By Christopher Troy
Better later than never right? After a few weeks of delays, I’m ready to complete my look at the OO Meister’s line for the time being with the 4th and final meister- Alleujah Haptism and his Gundam from Season 1 of Gundam OO the Arios!
Much like the Wing Gundam from….Gundam Wing, the Arios can transform into a plane for “Flight Mode”. FACT: Giant robots that transform into planes are generally awesome, despite how shitty the Michael Bay related movies may turn out. So a transforming Arios kit on the 1/100th scale should equal and instant win correct? Yes, in theory. However, much like those movies, once you see the product in action, the disappointment kicks in.
Even with the Cremsicle color scheme, I really like the design of the Arios, something I’ve pointed out with ever OO review. It’s a hybrid of a Gundam and something from Zone of the Enders-a Playstation 2 era Mecha game created by Kojima, father of the Metal Gear series. I think the GM beam shields on the shoulders is what does it for me,
Another plus with working with this kit is that it doesn’t shorthand you when it comes to accessories. You’ll get a GN Twim Beam Rifle with the Arios, as well as 2 GN Beam Sabers. While there’s nothing special to these weapons, aside from the hilts of the Sabers being able to clip into the Arios, it’s nice to have them regardless.
And although this review sounds pretty positive so far, this is when things get ugly. In theory, this should be an awesome kit right, afterall it’s a transforming Gundam, what’s not to like? However, several ideas that sound cool kind of fall apart in execution…
I’d hate to reuse the same image, but I need to so that I can properly point out 2 flaws. The front fin on the right leg of the Arios is a little bit lower, due to the fact that it does not slid into it’s respective peg properly. I had to rig a special hole using my tool kit to fit in there, which was bothersome. In addition, the head is not complete; there are 2 other yellow attachments that do not slide into their respected slots as well. I’m not as much of a perfectionist as some Gunpla enthusiasts are, but the fact remains that this is very annoying for someone who just wants a completed kit.
This photo may be a little odd, but it will make sense once I explain it. Apparently within both wrists of the Arios, there are hidden Sub machine guns. This is awesome, yes, except trying to expose them is a chore, and damn near impossible the pieces are pretty well shut together, so trying to lift the gauntlet doesn’t seem to work. Having a function like that fail is a pretty bad design flaw. and speaking of design flaws, attempting to transform the Arios is a nightmare.
This is supposed to be the front of the Arios in Flight mode. Note the lack of head in the first pic? Thing flew right the hell off once I lifted the beam shields, which is the only way it could stay like that. It’s also flimsy as hell in the position. Also the cockpit piece in the 2nd pic tends to fall off like crazy. We’re not off to a good start, especially when you notice how bad the arms are sticking out.
Suprisingly, getting the lower half to transform was a lot easier. I am okay with this.
Here are the final images of the Arios in flight mode, which dont look terrible, but certainly dont look great. Overall, I’m disappointed with the kit; I REALLY like the Gundam itself, but the finished product is pretty lame compared to what I was promised. A sour note to end my look at the OO line for the time being, hopefully the next kit I check out from the series will fair better.
