Drive is to amplify the power of his Shotgun Bullet in which each bullet hit as hard as Anti AS Rifle or more powerful. When Sousuke activated his Lambda Drive, Normal AS pilots will not stand a chance to fight him. On one occassion Sousuke able to destroy 5-6 Codarls By himself in a mission which are equipped with Lambda Drive as well.


The other application of the Lambda Drive that Sousuke usually use is to amplify the power of the AS Fist to a limit where it can blow up an AS in the instant the Fist connects which inspire me to recreate the Scene.


T-Link Knuckle! i mean Lambda Drive punch lol. Probably the power level are Nowhere near T-link Knuckle or Shining Finger but most AS that got hit by this punch are destroyed already.


With Arbalest finished finally i am able to complete my FMP collection which means i will posting something special soon. This kit are pretty worth the price and you won't regret for getting this kit.

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