Big thanks to the compadres at Gundam Mad for selling me this kid. This article isn't sponsored, but I'm still thanking my lucky stars that I bought this kit before it sold out. From where I was, it seemed like it took less than half a day between the stock announcement and selling out. So either they didn't stock that many or people really want themselves some mustache.
Back to a more typical bipedal Master Grade (as typical as it can be given the unique design touch of Syd Mead in this continuity). And this is a pleasingly-big one. Like, I open the box and find that the lid and the base cover the same surface area as the box for the kit I'm doing after this. And I shan't spoil it just yet, but...yeah, it's a big one, so that's saying something.
I'm looking at the runner diagrams and I don't see any crosses over any of the parts. Careful consideration was evidently made for this kit, as befitting a kit hyped up as the 100th Master Grade.
Body Unit
Those blue parts are a little weird, since they kind of fit loosely in the chassis and can slide in and out. Be careful not to tilt them upwards when sliding them forwards at this stage, since they feel like they can fall out.
Oh heck, the hinge on the lower hatch came off on one side, that's how awkward the hatches are to attach. And this time it's such a small part that plastic glue probably isn't a good idea in this scenario. At least it's secured when the bay is inserted into the torso.
Yeah, not a fan of those hatches. The manual is not clear on how to precisely attach them, and the exact way to attach them is annoyingly specific.
Head Unit
I think this foil sticker is to give a reflective backing to the eyes. That's about what I can fathom going off of how it's stuck on the back of the eyes.
Oh, ok. So it's already calling for the dry rub transfer, and it's a pretty precise-looking one. Well, the Ball Ver.Ka gave me plenty of practice...
Eh, it sort of works. Not sure if it was just a case of a much more curved surface, but that was not as easy as most of the transfers I've done before.
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| My name is Loran Cehack, and I moustache you a question! |
The parts on the top and the back are not meant to fit flush, so don't force them.
Arm Unit
Hmm, attaching that hinge at the top was mighty awkward as well - it felt like I was going to break the white parts. Awkward parts seem to be a theme with this kit.
If you're building the articulated hands, do not attempt to attach the fingers the way that the manual suggests. The fingers do not stay secure together in any way, and it's better to insert each of them individually into the hand. This is far and away the worst hand assembly I've ever worked with since the thumbs on the God Gundam, and that one at least has the excuse of three tiny parts of an articulated thumb. I again ask, why don't more kits do it the way the MG Origin RX-78-2 does and have the hand pre-assembled on the frame with them needing to be twisted into place?
Gonna assemble this with the unarticulated hand because god, the articulated one just doesn't deserve it after all that horse crap.
Leg Unit
Fitting the heel and bulk of the feet on the inner part really requires a lot of torque until it clicks.
I'm liking the opportunities for panel lining I'm seeing on the legs, and I'm intrigued by the inner mechanisms on the knees.
Waist Unit
This one's not long, though I suppose the core fighter unit/cockpit is a separate section in the manual from this.
Cockpit
No seated pilot figure in this one. Not surprised, it's a relatively small amount of space in the cockpit of this model.
I like the look of this - doing a size comparison, it's actually slightly taller than my 1/100 Master Grade The Origin RX-78-2. But it looks like it's missing a few things...
Weapons
This would have been the part where I would have assembled the Gundam Hammer, but it turns out the standalone chain links that connect the front and back of the hammer to the chain have somehow gone missing. So...great. Another thing about this kit that annoys me. Why couldn't those connectors just be attached to a runner like any other part and not just loose in the transfer bag?
I'll at least build the front of it and clip the back out. That's good enough. I'm not even planning on displaying it with the hammer anyway.
And that's the MG Turn A Gundam. As much as I want to say I love this kit...I unfortunately don't. It's the fragile, awkward-to-fit chest hatches, the annoying articulated hands and easily-loseable hammer chain links that really stop me from being fully enthusiastic about this kit. Admittedly, the latter is most likely more of a "me" problem even if it would've still made sense to have those chain links on a runner of some kind, but nonetheless, losing the chain links was so disheartening for me I don't even really feel like going with my original plan of painting the oft-memed cow figurine that this kit notoriously comes with.
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| Not yet, anyway. |
Turns out I even tempted fate by saying that none of the parts on the runners are crossed off, because there's two parts on the E runner (21 and 22) that don't come up anywhere in the manual, so way to make me panic and think that I've missed something like I often do.
Don't mistake me here, this kit is impressive once put together and it has that uniqueness befitting of the Correct Century's style of Gundam, but I'm sorry, there's too much about this kit that just made me feel ultimately kind of let down. I haven't run this hard into the dichotomy of "impressive-looking kit, frustrating build process" since the Real Grade Astray Gold Frame, though I'll grant you the Turn A at least stands up well enough. One for people who are already somewhat confident with Master Grade kits. Everyone else, proceed with caution.
Stay safe and keep clipping, folks!
The Good
+ Unique design courtesy of Syd Mead
+ It comes with a cow!
The Bad
- Chest hatch hinges are flimsy
- Articulated hands are hard to work with, especially if you go off of what the manual says
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