Good Smile Company and their Good Mecha Smile brand has been doing a great job of bringing exposure to otherwise more obscure mecha properties with their MODEROID line of model kits. Whether or not these kits sell is a different discussion, with some speculating that their large profit from Figma sales allow them to do these releases, but I digress. I just hope they’re able to continue such practice, as we don’t see other companies release kits from these series, like the ones from Granbelm.
I won’t get into the details of what Granbelm is about, but it’s bascially a magical girl / fantasy series that uses SD-proportioned mecha called Armanox. It’s in the same vein as Wataru or Granzort. As part of Mecha Smile Impact earlier this year, the two protagonist Armanox units were announced to get MODEROID kits, the While Lily and Voila Katze. With their solicitations now open, we can now have a better look at these two kits.
MODEROID White Lily
White Lily is the Armanox piloted by Mangetsu Kohinata, the main character. It’s a well balanced machine that the Blood Sword as primary weapon, and the kit also includes as seen below.
You may also notice that White Lily’s design has a lot of pink jewel parts, as typical of a more fantasy-themed series. The kit in turn uses translucent pink plastic for these parts, which adds more to the magical nature of these machines.
Despite the rather chibi proportions, the kit is still able to articulate well thanks to the ample placement of joints, though you may have to maneuver some parts a bit so that they won’t hit each other. In addition, the binder-like parts at the back can also open to reveal more translucent pink parts that I assume to be thrusters.
MODEROID White Lily
January 2023 / ¥5,000
Pre-order via HobbyLink Japan
MODEROID Viola Katze
Acting as secondary protagonist in the series is Shingetsu Ernesta Fukami who pilots Viola Katze as her primary Armanox unit. It’s mostly black with highlights of green, in contrast literally and thematically to the white and pink combination of White Lily. The design may have been based on a cat with the twin protrusions on top of its head and the markings on the face plate.
For weapons, Viola Katze has a pair of Blitz Nagel shotguns that can also be used as bayonets when the included clear green blade parts are attached. And you may have probably guessed that the design uses a lot of green accents, which are also done with the same clear plastic. Its other weapon is the Leuven Schwanz, a fancy name for its tail. It doesn’t appear to have that much articulation, though, outside of the attachment point at the back.
For defense, Viola Katze also utilizes an arrangement of armor panels connected to its shoulders. I’m not sure if these would have separate pink parts underneath but if not, I’d recommend painting them to achieve the same effect seen here.
MODEROID Viola Katze
January 2023 / ¥5,000
Pre-order via HobbyLink Japan
Having purchased both the HG Cho Ryujinmaru and MODEROID Granzort, I am inclined to get one of these Granbelm kits. Honestly, I prefer the Viola Katze’s design to the White Lily, but the latter is the main character so let’s see. Until then, if you’re interested in either or both kits, you can pre-order yours from HobbyLink Japan via the links above.
