Advance of Z :: RX-121-2A Advanced Hazel – Introduction

Gundam Heads

I have a confession to make: I do not particularly like Gundam heads
Anything that does not look like a Gundam, warrants for more attention just because (IMHO) it requires a little bit more imagination to create it. That does not mean I do not like Gundams, quite contrary — they are usually better built than their opponents, it is just their heads…

Advanced Hazel

And that is why I am reviewing this amazing High Grade 1/144 scale kit from BANDAI (released in 2005)! Advanced Hazel got my attention the moment I saw the picture on the box, and I can assure you — this is the relatively rare case when the model itself looks better than its picture I’ll share my model’s pictures with you in my next post about this kit, for now there are couple of photos of the box itself:

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Union Flag (SVMS-01) – Introduction

Thanks to Raidensama, I was able to get this kit from the Gundam 00 Series before New Year.

Gundam 00 and the new mecha

The Union Flag is a “working horse” of AEU (Advanced European Union) military. While it may look like an ugly duckling to some (wait until you change it into fly mode ), I would argue that it is rather elegant comparing to the other mecha in the Series — an interesting break-out from the traditionally followed ways of creating mobile suits for the “bad guys”. Nothing fancy in terms of weaponry, although, its defense rod (a compact rotating shield) is an interesting idea if only it did not touch the shoulder wing…

I guess AEU’s engineers wanted to create a highly maneuverable mobile suit sacrificing to some extent its protection by reducing its weight, hence Union Flag’s slim silhouette — it represents much smaller target in any mode, be it flying or normal (“walking”) one.

What’s in the box?

The box it comes in is surprisingly small for a High Grade kit and more surprises await once you open it, so read on!

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Blu Duel Gundam (GAT-X1022) – Introduction

Hi Everyone!

Finally I’ve got my hands on this 2006 release of BANDAI’s 1/144 High Grade kit of Blu Duel Gundam – one of the few new mecha introduced in Gundam SEED C.E.73 Stargazer mini-series.

My special thanks go to Morishita Naochika for the very nice illustration featured on the box. Guys, whoever knows this artist personally, please give him my “thumbs up”

BANDAI did a good job (as they continually do with HG kits) in terms of quality of details, although I found that the dark blue molding is made of somewhat brittle plastic – please be careful while cutting it.

The completed model will consist of

• 148 details on 7 runners, including polycaps (you won’t need all of them, because some parts are interchangeable – like palms and beam-sabers in on/off state)
• 20 foil stickers (should you choose to use them).

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