Full Metal Panic Orange Cat x Wave 1/35 Laevatein

 

The ultimate Arm-Slave from Full Metal Panic! returns through a collaboration between Chinese model kit maker Orange Cat and Wave. This time, they are delivering a luxurious 1/35 scale Laevatein model kit that blends the engineering of a Perfect Grade kit with the premium feel of a Metal Build die-cast figure. Scheduled for release in Q3 2026, the Orange Cat 1/35 Laevatein will be sold for 458 RMB.

Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory

 Finally got to watch the latest Full Metal Panic animated series, Invisible Victory! While FMP series has long gone concluded, it is always refreshing to see one of the more realistic mecha series being alive in motion. As i expected FMP do need around Two-cours length of anime to fully cover its material and this 4th season only had 12 Episodes. While FMP Invisible Victory conclude on cliffhanger, it left on the best possible point for this series to have its next adaptation to continue the final story part while keeping the fans hyped with anticipation. The mecha action for FMP IV is very impressive despite using 3D animations and it is one of the most fluid one for recent mecha series. For the last arc of FMP, i think a movie length animation would suffice but let's see what action will be taken by the IP owner. Lastly i would love to see another FMP related merchandise preferrably Arm Slaves in MS Ensemble format.

Yami's Wonderfest Winter 2019 Highlight

 It is this particular time every year where the the floodgates are released for the Toy Collectors. As usual temptations are always flying everywhere which may make your wallet go bust. Like every previous Wonderfest, i always make coverage that highlights things that catches my attention but this time i will make separate post for FGO since i got assignment for that one and might as well make a new material out of it.

Another Sample Buildoff

 Part of my Job working in a Toy Company is Building some Gunpla samples when needed which can be considered as one of the perks. For the recent Gunpla Expo in Surabaya which ended last week, i get to build these Kits which are SDCS 00 Diver, 1/60 Laevatein and 00 Sky Trans-am HWS. Since the Model Kit samples are sent way before the release date, they are still in Prototype form and some glaring flaws are apparent. While the 00 Diver and Sky works out fine, Laevatein kit got some serious issues of Loose Joint. Turns out a few millimeter off from the precision can make a significant difference already.  From this experience, i get to appreciate Bandai's finished end-product even more because it definitely takes a lot of effort to reach perfection at the level of their product. I have to say the color separations of Bandai's FMP Kit looks impressive and Trans am version of 00 Sky looks quite cool actually. Wonder how Kotobukiya feel that what takes them years of effort to make their FMP Kits being bested by Bandai's couple months of effort. In any case i will share some of my thoughts again if i get to build another samples.

1/7 Teletha Testarossa Maid Ver

 We rarely get any good PVC Figure for Full Metal Panic Heroine so Alter's take on Tessa is a blessing. Unfortunately their 1/7 Figure which was shown few weeks ago for her falls on pricier side. Slated for February 2019 Release, The maid version costs 17800 Yen though most shop tag it for higher price. This version of Tessa wearing Maid outfit while holding P90 SMG is probably based on an episode from the new season for Full Metal Panic. Personally i prefer Tessa over Chidori for some reason but probably because she tries her best to gain Sousuke's affection. Unfortunately i will skip this one since my price range is around 14000 Yen so i will wait for another rendition for her Figure. Most likely Chidori will get her figurine as well. Speaking of the FMP game, Tessa had a wedding ending in her route so that one probably will go to my headcanon.

Yami's Megahobby 2018 and One Hobby G Expo Highlights

 Usually the big stuffs for Japanese Toys are shown on Wonderfest but for some reason this Year's Megahobby Expo catches my attention. This event mainly focus on PVC Figures so Bandai doesn't really have presence on this one. As usual FGO dominated the product lineups and the temptations are strong with this one.

Yami's Winter Wonderfest 2018 Highlights

 When it is February, it is always a flood of temptations from the Winter Wonderfest! As for this year's i think there are less mecha stuffs that catches my attention since the new products are flooded more from non mecha series each year. So lets see which products that catches my attention!

