Good Evening guys!
If you've been following me on instagram or twitter, you'll know how awesome this kit I'm gonna review.
Does it even need an introduction? Well, probably, since not everyone who builds gunpla is familiar with the history or lore associated with it.
Long story short, this guy is the Grand Daddy Gundam, the white devil, the big kahuna, the one where most gundams in the UC timeline are based on.
Also, this is from Bandai's recent HG releases with the tagline "Revive" They pretty much do something every 5th and 10th anniversary of the series.
This marks Bandai's 35th anniversary in the industry and as usual they release kits to associate this feat. The Revive line, as the name implies, upgrades some kits to today's standards, majority of the kits I saw are from the original MSG and Zeta series then they jumped to Seed/Destiny for some reason.
Anyway, let's discuss more in the review!
Boxart:
From the boxart, you can already see how much overhauling they're doing with their old kits. They now have this beautifully drawn graphic to depict the MS.
It looks so modern like a clip from a Blu-Ray dvd or something haha! That goes for the images around the box as well. They literally "Revive" the old school MS.
Manual:
Not much has changed and that's a good thing because they still make them look like they're pieces of war machinery and not based on cartoons and such.
From the manual, you can probably tell how articulate this figure is. Oh yes, just wait for the posing segment haha!
Contents:
The A plate is usually the multi colored runner, it's usually where the important parts are.
Since it's a fairly simple MS, the entirety of the armor is in one runner.
And lastly, this runner has the joints and inner frames and usually weapons.
Yup, not much stickers and you guess it, they still use a sticker for the V in the crotch haha! I'm not surprised, it's a small piece. The RG did it but that's the RG... LOL.
Also, those beam sabers looks too long for me haha! Polycaps are the standard joint connectors.
Body Assembly:
New are joints for awesome poseability! Also, the ab crunch here bends fluidly. A bit of lining just to bring out some details.
Head Assembly:
The clear parts surprised me, it's like an MG assembly. It's nice if you want to paint the black lining to make it look like it has colored pipping. Also, they give you silver stickers to put behind the eyes to give it that metallic look.
You've guess it, I'm too lazy to paint the eyes hahaha!
Arm Assembly:
I love how those white circle parts are now separate pieces to have the inner frame poke out of them. The old kits usually have them molded together with the forearm armor.
It might not look like it but those arm joints are so tight and it feels like a Robot Damashii joint. Like it's not a model kit.
Also, take care when using Tamiyas Panel line accent color, don't put too much in the thin parts because they tend to crack the plastic. Always use with caution.
Waist Assembly:
So, it's my first time masking, I don't usually do it because I can hand paint this easily. Masking helps limit the paint spill but it kinda made it more difficult for me hahaha!
I actually redid the part 5 times, yes.. 5 times #notostickers In the end, it looks awesome!
Pretty basic assembly, closely follows old versions. only thing new is the hinge joint for the thigh connectors because it's enclosed in the main waist assembly unlike before where you plug it in separately. It's more secured.
Leg Assembly:
If you follow me on instagram, you'd probably seen this picture already. I just love the small details in this kit. It's a HG kit but it doesn't feel like an HG kit.
Again, those white circle parts for the joints are so cool. I wish they did it with the feet guards as well but that might be too much of a hassle haha!
Finally! He stands! From this part alone, I can already tell how amazing this kits silhouette is. From afar you can mistake it as a Robot Damashii Figure or MG kit because of its aesthetics. The MG 2.0 to be exact because of the lack of panel lines and sleek design.
Complete Body:
I'll discuss more about his details later with a comparison with the other releases.
Articulation:
Lots of nice bends, the side skirts kinda limit the leg spread but the articulation you can already achieve is pretty much enough.
This is a minor issue, the ankle can't pivot enough to do wide stances but honestly, does a gundam really need to do that? haha
Kneeling with ease, such a sight for sore eyes. It can do it effortlessly and it's so close to RG or MG standards. Same with the arms, thanks to that new shoulder connection, you can do more expressive movements.
There's the hing joint I mentioned. It's nice that's enclosed inside the waist frame to avoid accidental removals when posing. It's not much but it can in and out and it helps in posing.
Posing:
Here's where the fun begins :D Pardon the long segment hahaha! But trust me, it's really enjoyable! I do toy photography as well and my imagination just went wild with this kit hahaha! It really feels like a figure and not a model kit.
SHORYUKEN!
GUNDAM KICK!
Real men fight with fists.
Has nice balance :D
This bit never gets old haha! Oppa Gundam Style!
Jazz hands!
Strike a pose!
Hee Hee~ Aww!
KAAAAAA-MEEEEEE-HAAAA-MEEEEEEE
Any Ultraman fans here? Well, neither am I.
HENSHIN!
Party boy haha
Get ready for some Gundam-Fu.
Have a break, have a kit kat.
