Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Size comparison with HGUC / MG

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. (1/7)

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. (2/7)

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. (3/7)

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. (4/7)

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. (5/7)

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. (6/7)

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. (7/7)

Body

Head

Arms and shoulders

Weapon section

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. - Back and backpack section (1/3)

Back and backpack section

Bird-leg-like legs

Leftover parts

Articulation is just a notch below average.

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. - The elbow joint structure is quite unique, but — whether it's a design flaw or not — the

The elbow joint structure is quite unique, but...
Whether it's a design flaw or not, the joints pop out way too easily. T_T

Thanks to the design, the shoulders can raise quite far out to the sides.

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. - Shooting pose (1/4)

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. - Shooting pose (2/4)

Shooting pose

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. - Defense pose (1/4)

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. - Defense pose (2/4)

Defense pose

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. - Two-handed attack pose (1/4)

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. - Two-handed attack pose (2/4)

Two-handed attack pose

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. - The original Armored Core kit quartet, together with Gaia, Crest, and Selena

Together with Gaia, Crest, and Selena
The original Armored Core kit quartet

This is the fourth kit in the Armored Core series — the CRONUS VIXEN Ver. It's a unit that differs from the previous Gaia/Crest/Selena kits in quite a few ways. For starters, rather than the metallic colors typical of Armored Core, this one comes in pure white.

The overall kit characteristics follow the same pattern as before — a relentless parade of intricate color separation — but the unique proportions and those chicken-foot-style legs do give the build a distinctly different feel. The slightly milky white molded color looks a bit on the cheap side, so a straight build alone feels a little lacking. That said, thanks to the complex color separation, you can still end up with a surprisingly colorful finished kit even with just a straight build.

Compared to the other Armored Core kits, the joints on this one feel a bit more unstable. The ball joints at the shoulders are on the weak side, making it hard to pull off a variety of poses. The forearm joints in particular — what looks like a design flaw — tend to pop out during posing, so you'll need to be careful there. The unusual leg design and joint structure also make it tricky to get the kit standing at a clean angle. On top of that, the articulation is the worst in the series, so from an "action figure" standpoint, this kit has to rank at the very bottom in just about every way.

Sure, the Armored Core series has always been more about the satisfaction of building through precise parts breakdown and getting a straight build that's close to the official colors — so maybe articulation isn't that big a deal. But even so, for a poseable plastic model that uses polycaps, there's no getting around the fact that it leaves a lot to be desired in several areas. This is really a kit you build for the fun of putting it together and displaying it.

If you're tired of the metallic Armored Core kits or you're drawn to the CRONUS VIXEN Ver.'s design, it's a decent enough item — but I'd recommend going in with zero expectations for articulation or joint strength, and just enjoying the uniquely intricate build process for what it is. :-)

Armored Core YC07-CRONUS VIXEN Ver. | 2006. 12 | ¥2,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.