Re: HG Aile Strike Gundam (1/144) Open Box Review

"George Caswell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> On Wed, 19 Nov 2003, Heavyarms wrote:
>
> > ALMOST everything else is molded in the correct colors, but darn it, not
> > everything.
>
>    I think it's only fair to consider that the Strike has a fairly complex
> color scheme.  The V-fin, for instance, is three different colors.  The
body
> of the Strike has the traditional Gundam colors, plus bits of gray stuck
in
> everywhere.
>

Oh sure, the color is difficult to mold correctly, because of the gray all
over the body.  That's why I'm not complaining a whole lot.

>    But, then, it's always a good idea to paint the whole model anyway, if
you
> want it to look good.  The parts breakdown on the HG Strike makes
modularized
> painting pretty easy.  The main change I made to make it simpler was to
cut
> the gray inside parts of the legs into two halves, so I could remove them
from
> the white part after assembly.
>
> > I'm a little disappointed in the small number of runners in this box,
> > especially considering the price.  Heck, the HGUC Z'Gok came with at
least
> > three runners (I believe) and it was four dollars cheaper.
>
>    Two important differences:
> 1: The Z'Gok isn't a Gundam, and therefore it's less popular.  (Sad but
true.)
> Therefore it's cheaper.

Z'Gok rules!  I used that as an example.
Char's Zaku was cheaper, and it had more runners.  This is "Char's Zaku" so
it HAD to have been a popular kit.

The GP01, Rick Dias, Bawoo, Gelgoog, and Rick Dias had as much, if not more
plastic, and were all the same price.

> 2: The Strike kit actually is more intricate than the Z'Gok kit.  The end
> result is also a more fun model, since it has that swappable striker pack
and
> all that.  It has two weapons, a shield, and a giant, flashy thruster
pack.
> The Z'Gok has...  the Z'Gok.  Nothing else.
>

I said Z'Gok rules, dammit!  Yeah I see your point.  The Z'gok was arms,
legs and a body.  Most MS are arms, legs, bodies, +weapons, sheilds, etc.
But still, three runners + more expensive = BOOO!

>    I can't fathom what's so bad about the beam saber included with the
kit.
> The hand molded onto that beam saber hilt is nearly B-Club quality.  I
could

I don't like it.  I'd rather have some open hands and "box hands" included,
than a specialized hand.  I also like the clear plastic the beam sabers have
been molded in over having to paint my own.

> paint that thing and put it on the model opposite a HD manipulator and be
> perfectly happy with it.  That's a lot better than what the HGUC Gundam
got
> (Giant, hollow boxing-glove fist into which beam saber could be inserted)
> Unfortunately the other hands in the kit don't measure up - but since
we're
> talking about a model kit here, I think parts that can be taken out of the
> box, painted, and result in good, convincing model parts are a good thing.
>
>    Your review really didn't seem to cover much other than color molding.
> Since you can't look at a finished model and know if the kit was
color-molded,
> I think that's pretty much irrelevant, except in cases where it makes
painting

George, it's an open box review.  In MY open-box reviews, I typically only
describe my first impressions when opening the box.(I only paint what needs
to be painted, parts in the wrong color, parts that stickers are provided
for) so when I open the box up, the first things I look for are "where are
the seam lines going to be" and "what colors are the peices molded in."
Since I don't paint the whole kit unless it needs it, or I just have a whim
to do so, what colors the kits are molded in are very important to me, and I
suspect to some in this group as well.

> easier.  How's the sculpt?  And can the robot kit strike some credible

Sculpting I usually deal with in my build up reviews.  These are where I put
my final impressions, which, for obvious reasons, I can't deal with until
I've FINISHED the kit.  My build up reviews are usually a little more in
depth.  Check out my HGUC Zeta build up.

> humanoid poses?
>

I don't know, since I haven't built it yet.  The pictures in the box seem to
indicate that it can.

>    The sculpt is pretty good, but seems a bit soft/rounded-off in places.
> That's a bit unfortunate, the Strike is a design that looks nice when its
> angles are well-defined.  The shoulder armors are just a bit too open and
> hollow, exposing the undetailed interiors.  Likewise, the skirts are
hollow
> and the ankle area is somewhat vacuous, with snap-fit pegs and such
visible on
> the back sides of the ankle armors and such.  As for the Aile pack, due to
> limited parts count and simple molding, it's somewhat crude in certain
areas -
> mostly the vents and thruster ports.  The forward-facing vents which sit
on
> top of the torso, for instance, were molded from the top, so there's sort
of a
> staircase effect going on.  But generally the kit gives you a lot to work
> with.  Due to the gangly nature of the design and the vast expanse of
extra
> space provided in the ankle area, the kit can pull off some nice poses.
> However, the cost there is that the ankle area has become one of the most
> naturally ugly areas of the unmodified kit, with two exposed polycaps, and
> simply too much empty space.
>

Thank you for your review!

> ---GEC
> Projects page: http://1-4-4.home.comcast.net/
> "I am but the humble student, who seeks one day to snatch the scratchbuilt
>  pebble from the master's fully articulated hand."
>
>
>