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.
Part of it, I think, is that it’s been a while since Witch from Mercury aired. Whatever bad tastes it left in my mouth have long washed away, so now I can better evaluate Aerial on her own terms, independent of how she was used (or misused) in the show.
Another part of it is that, just like with those Gundam Wing kits, I think Aerial looks better as a model than she does on screen. The colors look better, and the fine details are more noticeable:
That being said, I do have one complaint. Aerial has a lot of holes and slots in her body - on her legs, on her back, and on her wrists and shoulders. These of course are for attaching the GUND Bits for her “Bit on Form” mode, and my problem with them is not that they exist, but that they’re so glaringly obvious. Contrast this with Calibarn: it has most of the same holes and slots, but they do a much better job of blending in. On Aerial, they make it look like something is missing.
It’s not a dealbreaking problem, nor is it noticeable all the time, but I figured it was worth pointing out.
Articulation
I looked back at my old posts about Ilfrith and Calibarn, and it turns out that I didn’t say much about their articulation. Since Aerial’s range should be the same - or at least extremely similar - consider this a writeup on all of them.
I would say that as a whole, the articulation is good bordering on great, but there is one major pain point. For some reason, none of these three models are able to pivot their legs along the hip, as demonstrated here by the Revive Gundam:
I’ve build plenty of older kits that also lack this hip pivot, and I’ve always manged to work around it. And sure enough, I was able to work around it just as easily this time. But it still feels notable that such a new kit is missing a feature one can find on even decade old High Grades. This is especially true when I see so many people raving about the quality of the GWitch High Grades kits, despite the fact that I’ve encountered things like missing articulation and atrocious seamlines (among other issues) in every single GWitch kit I’ve built so far.
I guess you can say that the Discourse has made me feel a little crazy about the quality of this line, and for that I’m feeling very salty. So while I’m not going to slag this particular kit, I do think that Bandai needs to do a little better with their next new line of High Grades. And once again I will futilely beg the Collective Internet to have an independent thought for once in their lives, instead of just parroting what everyone else is saying.
Action Poses
Aerial is an extremely “poseagenic” kit. No matter what pose you put her in, she manages to somehow look good.
I’m still not entirely sure what makes certain kits like this (or not like this). At the very least I think it helps when the kit is sturdy: the less you have to worry about parts falling off, the more poses you’re willing to try, and the more likely you are to find good ones. And Aerial here was nothing but rock solid.
I also feel like some kits are just easier to place into a natural looking pose, where the limbs and the torso are positioned just right.
Whatever the case may be, the bottom line is that I had a ton of fun posing Aerial, which always makes the photoshoots much more enjoyable.
Open Hands
I feel like a broken record saying this, but to repeat one more time: none of the GWitch kits I’ve built have come with open palm hands. In the case of Aerial and her sisters, the only way to get useable open hands is to buy the Mirasoul Flight Unit accessory pack (which of course is where these open hands came from).
As you can see, the hands add so much extra expressiveness, and open up a whole new realm of posing possibilities.
And so I’m feeling so, so tired of Bandai insisting on only including a single pair of closed fist holding hands in most modern High Grades. I get that they like to cost cut in the name of keeping prices down and profits up, but this feels particularly shameful. I have an upcoming kit from 1999 - one of the earliest HGUC kits ever made - and it still manages to include an extra pair of hands. Would it really kill Bandai to include at least a single open palm hand for most kits?
Action Poses
Let’s finally Aerial kitted out and ready for some action poses.
This is such a great shield. I realize her sisters have the same kind of shield, but I think Aerial’s in particular has the best color placement and the best details.
As for the Beam Rifle, while it’s not my favorite shape, I think the size is just right:
I’ve always found GWitch’s blue beam saber blades to be delightful, and that remains true here:
Now, I didn’t realize this until after the fact, but these are the only two beam saber poses I took with Aerial in her standard form. And that’s because I eneded up having a lot more fun posing her in her “Bit on Form” mode. So let’s get to that.
Bit on Form Mode
It’s an awkward name, but “Bit on Form” just means taking apart the shield and attaching all the individual GUND Bits onto Aerial’s body. It’s the same gimmick found on Ilfrith and Calibarn, but I found Aerial’s Bit on Form mode to be much more visually appealing than it is on those other two, and so I took a lot of photos in this form.
I think Aerial in particular benefits most from the extra bulk that comes from mounting the bits on her arms and shoulders. And those little wings on her back make her look for better in middair poses:
It also makes the Beam Rifle look better:
This isn’t to say that Aerial looks bad in her standard form. It’s more to point out that she looks more battle ready when she has a little bit of extra bulk. In Bit on Form mode, that comes from literally attaching parts to her, while in standard form, that bulk comes in the form of her sizeable shield. It’s just two different ways of getting to the same place.
But yeah, I really like this form.
“GUND Bits” Pose
And lastly, here is Aerial posing with all her GUND Bits flying around her:
I understand that this is the most iconic thing that she does, but I don’t think this kind of pose is easy to nail in Gunpla form. It’s hard to position all the Bits at different (and interesting) heights and angles, and without those sparkly blue contrails they emit in the show, it’s hard to create the impression of motion. Nevertheless, I figured I had to take at least one photo for the sake of completion.
Conclusion
The High Grade Aerial suffers from a lot of the problems that plage the entire GWitch line. These problems exist regardless of what my experience with this model was like, and I will continue to assert that the entire line is less of a leap forward for HG’s as everyone would like to believe.
But it’s also true that despite all those issues, I really, really like this kit. The build was pleasant, the final result looks excellent, and I had a blast taking photos. This is easily my second favorite GWitch kit behind Darilbalde, and even then it’s close.
And I’m really happy about that. I don’t go out of my way to dislike mobile suits, so I’m always happy when my opinion on one changes for the better.
On a similar note, this was the final GWitch kit on my backlog. I don’t know if it will be my last one ever, but if it is, then I’m very happy to end on such a high note.
Welcome to the family Aerial. It’s good to have you here.
Other Thoughts
We’re not done quite yet. I’ve talked so much about that Mirasoul Flight Unit, and it’s about time I finally build the thing and take it for a spin.