Hey Builders!
I've been pretty lazy lately, staying up late playing video games, watching Netflix, and then waking up really late, not leaving me a lot of time or motivation to work on any of my Gunpla. Today, however, I was able to work on the HGUC Stark Jegan. You might remember this guy from the first episode of Gundam Unicorn fighting the Kshatriya. I purchased this kit from a fellow Redditor who gave me a really great deal on this kit. $16 + free shipping. This kit normally retails at 2000 Japanese Yen, and I've seen it from anywhere between $23-$30 in US markets.
I'm very excited to review this kit for you, but first:
If you know the Jegan you will know that it has many variations. If you're interested in a review of the RGM-89 Jegan check out my friend and affiliate, Gundariumsmith's blog here:
And be sure to follow him to check out the cool things he has got going on over there!
On to the review!
Parts
This kit comes with 10 runners. A, B, C, D (2x), E (2x), F, Polycaps, and Beam Sabers
It doesn't have too many parts to it, but interestingly enough has two runners molded in multiple colors of plastic, the A and B runners.
Weapons and Manipulators
Weapons:
1x Bazooka
1x Beam Rifle
1x Beam Saber w/ 2x Beam effect parts (1 short 1 long)
Manipulators:
2x Standard holding hands
1x Trigger Finger
Size Comparison
The Stark Jegan is a good sized HG kit, coming in around the same height as the Jesta Cannon. However both are fairly short in comparison to the Unicorn Destroy Mode and Sinanju of the same scale and grade.
The Stark Jegan is fairly wide, given the missile pods mounted on its shoulders, and it has a little more beef added to its legs with the thrusters.
Articulation
Arms:
Because of the shoulder mounted missile pods, you will have some trouble moving the arms.
The elbow joints only achieve a 90 degree bend.
The shoulder armor moves freely from the rest of the arm, so you can maneuver them out of the way for better movement of the arms.
Legs:
The front waist skirt does not move up very far before the middle piece pops off, so you won't get too much of a kick from the legs.
The armor on the legs takes away from some of the bend, and you'll get slightly more than 90 degrees there.
Color/Quality
Let me first start off by saying it is great that they gave us the red pieces for the missile pods. I was half expecting them to just give you a big chunk of gray plastic and say "There you go, missiles" but I'm very glad they included a separate red piece to insert into the launchers.
It really makes it pop.
As for the rest of the kit, the main body is going to come in a mint green color (much more dull than the standard Jegan, with very little color separation. They do not include stickers for details, which is a little odd, but it forced me to do a little painting. The vents, which are supposed to be yellow, are all molded in green all over the armor. I painted them yellow, and then added some black detail.
This kit can get a little boring with all the green and gray being the most prominent colors on the kit, but with a little touch up, as you can see here on the thrusters, you can make it look a lot better.
This kit really needs some extra work to make it not just gray and green. The only other parts that are colored are the clear blue visor, the missiles in the missile pods, the red crotch piece, and the chest vents, which don't really stand out too much.
One of the things I did to make this kit look a little better was panel line some of the gray parts with red, just to make it stand out. I also painted the verniers with silver paint to give it some contrast from the rest of the armor.
I also painted the V in the crotch piece yellow, or else it wouldve been all red, and added some blue on top of the missile pods.
As for quality, this kit is your standard modern HGUC. Feels sturdy, not too many weight issues, and looks great with some work. There weren't many pieces that stood out to me as being overly flimsy, or prone to break.
The only problem I had was with the leg armor. They are separate pieces from the leg, so you can take them apart easily, but that also means they can fall off. They wrap around and connect to each other, but sit loosely on the shin. I've found myself squeezing it over and over to tighten it up, and then accidentally knocking it loose as I pose it.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
This kit looks very nice, and it is fairly unique in its design. It was also very easy to build. You will have a lot of extra time to detail it, and paint up some parts that they don't give enough color on. Most of the steps in the instructions were doubled, so you're basically just building the same part twice.
Cons:
Unfortunately, there are a good amount of cons for this kit. The color separation is almost nonexistent, and if you just want a straight OOB build with not a lot of work, this kit isn't for you. You'll need to get your paints/markers and get to work on this guy to really bring out his full potential. The militaristic style of this Mobile Suit really plays against it, in giving you very dull colors, without any separation, or seals to cover it up. It also is fairly bulky, and can be a hassle to get into the right pose, especially without an action base. With loose armor pieces, you might find yourself annoyed at things not being pointed the right way, or constantly becoming looser and looser.
Verdict
Honestly, Bandai could've done a better job with this kit, at least with some more color or seals to give it a little pop. Instead, we are left to paint it and detail it ourselves. However, that being said, having to do all of that, really made me appreciate this kit that much more. Yes, it would've been a very dull blob of plastic if I didn't add any color to it, but having to do so made this kit look even better.
If you're looking for a project and you want a kit that you can paint and have options to detail, this is for you. However, be warned, I would not pay full retail price for this kit, especially for >$20.
I really had fun building this kit, but more so making it my own. If you like the Jegan and you're looking to put in some effort, go pick up this kit!
Oh and did I mention, the Jesta Cannon's pack is compatible with him? Stark Jegan Cannon anybody?
Until next time!
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