B-Club Original Goods: Appleseed - Briareos-H 1/12 Scale, 1st Type

B-Club Briareos-H 1/12 Box Cover Copyrights Shirow, B-Club, Seishinsha B-Club Original Goods: Briareos-H Kit. 1/12 Scale, 1st Type. Produced by Bandai, 1987. Listed price: 4000 Yen. Currently out of production.

Bandai is popular as the makers of various Mecha and SF related Garage Kits and toys. In 1987, there is a big focus on one of the most popular Sci-Fi comic of the time, Shirow Masamune's Appleseed. Through B-Club, a set of Resin Garage Kits based on this acclaimed series were produced. Among the first in the line was a set of 1/12 scale kits and the most impressive one has got to be Briareos Hecatonchires. Other known kits include Deunan Knute, Hitomi, and Dr. Matthew. Briareos stands at 215cm, so the 1/12 scale kit would be about 20cm tall. In Bandai's B-Club Magazine #8, there is an interview with Sensei Shirow regarding the kits and Appleseed generally (all this was happening just before the release of Appleseed #3 in Japan) and from what I can deduce (not that I understand a word, but there is a clear indication), he is satisfied with the kits' quality. Briareos comes in several parts- the main body, the 'head', the set of ears and eyes, and lastly two version of arms- one a clutched fist and the other holding a machine gun. Indeed, this is a great kit and has become one of the most treasured items in my meager Shirow collection. Its a classic.