Gunpla Build - High Grade Gundam Calibarn (Build)

So, in the interest of changing things, I’m only going to cover the highlights of this build. Let’s begin.

Decal Sheet

The decal sheet is massive:

Most of these stickers are for the shell units on the body, on account of the fact that there are two sets - one “dark” set that’s all black, and one set with the rainbow Permet lines. There’s also a bunch of green stickers for the thrusters on the back of the broom gun.

I guess what I’m saying is that it has a lot of “special” stickers, but not a lot that are used for color correction. That might sound like a good thing, but put a pin in that thought.

Poor Suletta

I don't know why they still insist on using this dopey looking photo of Suletta on the instruction manual:

They could have at least come up with some new illustration that makes her appear more like she does near the end of the show:

It's the same character, but she looks more confident and in charge by the end of the show. If only the included artwork would reflect that.

Shield

Technically this is a just a color variant of the Aerial Rebuild’s shield, but since I don’t have the Aerial Rebuild, it’s new to me.

Like Ilfrith’s shield, this is actually made out of smaller GUND Bits that can detach and fly around. But the way in which the bits form together to make the shield is entirely different. On Ilfrith’s shield, all the bits connect directly to each other:

On the other hand, Calibarn’s shield is built around a small grey frame:

Not only that, but some of the GUND Bits layer on top of each other, as you can see when it’s fully assembled:

The result is one of the most detailed, intricate shields I’ve ever seen on a Gunpla. But that comes with one huge caveat. All of the grey sections you see in the upper half of the shield had to be painted:

Now, there are a lot of scenarios where you can get away without doing any color correction, and the finished piece will still look good. But imagine this shield without any of that grey. Think about how much more monochrome (and how much less detailed) it would look.

This is going to be a trend with this model kit.

Broom Gun

The four thrusters on the end of the gun are fairly nicely color separated. And when you toss on the green decals on the inside, they look quite impressive:

Just be sure to be careful when placing them, as they’re crammed in to some tight spaces.

As for the main body of the gun, it’s plain and boring on its own. You have to put in some TLC - in the form of both stickers and painting/panel lining - to make it look sharp.

Oh, and there’s a massive seam line running down the middle of the gun.

Head

This is the one area of the build that really, truly feels new and cutting edge. Calibarn’s head has a lot of detail and features a lot of colors, but aside from the two stickers for the front and rear cameras, it requires no additional color correction. That’s because it uses a ton of different color parts, all intricately layered on top of each other. Technically you don’t even need stickers for the eyes, as they’re shaped out of green plastic as seen below:

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this feels like a Real Grade in terms of the amount of parts involved. And it’s certainly a step up from most High Grades.

My only complaint is that I had a very hard time attaching the external armor. It turns out that the Vulcan Cannons were getting in the way. I’m not sure if this is a design flaw, or if I was supposed to attach the armor from a certain angle or direction. All I know is that when I finally got it on, the barrels of both Vulcans were squashed and deformed. I was able to reshape them, and with a coat of paint they look good as new. But I really have no idea whether I did something wrong or not.

Feet

The grey section on the heel is made out of its own piece of plastic:

But don’t think that this spares you from having to paint, as there’s a similar “grill” section on the front of the foot that’s supposed to be the same color:

Butt Thruster

The “Butt Thruster”, as I like to call it, looks fine enough:

Sure, it has a bunch more grey sections that need to be painted, but I think we’ve established that, for better or worse, that’s par for the course on this kit.

It’s what’s on the inside of the thruster that throws me off. Or should I say what’s not on the inside:

Now, I do understand why this is. Like Aerial and Ilfrith, Calibarn’s GUND Bits can attach to its body, transforming into extra thrusters or armor. Two particular GUND Bits are meant to plug into each side of the butt thruster, and they need all that space in order to securely connect.

But even if that’s the explanation, that doesn’t excuse the fact that without those Bits plugged in, the butt thrusters look weird and hollow and, well, purposeless. Surely there was some other option that would have looked more aesthetically pleasing?

Backpack Thrusters

I have a few complaints about these:

1. There’s another nasty panel line running down the center
2. Once again, all the grey bits you see on this had to be painted, including a few that you can’t see in this photo
3. Once again, the inside of the thruster is extremely empty and hollow so that a GUND Bit can plug in

These two thrusters felt like a throwback to pre-2010 High Grades, what with all the color correction and cleanup they required.

Arms

There’s this yellow panel on the sides of each shoulder:

That’s all well and good, but do you see how much space there is between the yellow panel and the side wall of the shoulder? It’s huge!! All of the hollow thrusters already made this feel an awful lot like a toy, but this seals the deal.

Rainbow Permet

As you can see, there are a ton of shell unit sections on the body of Calibarn, each filled with rainbow Permet lines:

Most of these clear parts were a pain in the butt. Normally I’d prep and topcoat the rest of the body part first, and then add on the clear parts. But there are some cases where that isn’t possible, so instead you have to mask them before (carefully) spraying.

But that’s not the worst of it. As you can see above, the rainbow Permet is surprisingly difficult to see. I’m hoping that it will pop more in the lighting conditions of the lightbox, but if not, it’s going to be a huge disappointment.

Finished

Here’s the thing about Witch From Mercury kits. If you put in the effort, you can make them look good. Great even.

But if you don’t put in the work - if you don’t remove the horribly obvious seamlines, or bust out the paints to fix some very obvious color correction issues - they’re going to look less than stellar.

And I think that’s unacceptable for a line of brand new High Grades.

This is especially true when I think back and compare the GWitch line to the recent(ish) Gundam Wing High Grades, or the Planet Armors, and of course the recent G Gundam High Grades. All those kits go out of their way to hide seamlines, and most of them have extremely good out-of-the-box color separation. They all feel very advanced and very modern, with little in the way of compromises.

But the same isn’t true for the GWitch kits, at least not the ones I’ve built so far. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that these kits have all been stingy, giving out only a single pair of holding hands. Or the fact that they all use C-Clip joints, which feel like they’re guaranteed to become loose over time.

At the risk of sounding like an internet contrarian, the GWitch line feels like a reversion in a lot of ways. Not only does that mean that they’re not very fun to build, but they also just don’t feel like a good value for the money. A lot of kits in this line are in the $25 range, which is on the high side for a High Grade. At that price point and above, I expect the build to feel a bit more premium, but so far that hasn’t proven to be the case.

Anyway, what’s done is done. With any luck, we’ll have some fun with the photos.

Other Thoughts

Like the Darilbalde, this kit comes with a little rigid stand. I don’t plan on using it, but it’s nice that it’s there in case you don’t have any other stand to use in its place.