Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile (1/7)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile (2/7)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile (3/7)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile (4/7)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile (5/7)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile (6/7)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile (7/7)

The proportions are quite grotesque.

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Front and bottom view of the torso. (1/4)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Front and bottom view of the torso. (2/4)

Front and bottom view of the torso.

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Back and lower upper body view. (1/4)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Back and lower upper body view. (2/4)

Back and lower upper body view.

Head

The arms. Absolutely no articulation whatsoever;;

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Instead of hands, machine guns hang in their place. For some reason it reminds me

Instead of hands, machine guns hang in their place.
For some reason it reminds me of Teacher Kang from the makeup room.. ^^;

The chain guns mounted as additional weapons on both sides.

Leg section

The leg shape and foot design are very unique.

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Articulation is pretty bad.. The arms are completely fixed with only the shoulder

Articulation is pretty bad..
The arms are completely fixed with only the shoulders rotating, and the elbows are stationary.
The legs barely manage about 30 degrees of bend at the knee.

Most joints are fixed — only the shoulders and waist rotate well.. ^^;

On both sides of the wasp waist, there are a total of 4 overdrive open gimmicks.

Two ankle connector parts are included for different angles..

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Since the ankle joints don't articulate, you can swap out the ankle connector par

Since the ankle joints don't articulate,
you can swap out the ankle connector parts to change the leg angle.
It's a pretty primitive approach, but the stability is definitely solid.

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Firing pose (1/5)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Firing pose (2/5)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Firing pose (3/5)

Firing pose

The included dedicated stand.

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Action poses on the dedicated stand. Even with the stand though.. the articulatio

Action poses on the dedicated stand.
Even with the stand though.. the articulation is so poor that it doesn't really look all that cool.

There are some odd extra parts included..

You swap them out with the back parts and attach them, and then..

You can plug in the separately sold Vanguard Overed Boost!

Vanguard Over Boost action!

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Various angles (1/6)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Various angles (2/6)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Various angles (3/6)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile - Various angles (4/6)

Various angles

Together with the previous release, Aspina White Glint.

Together with Stasis, the poster child of grotesque design.

The Aspina X-sobrero Fragile has been released as the latest Armored Core Next kit. It's a mech that carries on the grotesque design lineage of Ariel and Unsung, featuring a wide flat upper body, a pinched wasp waist, broad shoulders, and reverse-jointed feet — a truly outlandish design sensibility.

The unique proportions mean the center of gravity is completely different from your typical standing mech — the reverse-jointed feet cause the body to lean forward, but the rearward-shifted upper body and weapons cleverly balance it all out.

Perhaps because of this grotesque design and unusual center of gravity, articulation on this kit is quite limited. The arms have absolutely no movement at all, the knees only bend about 30 degrees, and the ankles forgo movable joints entirely in favor of a swap-out system with just two fixed angles — in some ways, it feels like a level of articulation sacrifice you rarely see these days.

So there's not much to expect in terms of posing or action poses, but on the flip side, despite the bizarre design, the overall silhouette holds together well and stability is excellent. It seems like an intentional design choice to maintain those strange proportions, and honestly, it's not a bad call.

There are no additional weapons or accessories to speak of, but in their place the kit includes a joint gimmick that lets you attach the separately sold Vanguard Overed Boost — so if you have the VOB, you can put together quite a spectacular display. A Kotobukiya dedicated stand molded in clear purple is also included to support these display options.

It's a kit that trades some articulation for a design that's bursting with personality, and it's a solid enough kit for enjoying the distinctive design sensibility of Armored Core Next. The series' nature means assembly takes quite a bit of tedious work, but the bizarre presence it has once finished should be pretty effective at curing any plastic model fatigue. :-)

Armored Core Next Aspina X-sobrero Fragile | 2011. 8 | ¥5,200

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.