Review: HGUC 1/144 RX-121-2A Gundam TR-1 [Advanced Hazel]

Hello Builders, 

I've got an interesting kit for you today, and one that I especially know very little about! Today we're going to look at the Advanced Hazel released in 2005. 

It was a warm Saturday morning that had been long awaited by my friends and I, in our gunpla group. Finally, the day had come for us to embark on a trip to the fabled "Comic Store" located in New Hampshire. Upon arriving, it was down to business. Our group opened the door and made our way to the fateful aisle of Gunpla, and there it was.: a wall, lined with kits from a multitude of series. We were like kids in a candy shop, no, we were as close to Gunpla heaven as we could get. 

The day was filled with the seven of us perusing the aisle, enjoying the process of physically shopping for kits. Each of us would pick up a stack of kits, and then exchange them for others as the internal conflict in our hearts and minds (and wallets) shook us to our very core. Which kit do I want, which can I afford, how many can I get, is it worth it? 

At the end of the day, I escaped the store with 3 new kits, and some option parts. The HG Age-1 which I had the Razor parts for, the HG Cherudim, and the HG Advanced Hazel which we will be talking about today.

This High Grade kit comes from Advance of Zeta which takes place before the events of the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam Zeta. Again, I know very little about this series and its suits, however the interesting design of the suit really drew me in. 

In terms of a little background, what I gathered from reading a little bit about this suit, was that it was a Titans prototype mobile suit, based upon the GM Quel. Basically, it was a Quel with a Gundam style head, and various armaments. 

Parts

This kit comes with a polycap runner which is interestingly in a letter system, instead of a numerical system which I hadn't seen in awhile. It also comes with a foil sticker sheet, and a set of decal stickers, for Titans markings and logos

The A runner comes with yellow, red, and black plastic. It also includes the pink transparent beam saber. 

The B runner contains blue plastic pieces, including the two shields. 

The C runner includes blue plastic, and features a lot of the leg parts. 

The D runner includes the light grey plastic that makes up the joints and inner parts. 

The E runner is split into E1 and E2. E1 actually comes molded in 3 colors of plastic as well, which I hadn't seen before. 

Size Comparison

I decided to compare the suit with the Jesta Cannon and GM Sniper K9. The Advanced Hazel has a taller head height than both, but with the cannons extended, the Jesta has a height advantage. As you can see, however, I stripped the Hazel of most of its armaments. With the shield boosters, it gains significant height, and weight. 

Weapons and Manipulators

This kit comes with 3 shields. One standard shield, and two shield boosters. It also comes with one beam saber handle, and a beam rifle with a detachable magazine. The two additional magazines are only for show, as they only clip to the side skirts. 

The kit only comes with three hands. For the right hand, you can either have the standard holding hand, for the beam saber, or the trigger finger for the rifle. The standard holding hand is actually fairly different from other kits I've built, as the fingers are at an angle, so the saber will actually tilt forward in the hand. The trigger finger is also different in that it does not have a slot for the rifle to plug into. 

With the shields, you can see an interesting gimmick they included. The kit only comes with one hard-point connector for the shields. Instead of the connector plugging into each shield, each shield has a small grey piece that you can slide into connection piece. 

The Hazel can realistically have either shield connected to its arm, but only one at a time

Articulation

I feel that I've been spoiled with articulation lately, so this kit actually has been very disappointing in that area. It's so bulky with its armor and additional armaments that it really doesn't articulate all that well. 

I'll give it a little bit of credit though. With those bulky legs, you'd figure you wouldn't get a good bend, but they designed it in a way that it's not a brick at least...

Color and Quality

This kit is baffling to me in this area. For a 2005 kit, you don't really anticipate the same plastic quality as more recent kits, and this is no different. You're going to get that lighter feeling plastic that almost feels brittle.

This is a Titans suit. If you've ever built an HG you'll know that color separation is hit or miss, and with a dark colored mobile suit, especially from the Titans, you almost fear the worst. However, as you can see, there are some bright spots where the yellow and red really shine through the black and blue (which at times can be almost indistinguishable). Along with this, you're given some very nice decals which brighten up the kit as a whole. Adding these decals breaks up the monotony, and add a dimension not usually found in HG kits. 

Even more baffling was the foil seals. As you can see, the kit decides to use seals on the lower shins, and the top of the head (of which, only the back part will actually show). Areas that don't use seals include the enhanced sensor (shown below) and the beam rifle. 

For both those areas, I decided to use a hobby knife, and measure out a section of the leftover green to create my own makeshift seals. I was very happy with the outcome. 

Pros and Cons

If you couldn't already guess, you can go kick yourself for not expecting this. I love this kit for how unique it is. If you didn't see it before, I didn't really mention it. The shields are asymmetrical for the booster, and damn does it look cool. That shield booster is such a cool gimmick. The enhanced sensor gives it that cool "recon" look, and you're not going to get just another Gundam looking figure. Its bulky legs, covered in thrusters are really interesting as well. 

A kit with this color scheme most likely will look pretty boring, but including seals in the right areas, and decals in addition to a good amount of different colored plastic really breaks that up and makes it look great. The kit also comes with some cool additional armaments which I will talk about towards the end of the review. 

This kit however, feels fragile at times. When putting it together, there are areas which call for snapping parts into each other, which locks them into place. However, these points are all plastic connections into plastic slots. I fear that if you put too much force into it, those connection points will snap. I also found the hardpoints for the shields to be fairly loose in the area where the shield connects to the backpack, and the arm. Both still stay fairly well, but don't give you a snug fit that makes it feel more secure. 

The kit is fairly back heavy, and it doesn't come with a lot of manipulators or weapons, which is kind of sad. It's also a very bulky kit. 

