Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein - Detail shots (1/4)

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

A variety of weapon accessories are included.

The monomolecular cutter that attaches to the knee can be detached and stowed.

The monomolecular cutter before/after stowing.

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein - The detached knee monomolecular cutter unit can be disassembled and reassembled into a bla

The detached knee monomolecular cutter unit can be disassembled and reassembled into a blade shape.

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein - Alternatively, you can attach a separate blade part and use it while still fixed to the kn

Alternatively, you can attach a separate blade part and use it while still fixed to the knee.

The shoulder unit can be swapped out for the Fairy Wing unit.

The base body with the monomolecular cutter unit / Fairy Wings removed.

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein - You can also open the gimmick on the back of the head and plug in the PVC heat radiation f

You can also open the gimmick on the back of the head and plug in the PVC heat radiation filaments.

The sub-arms under each shoulder are faithfully reproduced with multi-joint articulation.

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein - You can swap the tip parts of the sub-arms to a grip form and have them hold weapons. (1/3

You can swap the tip parts of the sub-arms to a grip form and have them hold weapons.

The Boxer 2 shotgun has a movable stock and a sliding bolt that moves forward and back.

The Demolition Gun can be stored in its folded form,

and is completed in weapon form by extending the barrel and sliding it back into place.

There are also various other articulation gimmicks on the handles and mounting points.

The weapons can be stored in a variety of positions.

A total of 4 sets of hands are included.

The articulation is pretty good by Kotobukiya kit standards.

The waist is quite flexible too.

The shoulders are also split for articulation.

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein - There's even a thigh armor slide gimmick you'd normally only see in Gunpla! When you bend

There's even a thigh armor slide gimmick you'd normally only see in Gunpla!
When you bend the knee, the thigh armor automatically slides down in sync.

Kneeling poses are a breeze~

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein - Cutter action (1/3)

Cutter action

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein - Poses using the monomolecular cutter on the knee (1/3)

Poses using the monomolecular cutter on the knee

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein - Boxer 2 firing pose (1/3)

Boxer 2 firing pose

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein - Demolition Gun firing pose (1/3)

Demolition Gun firing pose

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein - Action poses using the sub-arms (1/3)

Action poses using the sub-arms

Together with the Laevatein that came out in D-Style.

The Laevatein from Full Metal Panic has been released as a Kotobukiya plastic model. Given all the circumstances up to this point, it's pretty much the perfect item for Kotobukiya to release. (Doesn't seem like Bandai was ever going to do it as an injection kit -_-)

As you'd expect from a kit supervised directly by the mecha designer, the overall proportions are sleek and clean. True to Kotobukiya's style, they've achieved pretty decent color separation through fine parts division — but the orange stripe sections on the forearms and legs have been left out, which gives it a somewhat plain feel. They could've pre-painted those on the runners like Kotobukiya sometimes does, so having them omitted without even any seals to compensate does hurt the overall polish a bit.

That said, the articulation gimmicks are among the better ones for a Kotobukiya kit — the range of motion is wide and the joints hold up reasonably well, so posing isn't bad at all. That said, compared to Bandai there's still that certain stiffness you can't quite shake, so keep your expectations in check. The snap-fit is still a bit iffy, so you'll want to glue the main joints if you want to pose it without worrying about things coming apart.

The Laevatein's various accessories are also fairly well covered — you get the monomolecular cutter unit that can transform into multiple configurations, the Fairy Wing unit, and PVC heat radiation filaments. For weapons, there's the Demolition Gun with its fold-up capability and the Boxer 2 shotgun, and the sub-arms under both sides of the chest are reproduced as fully articulated. The articulated sub-arms in particular are really well designed and a lot of fun to build — the claw grippers at the tips are done as swappable parts, so they can hold various weapons securely.

It's a bit of a shame that the stripe color separation was missed, but overall it's a kit with solid enough quality — and since the Laevatein is a mech that's hard to get in injection kit form to begin with, it'll be a real treat for Full Metal Panic fans. It looks like there'll probably be various variations or other mechs coming out as part of a series too, so I'm looking forward to what's next :-)

Full Metal Panic ARX-8 Laevatein | 2014. 3 | ¥5,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.