Dat Ass.
R.I.P. Lala Sune T_T
Still got the moves!
NAAAAAAAAARUUUUUUTOOOOOOOOOO!
Yeah, I'm really bored haha! The Matrix!
Uhhh.. I can't think of anymore captions.
That was fun right? So go buy yourself this kit now! which reminds me, I got this kit from http://wasabitoys.com/ They offer very nice prices for their kits! They also ship internationally!
Ok, back to business. *ahem*
Accessories:
Shield:
Yeaaaaah... I kinda forgot to take a pic of the built one but yeah, it nice that they changed the handle assembly. You'll see more of it in the comparison section.
As usual, you can store it on his back and tilt it slightly to the right because that's the cool side.
Rifle:
The standard beam rifle with the trigger finger hand. As I said before, the complete assembly of this kit doesn't feel like a kit but rather an RD figure.
Bazooka:
FINALLY! THE HANDLE MOVES! This was my complain in the previous releases. You don't know how happy I am when I arrived at this assembly section hahaha!
Miracles do happen.
Just like with previous releases, you can also store the bazooka at backskirts via clip attachment. It's about time they mold that clip in white. It was usually in grey.
I know the bazooka needs some white coloring but the manual doesn't have it painted so I'll stick with that haha!
Beam sabers:
Even the beam sabers have a MG assembly, they usually mold this as one piece. I guess I was right, the new beam effects are longer for some reason but luckily, the old versions can nicely fit in the pegs as well :D
Optional hands:
Looks like Bandai is really generous with this kit. 2 open palms! Finally! I've been asking this as well for a long time kit. It's not much but it greatly helps for dynamic poses.
Posing part 2:
With this level of poseability, it really feels like an actual figure! I didn't do dual wielding poses because that's kinda getting redundant haha!
Some basic sword and shield poses.
Aw yis, that handle hinge really makes it look more natural when placed over the shoulder and that kneeling pose, I can ever get tired of that haha!
I forgot doing the pose where dual wields the beam rifle, Thanks to those new shoulder joints, you can really do a lot of expressive poses!
Also, the shields handle hinge makes it look more natural when holding, only hassle is you need to disassemble the hand for it to grab it properly.
Lastly, you can store all of his equipment in the gundam which is cool because there are no extra pieces aside from the backskirts piece when using the bazooka storage clip.
How could I forget the Last shot pose. Damn, those shoulder bends look so natural! I can't praise it enough @_@ Seriously, that's progress!
We usually get over the top articulation in RG kits for the 1/144 scale but those are expensive to some people and HG kits are somewhat limiting.
But this! A simple HG doing MG poses with ease! Bandai has really come a long way. I really hope they update all their UC kits so people who can't afford the MG and RG can still enjoy the HG scales.
Comparisons:
2001 version full review here:
Ver. G30th full review here:
From left to right: 2001, Ver. G30th and Revive.
To make it short, 2001 has the blocky appearance, wide parts and looks really stiff. Ver G30th and Revive are somewhat close in terms of aesthetics. 2001 colors are a bit darker than the actual show.
Ver. G30th is just loaded with panel lines and the head looks a bit small now that I noticed it. He also has the brightest color scheme, if you can look past my weathering XD
Revive, from what I can tell, took Ver. G30th proportions except for the head and less panel lines giving it a more sleek design.
Revives color scheme is also close to the animation in my opinion. Revives assembly still follows the usual RX-78-2 build but with updated joints and semi-inner frames. This release is pretty much the best version in 1/144 Scale.
What about the RG? Well, the RG was amazing when it first came out because it's a kit with a full inner frame. I was never a fan of the RG line because I would rather get an MG kit for visual appeal.
RG is very innovative don't get me wrong, but too much moving parts in a small scale tends to be frustrating, sure the RG Zeta Gundam can fully transform but if those small parts aren't handled with care, good bye transformation.
The recent RG releases are better compared to first few releases. Anyway, this kit can pretty much go toe to toe with the RG counterpart. It's more solid and the poseability is really fun!
Top to bottom: 2001, Ver. G30th and Revive. Ver. G30th has nice molded details since it's based on the 1:1 statue.
Left to right: Revive, Ver. G30th and 2001. Each release has a different attachment. The 2001 can be annoying to attach sometimes because the handle is so hard to position naturally in the hands and it tends to knock the hand cover off.
Ver. G30th however uses a flat peg attachment in the form making it fixed in position. However, you flip it to reveal a normal round peg to be able to store it in the shield. Also, there's no handle. I find this the weirdest attachment out of the three because it doesn't look natural when equipped
Revive pretty much nailed the correct design. Rotating peg and movable handle, best solution ever. He can now hold it properly and it looks natural because the handle can move.
Lastly, 2001 shield looks small and compact.
