Gunpla Build - High Grade Darilbalde (Photos Part 1)

So.

I’m writing this from the future. Specifically, the middle of September.

I want to be clear that I did finish this build on July 26th, as the previous post implied. But it took me until the middle of September to actually do the photoshoot for the Darilbalde. That means this is a backdated post (hey, it’s my blog, I’ll do what I want with it).

The problem, I think, was still in a state of great mental funk throughout July, because when I looked at the fully assembled Darilbalde, I didn’t like what I saw. I didn’t like some of the colors (specifically the white). I didn’t like the proportions of some of its body parts. And I thought that, while the shoulder shields look cool in the anime, that they looked too large and goofy in-person.

I lost all will to do a photoshoot. I was afraid it would only make me more disappointed. On top of that, I knew I needed a second Witch From Mercury Weapon Display Base in order to pose all of Darilbalde’s accessories, and at the time I couldn’t find one. I put the model on a temporary shelf, and moved on to other things.

I’m in a better place now as of this writing. Maybe not at 100%, but well enough that I’m ready to revisit the Darilbalde and give it another look.

Reconsidering the Darilbalde

I really do think my previous mental state colored by perception of this model kit, because I don’t see any of the problems that I saw back in July.

I think the white parts look great. They’re a subtle off-white that pairs well with the otherwise extremely dark color palette.

I think the proportions are just fine. Previously I thought that the legs and arms were bulkier in the anime than they are in this model, but now … I don’t see how you could make the legs any bulkier. And while the arms aren’t fancy, they look exactly the same in the show.

And then there are the shields. While taking photos, I went out of my way to find angles in which the shields would get in the way.

This is the best I could come up with, where the head is blocked:

But even then, all it takes is a little adjustment to fix that:

I don’t know what I was thinking. By and large the shields not that invasive, nor are they too big.

What matters, though, is this model kit now looks amazing to my eye. Thank goodness for that.

Articulation

Considering how new this kit is, I’d like to put it through its paces.

Starting with the head, it moves up just enough:

And moves downward a lot, like a reverse Guncannon:

It even has a decent side tilt:

It has a pretty impressive arm lift:

The elbow bend is fine, if limited a bit by the armor:

The cross body range is merely average:

The torso is impressive. It has a great side to side lean:

And a killer front bend:

The back bend’s the only one that’s less than stellar (read: almost nonexistent):

It can do a near split:

It can do a 90 degree leg lift at best, which isn’t great, but is somewhat understandable given the sheer size of its legs:

And the knee bend is similarly limited by the armor:

The feet are a strange design, which is how it is able to do things like this:

All in all, the back bend is the ony one I consider disappointing. Everything else ranges from good to great.

Conclusion

I feel like this post has gone on pretty long, so let’s pause on doing any action poses for now, and come back for a second round of photos.