Post by mechamasterj on Feb 20, 2010 22:59:01 GMT -5
History
Robot Damashii Arche Gundam is one of the main villains in Gundam 00 (well more like its pilot, Ali Al-Saachez) and belongs to the Innovators. It was devolved from Throne Eins Turbulenz Gundam. It's actually the biggest gundam in the series. (if you want to read more about it check here gundam.wikia.com/wiki/GNW-20000_Arche_Gundam)
Of course this review is about the toy rather than its history so let's get to it.
Just like he's the biggest Gundam in the anime, he's also the biggest in the RD Side MS line as well (Regnant doest count since its not a Gundam). As always, with RD Side MS, Bandai did an excellent job recreating this mecha in toy form! He has a lot of details and plenty of ABS plastic. He could benefit from panel lining but just about all RDs could lol.
Overview
He comes with the usual array of hands and some optional ABS shoulder fins to replace the PVC ones. He also comes with the following; GN Buster Sword X1, GN Beam saber X2, GN Shield X1, and GN Fangs X6 (4 closed two open). Of all his weapons the GN Sword is the coolest and can be mounted on his forearm and opens up to reveal its beam cannon. It is also an impressively large sword which Arche handles with no problem, there is an extra clip that folds out from the hilt that helps to lock the sword in place but its only needed if you must have the sword held absolutely straight. It's great that you don't have to worry about the weapon being too heavy for him to handle which allows you to pose it in all sorts of ways.
Armaments
The beam sabers don't come with their own hilts unfortunately, so if you're a fan of beam sabers you won't be able to use them in the traditional sense. Arche has a secret weapon in the anime where beams protrude from the tip of his feat, so that's what they are for here. You can also use them to portray the fangs shooting beams when opened. Speaking of the fangs, its cool they added them but id does require the use of multiple stands (or parts of them rather) to show them in deployed form, that and the fact that the figure only comes with two attachments for the fangs so unless you buy multiple Arches and have quite a few Action Stands you won't be able to show off the 10 fangs he actually has in the show, but I doubt most people would bother anyway. When not in use the fangs (closed) store in his side skirts which conceal them nicely.
Articulation/ Stability
Despite his somewhat bulky and awkward shape, Arche is plenty poseable. He has a large amount of articulation points and his somewhat lack of armor means there isn't much in the way to restrict movement except where the side skirts are concerned, but they are mildly obtrusive when compared to other figures. His long limbs also help aid him reaching those hard to reach places.
Another area I thought he would have trouble with was stability. His skinny feet made me believe that he would have trouble standing on his own, such is not the case. While he can't hold all poses while standing, he can do quite a bit on his own two feet. So, balancing isn't as hard as you think. In any case, Arche is designed for Arial/space combat......so...
Gimmicks
Arche has one gimmick, which is prevalent in most of the innovator mechs of gundam 00, and that's an escape pod. It's a cool little feature to have, but also its biggest flaw. To remove the escape pod, you need to dethatch the top part of the chest chassis. You can then take off the backpack which is attached to the head (which is a part of the pod as well), and a with a small transformation, you make the pod. It's no problem to do this, but that's the problem, it's too easy! After my first time removing the escape pod, I could never get it to stay on securely again, I almost wonder if it ever was on secure in the first place. Now, just about every time you touch any part of pod, it pops off with little effort. Its really annoying when trying to take my pictures. They really should of done a better job in this area.
Now for the pics, hopefully all that I have discussed can be seen in them!
Robot Damashii Arche Gundam is one of the main villains in Gundam 00 (well more like its pilot, Ali Al-Saachez) and belongs to the Innovators. It was devolved from Throne Eins Turbulenz Gundam. It's actually the biggest gundam in the series. (if you want to read more about it check here gundam.wikia.com/wiki/GNW-20000_Arche_Gundam)
Of course this review is about the toy rather than its history so let's get to it.
Just like he's the biggest Gundam in the anime, he's also the biggest in the RD Side MS line as well (Regnant doest count since its not a Gundam). As always, with RD Side MS, Bandai did an excellent job recreating this mecha in toy form! He has a lot of details and plenty of ABS plastic. He could benefit from panel lining but just about all RDs could lol.
Overview
He comes with the usual array of hands and some optional ABS shoulder fins to replace the PVC ones. He also comes with the following; GN Buster Sword X1, GN Beam saber X2, GN Shield X1, and GN Fangs X6 (4 closed two open). Of all his weapons the GN Sword is the coolest and can be mounted on his forearm and opens up to reveal its beam cannon. It is also an impressively large sword which Arche handles with no problem, there is an extra clip that folds out from the hilt that helps to lock the sword in place but its only needed if you must have the sword held absolutely straight. It's great that you don't have to worry about the weapon being too heavy for him to handle which allows you to pose it in all sorts of ways.
Armaments
The beam sabers don't come with their own hilts unfortunately, so if you're a fan of beam sabers you won't be able to use them in the traditional sense. Arche has a secret weapon in the anime where beams protrude from the tip of his feat, so that's what they are for here. You can also use them to portray the fangs shooting beams when opened. Speaking of the fangs, its cool they added them but id does require the use of multiple stands (or parts of them rather) to show them in deployed form, that and the fact that the figure only comes with two attachments for the fangs so unless you buy multiple Arches and have quite a few Action Stands you won't be able to show off the 10 fangs he actually has in the show, but I doubt most people would bother anyway. When not in use the fangs (closed) store in his side skirts which conceal them nicely.
Articulation/ Stability
Despite his somewhat bulky and awkward shape, Arche is plenty poseable. He has a large amount of articulation points and his somewhat lack of armor means there isn't much in the way to restrict movement except where the side skirts are concerned, but they are mildly obtrusive when compared to other figures. His long limbs also help aid him reaching those hard to reach places.
Another area I thought he would have trouble with was stability. His skinny feet made me believe that he would have trouble standing on his own, such is not the case. While he can't hold all poses while standing, he can do quite a bit on his own two feet. So, balancing isn't as hard as you think. In any case, Arche is designed for Arial/space combat......so...
Gimmicks
Arche has one gimmick, which is prevalent in most of the innovator mechs of gundam 00, and that's an escape pod. It's a cool little feature to have, but also its biggest flaw. To remove the escape pod, you need to dethatch the top part of the chest chassis. You can then take off the backpack which is attached to the head (which is a part of the pod as well), and a with a small transformation, you make the pod. It's no problem to do this, but that's the problem, it's too easy! After my first time removing the escape pod, I could never get it to stay on securely again, I almost wonder if it ever was on secure in the first place. Now, just about every time you touch any part of pod, it pops off with little effort. Its really annoying when trying to take my pictures. They really should of done a better job in this area.
Now for the pics, hopefully all that I have discussed can be seen in them!