Aoshima 1/48 ARX-8 Laevatein

 It took Three Years for Aoshima to catch up with Kotobukiya but finally they release their 1/48 Laevatein in preparation of the new anime season. The kit will be released on April Next Year with 5800 Yen Price tag, a little bit more expensive than Kotobukiya's take. I will most likely get this kit as my physical representation for Laevatein considering i was pleased with the FMP that i had which were made by Aoshima, To be honest i still prefer Arbalest over Laevatein because the latter got jobbed so much with its little screen time. I hope Aoshima is generous enough to release 1/48 for Belial as well.

Metal Build Arbalest

 With the announcement of new anime season for Full Metal Panic, we will be expecting influx of FMP related merchandise! As for Bandai, they already contribute their part by announcing the release for Metal Build Arbalest. MB Arbalest is planned to be released on March Next Year with price tag around 21000 Yen. It was a strange turn out of event that Laevatein got released first for this Metal Build Lineup before Arbalest. While Full Metal Panic series animation got delayed for 10 Years due to stupid reason, i think the delay prove to be fortituous for Toy Industry as by now they can release better quality product. I would have got this one if i didn't have my complete set of Uruz Squad with the Aoshima Kit. Perhaps we will be even seeing some figurine for Chidori or Tessa soon.

Some Recent loots

 Working in a toy company can be both a blessing and a curse at the same time. You got to get first dibs on discounted stuffs or new toys but also got you to commit Impulse buy even more. Here are are some stuff that i bought from my workplace over past few months which include variety range of stuffs. I got myself my first Figma and Yamato Figurine which have some nice discounts. Watching Iron Blooded Orphans also make me get some of the 1/100 IBO Gunplas and probably snatching 1/100 Bael one of these days too. My company also happen to have now rare Full Metal Panic Figurine from Atelier Sai which would complement well with my Aoshima FMP Kit. I doubt i will be able to give proper review this year like my other toys but should have plenty of time by next year.

Full Metal Panic new anime season announced!

 Took long enough but finally Full Metal Panic got the anime continuation that it deserves after a year or two rumor. Titled Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory the series will be airing on Spring 2018. The Animation should continue where Second Raid took of and easily close the curtain of the series if the length will be 2 Cours. It took 10 years for the series to get a continuation due to stupid licensing issue but in a way the delay was a blessing itself. Because the animation quality could be potentially better so we are able to see Laevatein and Belial in full action. It appears that 2018 will be the year for Mecha after all with Heavyweight title like FMP and LOGH airing. Coming along with the new FMP season, we should expect more FMP merchandise flooding in and i hope Tessa and Chidori got a good quality figurine. Though i would look forward more to Aoshima's Laevatein and wonder if Kotobukiya is still going to release Belial model kit after 3 years.

1/60 ARX-7 Arbalest Renewal ver

Years ago Alter made Quality figure for Arbalest long before they made one for M9 Gernsback and this time the toy come with more improvements i suppose. The Renewal version of Arbalest will be slated for  release on May next year with price tag of 14800 Yen and Arbalest will still come in 1/60 Scale. While the toy will be smaller than the plamo version made by Aoshima a while ago, the Alter's version of Arbalest come with more accessories no doubt. I wonder if the decision made by Alter to renew the series coincide with some plans to reboot the series in the future? Considering the anime got into some complicated license dispute back then, A reboot is certainly a nice thing to have considering FMP is one solid Real Robot series. I think i should repaint my FMP kits too.

Wonderfest 2014

I think it has been couple of years already i do limited coverage for Wonderfest which is one of the major event where the companies in hobby industry showing some future release for their products. I always pay attention to Kotobukiya and maybe Megahouse or Bandai and as always lots of stuff to be shown but not the one i look forward to. Shingeki no Kyojin and Nintendo as well as Kancolle products are shown a lot  in the wonderfest.

 
From Kotobukiya section there are couple of new SRW kits from OGs2 but no Masoukishin. It appears Kotobukiya will be going to release AS Belial kit as Laevatein follow up soon which indicate there is a chance that FMP series will be reignited in some way  considering Z3 is coming up which Bandai also even prepare a Metal Build for Laevatein. Muvluv got some new 1/144 kit but for non scale, Takemikazuchi got 1.5 version which probably address the issues of the former version. The upcoming Frame Arms is also being displayed which are 2 knight esque model which indicate that Frame Arms are likely to take different directions than it used to be.