Top to bottom: 2001, Ver. G30th and Revive. I dunno why 2001 has smaller weapons haha! But as I said in the previous part, Revive pretty much has the same mold as Ver. G30th but better. Bazooka now has a movable handle and the beam rifle looks proportionate to the gundam now.
Yup, I have a lot of MG kits I haven't shown yet hahaha! But yeah, here he is with my MG kits just so you have an idea with size comparisons.
I have yet to make reviews of MG F91, MG and HG Chars Zaku II, MG RX-178 MKII Titans colors and MG Alex Gundam. But the other kits in the pic have existing reviews already so do search them in my blog if they interest you.
Yup, that's the HG 1/144 Psycho Gundams elbow in the upper right corner hahaha! His review is also available already! Check it out here:
Conclusion:
Details 10/10:
Despite the kits simplistic design, it's still eye catching. That traditional lead gundam colors is enough to get your attention. The amount of panel lines is just right for me, overdoing it might ruin the kit.
It's not much but the white circles attached to the elbows and legs really look awesome and has a sense of depth to them unlike the usual molded details in the previous kits. It doesn't really need exaggerated details because the Universal century is like the most realistic timeline.
They don't focus on bright color schemes and complex details but rather the feel of being pieces of war machinery. Most UC kits have basic colors and solid parts and not much on lining.
Accessories 10/10:
They pretty much corrected all the issues in previous kits. The gundam hammer and beam javelin are bonuses in a hobby magazine, forgot which one though.
But yeah, the accessories you get OOTB is enough and with the kits price, you're getting more than you paid for. It's nice that the beam sabers are compatible with the old beam effect parts.
The missing core fighter is not much of a big deal to me but it would be nice if they did include it. If they do include it, maybe it can transform haha! But that would really slap the RG in the face.
Also, the open palms are a nice inclusion. They should give them out more frequently. These optional hand parts are perfect for dynamic poses and expressive gestures. As you can see in my posing segment, I had way too much fun in posing XD
Articulation 10/10:
Hmmm... I don't know what else to say because the pictures pretty much explains it all hahaha! But seriously, the changes they did with this kit made it my benchmark for HG kits. I love how all the joints and connections all feel secure like an actual figure.
The amount of poseability you get is just amazing! I hope they use these joints in the upcoming kits. My favorite has to be the new shoulder joints, its just dazzling to see an HG kit move like that and it still maintains the natural look and not the dislocated look some kits tend to have.
Of course the kneeling pose is also a worthy mention. I though the Victory Gundam was nice but this kit really increased my benchmark for HG poseability.
I know it's not possible with some kits due to their designs but for them to achieve such an immersive kit, I applaud Bandai for this. I hope they keep improving their HG line since most of the characters gets released in that line anyways.
It's a minor issue but I wished the feet had more pivot in them but then again, a Gundam doesn't really do those kinds of poses haha So I'll let it be XD
Parts 9/10:
I love how majority is molded in color and I can forgive the V in the crotch because it's not worth it to have that as a separate piece. Besides, if you loose that part, you're doomed. Hand painting is your friend with HG kits haha!
My major complaint is the seam line visibility, although some are nicely hidden and incorporated as part of a panel line some just tend to stick out.
The forearms were almost perfect because the seam line was nicely hidden in an armor design but if you move the hands a lot, it tends to push it out revealing it slightly. It's not obvious from afar but up close it just eats you up haha!
Same goes with the back part of the legs. It's fine until you insert the thigh joint, same with the forearms, then you push the joint in, it tends to split them apart. I wanted to apply Tamiya cement in it but I let it be since it's the back side.
Set aside those gripes, you have one fun assembly ahead of you! Some sections feels like an MG assembly which made the overall build interesting.
Verdict 10/10:
Despite the minor gripes, this kit blew my mind because it can evenly match with the RG and MG counterparts. The changes they did really "Revived" this line. It's mostly minor articulation and assembly changes but its those subtle things greatly impacts it as a whole.
It's an overall fun build, the only reason it took me a long time finish a such a simple build because I spent too much time admiring the details in the parts and how each joint moves.
If you're new into the hobby, sooner or later you're gonna pick up the Grand Daddy Gundam despite how linear you collection is.
He is a reminder on how this hobby wouldn't possible without him. What I'm saying is, you might not like his design initially because compared to other MS, he's pretty lanky and simple.
As time goes by, you'll slowly appreciate this old timer because it's the face of Gundam. It might take a while but I'm pretty sure you're gonna get one someday hahaha!
This kit is perfect for beginners because it's not overwhelming to build and if this doesn't excite you then maybe building model kits isn't really for you.
To summarize, this kid really gives me a sense of nostalgia because I own older versions of the kit and being able to compare it side by side is fun because you get to see the progress of the company in making their product.
Cheers to Bandai, keep making awesome kits!
I hope you like the review!
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