Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Full Metal Panic ARX-7 Arbalest - Detail shots (1/4)

Full Metal Panic ARX-7 Arbalest - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

Weapons loadout

The shotgun features a movable stock and a detachable magazine.

Full Metal Panic ARX-7 Arbalest - Using the attachment parts, the shotgun and monomolecular cutter can be optionally mounted

Using the attachment parts, the shotgun and monomolecular cutter can be optionally mounted on the side of the thigh or the rear skirt.

The dagger-in-mouth pose is achieved via a parts swap.

You can also recreate the wire gun using the wire parts.

A total of 4 hand parts are included.

Full Metal Panic ARX-7 Arbalest - The Lambda Driver open gimmick on the shoulders and back is reproduced as 100% articulated.

The Lambda Driver open gimmick on the shoulders and back is reproduced as 100% articulated.
Bandai did it as a parts swap, so it's actually quite surprising how elaborate the articulated version turned out.

Full Metal Panic ARX-7 Arbalest - Eight additional blades are attached to the opened sections to complete the Lambda Driver o

Eight additional blades are attached to the opened sections to complete the Lambda Driver open state.

Excellent limb articulation

The chest armor can also tilt slightly forward.

The waist is pretty flexible too, but…

Full Metal Panic ARX-7 Arbalest - The waist and upper body connection is basically just held together by a polycap, so it ten

The waist and upper body connection is basically just held together by a polycap, so it tends to pop out easily during posing.

Full Metal Panic ARX-7 Arbalest - Shotgun poses (1/4)

Full Metal Panic ARX-7 Arbalest - Shotgun poses (2/4)

Shotgun poses

Pose with the dagger in the mouth, about to fire the shotgun

Lambda Driver open action

Monomolecular cutter + dagger kneeling pose.

Wire gun action

Together with the Laevatein released in 2014.

In April 2018, Kotobukiya released the 1/60 ARX-7 Arbalest. It's the second Kotobukiya Full Metal Panic kit following the Laevatein released in 2014 — and as luck would have it, Bandai happened to release the same kit at the same time. The Kotobukiya version is based on TSR (The Second Raid) while the Bandai version is from the fourth season, Invisible Victory, but either way, a comparison is unavoidable.

Since the Laevatein, Arbalest, and Gernsback are all similar in format as mechs, the basic kit structure is comparable to the previously released Laevatein. Of course the designs are quite different, but the build feel and overall characteristics are naturally going to be similar.

At its core, this is a kit with excellent limb and waist articulation and relatively solid joint strength — but it's hard to say the articulation feels all that great. The balance of joint tightness feels a bit off overall, with some joints being slightly loose and others being stiff. That said, once you get a pose locked in using that flexible articulation, the pose stability isn't bad.

The real issue is that there are a lot of parts that keep popping off, which makes posing frustrating. The polycap connecting the upper body and waist is exposed on the outside, so it comes out pretty easily. Normally polycaps are secured inside the parts, but for some reason the lower torso polycap is just sort of plugged in from below, making it structurally prone to falling out. There are other parts that drop off during posing too, so some additional gluing will be needed here and there.

That said, the gimmicks and weapon recreation are fairly well done. The shotgun and monomolecular cutter can both be optionally mounted on the thigh or rear skirt, and the dagger-in-mouth state is reproduced via a parts swap. There's also a wire gun recreated using wire parts, though the part that attaches to the forearm is a bit flimsy and tends to fall off. Still, since the Bandai version doesn't include a wire gun, that's at least one advantage the Kotobukiya version has going for it.

The most distinctive feature of this kit is the Lambda Driver open gimmick — the complex deployment mechanism on the shoulders and back is reproduced as a fully articulated feature. You then plug in eight additional blades to complete the Lambda Driver's open form. It's worth giving credit where it's due: Bandai's Arbalest handled this section with a parts swap, so the fact that Kotobukiya went ahead and made it fully articulated is genuinely impressive. ^^

Overall, this is a kit that's decent enough by Kotobukiya standards. The problem is that since they don't have an exclusive license, Bandai released their own 1/60 Arbalest at the same time. Bandai's overall build quality is inevitably going to be superior, and on top of that, the ¥5,800 price tag — more than double Bandai's ¥2,800 — is going to be a serious sticking point.

Looking at it objectively from a consumer's perspective, there's just no competing with Bandai on value for money. And aside from the articulated Lambda Driver and the wire gun, there's nothing that really puts it ahead of Bandai's version. So unless you absolutely need the TSR version or you're a die-hard Kotobukiya fan, this one's hard to recommend. :-)

Full Metal Panic ARX-7 Arbalest | 2018. 4 | ¥5,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.