I was expecting Sentinel going to show their new RIOBOT lineup but i guess they plenty already last year. Megahouse is going to release something for Orguss which is likely to be action figure and as for Max Factory, i am quite surprised that they catch up with Dougram lineup quite fast as numerous grunt units models are shown. The notable one is Soltic and Iron Foot which is the MP version of Dougram. Guyver figma is confirmed for this year at long last and Archer from FSN is getting figma though i am not too interested due to the figure size. That's all my coverage for this year's wonderfest and hopefully i will still do the next year.

Non Scale ARX-8 Laevatein

I have been predicting Laevatein would get a kit eventually after Gernsback and Arbalest got one from Aoshima but never expect that Kotobukiya would be the one that release it. The kit will be released on March this year with 5500 yen price tag. The sample looks gorgeous but from the accessories that i see, i think the kit doesn't have all of its armament from the series but it still comes with its signature howitzer that can one shot Behemoths along with shotgun and knee blades. Laevateinn is Sousuke's ultimate arm slave which is named after Surt's legendary fiery sword which got more powerful Lambda Drive that are enable it to fire the Howitzer without recoil which could have wrecked the Arm Slave normally. I will keep my finger crossed on this kit if it ever got the final loadout set somedya which have Laevatein armed to the the teeth and still wonder if Laevatein will be granted an appearance in SRW?

D-Style ARX-8 Laevatein

Looks like FMP got series of D-style treatment in pretty short time, after Arbalest and Gernsback Kotobukiya announced ARX-8 Laevatein to get a D-Style kit. The kit is going to be released on August this year with 2200 Yen Price tag. The kit includes all standard equipment of Laevatein which include 2 blades stored on the knee, Howitzer gun and "Boxer" Shotgun though unfortunately no Effect Gimmicks seems to be given. Laevatein is replacement Arm Slave for Sagara Sousuke after his Arbalest destroyed by Belial and during its first launch it manages to defeat 2 Codarls and 3 Behemoths which shows how powerful this AS with its Lambda Drive. I think it is less likely Belial will get a kit but if it is another FMP D-style, i think either Belial or Codarl which will make into the cut. I still wonder if Aoshima(license problem?) or another manufacturer will be making the 1/48 kit of Laevatein?

1/60 M9 Gernsback

While Alter mainly produce high quality figurines, they also sculpted some great high-end mecha toys. After they released Linebarrel toy few while ago, now they are going to release one of the well known Arm Slave from FMP which is no other than M9 Gernsback. The toy has been announced around 2 months ago and planned to be released on April this year with the price tag of roughly 12000 yen. The toy is sculpted with 1/60 Scale which is about the same height with 1/144 HG Gundam kits. Despite i will not be getting this toy since i had completed my Uruz team collection and the toy is too small for my preference i think this 1/60 M9 Gernsback is worth to get for FMP fans. You will notice that the toy comes with lots of weapons which i think never appear in TV series and seen a few time only in the FMP Sigma manga. If you had 1/60 Arbalest which was released by Alter back when Aoshima haven't started making one i would say this toy is a must get.

D-Style Arbalest announced!

Just shortly after Kotobukiya announce D-Style Gaogaigar last month, now they announce another addition to D-style which is Arbalest from Full Metal Panic. There is no release date yet but probably it will come this december or next year given that Kotobukiya is occupied with other lineups already. This would be the 3rd real robot series that D-style treatment after Armored Core and Patlabor. The kit's preview show that the Arbalest come along with all of its weapon and the Lambda Drive gimmick. From what i see Kotobukiya really focus on this lineup considering it had plenty of releases already this year. There is a chance for M9 Gernsback or Codarl would get their own D-Style. I also wonder if the SRW OG mechs would get a D-Style treatment which would be nice.

Combination Attack! Uruz Strike!!!

Time for Dynamic Kill!

1/48 ARX-7 Arbalest Review

Uruz-7 Reporting

1/48 M9 Gernsback Kurz Weber Ver review

The Flight pack is pretty good actually.