"Think tanks are robotic weapons platforms that make use of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their abilities. In the Japanese version, they are officially referred to as "multi-legged tanks" (多脚戦車 Takyakusensha), but they are more commonly referred to as "think tanks" (思考戦車 Shinku, the kanji are read as "Think" rather than Shikōsensha). The most prominent think tanks are those used by Section 9 in its various incarnations, including the Fuchikoma (フチコマ^?, original manga), Tachikoma (タチコマ, Stand Alone Complex), Uchikoma (ウチコマ^?, Solid State Society), and Logicoma (ロジコマ Rojikoma, Arise). Section 9's think tanks are spider-like in appearance, having four walking legs, a pair of front-mounted manipulators, and a segmented body.

Ghost in the Shell: Arise (Japanese: 攻殻機動隊ARISE -GHOST IN THE SHELL- Hepburn: Kōkaku Kidōtai ARISE -GHOST IN THE SHELL-^?) is a four-part OVA series that serves as a re-imagining of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell. The four-part series features new character designs and is directed by Kazuchika Kise, screenplay by Tow Ubukata, and music by Cornelius."

Arise is what you'd consider to be a prequel to the GITS franchise and so we see the origins of how the cast of characters comes to be part of Section 9. It also introduces a new think tank to the series, the Logicoma. This vehicle does not have the personnel pod at the back of it and is considerably more angular than the vehicles in the earlier series. Though I am relatively new to the series, I have found it to be immensely entertaining, not only having a lot of action, but also one that is able to include social subjects that are very much part of modern times, something most science-fiction happens to be very good at portraying. If you would like to know more about the GITS series, a google will provide your links to places where you can watch it free of charge.   

Once I saw that the first two episodes of Arise were available in blu-ray, I picked up the set and there was introduced to the Logicoma. I then started hunting on line for a kit. One thing about kits produced in conjunction with anime series is that they can often become either unobtainable or very expensive in a short time. Such was what I discovered when looking for the two kits produced on the release of Sky Crawlers.

I found a single kit of the Logicoma released by Kotobukiya, a company that is new to me. Opening the box, I discovered that the kit is as well molded as any other modern Japanese kit. It is composed of several sprues of red, medium grey and black plastic with a small white sprue for the visual sensor. Three figures in tan are also included, these being the Motoko Kusanagi, the main character, Diasuke Aramake, the head of Section 9 and one of the intriguing androids known as 'Land Mines". A couple of sets of vinyl joints of various shapes are also includes so that the arms and legs will be mobile. Lastly there are some polycaps for the wheels and a section of vinyl tubing.

The molding is excellent and it very much appears that, like most Gundam type robot kits, this one will go together quite easily. It appears to be nearly a snap fit, but as I discovered when doing the Tachicoma a while back, it will benefit from seam filling and a lot of thought as to just how to assemble and paint the kit.

While the kit's assembly instructions are excellent, I found that one has to deviate somewhat from the sequence shown in order to be able to paint bits prior to assembly. All of the color information is via Gunze paints. I should also mention that just about anything written is in Japanese as this sort of thing is very much built for the home market. The painting guide is nice and large, indicating that most of the parts are to remain in the color of the plastic with only some detail painting. Those with the DVD/Blu-Ray will want to pay attention to the parts where the Logicoma is included to see if there is any deviation in colors from the movie.  

Typical of modern Japanese sci-fi/fantasy figures, this one is pretty much a snap kit. The parts are a very tight fit and everything that can move is designed to do so. Thanks to the kit being molded in color, those who don't care about the niceties of model building can probably have this one done in about an hour or so. However, if you are a 'real' modeler, you won't stand for bare plastic and extant mold seams. This will significantly increase the build time.

First thing to know is that if you plan on taking care of mold seams and sprue pips, you'll need to prepaint all of the parts. I started by painting all the sprues with either red or various metallic colors. Tamiya red  and various Alclad II shades were used here. One place I did not properly paint the parts the general color of the sprues were the interior 'struts' for the legs. Hindsight says that I should have.

The added paint multiplies the effort it takes to join most of the parts. Indeed, I had to use a pair of flat nose pliers for most of the parts. It helps to use some glue as a lubricant for these bits.

I did start with the center section and here there are some options. Basically it is limited to single or triple launchers on the back. The center hatch can be opened, but there isn't anything really important to see so I left mine closed. The white forward sensor needs to be installed fairly early and I found I needed to mask this.

With most of that done, I turned to the legs. These are fully articulate, though if you extend them, you will chip paint, which is a bit of a bummer. They are handed so it is wise to do one at a time and then install them. Thanks to all the ball and socket joins, some of which are looser than others, the number of poses is pretty much infinite. This also provides a bit of an issue when getting things aligned. I found out from the Tachicoma, which is a similar design, that you will have to be ultra-careful if entering these in a contest as judges will assume you screwed up on the alignment.

There are two options for the front 'arms'. One is as on the box top with them folded in place. The other set is extended. It was the attachment point of one of these that I had the most issue. It simply did not want to stay in place even after gluing. I chose to attach the extended arms to somewhat match the Tachicoma I have. Once it was all built, I painted the bolt detail with a paint pen.

CONCLUSIONS

This is a kit that pretty much anyone who can follow instructions can build out of the box. It becomes a challenge if you want to paint it. Most modelers who like this sort of thing will be used to these kits and those who build Gundam and other robots will be right at home. The only thing that was a disappointment to me is that it is not 1/24 scale like the Tachcoma. At 1/35 is is noticeably smaller.

REFERENCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Ghost_in_the_Shell

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shell:_Arise

3 August 2018