I tried to finish "HG 1/144 Gundam Aerial (modified type)" coolly by partial painting and easy smearing, making use of the molding color!

Ladies and gentlemen, you've been waiting for it! Gundam Aerial (modified type), which made an electrifying appearance in the final episode of Season 1 and played a major role in the series, will continue to play a leading role as a mobile suit, and we can only look forward to its success!

The plastic model of such a leading mobile suit "Gundam Aerial Renovated Type", "HG 1/144 Gundam Aerial (Renovated Type)", was released on March 18, prior to the broadcast of Season 2. On the day of release, I heard that lines of Gunpla fans were formed all over the country to buy the kit. I, too, got in line early in the morning and managed to get a kit. It was impressive to see that the kits were sold out within a few minutes after the store opened.

Even though the anime had just started airing, I couldn't get a plastic model of the main character Gundam, which is the most important part of the anime. ...... But thankfully, the "HG 1/144 Gundam Aerial (Refurbished)" is scheduled to be re-released every month, so those who missed out last time should be able to easily purchase it at the regular price if they wait a bit.

So, Akiba Research Institute editor A thoroughly reviewed the popular plastic model "HG 1/144 Gundam Aerial (refurbished type)"! We would like to challenge ourselves to see how far we can go with the model unassembled!

Let's assemble it straight!

I tried to assemble it straight away!

This is what it looks like from the front. Compared to the regular aerial, the blue color is deeper and the face is more Gundam-like. Once again, the design is polycapless, and the majority of the materials used are PS materials, which are also safe for paint artists. Only the chest shell unit is made of ABS.

In contrast to the conventional aerial models, which had many curved lines, the new aerial has more straight lines, indicating that it has been tuned for combat use. In addition, the camera eye and the camera on the back of the head are molded in green color, which allows the color coding to be reproduced as you would expect without the use of stickers. In addition, some stickers can be used to reproduce the red glowing camera eye in the runaway state.

The shell unit of the chest is the familiar in-mold molding. Patterns are printed on the inside of the clear parts to reproduce the unique shining image. Regular clear parts are also available, and they have a choice of stickers with the same pattern on the back side or plain stickers to reproduce the non-luminous state.

Back. The flight unit, which was optional equipment in the normal type aerial, is provided by default this time. Matching seams appear on the forearms and part of the legs as far as the main body is concerned. The flight unit has a solid seam on the lower unit. The other joints are designed in such a way that they are not noticeable, or the joints are incorporated into the mold.

The upper unit is flexible and movable vertically and horizontally. The lower unit can be rotated vertically.

It can be angled quite freely like this.

In addition, the wings can be pulled out from inside the unit and deployed. This dramatically increases flight performance.

The soles of the feet are also well detailed. There are some holes in the meat of the foot, but they are hardly noticeable. To reproduce the coloring of the slit areas on the heels and soles, painting is required.

Next, let's take a look at the full body movement.

The neck is quite movable, thanks to two ball joints at the base of the head and the base of the neck.

As you can see, in addition to the chin pull, it can also rotate sideways. 360° rotation.

Next, the arms are movable.

The arms can swing straight up and can also be raised 90° to the side.

The base of the shoulders can be pulled forward. This allows for a wider range of poses.

There is a roll axis at the base of the second arm, and the elbow can also be bent to a very deep angle. The elbows can also be bent quite deeply. The wrists are connected by ball joints.

The mounted beam saber on the back is also accessible.

The waist also has a high degree of freedom of rotation. It can rotate almost 360 degrees, and can also be bent forward.

Next, the legs are movable.

As you can see, the legs can be opened to the left and right. The legs can be opened almost 180 degrees.

The front and rear legs can also be opened as shown here! The waist armor is small, so it does not interfere with the movement of the legs.

The knees can also be bent much deeper.

In addition to the movable ankles, the toes are also movable, making it easy to pose the figure standing on its feet.

Here is a point to remember when assembling the figure.

The waist armor is connected to the axis like this,

If you split the axis before assembling the waist part, it will be possible to move the left and right armors independently. Of course, this is not required, but it is your own responsibility.

A wide variety of armament parts provide a lot of fun!

Next, let's take a look at the armament. Let's start with the beam saber.

