Witch From Mercury Model Kits

Gunpla Build - High Grade Desultor 2025-05-02

Okay, so I just built a Witch from Mercury model, and it was a dud. So what better way to wash the taste out of my mouth than by rolling the dice and building another Witch from Mercury model that may or may not have similar flaws?

This is the Desultor, yet another Premium Bandai GWitch release that a lot of people wish wasn’t Premium Bandai.

Spoiler Preface!!!

This post contains some massive spoilers from the middle of Witch From Mercury. You may want to skip it if you haven’t watched the show.

Gunpla Build - High Grade Gundam Schwarzette (Photos) 2025-05-01

I hate to say it, but this is my first real dud build of 2025.

(Also, apparently I didn’t adjust my camera settings properly for the black background, so some of the photos are going to be blurry. I’m not going back to redo them though!)

Spoiler Preface!!!

I recreated some scenes from With From Mercury that most folks would consider spoilery.

Gunpla Build - High Grade Gundam Schwarzette (Build) 2025-04-30

I know what you’re thinking - “Did they really fit this entire model onto just three (well, three and a tiny extra) runners?”

Yes, yes they did.

And maybe you’re thinking “I’m not sure if that’s impressive, or if that’s actually a bad sign for this build“

To which I would say - kinda both. Normally I’d say that the number of runners isn’t really indicative of a build’s quality, as there are all sorts of reasons why a given kit may or may not have a lot of them. But in this case I think it is a bad omen. I’m just going to cut to the chase - I don’t think this is a good model. And as we walk through the build, hopefully you’ll understand my reasoning.

Gunpla Build - High Grade Gundam Schwarzette 2025-04-28

It is my goal to collect all of the mobile suits manufactured by Jeturk Heavy Machinery, and after ordering (and receiving) the Premium Bandai Desultor, I thought I was done. But during a trip to the local hobby store, I realized that I was missing one …

Yes, yes, I know what you may be thinking - “how in the world could you almost forgot about the Gundam Schwarzette?!?!?”

Now in my defense, it’s been a while since I watched Witch from Mercury. And it’s true that despite how cool it is, the mobile suit doesn’t get all that much screen time. AND it’s true I haven’t seen it on store shelves in a long while. So it’s not exactly been on the forefront of my mind.

But still, how could I almost forgot it?!?! I’m ashamed of myself!

Spoiler Preface!!!

This post contains some major spoilers from VERY late in Witch from Mercury. You may want to skip it if you haven’t watched the show.

Gunpla Build - High Grade Gundam Aerial (Photos) 2024-09-16

One of the things I love about this hobby is that sometimes it can change my opinion of a mobile suit for the better. Perhaps the most notable example of this is when I built all of the modern High Grade/Real Grade Gundam Wing kits, which finally made me a fan of those designs after all these decades.

And it’s happened once again with Aerial. I never really disliked her design, but I also didn’t care much for it either. But all that’s changed now.

Gunpla Build - High Grade Gundam Aerial (Build) 2024-09-15

By my eye, this kit looks like it has slightly fewer parts than Lfrith (look here if you want to compare for yourself), despite the two mobile suits being so similar:

But I don’t really think this tells us anything about Aerial’s complexity (or lack thereof) in comparison. Lfrith has a much bigger backpack, and despite being less visually complex, its shield is made out of more parts. These two things seem to account for most Lfrith’s extra plastic.

Now let’s dive right into the build …