April 23, 2010

Aoshima's 1/48 Gernsback M9 "Armslave"  from Full Metal Panic!

Full Metal Panic! (often abbreviated to FMP!) is an anime series that follows Sousuke Sagara, a member MITHRIL (a covert anti-terrorist private military organization), tasked with protecting Kaname Chidori, a spirited Japanese high school girl. Set in a parallel world, based upon actual world events around the late 20th century to the early 21st century, the story begins in Heisei 10 (1998 AD), where the Cold War has yet to end.

MITHRIL members use advanced weaponry & equipment that includes their mobile base/submarine, called the TDD-1 Tuatha De Danaan, giant humanoid powered suits called Arm Slaves, for their various missions. Arm Slaves are huge and tall mecha used primarily by military forces in the Full Metal Panic! universe.

The term "Arm Slave" is the shortened form of Armored Mobile Master-Slave System. They are largely humanoid powered suits operating in a semi-master–slave system to coordinate with the pilot (aka master).  Developed in the early 1980s under the Reagan Administration, the average Arm Slave (or AS for short) is roughly 8–10 meters tall.

This 1/48 scale model kit depicts Sosuke Sagara's personalized Armslave, the Gernsback M9, MITHRIL's first 3rd Generation Armslave.

Box Art

As with most Bandai mecha kits, this Aoshima kit uses polycaps so the finished model can be set in a variety of dynamic action poses. Optional hands are also provided in different poses to aid on this.

The cockpit hatch can be operated as well as the compartments underneath each shoulder (for storing the two anti-tank daggers). Additionally weaponry includes a shotgun, rifle, rifle case, cutter with sheath, and Sosuke's custom assault rifle. Curiously absent is a pilot figure.

The kit comes molded in color and although it doesn't necessarily need glue & paint to complete, adding those (specially paint) would definitely improve the look of the finished model. Instructions are the typical exploded-view pictorial-type of deal, with some English and Japanese notes.

One last big plus: the scale of the kit allows for a lot of potential diorama possibilities.

 

What You Get

Parts	Instructions	Color guide

 

Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Aoshima
What you get: 17 injection-molded sprues crammed with parts, 1 clear green sprue, 3 polycap sprues & instructions booklet.
Price: ¥3,800 (approx. $40.44) plus overseas shipping, available from HLJ
Molding Quality: although not up to par with Bandai, parts look good and clean
Detail: Acceptable for the subject, being a fictional mecha
Accuracy: Looks right on to me
Pros: scale, price & quality
Cons: overseas shipping, no pilot