Big thanks to the guys over at Japan Craft for selling me this kit. This article isn't sponsored, but I'm still willing to overlook how my preorder of this kit took its sweet time arriving. It most likely isn't even their fault anyway - suppliers have got to be in a weird state in a global climate like this.
Bit of a change of scenery today, I'm gonna be building this kit in my kitchen, so there's a nice wood background and more surface area to work on.
Today, we're ticking another favourite off of my wishlist - I've wanted to get my hands on an AGEII Magnum kit ever since I saw Mecha Gaikotsu's list of transforming gunpla, and for purposes of simplicity, I opted for the High Grade over the Master Grade despite the latter being stocked in more places I buy from (Might give it a go for comparison purposes, I suppose). It also helps that I've just got done watching Gundam Build Divers and quite enjoyed it. Sure, it's not the smartest show out there in this franchise alone, and the Our Century timeline is pretty transparently a gigantic ad for the model kits, but you know me - I'm the last person to complain about something like that. Let's open the box and cross this one off of the bucket list!
Body
I photographed the body assembly from this angle in this last photo because the top ball joint polycap's orientation isn't all that clear in the manual. The rim around the square part is supposed to be on the bottom of the part, and the square hole goes in the back.
The part with the sticker on it here is easily attached if you grip it through its hole with tweezers to line it up right, then push it in to secure it.
Something I knew about the kit beforehand is that the transformation to flight mode requires the head to drop into the torso, and seeing the polycap attached to the vertical shaft early on in the build, I understand how that aspect works.
Head
Arms
And now the manual says to attach the arms and head to the body, so...let's do that.
The head was easy to attach, so there's obviously more to the head drop gimmick than I thought there was.
Legs
If it wasn't for the lower thighs, this section would've been better referred to as "feet". Regardless, I'll be merging the individual legs into this section obviously.
And now to add one final piece to the whole basic Gundam assembly.
Waist
And now that the waist has something to slot onto...
Looks pretty good. For some reason, the next section isn't the funnels though - it's the stand.
Base
It's a simple stand, so there's not too much time to be spent here anyway. There's so few parts here that they aren't even attached to a runner, they're just moulded to each other.
I probably don't need to worry too much about warping the bumps on the vertical part, since that isn't where the Gundam itself is placed. Not that that's stopping me from being careful when using my nippers on here. My usual Citadel cutter worked fine, though I can easily imagine the thinner God Hand nippers make more sense in a situation like this.
F Funnel
Onto the signature clear turquoises!
Fantastic! That's the Gundam I know and love now! I'm really impressed at how well it stays balanced, I'm honestly not sure I need the stand for anything other than the flight form.
Weapons
I very much appreciate a Gundam kit where all the weapons (bar the effect parts) can be stored on the Gundam itself.
And that's all the weapons done. Only one thing left to do - transform it!
First, you disassemble the fundamental components of the Gundam...
...pull the abdominal part down and push the head into the torso...
...swing the lower body round to the back, lining up the back skirt's notches with the holes in the back...
...rotate the side-flaps around to the front...
...move the white parts back...
...turn the claw-like part in the back of the rifle round so that it fits in flush...
...move the purple parts to this orientation while moving the back handle to a horizontal position...
...attach the rifle to the body by putting the horizontal handle in the Gundam's chest hole...
...attach the shield to the top of the rifle...
...move the legs to this orientation and close the feet...
...attach the legs to this wider centre part...
...rotate the funnels on the arms to this orientation and open them out while moving the flap on the shoulder down...
...attach those to the sides and fit the legs on the back...
...and hey presto, you have yourself a Phoenix Mode AGEII Magnum!
And that's the High Grade AGEII Magnum. I was always excited to give this kit a go, and the hype I had was very real. Not only is this an aesthetically-pleasing kit in its own right, but if I had started on High Grades and transforming kits with this one instead of the Zerachiel, I'd be even more enthusiastic about them than I already am. If you're in the market for a transforming kit, this'll be my first choice as of now.
Stay safe and keep clipping, folks!
The Good
+ Sleek design and colour scheme
+ Great articulation
+ Bloomin' 'eck, they crammed a transformation into this thing and didn't compromise the kit's structural integrity!
The Bad
- Transformation requires a replacement leg joint
Build Experience: A
Completed Kit Rating: S
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