Arms
Gundam-type mobile suits tend to have fairly simple, blocky arms, and none are simpler and blockier than the original.
Once again, we get a partial inner frame to decorate:
And once again, said inner frame offers some great bend:
But when you put it all together, the result is fairly plain.
You don’t even get any sort of decals for the shoulder armor. While that does make sense - this is meant to resemble the TV show look after all - it also makes it all the more important to add some amount of detailing. The panel lining, coupled with the gold in the joints, give the arm much needed depth and definition.
Hyper Bazooka
Let’s just get this out of the way - I screwed up painting the weapons. I poured the paint into a palette well that already had old, dried paint in it, and it mixed in. This caused the paint to get extra thick and goopy - when it dried, it looked extra crusty:
I’m not proud of it, but I also can’t do anything about it. Any attempt to strip the paint - or paint on top of it - will only make it worse.
At least the black sections look great!
One thing I am proud of is painting the missiles in the back:
It adds a bit of color, and helps bring some of the built-in details to life.
Beam Rifle
The same thing happened with the Beam Rifle (I used the same batch of paint for both), though it is a bit less noticeable.
There are also extra details that (hopefully) draw the attention of one’s eye.
I quite like that the yellow scope is made of plastic, rather than a decal. It looks very sharp with some panel lining.
Hands
I didn’t get a photo of them all, but the kit comes with five different hands:
- Two open palm hands
- Two closed fist hands (which can grip weapons)
- One closed fist with trigger finger extended (which is only for the right hand)
While I would love to get a left hand with the trigger finger, five different hands is pretty darn good for any High Grade (the HG Barbatos I just previously built only comes with two hands total).
Just like the Barbatos’ hands, these are the kind where you have to take off the outer armor plating in order to attach a weapon:
I have a habit of railing against this style of hand, but after finishing the photo shoot for this model, I am starting to warm up to it. I still think it looks awful visually, as if it is only half a hand. But I realize now that this style actually offers a sturdier, more secure grip than the more “traditional” type, where you have to detach the thumb in order to secure a weapon.
Comparison with Real Grade
Here is the top level view of the High Grade arm next to its Real Grade counterpart:
Notice the very visible seamline on the wrist of the High Grade, and how the Real Grade manages to avoid it by simply using more parts.
On the other hand, the underlying frame of the elbow joint looks surprisingly similar between the two. True, the Real Grade’s is longer, but the basic mechanism looks identical.
Here is the side view:
The first thing I notice is that I think I am missing a part on the Real Grade. The second thing I notice is that the circular piece at the elbow joint is remarkably small on the Real Grade, to the point where it looks kind of goofy.
All told, if you threw a few decals on the High Grade, I think it would compare very nicely. This is one case where I think all the extra part separation on the Real Grade fails to add any extra oomph.
Now for the weapons. First, the Beam Rifle:
Surprisingly, the two rifles are much more different than I expected. Sure, the general shape is the same, but there are lots of subtle differences. The whole general area around the grip and trigger is different in color, shape, and size. The barrel on the Real Grade is also shorter. Perhaps most noticeable is the secondary grip (the one in front of the trigger). The Real Grade’s is much fatter.
I guess I didn’t panel line the scope on the Real Grade. And I guess I didn’t color in the center area on the High Grade.
Finally, let’s compare the bazookas:
The first thing that stands out is that the Real Grade bazooka is noticeably smaller. I wonder if this was intentional, and if so, why.
The next thing I would say is that while my build of the High Grade bazooka is not very good, I do think there is enough detail there that if someone were to have enough patience and talent, they could paint it to look almost identical to the RG (if they had an extra sheet of the Real Grade’s decals, it would actually be pretty easy).
Lastly, I really wish I could go back and redo these Real Grade weapons. With a bit more color and panel lining, they could look like something really special.
Conclusion
That wraps up the build. It wasn’t terribly challenging, but stress free and still a lot of fun. In the next two posts, we will look at the fully assembled Gundam, and test its articulation.