BANDAI SPIRITS' Collectors Division TAMASHII NATIONS' popular die-cast toy series "METAL BUILD", to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the light novel "Full Metal Panic!", recently unveiled the silhouette of a prototype for a commemorative product, with the full product expected to be revealed soon.
From the official silhouette, it is clearly the "ARX-8 Laevatein Final Battle Specification" equipped with the XL-3 Emergency Deployment Booster. This product was also exhibited as a physical prototype at the METAL BUILD 10th Anniversary Exhibition held in 2019, where it was presented in two versions: one for Arbalest and one for Laevatein. However, perhaps due to the poor reception of the fourth season of the "Full Metal Panic!" anime and the lack of a corresponding boost in toy sales, it was delayed until the 25th anniversary four years later to finally be commercialized under the guise of a commemorative item.
The design of the XL-3 Emergency Deployment Booster was supervised by mechanical designer Kanetake Ebikawa, and its overall completeness is even higher than the version displayed at that time. However, upon closer inspection, the color scheme of this ARX-8 Laevatein is not the familiar red, but rather the same gray-white color scheme as the Arbalest. In addition to the booster being sold separately, a 25th-anniversary special edition that includes the Laevatein main unit and Kanetake Ebikawa's original armaments may also be released.
©Shoji Gatoh・Shiki Douji・Kanetake Ebikawa
via： 魂ネイションズ公式