Tag Archives: Gundam

#0714: Mega-Shiki

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with ,

MEGA-SHIKI

GUNDAM: HG BUILD FIGHTERS

Shikki4

So, hey, do you guys remember those two times way back when where I reviewed model kits? Want to read another? Well, you don’t really have much say, to be honest. This is my site; I’ll write what I darn well want to. Maybe. Sorry, I don’t do aggressive and stand-offish very well.

Anyway, I’ll be taking a look at another figure from Bandai’s extensive line of Gundam-based snap-kits, which are model kits that require no glue and result in a fully articulated action figure. Fun times. Today’s set is Mega-Shiki, which, according to the box is “Team G-Master: Shunsuke Sudou’s Mobile Suit,” whatever that means.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Shikki2Mega-Shiki was released in December of last year, so it’s a relatively recent addition to the line. It would appear that this suit is that of a specific character, meaning it’s unique. That’s cool. This figure is part of the 1/144 scale line of model kits, which puts him at a height of a little over 5 inches tall. He’s also got 35 points of articulation, which is pretty great for a model kit. Unlike the GM Sniper and Nemo, which had a few parts shared between them, Shiki looks to be mostly new, to me at least. The sculpt is quite nicely done; there are lots of nice, clean angles, and all the line work is sharp. From what I’ve been able to find in terms of reference for the suit (on the front of the package and various shots online) it looks like it’s pretty accurate to the source material. It’s also worth noting that the kit was a pretty easy build; all the parts fit well together, and they mostly stay together pretty well, too. The only parts that gave me any real trouble were the forearm guards, which have a tendency to fall off if the hands are moved about too much. They go right back on, of course, but it can be just a bit of a pain. Like the two other kits I’ve covered, Mega-Shiki doesn’t feature any painted details. Unlike those two, he’s also pretty sparse on the use of decals; there are two on the head, and that’s it. The rest of his color work is done through properly colored plastic bits. He’s a slightly more complex build, allowing him to make more use of separately colored pieces. The colors are all good matches for the source material, and they’re just good color choices all-around. Shiki’s main accessory is the Mega Ride Launcher, which is a giant rocket pack that can also function as a giant gun. It’s got several articulated bits, allowing it to switch locations. It fits pretty well on his back, and he can hold it pretty reliably, though he does need to be posed to properly balance the weight. He also includes hands in fist, griping, and open orientations, as well as two beam swords, and a big rifle. The kit also comes with a few extra pieces, such as an alternate head, that I’m not sure are actually meant to go with this guy, or are just the result of a common parts tree with another set.

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mega-Shiki is Tim’s fault. He wanted to check out the hobby shop where I picked up Nemo, with the expressed purpose of getting at least one of these kits for himself. I ended up spotting Shiki and thought he was pretty cool, so I got him. This is definitely a cool set. The quality of the sculpt is great, and I love the accessories, especially the Mega Ride Launcher!

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#0290: GM Sniper K9

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

GM SNIPER K9

HG BUILD FIGHTERS

GMSniper3

Hey, remember that time I reviewed a model kit? Yep, I’m doing it again. It also happens to wrap up the official entries in the Birthday Stuff Reviews, so how ‘bout that? Yep, I’ve gotten another of Bandai’s Gundam snap-kits, and I’ve finally got it all put together. Let’s see how this one went, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

GMSniperWilsonToday’s figure is the GM Sniper K9, who is apparently “Build Fighter Renato Brothers Custom Made Mobile Suit.” He seems to be something of a basic suit, with a sniper flair to him. He’s figure #010 in Bandai’s HG Build Fighters model line, at least I think. I’m not incredibly well versed in Gundam, and the package is mostly in Japanese. The figure is in 1/144 scale, so he stands roughly 5 inches tall and he features 36 points of articulation. Going by the front of the package and a few of the images I’ve been able to find online, the figure seems to be pretty much accurate to the design of the suit from the various media. The sculpt is definitely clean and sharp, and the parts of the model all snap together really nicely, which is a huge plus, without doubt. The kit wouldn’t be worth much if it didn’t fit together. The figure doesn’t feature any paint. Instead, the details are conveyed through clever placement of a few different colors of plastic paired with the application of a small handful of decals. I did notice that the decals were a bit more tricky to apply here than on Nemo, but that might be more the nature of the design. The figure includes a nice selection of accessories, including several sets of interchangeable hands, two beam swords, a machine gun, a rifle, two pistols, a knife, a shield and a sniper K9, which the figure gets its name from. The K9 could almost be a figure in its own right, with roughly 16 points of articulation. That’s pretty darn cool!

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Sniper here was a birthday gift from my best friend Tim. I showed him Nemo, and how impressive a figure it was, so he decided to get me another one to go with him. I believe his exact words on why he chose this one were “It’s got a freaking sniper dog!” (okay, I might be paraphrasing the slightest). The Sniper has a pretty sweet design in his own right, and he offered a pretty fun building experience, so I’d call that a win-win.

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#0228: MSA-003 Nemo

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

MSA-003 NEMO

HG GUNDAM HGUC

Nemo

And now for something completely different. Previous reviews on the site have been based on finished action figures, purchased by me, fully assembled elsewhere, in processes unknown to me. Not today. No, today, I’ll be taking a look at a figure I built all by myself. Well, not all by myself. There were instructions, and the basic parts were supplied for me. But, I did most of the heavy lifting this time.

Today’s figure comes from Bandai’s line of Gundam model kits. They’re based on designs from the various Gundam anime and manga, and are made up a large assortment of pieces that can be snapped together to form a fully functioning action figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nemo3The figure I’m looking at is the MSA-003 Nemo, which is apparently a “massed-produced mobile fighting suit.” From what I can tell, it’s an army builder. Anyway, Nemo is figure #150 in Bandai’s HG GUNDAM HGUC model line (I think I got all that right, but it’s a bit difficult to tell with most of the info on the box being in Japanese.) The figure is in 1/144 scale, which means he stands about 5 inches tall. He also features 35 points of articulation, which is certainly impressive for a model. From what I’ve been able to find online, the sculpt looks pretty faithful to the Nemo design, which is a good thing. It’s a nice and clean sculpt, with some pretty great details worked in. Above all, all of the pieces fit together pretty much perfectly, which is the most important part of the kit. The figure features no actual paint work, though it makes use of parts molded in five different colors in order to give the figure the proper color scheme. What can’t be feasibly handled with a solid molded piece is handled via decal. The decals go on without too much trouble (though I did have to put out the tweezers), and stay in place very well. Perhaps my favorite part of the figure is the combination of a silver decal and a piece of translucent orange plastic in order to create Nemo’s visor. It really gives it a great amount of dimension. Amazingly for a model kit, Nemo also includes five interchangeable hands, two beam swords, a machine gun, and a shield. All of these pieces can be used to great effect and offer a lot of variety in display choices.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Nemo from a local hobby store while on a trip there with my Dad. I’ve never been much of a Gundam fan, but I saw Nemo amongst the assortment of kits they had and he just called to me. I liked the color scheme, and I’m a sucker for a cool robot design. I had heard of the Gundam kits, but I didn’t actually have any experience with them. I figured I’d give this one a shot, and I’m glad I did. Putting this figure together was quite a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed getting the insights on how such a figure is assembled. And, at the end of it all, I get an awesome robot dude that’s fully poseable! How cool is that?

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