Big thanks to the fine folks over at Gundam Mad for this kit. This article isn't sponsored, though they did include some kind of beer mat-looking thing with "Take On Me" on one side, so...that's as good as a sponsorship deal, right?
So, the God Gundam. The ultimate protagonist suit for most of G Gundam - the show that is (or was, depending on who you ask) considered something of a black sheep among the franchise, but beloved as a mobile suit in its own right, at least going off of how it wound up with the Hi-Resolution Model treatment. Well...I assume it's a prestigious treatment - the HiRM line only seems to update once a year, until 2019 where it managed to bump it up to twice! Fantastic, we're now up to a whopping five models in the HiRM range!
HiRM, compared to the other grades, is basically a 1/100 scale model where the inner frame is pre-assembled and designed from the ground up to be as chock-full of articulation as possible, and the armour pieces are given a nice glossy/metallic finish to make it look really good.
Originally I wanted my introduction to the HiRM line to be the Astray Red Frame for the purpose of comparing it to the Real Grade (nah, it was because I like the gerbera straight!), but the God Gundam is pretty much its equal, given that it lands within my top five favourite mobile suits of all time. Perhaps I'll gradually reveal what the rest of those favourites are...
And yes, I will be calling it the God Gundam - it's what the box calls it and I dislike the English dub renaming it the "Burning Gundam". In fact as far as I'm aware, the only good I've seen the English dub of G Gundam do is...well...
Alright, let's get to building this thing. I haven't unboxed it as of me typing this, so let's see what we get.
There's a ton of stuff in this box that I'm excited to see, but for now, what we care about is the tall blue box.
Slide off the cover, and you're greeted with two God Finger hands, and that fancy-schmancy inner frame I just mentioned.
The plastic on this frame feels really solid, particularly with how the soles of the feet feel like they're made of metal. I'd imagine I can get some good poses out of this kit already. In fact...
Yep, I went there. Alright, enough fooling around, let's stick some armour on this guy.
The highlight is B1 and E1, which both form the "thumb" of the blue arm armour - it really brings the whole thing together as an extension of the suit's hands. For God Finger purposes, obviously.
Little tip for those seeking out this model. Specifically regarding D15, the first front part to be attached to the upper arms.
Don't try to slot it in at an angle to get the horizontal part at the tip to fit first - just line it up with the plus-shaped part on the upper arm, then press it until the horizontal part clicks. The instructions do say to do this, after all. Onto the hand!
Calling it now, the thumb assembly alone is dashing most hopes I have of giving this kit a hard S-rank. Especially in the case of the fingertip, putting together these things was an awful experience. Why on earth Bandai didn't just pre-mold the hands like with the MG The Origin RX-78-2, I have no idea. Particularly since that kit predates this one by four years. And I did manage it in the end, so I have morally earned the right to complain about these tiny plastic abominations.
The cherry on the sundae is that since I started with the right hand, I'm probably going to be swapping it out with the god finger part for posing purposes anyway. Screw this part even harder than the back of the head armour.
At least they're a solid fit when they're on the right way round, but good lord.
Right, now to do the other one, right down to that godforsaken thumb.
Midway through building the left thumb, I found that holding the parts in a way that leaves the joint horizontal and then sliding them on sideways rather than straight together is an easier way to do the thumb. That's a relief.
OH BALLS. It's at this point that I forgot to put on some of the leg armour and accidentally snapped off some more of the armour in the process. But as usual, nothing that my plastic glue can't fix. Sssssshhhh!
I suspect these bits on the sides are where the beam katanas are holstered.
And with the rear segment attached, that's the actual Gundam itself finished! Now it's time for the...
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| I'd have thought the railfans would prefer "Analogue (All I Want)". |
So, the God Gundam. The ultimate protagonist suit for most of G Gundam - the show that is (or was, depending on who you ask) considered something of a black sheep among the franchise, but beloved as a mobile suit in its own right, at least going off of how it wound up with the Hi-Resolution Model treatment. Well...I assume it's a prestigious treatment - the HiRM line only seems to update once a year, until 2019 where it managed to bump it up to twice! Fantastic, we're now up to a whopping five models in the HiRM range!
HiRM, compared to the other grades, is basically a 1/100 scale model where the inner frame is pre-assembled and designed from the ground up to be as chock-full of articulation as possible, and the armour pieces are given a nice glossy/metallic finish to make it look really good.
Originally I wanted my introduction to the HiRM line to be the Astray Red Frame for the purpose of comparing it to the Real Grade (nah, it was because I like the gerbera straight!), but the God Gundam is pretty much its equal, given that it lands within my top five favourite mobile suits of all time. Perhaps I'll gradually reveal what the rest of those favourites are...
And yes, I will be calling it the God Gundam - it's what the box calls it and I dislike the English dub renaming it the "Burning Gundam". In fact as far as I'm aware, the only good I've seen the English dub of G Gundam do is...well...
