It has been a long time since I tried building another High Grade (that was the try burning) and my client sent two of them along with the MG 1/100 Aegis of Daban Model which I will add the review here. The other High Grade kit is the Nu Gundam but the brand is TTH so I started here in Build Mk-II instead just to avoid the common issues of that brand.
Because I built a lot of MG’s and PG’s lately, the box looked even smaller even though this was my first line when I returned to the hobby. Anyways, if there are any wrong terminologies used, please do correct me. Do not mind the typos and I will try to correct them when I got the time. xD
UPDATE (2017-06-06):I would like to apologize if the updates came in late. I was really busy with a lot of things. I am trying to finish the soft copy written review of Wing Proto Zero so I can post it before I get another set of new kits from my client.
Unboxing:
This is my first time building a kit from the Huiyan brand and I noticed that they used the word “Gundam” here. Unlike the other brands, we already know they are using the word “Fighter”.
The side of the box shows the gimmicks and features of the model.
I am greeted with the foil sticker and that bothers me a lot especially on those yellow ones.
Here in the construction manual, you get a single paper folded a few times to created pages. I also noticed that there’s a list in one of the pages where you get to see the other products of Huiyan.
You get two plastic bags and I just flipped them over to show the contents.
Sprues:
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There are 7 sprues here and the first sprue has 4 colored runners. The plastic is somewhat similar to Daban Model’s older kits where the surface is smooth but not that glossy. At least, there were no broken or half-molded parts and that is a good thing. There were no flashes either so there’s not much to clean here aside from the nubs.
Body Unit:
Nothing much to say here since most HG kits have few parts separation.
The main male pegs here can be lifted up for added movement and posing range.
Everything fits just fine and the only bothersome issue for me are the foil stickers applied on the chest (yellow). I do not want to place these stickers but my client insisted. I tried my best but it’s just really crappy. :/
Well as long as there are no broken parts and everything was a smooth build then it’s okay for me.
Head Unit:
These are the parts for the head and Bandai should have used a separated yellow piece for the v-fin. I noticed that there’s a yellow v-fin but it was made for the original MK-II design. What a disappointment not to add the modded version of the v-fin here in the yellow runners.
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It was a real pain to use the stickers for v-fin because they will peel off from time, the dust will stick on the edges, and they look uneven because the foil or paper is thick. I used my angelic green for the eye sensors but it’s not that visible on the front side. The good thing here is that all parts fits just fine and there were no tight parts or any bothersome issues.
Arm Unit:
It was a straightforward build with average parts separation.
In here, I got a visible seam on the right arm. The polycaps are placed correctly but the pegs keeps on sliding out thus making a seam. The left arm doesn’t have any issues so this could be my fault during assembly or there might be some flashes on the polycaps. The upper body or shoulder armor doesn’t have any problems.
Articulation is not that bad but not that impressive. Of course this is just a HG so posing and gimmicks are few.
That’s all for the arm unit and the seam is just a minor problem so I think this is still counted as a smooth build.
Leg Unit:
Here are the parts for the leg unit. I also placed the finished right leg on the mat for a quick reference.
There were no problems here during assembly and articulation is not that bad.
You can stretch the legs this much as well.
After finishing the legs I realized I missed these yellow parts for the legs. :v
Waist Unit:
Parts separation here is below average and features very plain color scheme. I thought the front skirts have a ball joint design so I can cut them in half like I did on the HG Unicorn before and the Try Burning Gundam. Unfortunately, it was a simple round peg so both front skirts will move during posing.
Good thing that there are no problems here and it was a smooth build.
The back skirt has a movable clamp where you can attach the bazooka.
As for its articulation, it was great. The movement range for the front and side skirts can be lifted this much as seen on the image. The back skirt is fixed and you won’t be able to move it.
Backpack Unit:
I don’t have a brush that can be used to add color on those vents near the beam saber connectors. The color was plain and they [Bandai] should have added some color here like yellow or green even if it’s just foil stickers.
At the very least, there were no issues encountered here. Just a few tight pegs but everything is okay here.
You can move these thrusters that also act as beam saber holders.
Weapons:
Beam Rifle Mk II:
These are the beam rifles that will be attached on the build booster unit’s movable shield. It was very simple but features good detailing. If it was mine, I would add some color on those triangular designs.
Hyper Bazooka:
This is the original bazooka for the MK-II. If you recall about the parts, you can return the model into the original MK-II design. That is a nice feat giving you 2 models in a single kit.
