Post by mechamasterj on Mar 4, 2010 0:48:10 GMT -5
Here are Robot Damashii M9 Units Gernsback and M9E. They are the supporting mechs in FMP. Very similar to arbalest but lack the lambda drive. This particular Grensback (while a standard issued AS) is primarily used for sniping since his pilot is a sniper (duhh) the other M9 (M9E) is the upgraded version and is piloted by Melissa Mao, and is used for closer ranged combat.
I was fairly disappointed by the first RD Arbalest, but looks like Bandai made some improvements with the next batch it would seem (i no longer have the arbalest to compare unfortunately).
Detail
I remember the Arbalest looking very cheap, well it may have been due to its white color but these guys are look a lot better, even have some minor panel lining. Other than that, they pretty much represent their anime counterparts accurately. Also, the only difference between the two figures are the heads and that's it!
Armaments
Got quite a bit here and the fact that they can interchange weapons makes having them both a plus! So Gernsback comes with sniper rifle and one long range rifle. He also comes with a nifty carrying case for the sniper rifle. M9E has a machine gun, rocket launcher, and short sword with sheath!
The sword is nicely detailed and fits right into the sheath, however, the guns look a little on the cheap side. Added bonus, clips from all weapons can be removed and stored on the back of each figure.
This time around we get two sets of each hand and not just one hand to hold weapons!
Articulation
Vast improvements here! Or at least it feels like it. However the one improvement I know that arbalest doesn't have is this!
Front skirt armor opens up to allow for wider range of motion where the legs are concerned, so now they can do things like this.
Arbalest couldn't do this, second, they attached the side skirts more securely, or shrunk them because they don't go popping off every time you move the legs to the side like arbby did. It also allows for wider stances which means more dynamic poses.
Other then that the figure is Tight! holds all weapons well, holds poses superbly while maintaining ease of motion. Bandai did an awesome job with these guys. I wish they revamped arbalest to meet these guys level of quality.
Now for my usually gambit of pictures!!
*Note* I thought the weapons looked weak so my son had some of those cheap GI joe knock offs (from target) and surprisingly enough they have cooler weapons that fit!!..... On with it!
If you like FMP or love Arm Slaves, you need to get these yo!!