Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.
It's quite a big boy.

Size comparison with HGUC / MG.
Pretty huge, right?

Armored Core Nineball = Seraph - Among MG kits, you'd probably need something like the Sazabi to get a fair size comparison sh

Among MG kits, you'd probably need something like the Sazabi to get a fair size comparison shot.

Upper body

Head

Arm section

The uniquely hollow waist section

The massive backpack unit

The backpack joint connection is pretty solid.

The rear torso section is quite impressive.

The detail on the back of the legs is excellent too.

The vernier detail on the backpack is great as well.

Legs

Three sets of hands are included, and the proportions and detail are excellent.

Leftover parts are very minimal.

The limb bend articulation itself is pretty good, but...

Armored Core Nineball = Seraph - Due to the transformation mechanism there's no waist joint as such, but you can use the front

Due to the transformation mechanism, there's no waist joint as such,
but you can use the front support to lean it forward slightly.

Armored Core Nineball = Seraph - Action poses. The limited shoulder articulation makes it tricky to get good poses. (1/4)

Armored Core Nineball = Seraph - Action poses. The limited shoulder articulation makes it tricky to get good poses. (2/4)

Action poses. The limited shoulder articulation makes it tricky to get good poses.

Armored Core Nineball = Seraph - Thrust pose. With no separate weapons included, it seems like this is about the extent of wha

Thrust pose.
With no separate weapons included, it seems like this is about the extent of what you can pull off...

Transformation

First, tuck the head down into the torso a little...

Rotate the crotch section all the way around and swing it out to the front of the body.

Then straighten out the waist.

Remove the forearm cover temporarily and push the wrist section inward a little.

Rotate the arm this way and that to get it looking like the photo on the upper right.

Lifting the cover on the back of the knee lets you shorten the leg length.

Fold both the front and rear soles in and bring them together — transformation complete!

Armored Core Nineball = Seraph - The tail section that swings out to the front needs to overlap with the head antenna. You can

The tail section that swings out to the front needs to overlap with the head antenna.
You can tuck the top of the head antenna inside the elongated tail section.

Fully transformed into flight mode

Armored Core Nineball = Seraph - Views from various angles (1/6)

Armored Core Nineball = Seraph - Views from various angles (2/6)

Armored Core Nineball = Seraph - Views from various angles (3/6)

Armored Core Nineball = Seraph - Views from various angles (4/6)

Views from various angles

Underside

The detail on the underside of the nose section is excellent.

Together with the Crest Nineball version.

Armored Core Nineball = Seraph - Together with the previously released Armored Core kits. Nineball Seraph towers over all of t

Together with the previously released Armored Core kits.
Nineball Seraph towers over all of them. ^^;

The biggest Armored Core kit ever, Nineball Seraph, has arrived.
The box is enormous and the parts count is substantial — and at ¥7800, it's also the most expensive of the bunch. The sheer number of parts means assembly takes about twice as long as other Armored Core kits, and it feels like it's roughly on par with building a PG Gunpla. @_@

Thanks to that massive parts count, the overall color separation is practically fantastic, and the detail is the most refined of any Armored Core kit to date.
The finished kit stands around 22cm tall — roughly Sazabi-sized among MG kits — and as you can see in the photos above, compared to the other Armored Core kits the size difference is just staggering, like comparing an MG to a PG.

With a big kit like this, joint strength is always a concern given the heavy body, but thankfully it passes the test on that front.
The articulation is pretty poor due to the unusual design and transformation gimmick, but on the flip side, all the joints throughout the body are nice and stiff, which actually makes posing easier.

Nineball Seraph's signature transformation gimmick is faithfully reproduced, and the stability in transformed mode is solid too. The backpack mounted at a 90-degree angle might look a bit worrying, but thankfully it holds firm without any real issues.
That said, the locking pin that secures the crotch to the hip joint in robot mode is a little fragile and risks snapping — in my case, both locking pins broke after just two transformations. T_T The funny thing is, even without the pins, the waist joint is stiff enough that it still holds its shape... (huh?)

Anyway, the brutal parts count makes this a pretty grueling build, but the sense of accomplishment once it's done is equally impressive. When you factor in the imposing size, the unique style, and the transformation feature, this kit has a lot going for it — it's definitely worth taking on if you're feeling brave. :-)

Armored Core Nineball = Seraph | 2008. 7 | ¥7,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.