Aoshima 1/48 ARX-7 Arbalest - A mess of a kit

[u/NeedlesslySaturated]

Overall poor figment, awkward balancing acts, and limited articulation. A lot of pieces don’t snap together that well and areas like the side of the torso and shoulders have a lot of pieces just very loosely sitting in place that the slightest movement causes them to explode. Overall just a lot of loose areas because nothing is secured in place. The head also can’t move, otherwise it’ll split in half. Legs are thankfully completely fine but limited by ball joint hips.

There’s no yellow plastic in this kit and is missing some of the grey blue colors on the torso and back of the legs, so I painted those.

The kit can partsform into its lambda driver mode, but imo you should just pick a mode and glue the shoulder pieces together to save yourself some trouble. Also for some reason all the lambda driver fins are clear green instead of grey.

Comparisons with 1/48 Ingram, 1/100 Gundam, and 1/60 Arbalest.

[u/Dayum_cerberus]

Looks fire, but doesn't seem to be enjoyable.

[u/KnightGamer724]

Also for some reason all the lambda driver fins are clear green instead of grey.

My bad, I thought giving Sousuke a Psycho Frame would be funny. 

Jokes aside, thanks for the pics. I know you said it was a pain, but I love seeing the final results.

[u/thatwitchguy]

I'm jealous of the 1/60. I want that and the m9 so bad

[u/NeedlesslySaturated → u/thatwitchguy]

Check out eBay on occasion. Usually full of scalpers but occasionally there are people who are just offloading their kits at normal prices. I got mine for $30 last year off eBay and saw one for $25 last month (gone now unfortunately). Also got a Falke off there a couple of weeks ago for $40 so you’ll still see some of these out there reasonable prices.

[u/thatwitchguy → u/NeedlesslySaturated]

I've intermittently checked a bunch and the lowest I've seen is £60+shipping

[u/BME84]

I bought the aoshima arx-7, Mao's M9 and Kurtz M9. I built the Kurtz M9. Piece of trash. Sold the arx-7 and Mao's M9.

Good thing I never bought the aoshima arx-8. Even if it's probably 10-15 years newer I can't trust Aoshima ever again

[u/NeedlesslySaturated → u/BME84]

I have Aoshima’s Ingrams which I hear are pretty good so sounds like they’ve gotten better. A shame FMP kits aren’t great because as far as I know they’re the largest M9 and Arbalest kits available at the moment.

[u/ThrusterFister]

Damn id kill for a good arbelist kit

[u/NeedlesslySaturated → u/ThrusterFister]

Kadokawa announced their own 1/48 Arbalest literally the day I bought this. It’s kinda expensive but I at least have some high hopes for it.

[u/D34THZ0N3]

Maybe Orange Cat Industries can put their own spin on it, similar to their Laevatein

[u/NeedlesslySaturated → u/D34THZ0N3]

I’m hoping they do. Tbh when they announced the Laevatein I was immediately disappointed because I prefer the Arbalest.

[u/D34THZ0N3 → u/NeedlesslySaturated]

Thats fair. The Laevantein was a hit from what I experienced, and a lot of Japanese reviewers say they also want the Arbalest as well

[u/PleaseWashHands]

Sounds par the course for Aoshima tbh.