BONUS: CLAWS!

This kit comes with a front pack that has folding claws. This section slides into the suits already ginormous crotch, to give it a fanny pack of grabby goodness. 

These claws have folding "fingers" which can grip an assortment of weapons. Here you can see it with some knives from the Zee Zulu

Need more fire power? No problem. The claws can grab your favorite HG Customize Campaign parts, like the gatling gun and grenade launcher!

Verdict

I am so on the fence for this kit. There is so much that I was disappointed with, but also so much I was impressed and amused by. I would have to say that this kit was very fun to build (aside from the stresses of maybe breaking a piece while building it). It is a very unique kit, and don't be afraid of the Titans color scheme. You'll find that this kit isn't average at all. Almost every section has a surprise in addition to its standard build. If this kit fits your definition of cool looking, I would say grab it just for the experience. I can't say this kit is for everyone though. 

Until next time!

Review: HGBF 1/144 Try Burning Gundam

Hello Builders!

It's been awhile...I know in my last entry, I promised a review of the Try Burning Gundam, and here it is! I, like most of you, was drawn into the amazing hype train that was Gundam Build Fighters Try, especially after watching the glory that was Gundam Build Fighters. I couldn't wait for this series to get started. Unfortunately, I found myself asking after every episode, 'that's it?' I kept hoping and hoping for better the next week, but found that in the end, it was average at best. 

Sure I had my doubts. When they first unveiled the lead suits, I was more drawn to the transforming suit, Lightning Gundam, and then realized that the main would actually be the Build Burning Gundam. Well, if the main suit has no weapons, and is primarily a hand to hand combat suit, wouldn't that formula get a little repetitive? Oh well, I'll give it a chance. 

In the end, this isn't a rant about how disappointing the series was. After I got over myself, I found some joy and happiness in the fight scenes that ensued, and also with the badassery that was any iteration of the Burning. I was compelled to get this kit because of the ability to recreate those intense scenes of flames spouting from the armor of the Try Burning.

Parts

For a suit with no weapons, this was about what I expected in terms of parts. 10 runners of various sizes, and colors. Interestingly enough, the largest runner happened to be the flame effect pieces. I'm not complaining. 

Size Comparison

Here is the Try Burning next to its ancestor, Build Strike Gundam. Both are relatively similar in height, with the Try Burning having a much shorter torso, but longer legs. 

Weapons and Manipulators

Seeing as this kit has no real weapons besides its fists, here are all the hands it comes with. It has two open hands, two closed fists, two flat karate chop style hands, and two open hands. It also has two orange effect fists which fit into the flame effects. All of the fists, with exception of the orange ones, have the movable wrist gimmick, not normally found in High grade kits, but provides for extra motion and range of posing for the hands. (which you can apparently now purchase as an option kit, gg Bandai).

Instead of "weapons" I decided to add the flame effect parts here. You can see all the different pieces which replace the blue plavsky particle emitting sections of the Try. You can also see that it includes two flaming punch effects, and one flaming kick effect, with flame trails. 

Articulation

Anybody who knows about the Burning iterations, knows that it has a wide variety of articulation and motion. With the variety of hands, and their ability to bend, you can get some crazy poses out with this kit, like break-dancing for example. 

Here are some more shots of the hands in action, in case you wanted to take a jump shot, or sass somebody. Unfortunately, the wrist to forearm connection can be a little loose, and it ends up not holding weapons very well. The shoulder joints are also fairly loose, as the connection doesn't securely fit. I find that when I try to move the arms around for posing, the arms pop off from the shoulder very often. Pretty annoying. Not to mention, the flame effect pieces will get in the way of poses when you choose to go that angle. 

Color and Quality

Shown above, from left to right, is the Try Burning without any effect pieces, with blue effect pieces, and then with the flame effect pieces. In my opinion, this kit looks amazing in both forms, which is both a blessing and a curse. Whichever mode you put it in, it will look great. However, if you are like me, and fickle, you will fumble to change its effect parts every week. I keep all the effect parts separate from my other parts bin for this very reason. 

This kit has a ton of color separation, which is awesome. In its base form, you have a vibrant red torso, with spats of dark blue coming around the waist, and yellow popping out all over the place. The pieces that are white are layered in such a way that the blue is meant to shine through them, which just looks fantastic. Finally, the flame pieces just add to how majestic it looks

In general, the kit is pretty sturdy, and stands firm. The only parts that tend to pop off are the shoulders, and sometimes the blue effect pieces (as they are meant to be removed easily)

Pros and Cons

I would have to say this kit offers a lot in the box for a kit that doesn't come with weapons. I think back to the Shining Gundam that only came with beam sabers, but had some cool effect parts for the SHINING FINGAHHH, and the shining finger sword. This kit offers a wide range of pose-ability, and some cool, close combat action scenes. With the variety of hands and effect pieces, you'll be able to pull off some awesome poses. I found that even simple poses looked great, just because of the added motion in the hands. 

When you get past all the glitz, glam, and falcon kicks, you'll find a few glaring issues with this kit. Aside from the range of motion, again there are issues with the shoulders staying in, and also with some of the blue particle pieces staying where they are. The wrists tend to be loose in its connection to the forearm, and also the flame effect pieces will get in the way when you try to pose. 

Verdict

I would probably not recommend this kit, just because of the downfalls it has. I personally really like the kit, don't get me wrong, but I find that I lose patience for the pieces that fall off, and that get in the way. It really does look cool, (especially when paired with the Honoo) but I don't think I can justify recommending it. It does come with some option parts so that you can pop on some different backpacks, which is cool too!

Until next time...

Kamehameha!