Gunpla Build - High Grade Gundam Aerial (Build)

By my eye, this kit looks like it has slightly fewer parts than Ilfrith (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. Ilfrith 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 Ilfrith’s extra plastic.

Now let’s dive right into the build …

Beam Rifle

This is basically a tweaked version of Ilfrith’s rifle:

It’s like they stretched it out so that it is longer, but not quite as tall.

I’m not sure what I think about it. I’ve long liked Ilfrith’s Beam Rifle for being such a goofy looking thing. It looks like it was designed by people who had never used a gun before, which nicely reinforces the idea that Ilfrith was a janky prototype.

On the other hand, Aerial’s rifle looks more like a firearm, but I don’t think that alone makes it look better. My general preference with Gundam guns is that they go towards one extreme or another. Either make it hyper realistic, with lots of mechanical details, or make it super sleek and futuristic. This design falls somewhere in between, and I think that’s a dull, boring place to be.

Then there’s the matter of the scope. Based on all the images I’ve seen (like this one), it’s supposed to be grey or white (or silver? It’s not entirely clear). Which, hey, whatever. Just give me a sticker and I’ll put it on there.

What’s that? There’s no sticker? Despite the fact that it’s very clearly supposed to be a different color than the rest of the gun? That’s weird (and also feels very cheap on Bandai’s part).

Screw it - I’m sticking with tradition and painting it green:

In terms of color correction, obviously there’s lots of panel lining you can do. There are also those little notches in the center of the rifle; you can color the inside of them black to give it a bit more depth and shading (again, you can use a panel lining marker to do this).

Lastly, you should know that the front of the rifle - where the beam energy is supposed to exit - is flat and grey.

Shield

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but to reiterate - the gimmick with Aerial’s (and Ilfrith’s and Calibarn’s) shield is that it is made up of a bunch of small GUND Bits that all attach to each other. But when it comes to their respective model kits, only Ilfrith’s shield actually works that way.

As for Calibarn and Aerial, they instead rely on a framing piece that some of the Bits attach to:

It’s not TV show accurate, but I’m going to assume that there’s a reason for this. Perhaps they couldn’t get the Bits to plug into each other without compromising the visual fidelity of the shield.

Whatever the reason, I think the final result looks spiffy:

I like the colors (and the color separation), the shape, the details … it might by my favorite of the three shield designs.

In terms of color correction, this uses three color-correcting stickers (you can see all three on the rightmost side of the sticker sheet):

The good news is that they’re easy enough to apply, and with a bit of clear coat, no one will even notice that they’re stickers in the first place. Beyond that, the only other color correction you “need” to do is to fill in the two yellow parts with some black (which you can easily do with a panel lining marker). This was easily the quickest, most painless of the three shields to put together.

Head

At first I thought it was a bit silly to build Aerial last, despite the fact that it’s the star of the show. But I’m starting to realize that it was a good thing, actually.

It’s like rewatching The Sixth Sense after seeing the twist ending. Now that I’ve seen the end of the show, and thus seen Calibarn, I can go back to Aerial and see how much she borrows from not one, but two older prototypes¹.

For example, let’s line up all their heads:

From Ilfrith it takes the following:

• The bunny ears
• The placement of its vulcan cannons
• The general shape of its face

And from Calibarn it takes:

• The V-Fin
• The yellow vents on its “cheeks”
• The overall shape of the head

It really does look like a fusion between the two, which is really cool in retrospect.

Upper Torso

This has the same basic shape as its two predecessors, but with one big difference. While Iflrith and Calibarn have one big Shell Unit running across the top of their chests, Aerial instead has two smaller ones running on each side:

I’m not sure why, but I think I like it better that way.

It’s not super obvious in the fuzzy photo above, but there is some discoloration on the blue part that sits between the Shell Units. That particular part was packed so tightly onto the runner that I inadvertently cut into it with my nipper. I tried to fix it up with a bit of cement, followed by a dab of blue Gundam Marker. It’s not perfect, but it will have to do.

Color correction is easy here; you just need to do a bit of panel lining. I’d also recommend you add a tiny bit of glue to the Shell Units, as one of mine has a tendency to pop loose and fall off.

Backpack

I feel like this is roughly similar to Calibarn’s, right down to using the same kinds of beam sabers:

Surely you notice the big old peg hole in the center. It’s a bit of an eyesore, and as far as I can tell it exists solely so that you can holster the Beam Rifle. Keep in mind, however, that this isn’t some blemish they added to the model kit. It’s actually in the official line art:

Like it or not (and I don’t), it’s a part of the mobile suit’s design.

Lower Torso

The overall shape is from Ilfrith, but that red part in the center is straight out of Calibarn.

If we look around to the back, we see yet another big ol’ hole:

This is used to attach some of the GUND Bits when Aerial is in “Bit on Form” mode (where the Bits attach to her like pieces of armor). And once again, you can see it in the lineart. I think it’s another eyesore, but it is what it is.

It’s also one of the first times that I had to bust out some paint to do color correction - that whole grey area was originally white.

Feet

The backs of the feet are identical to Ilfrith’s, right down to the fact that you have to to paint in the grey section.

On the other hand, the toe area is doing its own thing. It has a unique shape and unique ankle guards. It’s the only foot design of the three that tries to blend hard angles and curves, and I think it pulls it off.

Legs

First things first - the shape of the legs doesn’t deviate from its predecessors. They all have the exact same ankle, and they all have … ehm … thick thighs.

As for the details, it shares a lot with Calibarn, including the yellow vents, and the Shell Units in the upper thigh. But I don’t see much, if any, of Ilfrith in there.

I don’t recall the legs requiring any heavy color correction, which is always nice.

Arms

The arms all have the same general shape, but Aerial’s are a bit less blocky than the other two. The same can be said of the shoulders as well. Aerial’s are far more rounded.

These didn’t require any major color correction, though I painted in some details on the shoulders for fun.

Conclusion

Between this, Iflrith, and Calibarn, this was by far the most pleasant build. It felt like it required the least amount of color correction and panel lining, and everything just came together nicely.

But I’m not willing to say that it’s objectively the best build. I know I was in a pretty foul mood when I built both Ilfrith and Calibarn, and I’m certain that that colored my perception of those two experiences.

But I also remember how panel lining markers got extra smeary on Ilfrith’s plastic, and how some of the color correction on Calibarn was just harder to get right. So maybe there is some truth to the idea that Aerial really was less of a hassle.

Regardless, I’m feeling really good after this build, and I’m actually really looking forward to taking some photos. See you then.