A clear beam blade is included. It can be held by the hand parts.

The beam rifle and the shield are made up of 11 bit-staves. This part is based on the standard type Gundam Aerial.

By separating the bit-staves from the base of the shield, it can change into an attack form. Like the standard type Aerial, it consists of 11 bits, but the silhouette and coloring are slightly different.

When this is attached to the entire body of the Gundam Aerial Modified Form, it can be seen at ......

It becomes the bit-on form of the mobility enhanced form!

The flight unit protruding from the rear seems to be a visual indication of the increased mobility.

A beam rifle can also be mounted on the flight unit.

A new feature of the beam rifle is the long-range mode, which allows the barrel to be extended for long-range sniping. The barrel and grip are reproduced with replacement parts.

Set it in a two-handed stance, with the handle hooked to the chest and abdomen of the Gundam Aerial Modification type. In particular, there is no parts to connect with the torso, just the rifle is mounted on the body of the aerial repair type, so it is recommended to display in a stable place as much as possible.

When the bit-stave is docked to the beam rifle, it becomes a gambit rifle that has the power to sink a battleship with a single blow.

In the final episode of Season 1, its power was demonstrated without regret. The terrorists were wiped out.

The angle from behind is also cool.

As you can see, the "HG 1/144 Gundam Aerial Modified Type" has a very high play value, but we added one more touch to make it more complete.

The quality is improved by easy work!

I sprayed the whole body with Smile and topcoat (matte finish). Smile is a simple finish of Gundam marker for Smile and real touch marker.

Although this kit can be color-coded almost only by molding colors and stickers, only the slit part of the heel needs to be painted. So, I painted this part with gray Gundam Marker.

Just by painting the heel, it looks much tighter.

The head antenna was thickened at the tip for safety. Now the face looks more fearless.

Next is the bit on form.

The amount of information in the kit has increased.

The stickers were applied after spraying matte finish.

Blue parts were smeared with blue real touch marker and yellow parts were smeared with brown Gundam marker.

Be careful not to spoil the gloss by applying masking tape to the clear parts.

Use the action base and display base to recreate the ideal situation.

Now let's display her in various poses.

The optional "Mercury Witch Weapon Display Base" can be used to display the bit-stave in a floating position.

I combined "Bandai Plastic Model Action Base 4" and "Mercury Witch Weapon Display Base".

Officially, the combination of "Action Base 5" and "Weapon Display Base" seems to be correct, but "Action Base 5" is almost sold out in the market now, and it is very difficult to get it. If the diameter of the stand hole matches, other Action Base can be used, so if you are not particular about it, please feel free to display it by combining it with your own Action Base.

However, please note that four sets of "Mercury Witch Weapon Display Base" are required to display all 11 bit-staves!

This time we used 2 sets for display.

By the way, the flat hand parts of "HG 1/144 Mirasoul Flight Unit Equipment" can also be used. If you combine them, you can reproduce the activities in the play like this.

You can also pose her with her hand on the rifle using the flat hand parts.

The above is a review of the plastic model of the main character of the latest Gundam series, "Gundam Aerial (modified type)". The simple parts configuration and dense finish have been taken over from the "Gundam Aerial," and it is truly a kit that has undergone a legitimate evolution, further expanding the scope of play.

If there is one caveat, it is that there are some parts that are quite small, and it is a bit difficult to fit them in. I blew up a few parts myself and had to search all over the floor of my room for them. In a sense, I thought this kit was like a textbook, making me aware of the basics of plastic model building, which is to take your time and assemble it carefully, without rushing.

So, "Mobile Suit Gundam: Witches of Mercury" Season 2 has finally started, and we are looking forward to seeing not only the story, but also what kind of mobile suits will appear and reach our hands as Gundam plastic models at ....... We are looking forward to seeing them!

Product information

HG 1/144 Gundam Aerial (Modified Type)

Now on sale

Price: 1,870 yen (including tax)

Manufacturer: BANDAI SPIRITS

Target Age: 8 years old and up

From the latest in the Gundam series, "Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch of Mercury" comes a newly molded HG series figure of the main character Gundam Aerial in its modified form!

<Accessories

Beam saber × 2, beam rifle × 1, shield × 1, shell unit clear parts × 1 set, seal × 1