Good Afternoon guys!
A very hot afternoon here in the Philippines and despite the blazing glare of the sun, I still managed to make this post.
One electric fan isn't enough to lessen the rooms humidity... Well, what to do.
Anyway! What I have for you today is one of the first MS Gundam to ever have a transforming mechanism. Designed by Kamille Bidan (Yes, that's a mans name.) using an old Gundam RX-179 MK.II as his base frame.
Kamille is very talented individual for his young age both in written and practical aspects. He's also Newtype, a rare type of individual with heightened senses compared to an ordinary human being. A Newtype is basically the next step in human evolution and often occurs in beings living in space.
Let's get on with the review!
Box art:
I love the UC line. They have very simple box arts that makes them very uniform and nice to look at. It doesn't look kiddy, it actually looks like an actual model kit packaging.
The usual gimmicks and info around the box.
Manual:
As I said, this line has very simplistic designs even in the manuals but it gives you the feel of holding the blueprints of the kit.
Front page shows the Zeta along with its basic information and some poses and color guide at the last page.
This kit only has 5 runners and a set of polycaps. Last page shows a colored segment and some are promo images from the show.
Parts:
It's an old kit so it's mostly pegs and ball joints but it's more than meets the eye. You can probably tell that this won't be fully transformable and will resort to parts-forming.
Most of the parts are molded in color except for the tiny yellow throughout the body. Although some small parts like the red in the forearms, red crest of the V-fin, big yellow vents in lower leg and thrusters in the back skirt are all molded separately in color.
Complete assembly:
I built this kit prior to this blogs creation, it's one of my oldest kits in my collection. Here's a pic of him OOTB using stickers and some minimal detailing with panel lines and yellow paint.
My old self always rush builds so I can move on to the next kit. Since I got into weathering, I planned to revisit all my previous kits and retouch them in anyway I can. Weathering will likely follow as well haha! It makes them look more realistic and made of metal rather than that plastic toy look.
Here he is now after I cleaned him up of nubs and weathered to an extent. It's hard for to imagine how an MS who stay in space all the time should be weathered since there aren't too much dirt there to make him dirty.
I added some subtle weathering here and there, mostly dry brushing and some paint chipping which I'm still trying my best to make it look more natural.
Details:
A close up showing the dry brushing and paint chipping effect I did. It's still pretty basic looking and I'm gonna try more styles to level up my ante.
I left the eye stickers and head cameras as is because the metallic look blends well with the kit. Most of the yellow trims are hand painted, they give you stickers but it tends to peel off over time. The red in the wings are all hand painted. The inner wings are molded in red which is the opposite of what they did with the main wings. I painted it in gray to match the wings theme.
I also painted that gray section in the feet and the black in the leg thrusters.
Articulation:
I propped him up an action base to show the extent of its articulation range. From the pic earlier, it's kinda obvious already how the will move.
The wings will most likely get in the way if you want to move arms and legs backwards. The middle part can move outward and bend up and down while the wings can rotate in their place. The wings can be extended and the small wings can be pulled out as well.
The head can move side to side but not 360 because the chin hits the sides of the neck. The arms can bend 90 deg and the hands can extend a little outward for hold certain weapons with ease. The front skirts are molded in piece and the skirts can move side to side with ease.
The vents in the shoulders can move outward as well if needed.
The legs have a few moving parts in them most likely for the transformation. The legs can bend 90 deg at most and can go sidewards until the ball joint pops off.
The front and back panel in the lower leg can move independently as well for added posing. The feet can fold inward for the transformation.
For an HG kit, it's more than the usual but it's mostly for the transformation anyway.
Accessories:
It's a pretty decent loadout, I didn't expect the hyper mega launcher to be included in this kit. You will also get Bandai's infamous white toothpick.
It's ok for older kits but people expect to have this molded separately in color because it's the only beam saber you get in this kit.
Hyper mega launcher:
This will mainly come in all blue so the piping and butt are painted gray while the nozzle and landing sleds are all separate pieces.
I has opening panels to reveal the handles and it extends also when in use.