Alright, let's get to building this thing. I haven't unboxed it as of me typing this, so let's see what we get.
There's a ton of stuff in this box that I'm excited to see, but for now, what we care about is the tall blue box.
Slide off the cover, and you're greeted with two God Finger hands, and that fancy-schmancy inner frame I just mentioned.
 |
| Drrr...drr...drr... |
The plastic on this frame feels really solid, particularly with how the soles of the feet feel like they're made of metal. I'd imagine I can get some good poses out of this kit already. In fact...
 |
| Pose me like one of your rose gundams! |
Yep, I went there. Alright, enough fooling around, let's stick some armour on this guy.
Chest Armour
Oh darn it, the very first step involves applying a sticker. This time though, it's a sticker on its own sheet - a "jewel sticker".
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| Does this abode LOOK like a tweenage girl's bedroom to you, your lumpy sparkliness? |
God, attaching this thing to any satisfying orientation is annoying. You try to use your fingers and it slips to the wrong orientation. You try using the tweezers and you can't get a good grip on it. If it wasn't for the fact that it looks really nice once attached, I might've been instantly put in a bad mood by this shiny bastard.
Right. Can we actually get to clipping stuff out now? Oh, we can? Ok.
It was around attaching these two parts that I truly realized how gorgeous the blues were in this kit. I've worked with kits that have used the traditional protagonist gundam colour palette before, but never before have the blues been this strikingly vibrant.
Looking ahead, I can already tell that this is a kit you should probably avoid if you dislike cleaning up "Under Gate" parts - it seems like there's always a handful of those kind of parts on every page. Hell, on the first page alone, every part I've had to cut out has had them. It's nothing a decent craft knife can't clear up, but still.
Head Armour
Well, I can at least say this for the HiRM models - at least I don't need to fiddle around with eye stickers this time!
Threw in some light panel lining on the white faceplate - can't go without those iconic two lines even if my phone camera didn't pick them up all that great!
Attaching the smaller of the two pairs of horns was a little weird - you have to slot it into a vertical notch on the green part, and it seems like it's secured in with the front and back of the part's base. I'm not completely convinced it's secure, but I'll soldier on with the top of the head.
Ok, gonna throw this out here - trying to attach part A21, the back piece on the head armour, is a straight-up pain. I have no idea why it doesn't fit anywhere near as flush as the kit seems to imply I want to, and not even thoroughly cleaning up the part's under gate helps it fit properly.
I mean, the picture indicates that the head armour in general is the same way, but at least it stayed in. A21 needed me to properly clean up every trace of the under gate and then push it on really hard - not an easy feat with a part this small. Screw this part.
At least the head is done, but for real - ouch, my thumb.
Arm Armour
For as much as the early stages resemble some kind of themed toilet, I actually quite like the end result of the first panel of the arm armour.
The highlight is B1 and E1, which both form the "thumb" of the blue arm armour - it really brings the whole thing together as an extension of the suit's hands. For God Finger purposes, obviously.
Little tip for those seeking out this model. Specifically regarding D15, the first front part to be attached to the upper arms.
Don't try to slot it in at an angle to get the horizontal part at the tip to fit first - just line it up with the plus-shaped part on the upper arm, then press it until the horizontal part clicks. The instructions do say to do this, after all. Onto the hand!
Calling it now, the thumb assembly alone is dashing most hopes I have of giving this kit a hard S-rank. Especially in the case of the fingertip, putting together these things was an awful experience. Why on earth Bandai didn't just pre-mold the hands like with the MG The Origin RX-78-2, I have no idea. Particularly since that kit predates this one by four years. And I did manage it in the end, so I have morally earned the right to complain about these tiny plastic abominations.
The cherry on the sundae is that since I started with the right hand, I'm probably going to be swapping it out with the god finger part for posing purposes anyway. Screw this part even harder than the back of the head armour.
 |
| If this was a middle finger, it'd be poetic. |
At least they're a solid fit when they're on the right way round, but good lord.
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| My sentiments exactly. |
Right, now to do the other one, right down to that godforsaken thumb.
Midway through building the left thumb, I found that holding the parts in a way that leaves the joint horizontal and then sliding them on sideways rather than straight together is an easier way to do the thumb. That's a relief.
Leg Armour
Liking the subtle difference in shade between the parts on runners A and C, threw in some panel lining here and there.
And now we have to use these interesting things that came with the kit - a set of rubber stickers.
So the idea is that the shapes are cut out on the sticky side, and you're supposed to press those out and stick them in the tips and heels of the gundam that match up. Considering that the feet are made of metal, I suppose this makes sense, but I only figured out this method by accident.
All the instructions say is, "Apply by matching the shape" along with an unhelpful diagram. But I managed it in the end, so that's fine. And considering there's enough rubber sticker space for two pairs of these feet, Bandai must've known that this wasn't easy to explain on their end.
