Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

1/60 M9 Gernsback Ver.IV - Detail shots (1/4)

1/60 M9 Gernsback Ver.IV - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

Weapons & Accessories

1/60 M9 Gernsback Ver.IV - The sniper rifle's barrel can be folded, and the bipod and scope can be removed and re

The sniper rifle's barrel can be folded, and the bipod and scope can be removed and repositioned for the folded configuration.

The folded sniper rifle can be stored by plugging it into the hole on the back.

Just like the Arbalest, weapons can be mounted on the skirt.

Leftover parts

Excellent limb articulation as expected

1/60 M9 Gernsback Ver.IV - The articulation gimmicks for the shoulders, waist, hip joints, and neck are identical

The articulation gimmicks for the shoulders, waist, hip joints, and neck are identical to the Arbalest.

1/60 M9 Gernsback Ver.IV - Various shooting poses (1/4)

1/60 M9 Gernsback Ver.IV - Various shooting poses (2/4)

Various shooting poses

Monomolecular cutter + dagger action

Sniper rifle kneeling pose

Prone sniping pose is possible too.

Together with the 1/60 Arbalest released at the same time.

1/60 M9 Gernsback Ver.IV - Together with the Aoshima 1/48 Gernsback released in 2009. I built the Aoshima kit jus

Together with the Aoshima 1/48 Gernsback released in 2009.
I built the Aoshima kit just out of curiosity and didn't post a review,
but the overall quality is quite a step down compared to Bandai's — especially the joint strength.

This kit is the Full Metal Panic Gernsback Ver.IV released by Bandai alongside the 1/60 Arbalest. It came out to coincide with the airing of the fourth season anime, Invisible Victory — while the basic body structure is the same as the Arbalest, it's a unit that differs only in some of the outer armor.

Because of that, aside from the different design and color scheme, the fundamental characteristics like articulation and joint strength are exactly the same as the 1/60 Arbalest — it's a kit that delivers top-tier articulation and solid joint strength. Of course, the downside of having so many moving parts taking time to get into position carries over as well, though without the Lambda Driver gimmick it does feel a bit more straightforward in comparison.

The Gernsback comes with a variety of weapons just like the Arbalest, and the most distinctive of the bunch is the sniper rifle. You can fold the front barrel and rotate the scope and bipod into place to mount it on the back, and you can also pull off a prone sniping pose.

Either way, this kit is significant simply for the fact that the Gernsback got a high-quality plastic model release alongside the Arbalest — if you're a Full Metal Panic fan, this is pretty much a must-have. :-)

1/60 M9 Gernsback Ver.IV | 2018.4 | ¥2,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.