Beam rifle:
It's two parts, each with two pieces you slap together with a moving handle. It can extend a bit and that's pretty much it. Since there are no beam effect parts, you cam't replicated Kamilles style where he wields it like a bayonet in some situations. I was really looking forward to that but oh well.
The yellow trims and scope are painted. I was surprised the scope didn't get a sticker. I also wished that peg at back can bend because it get in the way when being held.
Shield:
Again, two pieces you just connect together. I painted the yellow trim as well. One of the most unique looking shields I've ever seen.
Posing:
The old HGUC kits doesn't have peg holes yet and these adapters for the stand doesn't really hold them because they still wiggle a lot and doesn't stay in place.
Bandai: "Deal with it."
Because of that peg at rifles butt, you need to angle the rifle most of the time to lay it flat.
This kit only comes with two holding hands so just make do with them. D:
A minor detail omitted but it should be there. We need missiles!
You see that peg getting in the way?
The SHF stand is better for poses like this,
Just like his mentor, he learned to kick a lot.
My favorite pose! Simple but epic.
This is the hardest weapon to hold because oh how limited the reach of the arms are but its possible. I remove the shield first because it's hard to connect to the left hand. I put it back once everything is in place.
The pictures in the box make it look more natural and easy. This always take me a while to prop up because the arms and hands really need to go to a certain angle and it's always that angle to pose it properly.
Once in place it's kinda solid.
Zeta Gundam is one of the first MS to showcase an alt mode. Waverider mode in Zeta Gundam's case. It's a mode where they resemble an aircraft focusing on faster mobility and limited fighting capabilities
Transformation:
It's obviously a parts former but it's better that way because it will be more solid and stable. On the left side, you will see all the left over parts in this mode.
You get this pseudo body to act as the main frame of the waverider mode.
You just connect majority of the parts while the legs need a bit of transforming before connecting them.
Remove panel covering the boosters and just bend in the knees. The piping will automatically move in place for you then just position the cover a slightly higher to reveal the boosters. Lastly, just fold in the feet.
Too bad there's no way to prop this up an action base but here it is with all of its weapons. The Launcher can act as a stand I guess.
In this mode, everything is secured in place thanks to that base frame.
Let's bring out his mentor, Quatro Bajeena A.K.A *Spoilers* Char Aznable.
There he is, the man whose MS also wears shades like him.
Comparions:
You can really tell that they're from the same timeline. The Hyaku Shiki is an complete MS because the transforming gimmick wasn't completed yet but Char still manages to fight efficiently with it.
They almost stand the same height but the Zeta shows more bulk because of the wings and his overall design.
Click here to see more details of the HGUC 1/144 Hyaku Shiki:
Here he is next to his successor, the ZZ gundam piloted by Judau Ashta ( I keep forgetting how to spell his name.)
You can really tell the difference between the two mechs. ZZ seems to be pumping a lot of protein whey. It still retains the color scheme though.
I'm on the process of giving the ZZ Gundam a touch up before I make a review of him so stay tuned!
A comparison won't be complete without the RX-78-2 familiy, LOL!.
As the time progresses in the UC era, the MS also get bigger, you can clearly see their height differences.
I also included the MG and SD scale to give you a visual comparison if ever you're wondering.
Click here for the HGUC 1/144 RX-78-2 Gundam Review:
Click here for the MG 1/100 1/144 RX-78-2 Gundam Review:
https://gunmod88.blogspot.com/2017/10/gundam-review-mg-1100-rx-78-2-gundam.html
Click here for the SD 1/144 RX-78-2 Gundam Review:
https://gunmod88.blogspot.com/2012/03/sd-rx-78-2-gundam-review.html
https://gunmod88.blogspot.com/2017/10/gundam-review-mg-1100-rx-78-2-gundam.html
Click here for the SD 1/144 RX-78-2 Gundam Review:
https://gunmod88.blogspot.com/2012/03/sd-rx-78-2-gundam-review.html
And the last comparison, an MS I'm sure most of you are looking for:
The HGUC Psycho Gundam. One of the iconic mobile armors in Gundam history. Piloted by Kamilles love interest in the show, Four. Love really moves in mysterious ways.