All the instructions say is, "Apply by matching the shape" along with an unhelpful diagram. But I managed it in the end, so that's fine. And considering there's enough rubber sticker space for two pairs of these feet, Bandai must've known that this wasn't easy to explain on their end.
The thrusters on the back of the leg are also metal, and they look pretty nice.
Cool, now for the other one.
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| Fantastic! I sure hope I haven't forgotten anything! |
Waist Armour
Amusingly, the first step requires the gundam itself to be in a seated position.
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| Haha, that looks funny! It'd be even funnier if I haven't forgotten anything- |
OH BALLS. It's at this point that I forgot to put on some of the leg armour and accidentally snapped off some more of the armour in the process. But as usual, nothing that my plastic glue can't fix. Sssssshhhh!
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| The part I snapped isn't visible here, but it'd be hard to notice even if it was, so ssssssshhhh! |
I suspect these bits on the sides are where the beam katanas are holstered.
And with the rear segment attached, that's the actual Gundam itself finished! Now it's time for the...
Core Lander
It's odd for me to note that this is the only kit I own without a pilot figure that isn't a high grade or a superdeformed. Might have something to do with the way that a cockpit is handled in the case of the God Gundam, similar to what the Crossbone Gundam would go on to do.
When closing the wings up, take note that they have to be angled like the above image to get the reds and whites to slot together correctly.
Now let's get that core fighter slotted into the Gundam. The front part of the cockpit has a slot below it, and the back of the Gundam where the core fighter slots in lines up with this notch.
Beautiful. (And I haven't even attached the rainbow to the back yet!). Looks like there's just that and the beam katanas to do.
But before I sort them out, I want to show off the effect parts for the beam katanas. I won't be attaching these at first, but I nonetheless think these are amazing beam effects.
Amd with that, now the Gundam itself is finished.
Let's put it into hyper mode!
We open up the chest to reveal the energy multiplier, then push the white parts of the shoulders up (and I do like how to start doing the latter, you need to press a small part on the bottom of the shoulders)
...then open up the thrusters on each leg...
...fold the wings out...
There's a pair of pegs on the E runners to hold the rainbow (or "Halo Effect" as the manual calls it) in place. With the more sparkly side facing the same way as the Gundam itself...
And for authenticity, I also configured the right hand with the God Finger.
And now let's get it into one final pose. For good measure, I turned on the flash to see how it would catch the holographic side of the halo effect.
So that's the HiRM God Gundam. A brilliant centerpiece to any Gunpla collection, but my god are there some annoying moments. It isn't enough to take away from my general positive opinion of the kit, but what it does mean is that if you're in the market for a kit to start out with, for the love of god, do not start with this one. Don't be fooled into thinking that just because the inner frame is already done, that automatically means there's no significant work to be done at all.
I love that this kit is in my grasp, but I'm thankful that the HiRM line is as small as it is, because I'm probably not going to be touching it again for quite some time. And not just because I already have a kit of the Astray Red Frame. But overall, a very good-looking kit in general with a superb finish. I'll get round to doing the stickers at some point, but for now, I'm very much satisfied!
Stay safe and keep clipping, folks!
But before I sort them out, I want to show off the effect parts for the beam katanas. I won't be attaching these at first, but I nonetheless think these are amazing beam effects.
Amd with that, now the Gundam itself is finished.
Let's put it into hyper mode!
We open up the chest to reveal the energy multiplier, then push the white parts of the shoulders up (and I do like how to start doing the latter, you need to press a small part on the bottom of the shoulders)
...then open up the thrusters on each leg...
...fold the wings out...
There's a pair of pegs on the E runners to hold the rainbow (or "Halo Effect" as the manual calls it) in place. With the more sparkly side facing the same way as the Gundam itself...
And for authenticity, I also configured the right hand with the God Finger.
And now let's get it into one final pose. For good measure, I turned on the flash to see how it would catch the holographic side of the halo effect.
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| Photobombed slightly by my Oculus sensor cable, but still preeeeeety! |
So that's the HiRM God Gundam. A brilliant centerpiece to any Gunpla collection, but my god are there some annoying moments. It isn't enough to take away from my general positive opinion of the kit, but what it does mean is that if you're in the market for a kit to start out with, for the love of god, do not start with this one. Don't be fooled into thinking that just because the inner frame is already done, that automatically means there's no significant work to be done at all.
I love that this kit is in my grasp, but I'm thankful that the HiRM line is as small as it is, because I'm probably not going to be touching it again for quite some time. And not just because I already have a kit of the Astray Red Frame. But overall, a very good-looking kit in general with a superb finish. I'll get round to doing the stickers at some point, but for now, I'm very much satisfied!
Stay safe and keep clipping, folks!
The Good
+ Looks amazing
+ Superb articulation
+ Shiny finish gives it a different feel to your average Gundam model
+ That halo effect part, man
The Bad
- Head armour doesn't entirely fit flush without thoroughly erasing the undergating
- The thumb assembly is extremely specific about how it slots together
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