I think I have deleted the picture of the finished bazooka by accident. -_-
Vulcan Pod:
So yeah, the kit features the same headset-like vulcan attachments for the head. Another plus making sure you get the full package to rebuild the original Mk-II design.
Shield:
Same with the bazooka, this is also a part of the original weapons for the MK-II.
Beam Rifle:
This is another weapon from the original set of Mk-II. No other issues here and it looks neat with those detailing.
Build Booster Unit:
These are the parts for the Build Booster Unit and you will attach the two beam rifles here. I also added the parts of the connectors meant for the arm. These connectors give you the option of placing the two beam rifles under the model’s arms.
There were several tight pegs here but those aren’t much of a big issue here. I still consider it a smooth build.
As for movement range, you can rotate this section to certain degrees but not to the full 360.
These gray parts can be moved as well along with these blue flap-like parts.
Extras:
Technically, you get 3 originals weapons of Mk-II as part of the extras. Aside from these weapons, you get the beam effects for the sabers and the extra pieces (v-fin, chest parts) to return the model into the original Gundam Mk-II design. That's a lot for a simple HG kit which is great.
Completed Model:
Articulation Test:
The legs can be lifted up nicely even though the front skirts can hinder its movement. The legs are using a ball joint peg so stretching them sideways can be a problem. The arms features good movement as well.
Now here are my ratings..
Plastic Quality: 7/10
The quality isn’t that bad, but it has a similar “feel” with Daban Model’s older kits. I wanted it to be glossy so I can use the metallic pens. But here, you can’t even tell if it has the same texture with models having a matte finish.
The good thing however is that there were no flashes so this was far better than TTH. The polycaps aren’t bad either and they are not tight or too loose during posing.
Assembly: 7/10
I encountered very few issues and most of them are them are seams. My 2 guesses here would be the polcayps and the plastic. The polycaps may have flashes and that can greatly affect snap fitting because of its rubbery composition. The plastic may look good on the side or clean, but you can’t tell if there are flashes or badly molded cavities where the pegs should fit it. If the female pegs are too wide and you can fit the male pegs easily, that’s where the problem would likely to appear.
Detailing: 6/10
Generally, detailing here looks great and I am starting to look forward on building the MG version. I’m supposed to give it a 7 but the foil stickers pulled it down. I know the HG 1/144 first role is for giving the collectors a wide array of kits to choose from, but Bandai should have added parts on the runners to avoid using such foil stickers. I mean, they managed to create a separate yellow v-fin for the original Mk-II but the Build Mk-II gets foil stickers. That’s really disappointing and it felt like Bandai is in favor of the original Mk-II design. :/
Articulation: 7/10
For a regular HG 1/144, this model gives a nice range of movement. You can pose it with or without the pedestal. It may not be able to do extreme poses like the MG version does, but you can see from the articulation section above that there might be several poses to try with this range of articulation. I have no complains here and it looks good for me.
Gimmicks: 6/10
The only gimmicks you can look up here is the option of removing the Beam Rifle Mk-II (along with the movable shield), and attach it on the arms or back the Build Booster Unit. You can remove the entire Build Booster Unit and pose them separately. Other than that, I don’t think there are any more you can highlight on this kit.
Weapons: 8/10
I have to give it a good rating here because of the weapons meant for the original Mk-II. Surely, you won’t need them in such conditions. But there will surely come a time when you will thank Bandai for including them in the kit.
Extras: 8/10
The 3 weapons and parts to build the original Mk-II are considered as extras knowing that the kit features the Build Mk-II and not the original one. I had to give it a high rating because it was just more than enough for a HG 1/144 kit.
Patience: 4/10
It was easy to build with very minor issues that can be fixed. I think my rating of 4 is just right considering there are only few parts to build. But if you will paint or add more detailing on the kit, the rating I gave is out of the topic because these ratings are just meant for a straight build routine.
Overall Rating: 7/10
It was fun to build and more like a quick stress reliever. It features good articulation and weaponry giving you a lot of options for posing which is nice. I hope I can try out the other Huiyan brand kits just to compare the issues and prove myself wrong with my comments regarding its plastic. I saw the Gundam X Maoh and I want to review that too.
Anyways, there were no big issues for me to complain here so it’s a good kit to recommend. Just try to fix those issues I mentioned earlier. If there were none during your time building it, then my case was an isolated one. Of course, to save you the trouble in getting these issues, then go for Bandai. Well I am not sure if they have the same issues but at least you will have a better plastic quality than this one. But if you don’t mind because you are planning to practice painting and this kit is your model for that, then go.
I am not very familiar with HG kits so that is all I can say. If I remember something, I will add update this article.
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