The Psycho Gundam really towers over most suits and has a menacing look depsite it's simple design.
Check out his awesome review here:
Conlusion:
Details 9/10:
This kit excels in this department a lot. Most tiny details are subjected to painting but they give you stickers for them.
There's a yellow trim in the majority of the kit and it's up to you if you want to bring those details out but for me, they help enhance the visual appearance dramatically.
Some minor details were missing though like the missile pods in the shield and the opening sideskirts for the beam sabers but it's forgiven cnosidering that it is a small kit after all. Although the RG line managed to deliver in that department.
Articulation 9/10:
It was good for the most part but the arms just feel a little too limited for me because it's quite a chore to pose him with the Hyper mega launcher but other than that most of the motion ranges are acceptable.
The wings tend to get in the way at times but they have enough articulation to move to certain angles to be out of the way.
I was surprised how articulated the legs are. Set aside the transformation gimmick, the legs can move and pose nicely especially the added movement for the panels in the lower leg.
The Zeta is meant to fly so posing him ground poses looks very awkward and unnatural.. Maybe that's why he looks weird standing up.
Over time, the knee joints tend to get loose, maybe because I transform it a lot in the past year, LOL! but it still holds up most of the time.
Accessories 7/10:
Beam sabers. I still don't understand why they have to give that molded with the hand. Honestly, it's ok if they just give an unpainted stick but having it molded with the hand? It's kinda annoying. It's present in most SEED/Destiny kits as well that's why I tend to avoid those kits haha!
Anyway, since there are no beam effect parts, you can't replicate Kamilles bayonet combo which he does a lot in the show. For something he does a lot in the show, they didn't think of including it with the kit. I also wished that the peg connector in the beam rifle can be hidden because it really gets in the way in posing sometimes.
Also, there's no way of displaying the waverider mode in mid air so you're limited to ground parking. LOL.
That's where MG kits come in, they correct all the shortcomings in smaller scales but this kit is still one of the best in HG 1/144 scale and doesn't really make me feel obligated to get the MG any time soon.
Parts 10/10:
Majority of the parts are molded separately in color leaving the tiny details to painting which is manageable. There are stickers but small stickers like that tend to peel off a lot when posing the kit a lot. Thrusters in back skirts and leg thrusters are molded separately which I find amazing.
Probably because of how the Zeta Gundam was designed, the wings tend to get in the way at times. This kit is a parts former which is a good thing, it avoids complex transformation gimmicks that tends to break small parts and loose parts.
That base frame for the transformation really holds everything in place making him nice to look at, although it looks a bit thin. It's a hassle but it keeps the kit stable and safe from part breakages.
Seam lines are very minimal because the assembly is really well thought of like in the legs for instance, have a semi inner frame wherein you place the armor pieces like panels around the leg avoiding the usual slapping two pieces with polycaps in the middle.
The body also avoid seam lines because the upper armor is removable for the transformation. The only evident seam lines are probably in the wings because those are big pieces sandwiched together.
Verdict 9/10:
Solid kit overall, if you get past the parts forming gimmick, it's pretty awesome. Only thing that bothered me honestly is the beam toothpick because you won't get beam effects parts as well and the lack of stand connectors to prop him up since he's an MS mostly fighting in space.
It really captures the Zeta Gundams overall silhouette and appearance in the show, proportions are spot on. You get the Hyper mega launcher which is a big plus if you can get around finicky posing haha!
As a fan of the UC timeline, this kit is a must have for me, I got this kit when RG kits weren't invented yet and the MG scales is still too expensive for me at the time.
Now that I've revisited this kit, it still justifies how amazing the build is despite its age and I can honestly say it can match the MG in certain aspects.
MG ktis are there to address the limitations of HG kits but if you're wondering if this kit is still worth it, then my answer would still be yes. Bandai did a lot of great things in the HGUC line and I hope they continue to innovate more.
I know the kit already got a re-release in the "Revive" line where they update old UC kits like this. Honestly, I still choose this one over the Revive version mainly because of the transformation gimmick. The revive is close to the MG but I find this version more solid and practical.
I hope you like the review!
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Stay tuned for more reviews and updates!
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