Thank you to Gundam Mad for selling me this kit.
"But Musha!", I hear you say. "Didn't you already do a kit of the Gundam Double X?" Yes, indeed I did. But take note that this was the 1/144-scale High Grade, and there was quite a lot about the detailing and the way it fit together that left a lot to be desired. A lot of the parts were the usual High Grade level of plasticky detail, the satellite cannon fins were really large, cumbersome foil stickers; and the polycap that connects the waist to the torso just does not seem to want to fit securely. Perhaps it needs a quick acrylic topcoat, and perhaps this is just a me-thing, but the fact that this is the only kit I've built to have a noticeably annoying flaw in it even after building it...that kind of speaks volumes.
And besides, building the same mech at a different scale and level of detail is a perfectly reasonable thing. It grants you perspective on what different levels of detail the different grades operate on, particularly with the different ways that a specific mech can be interpreted. Hell, speaking from my own experience, even including the one I featured on this blog, I've built a total of three different grades of the Unicorn Gundam - the SDBB, the Real Grade and the Perfect Grade. That number can go up to four if you count the Real Grade Unicorn Banshee Norn.
But anyway, that's enough rambling, let's crack this thing open and build ourselves something overpowered enough to vaporize an island!
Body Unit
Now this is interesting. The High Grade handled the microwave receiving layer over the cockpit with a pair of foil stickers with lime green transparent parts over it. Meanwhile, the Master Grade handles it by giving texture to the parts visible underneath the transparent parts, which are closer to turquoise. Honestly, I prefer the lime green, but I like this attention to detail more than the High Grade.
The socket on top of this white part is a polycap. I'm therefore praying that this one is more secure than the one in the same place on the High Grade.
I can at least confirm the white lower part of the torso clicks in a lot more securely than the polycap joint on the High Grade. INow I need to see how it holds up in the context of the completed Gundam, but ah...I'm getting ahead of myself.
Head Unit
There's a small square of foil stickers with this kit. It feels kind of a letdown to go back to these kind of stickers after
the last kit I did, but that's advancing scale model tech for you.
Arm Unit
The yellow fins on the arms sit loosely until this grey mechanism is in place. It's nice that it looks like it spaces the fins out evenly when opened, another thing it has over the High Grade.
I pointed this out on my TikTok the moment I noticed this, but immediately below the first Shoulder Armour heading, there's a typo in the similar header.
And yes, I looked up that exact word, it doesn't make sense in this context. I said it in the TikTok and I'll say it here - dammit, Tomin!
Don't blame yourself if you end up having to detach the upper part of the arms to push them onto the torso underneath the shoulder, it's a rather tight fit with awkward angles all over the place.
Waist Unit
Now let's give this thing some legs - this ain't a Zeong, after all!
Leg Unit
Only point of concern for me at the moment is the rather loose-feeling mechanism in the knee armour, but I still like the overall look of this thing even with that in mind. I mean, the large areas of navy blue on the shoulders are crying out for decals, but I'll worry about that when I get there. In the meantime...we have the star attraction.
Twin Satellite Cannon
While the panels on the back on the High Grade are foil stickers, these ones are transparent honeycomb-textured yellow parts over holographic card cut to the shape of the panel. It looks really nice.
Be warned of the grey horizontal part that connects the top and bottom panel togehter - when slotting in the bottom panel, there's a groove inside that the grey part fits into, so make sure that's the right way up so that the wing slides all the way on.
Holy hell, this thing is huge with the cannons and wings attached! In fact, it's rather back-heavy with the wings attached, so unless I get my hands on an Action Base 1 or 4, I think I'll be posing this thing with the cannons opened. Fine by me, the panels look gorgeous enough even when they aren't catching the light.
But before I get to that...
Weapons
Had to detach the cannons and wings for these shots, but now we can put it all back together...and activate the satellite cannons!
Ok, this thing is very prone to having things fall off, whether it be the back thrusters, or even the V-fin on the head. Don't blame yourself if you end up having to take pieces off for certain steps, particularly extending both of the cannons. And even when finished, the weight of the thing required me to point it upwards slightly when I finished it, so if I want to pose this thing with the cannons pointed straight forward, my earlier remark about getting an Action Base remains true. But still, it looks nicely imposing, and sure to stand out among my other Master Grades. In fact, let's bring in the High Grade for comparison.
The differences become quite noticeable side-by-side, don't they? Not just size, but detail. The High Grade feels a little more solid in terms of joins (apart from the torso-waist joint), while the Master Grade has the detail and isn't as fiddly in opening up the side-radiators on the arms and legs. As you'd expect, the High Grade is a better starting point for general builders, while the Master Grade is what to go for if you want more detail. However, from my experience, I probably ought to dab some PVA on the back of the V-Fin and get hold of an Action Base 1 for some peace of mind. As pretty as this kit is, it's not exactly an easy one to work with, especially not when working with the transformation sequence.
Stay safe and keep clipping, folks!
The Good
+ Massive shelf presence
+ Interesting mechanical details that obviously aren't present in the High Grade
+ The Twin Satellite Cannon is just cool, ok?
The Bad
- Doesn't stay upright well without an Action Base
- Some of the fits aren't secure, making this quite a hand grenade
- Knee armour mechanism feels loose
Build Experience: A
Completed Kit Rating: C
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