Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack. It's quite a big kit for 1/144 scale.

Upper body close-up

Head

Those unusual arms...
The forearms are freakishly long.

GN Buster Sword mounted on the forearm

There's a long, slender Core Fighter attached to the back.

Legs

There's also a solar furnace on the outer side of the shin.

Open both of the massive side skirts and you'll find GN Fangs stored inside.

The entire front of the knee/shin slides open to reveal the internal gimmick.

Gimmick on the front of the GN Shield

Unusually for the 00 series, it has a Core Fighter attached to the back.

HG Arche Gundam - Remove the Core Fighter from the back, detach the tail fins at the rear, then attach the docking gimmick/he

Remove the Core Fighter from the back, detach the tail fins at the rear, then attach the docking gimmick/head and
the Core Fighter is complete.

Core Fighter.

HG Arche Gundam - The GN Buster Sword can transform by splitting open at the center. The color separation on this sword doesn

The GN Buster Sword can transform by splitting open at the center.
The color separation on this sword doesn't quite match the official colors... it's a bit of a shame they didn't at least throw in some stickers.

Articulation.
The knees bend fully.

Thanks to the exposed frame shoulder structure, the range of motion is quite impressive.

With that wide knee joint range of motion... you can even pull off a squatting pose like that.

HG Arche Gundam - Action poses using Action Base II (1/3)

Action poses using Action Base II

HG Arche Gundam - The GN Buster Sword stays mounted on the forearm, and you can grip it just by adding a handle. (1/4)

HG Arche Gundam - The GN Buster Sword stays mounted on the forearm, and you can grip it just by adding a handle. (2/4)

The GN Buster Sword stays mounted on the forearm, and you can grip it just by adding a handle.

Pose gripping the GN Buster Sword with both hands.

Interestingly, the beam sabers are designed to mount on the tips of the feet.

HG Arche Gundam - Throne Zwei, which shares a similar styling. The concept is alike in that both use GN Fangs, a type of bit

Throne Zwei, which shares a similar styling.
The concept is alike in that both use GN Fangs, a type of bit weapon, and the design style is similar too...
But look closely and the actual shapes are completely different. The size difference is pretty dramatic, for one.

Alongside the HG 00 Raiser.
The Arche Gundam really is a big one.

Sashe's Arche Gundam — the villain who torments the protagonist across both seasons of 00 — has been released as an HG kit. At first glance in the show I thought it was just a slightly tweaked Throne Gundam, but actually building the kit made it clear this is a completely different machine. For starters, as you can see in the photos, it's remarkably large for 1/144 scale. It's a whole different size even compared to the Throne Gundams.

Overall, the kit quality is solid — it shows pretty good shoulder and knee articulation along with sturdy joint strength. The size is closer to 1/100 than 1/144, and in terms of features it more than delivers: shield/Core Fighter/GN Buster Sword gimmicks, an opening gimmick for the GN Fang compartments, and an opening knee/shin cover function as well.

The kit itself is well-made and stable, but the design's distinctive look will probably be a love-it-or-hate-it thing for most people. There probably aren't that many die-hard Sashe fans out there... but if you're into the Throne-style aesthetic and want a big kit for the price, this is a pretty solid pick. :-)

HG Arche Gundam | 2009. 4 | ¥1,900

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.