Big thanks to Forbidden Planet for selling me this kit.
Another Master Grade Zeta kit?! Surely you jest?
Well, to be fair, this one's another one that's been on my wishlist for quite a while now. Mainly because out of all the gold-coloured Gunpla kits I've seen, this one seems like the only one that executes that idea well, if only because it's not in fragile, gaudy, fingerprint-attracting metallic gold, cough-cough (fine, you might see some fingerprints in the photos coming up, but the point is, it's not as visible as they would have been if it was in metallic gold).
In contrast to the Zeta 2.0, the Hyaku-Shiki doesn't transform, so it hasn't got any of the stresses and weaknesses that inherently come with that. Yes, I know in the lore that the Hyaku-Shiki was originally designed to have a transformation in mind, but that was abandoned later in the design process.
The gold G runners are at the top of the box. Bandai knows what everyone is here for.
Body Unit
There are three choices of eye sticker for this kit - one without the eyes glowing, one with, and one with a bunch of horizontal lines that Google Lens tells me are "scanning". From the perspective of someone who hasn't gotten far enough into Zeta to see this mobile suit in action, it reminds me quite a bit of that one shot in Unicorn when the Delta Plus starts up. And if that perspective makes me Plebby O'Plebtrousers, then so be it.
I can't seem to get the head camera to fit flush, but the rest of the top of the head fits together fine enough, so that's not an issue. It was also here that I found out that two of the eye stickers actually fit on transparent parts that go over the "lit up" eye sticker, which can be swapped. That makes sense. For now though, I'll be attaching the transparent one that goes over the normal eyes. It looks fine enough and I'm relieved to report that the top fits on tightly enough to not be brittle, but loosely enough to allow for this swapping.
Arm Assembly
Swift, satisfying arm assembly. Even the articulated hands weren't all that fiddly to assemble.
First transparent sticker goes onto the shoulders alongside those wonderful dry transfers, and...oh dear, are these transparent Katoki-style decals not suited for matte gold. In fact, the Hyaku-Shiki's matte gold might be the worst possible colour for them to be on that isn't a dark colour. The dry transfers are cool though.
These actually came together really nicely. Perhaps it's just fatigue from the loose shoulders on two different Wing Gundams, but sliding the shoulders into place after attaching the arms was where I really started thinking that this was a wonderfully solid kit.
Waist Unit
All together, and still feels really solid. This is a nicely done kit so far. But I can't help but feel that something is missing...
Backpack
The balance is obviously a bit more dubious after attaching the backpack, but it still looks really nice. And I'd imagine I'd probably want to pose it in a way that gives a lower center of gravity. Which would probably require the...
Weapons
And that's the Hyaku-Shiki all put together and posed up. And honestly, although I pretty much had to pose it so that there's less of a chance of it falling backwards, it looks so nice that I would've posed it anyway. The hinged double peg arrangement in both the weapons and the hands really helps secure that and the attachment is nice and simple. It all feels about as solid as you'd want from a kit like this, dare I say...solid gold?
Point is, this is probably my favourite Zeta kit. I know this is only the third one from that show specifically that I've built, but I still absolutely adore it. Truly a kit worthy of Char- uh, sorry, Quattro himself.
Stay safe and keep clipping, folks!
The Good
+ Matte gold colour scheme is beautiful
+ The gold bits are undergated, so you won't find many cleanup marks once it's complete
+ Dry transfers are nice
+ Incredibly solid feel just about everywhere that matters
+ Did I mention it's matte gold?
The Bad
- The transparent stickers really don't look good on the gold
- I'm fairly sure the head camera didn't fit correctly, but none of the rest of the head assembly indicated a correct way
- Doesn't stand up all that great with the backpack attached when in a basic standing pose
- I dunno, the piss-yellow saber colours only look good in context? Sure, let's go with that.
Building Experience: A
Completed Kit Rating: A
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