Spartan Metaize Custom

Macross Spartan Metalize Custom 1/100 Arii

For my Part 1 review of the 1/100 Arii Destroid Defender Click Here.
For my Part 2 review of the 1/100 Imai Missile Phalanx Click Here.
For my Part 3 review of the 1/100 Imai Attack Tomahawk Click Here.
For my Part 4 review of the 1/100 Arii Spartan Click Here.
For my Part 5 review of the 1/100 Arii Spartan Metalize Custom Click Here.

What does one do if you are modeler and it is a lazy raining weekend? You cannot go out to the garage and break out the airbrush as it is too cold to paint as the paint usually acts oddly in extreme weather. Being stuck in the house, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to finish a certain model kit I started back in the 1980s in the warm comfort of my home.

Arii’s 1/100 Spartan Metalize Custom was an entry into the Arii’s chromed coated versions of a handful of their Macross model kits which included VF-1 Fighter, Gerwalk, Battloid, Spartan and Destroid Defender. While a great gimmick, it proved to have some finishing issues in practice.

Arii’s 1/100 Spartan Metalize Custom comes boxed: 1x Instruction sheet, 1x decal sheet, 3x blue chromed sprue, 1x stand. I will not go into the many build issues with this kit in this review as I plan to go over those problems in the CDX review of the standard Spartan kit at a later date.

I have never been to particular happy with the box art and design of these Metalize Custom kit boxes, but the Spartan picture has a better composition than the others making it the best box art of the series.

I bought this kit back in the 1980s, most likely at the long-defunct The Hobby Hut in Upland, California for $5.00. Although I started it back in the 1980s, I never really finished it, the kit sitting half unfinished for 20 years until Macross Con 2010 inspired me to break it out and finish it on a rainy weekend.

The main issue with these Metalize Custom kits is that one is unable to fill in the seams on the kit because the unique blued chromed finish cannot be duplicated after the seams are filled. The modeler is left having to leave the seams unfixed, which gives the Spartan more of a toy feel to it. Sure you can strip the parts with oven cleaner and refinish it with Alclad or Metalizer but that would defeat the purpose of having the kit molded in chrome in the first place.

The only real building issues one has with assembling these kits is that you have to scrape the extra chrome off the edges of the parts to be glued with an X-acto blade. It is somewhat time-consuming but if you do not scrape the parts clean, the glue will not stick and bond the parts together. When I started the kit all those years ago, I never scraped the parts chrome edges off and the kit was easily taken apart as the parts were not bonded. I think that is why I gave up in the first place back in the 1980s. I gave up when all the parts kept falling apart every time I glued them together.

It took about three days to build the Spartan, as some parts need to dry before the second groups can be built around them. Otherwise, it was a fun and simple kit to build. The dark blued chrome finish looks great on the kit and it looks nice in the display case as good Macross filler.

If you are a Macross fan, Spartan Metalize Custom is worth picking up as it is a nice addition to the Macross collection as either a built kit or left unbuilt in the box. Spartan can still be purchased under $15.00 on Japanese auction making it a nice inexpensive vintage Macross purchase.

©2011 Article and pictures by Leonardo Flores and CollectionDX