Kit Review

Straight build

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - First off, this kit lets you choose between building one of 2 different kits. (It

First off, this kit lets you choose between building one of 2 different kits.
(It's less of a swap kit and more of a "pick one to build" situation...)

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - On the left are the Idaten parts, and on the right are the Arma armor parts. You

On the left are the Idaten parts, and on the right are the Arma armor parts.
You can tell right away that there's a huge number of hand parts included.

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - The inner body. The core body has no head, hands, or feet. "Skeleton" is probably

The inner body.
The core body has no head, hands, or feet.
"Skeleton" is probably a better word for it than "inner body."

Articulation of the inner body. Eh, it's decent..

This kit comes with a whopping 16 hand parts.

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Calling it a simple swap kit isn't quite right, since some key parts are shared b

Calling it a simple swap kit isn't quite right,
since some key parts are shared between the two, meaning you have to disassemble and reassemble to switch.
The most notable example is the shoulder-to-body connector part — it's shared,
so you have to take things apart and put them back together every time you want to swap the armor.

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Same goes for the feet. The sole and ankle joint parts are awkwardly shared betwe

Same goes for the feet.
The sole and ankle joint parts are awkwardly shared between the two,
so you end up just swapping out the foot cover parts when switching.

Once you build one foot, you're left with just the foot cover part from the other...

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - So in the end, the parts shared between Arma and Idaten beyond the inner body are

So in the end, the parts shared between Arma and Idaten beyond the inner body are as shown above.
Shoulder connectors, ankle joints, foot soles, and so on..
If they'd just included two of each of those, swapping would've been a breeze,
but they cheaped out and only included one of each, making the whole swap process a real pain..

Only 4 leftover parts remain.

Arma

Size comparison with a cigarette pack after building as Arma. It's a bit small.

Inner body and Arma armor

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit (1/4)

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit (2/4)

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit (3/4)

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit (4/4)

Upper body, front / rear

Somehow... very much a mass-production type head.

Arms and legs

Back and rear skirt

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - When standing on a flat surface, you need to attach the small stand piece to the

When standing on a flat surface, you need to attach the small stand piece to the feet.

The dedicated weapon-holding hands. The proportions come out pretty decent..

Action poses!

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - It holds poses better than you'd expect. (1/4)

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - It holds poses better than you'd expect. (2/4)

It holds poses better than you'd expect.

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Massei pose (;) (1/3)

Massei pose (;)

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Mounted on the dedicated stand (1/3)

Mounted on the dedicated stand

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Pretty dynamic in its own way. (1/3)

Pretty dynamic in its own way.

Comparison with the main character's Linebarrels.
Quite a difference in size.. No wonder the Arma can't hold its own even when they swarm it;

Idaten

Size comparison with a cigarette pack after building as Idaten.
Looks a bit more voluminous than the Arma.

Inner body and Idaten armor.

Upper body front and back

Somehow a very commander-like head. Quite a contrast compared to the Arma.

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Arms / legs / skirt (1/3)

Arms / legs / skirt

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - When taking it off the stand and placing it on a flat surface, you again need to

When taking it off the stand and placing it on a flat surface, you again need to attach the stand piece to the soles.

Hand holding a weapon..

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Action poses. Just swapping the armor makes such a difference in presence.. (1/3)

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Action poses. Just swapping the armor makes such a difference in presence.. (2/3)

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Action poses. Just swapping the armor makes such a difference in presence.. (3/3)

Action pose.
Just swapping the armor makes such a difference in presence..

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Poses come out pretty well in its own right. (1/3)

Poses come out pretty well in its own right.

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - The stand attachment points are located in two places — the rear end and the back

The stand attachment points are located in two places — the rear end and the back — so you can use whichever you prefer.

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Stand action (1/3)

Stand action

The weapon can also be stored on the rear skirt.

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Shooting pose (1/3)

Shooting pose

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Action using Arma's spear (1/3)

Action using Arma's spear

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit - Comparison with Linebarrels. Better than the Arma, but still outclassed in terms

Comparison with Linebarrels.
Better than the Arma, but still outclassed in terms of sheer size.

The second Linebarrels of Iron kit has arrived — a compatible kit featuring the Arma and Arma Idaten. In the show, the Arma fills the role of a mass-produced enemy unit — basically your run-of-the-mill grunt that gets mowed down in droves. It's got a simple design, it's small, and it definitely looks pretty weak. ^^;

The Arma Idaten, on the other hand, has more of an officer-unit concept — it's the higher-grade Arma piloted by a character named Sawatari, who gets a fair bit of screen time. This kit uses the same inner body (skeleton) for both, with the armor, head, feet, and weapons swapped out to let you build either machine — it's a compatible kit.

But when you actually sit down and build it... it's not as simple as just swapping armor panels. The shoulder joints, ankle joints, and foot soles are all oddly shared between the two configurations, so you're basically stuck disassembling and reassembling over and over. If they'd just thrown in one extra set of those parts — only 6 parts, to be exact — swapping would've been totally painless. Instead, sharing those parts makes the whole swap process feel really unsatisfying.

On top of that, the inner body itself has very few parts, while the armor parts you need to swap out are a whole pile — which makes you wonder why they even bothered sharing the tiny inner body between two kits in the first place. Simply put, it would've been better to either include both complete kits, or just release them separately. In the end it feels less like a swap kit and more like a "pick one to build" kit, and the whole product concept feels a bit off.. Just split them into two separate kits, sheesh.

Setting aside the complaints about the part swapping, the inner body's articulation and joint strength are actually pretty solid, so you can pull off some reasonably dynamic poses. The armor panels attach fairly securely, though the skirt parts do tend to pop off a little too easily.

One of the unique features of this kit is the whopping 16 hand parts included — though that's simply because both sets of hands for both machines are in there, so it's really just 4 types of hands. There are a lot of them, but honestly they don't feel all that useful in practice.

Anyway, it's great that the Arma and Arma Idaten — both key players in the show — have gotten kit releases, but I can't help feeling they could've been just a little more considerate with the parts layout. Whichever one you build, you're left with a massive pile of leftover parts.. and for a kit that's close to ¥4,000, the finished model ends up looking way too small and underwhelming. T_T

Well, Kotobukiya has always been generous with leftover parts from the start, so getting called out for leaving out just a few parts is a bit... harsh, don't you think? (My personal take.. ^^;)

Linebarrel Arma / Idaten : Compatible Kit | 2008. 11 | ¥3,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.