Sunday, June 20, 2010

Armored Core : Mirage AC01-GAEA [Custom Paint]

"Here kitty kitty~"

Hi folks~ So this is going to be something like a review on the Armored Core model kit, Mirage AC01-GAEA, which is made by Kotobukiya. The reason why I said it's like a review is that I'd touch on some articulation stuff here and there. Not much though. This post is more like a complete update on my custom paint job. There are related posts like this, this and this as well.

So, let's begin~

Here's the box front cover art. A striking pose of the mecha and loads of labels plastered all over. It doesn't have a diorama background like burning buildings or ruins and stuff. But it's okay 'cos the mecha is that good-looking just by itself.


Let's open the box! And there's a nicely-painted assembled mecha standing in the box... ALREADY? Instead of a bunch of runners?? Haha, so as I said, this post is not really a review.


So, you'd most probably noticed that the mecha's primary color is green instead of the tacky blue. That's the request of the commissioner. He wanted to have a military feel to it. And I felt that'd be more in-tune with the armored core game style as well.


Mirage AC01-GAEA is the poster boy for the game Armored Core: Last Raven. Hence, there's a wide array of weapons available for this model kit. And the weapons are:

1. FUNI [連動ミサイル]
(These are on the shoulders. I guessed it translated to Chain-shot Missile launcher)

2. MAGORAGA [超小型ミサイル]
(This one is on the right back, mini missile launcher)

3. CR-WB91LGL [リニアガン]
(On the left back is the railgun, I think... the japanese katakana is RINIA GAN, so you figure it out yourself)

4. CR-WR93RL [リニア・ライフル]
(The main weapon on the right hand, RINIA RAIFURU... Rail Rifle??)

5. WL-MOONLIGHT [レーザーブレード]
(The blade thing on the left arm. I think I got this one. it's Laser Blade [Reezaa bureedo])

"HQ, this is AC01. Core Initialized. System On. Ready to move out. Over."

This is some very impressive details done on the mecha by Kotobukiya. I'd just let the pictures do the talking. On the down side, there are a lot of mirco-mini parts just to assemble another micro-mini part. But I guess that's just part of the work to make this mecha looked this great. So, I'd recommend keeping all your parts in little pill boxes and keep your workdesk tidy, or you are bound to lose some pieces along the way.

Pilot: "Ore wa aamaa koo des..."
HQ: "Shut the fxxx up and get your ass working, soldier!"

The major letdown would be the finger articulation which is no articulation at all. You could swap some gundam hands over here with some moddings. Kotobukiya does provides you with a few hands to play around with. The hand with the gun is a single piece, meaning you don't slot the gun into the hand but you assemble 'em up.


Mecha is marching out of base...






Armored Core model can't really pose much. But I think that's okay 'cos the mechas in the game don't have much flexibility too. So, it's pretty accurate to the actual mecha, in that sense. lol.

"Damn wires on the floor."

"Whacha lookin' at, punk?"

"Eat this~"

"Finally made it to the gate~ Let's rock and roll!"

I played around with some photoshopping here, newbie here~

"Your country needs you! Sign up now at ac-pilot-sign-up.gov now!"

"Come on, ladies~ CHARGGGGGGE~"

AC Pilot: "Optimus Prime said meet up at the Pyramid... Where are they?"
Prime: "Dude, you're at the wrong pyramid..."
Background noise: *Devastator's metal balls knocking at each other*

Final words... so I'd say it's a very spectacular model despite some articulation limitations. But if you should ever get an Armored Core mecha, this is the one to have. It captures all the essentials of an Armored Core mecha. Not even the White Glint tops it. Just my opinion.

So, thanks for looking~ 'till next time~

5 comments:

  1. Haha not too sure though, still prefer the white glint probably because of its winged arms :P Its not easy doing a AC kit! But I love what you did with the dry brush effect using all the various metallic colors ^^.

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  2. Thank you for the kind words. I got the White Glint too! Yep, AC kit makes you wanna pull your hair at times! Haha!

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  3. great stuff! :D i recently got an armor core too (crest light version, the cheapest!) and i'm trying to figure out where to get started with it. i like what you've done with this one and now i'm tempted to try this out :)

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  4. Sweet! You should try it! All the crest types looked their best with some wear and tear.

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  5. Rinia is linear - linear gun, linear rifle. Also, great job.

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