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!

HGBF Mega Shiki

Hey Builders!

Another review for you today. As you might know, Gundam Build Fighters Try has concluded with its 25th episode this past week. I'm currently in the process of acquiring all the kits that I loved from this series. Bandai is really making a killing with all these redesigns, and HG releases. Yes the series itself has become almost just an excuse to release and sell kits, but I'm not complaining. Some of the designs are just amazing and I don't mind purchasing them. 

My last review was of one of my favorite designs, the Amazing Red Warrior, but today, I have for you, a mobile suit that I wasn't actually too fond of, until taking a look at the kit later. If you didn't know, I already have an HG Delta Plus, and in my mind, the Mega Shiki was just a Delta Plus with a huge cannon on its back. As I continued to research this kit, I realized its popularity suffered with its limited screen time. You only saw glimpses of it in two episodes, and as a Gunpla and Gundam fan, you most likely couldn't stand that that the pilot was cocky, ruthless, and also didn't build his own gunpla. (sorry Sekai). 

But in all honesty, this suit is pretty bad ass, for one reason: beam katanas. Without further ado, lets take a look at this kit!

Parts

Interestingly enough, this kit does not come with a multicolored A plate, or any A plate at all for that matter. It starts out straight with the purple B plate, purple C1 and C2 plate, no D plate, no E plate, grey F plate with internal armor parts, purple G1 and G2 plate, white H plate, white I plate, grey J plate with most parts for the mega launcher, purple K plate, a manipulator plate, beam saber effect plate, and a poly cap plate. 

All in all, it looks like it comes with a ton of parts, which it does, however there are a lot of pieces that are unused, and actually borrowed from the Delta Gundam's runners. 

Size Comparison

Well there you have it, they are definitely not the same. Though you can see some similarities in their designs, the Shiki stands almost a head taller than the Delta Plus. Not to mention, with the launcher on its pack, its even taller. 

Weapons and Manipulators

This kit comes with 3 sets of hands:

Fists, open hands, and holding hands. I was pretty surprised, the closed fist consists of 4 parts, the main hand section, the 4 fingers, the thumb actually pops on separately, and the top of the hand. 

This kit comes with few weapons: 1 beam rifle, and 2 beam sabers. It actually comes with 2 more beam saber handles, but they're leftover from the Delta Gundam.

Articulation

The elbow in the arm doesn't allow for much folding. This is the most you'll get from that joint. 

The leg doesn't offer much articulation either. The foot sits on a ball joint, so you'll get some decent ankle movement. However, the side skirt extends over the front of the thigh, so even if you fold the front skirt up, the leg can't really move forward all that much. When you bend the leg back, the foot will get caught on the launcher. 

Color and Quality

This kit is mostly that pastel-ish purple, with white on the chest, and then grey internals popping out in various places. There are also white parts that are on the arms, the back of the legs, waist, and feet. The color separation is decent, with enough white pieces cutting through the purple all over this kit. This really reminds me of how bland the Delta Plus was. 

After building the Amazing Red Warrior, even though that kit was all red, there were still two tones that they used. I'm wondering if they used some deeper purple in some areas, would this kit look even better?

In general, it's hard to complain. This kit is very sturdy, and the plastic comes together very nicely. You can definitely feel the HGUC engineering as it does not feel as flimsy as some of the other HGBF kits have felt from other universes. However, there were some areas where the gating was very thick, and I again had a hard time removing it without large nub marks that took some managing. But since this kit borrows a lot of pieces from the Delta Gundam, it actually is undergated for most of its pieces!

Pros and Cons

This kit is a great redesign on the Hyaku Shiki. I was actually very excited building it, and seeing how many parts it came with. As I continued to build, its look really caught me. It was menacing and ruthless. It comes with a lot of parts, and some good engineering, which will leave you satisfied after the build. There is enough color separation in which it won't just be a purple blob sitting there. It is very sturdy, and actually can stand with the huge launcher on its back if you position it correctly.

Unfortunately, it is mostly purple, and I wish it came with some more color separation. It also does not come with a lot of weapons. The articulation is fairly poor, however you can do some cool twisting and turning poses with its waist joint. It does suffer from back weight issues, so if you don't position it correctly, it will fall back. It also comes with a ton of extra parts that you'll probably end up storing, or tossing out anyways. 

Verdict

This kit doesn't have a lot of weapons, but it really makes up for it with the variety of play options included with the Mega Ride Launcher. The Launcher itself is like building another kit included. At under $20, this was a great purchase, with the amount of parts that you could build. For an HG, it was a fun build, and again, building the mega launcher was a great bonus. It suffers from articulation issues, and also could call for more color separation. In the end, at its price tag, I think its definitely worth it. However, with its weight issues, you'll want to get an action base for it as well. 

BONUS: MEGA LAUNCHER

You heard me mention that the Mega Launcher offers even more play opportunities, so here you go. I included some images and thoughts based around the different poses you can do with the mega launcher. The launcher itself can transform into various modes, such as flight mode, backpack mode, and launcher mode. 

Here you can see that the Mega Shiki can hold on to the bottom of the launcher, in a mid-air flight pose. However, this is difficult to do without an Action Base 1. The Action Base 2 is too short, and you'll have the Shiki dragging its toes on the ground. 

 Flying into battle

The Mega Launcher connects to the Mega Shiki by three points on the back. This ensures a secure fit. That grey part on the back of the Mega Shiki can be removed, and connect to typical two point connections on the back. I connected it to the Red Warrior with no problems. 

And of course, you can have it in the Launcher mode.

I absolutely love the beam katanas....

Until Next Time!

Review: HGBF Amazing Red Warrior

Hey Builders, 

I have a quick review for you all today, with a fairly recent kit that just came out. This is my first kit that I have purchased from the series Gundam Build Fighters Try. To be perfectly honest, I've felt this season has been fairly lack luster in comparison to the first, though it does have its moments. I was quickly enamored with this kit, being the second one to really catch my eye after the Lightning Gundam. Not to mention, this is the handy work of the Meijin himself. 

With everything going on in the series, Meijin Kawaguchi made his initial gunpla battle cameo in dramatic fashion, descending from the heavens to the tune of epic flamenco. 

And I fell in love. 

My favorite color is red, and I absolutely love red mobile suits. I actually had never heard of the Perfect Gundam III: Red Warrior until this episode. Apparently it came from the manga Plamo Kyoshiro, and its design was revamped by Hajime Katoki. 

Without further ado, let us take a look at this kit.

Parts

Upon opening this box, I was a little surprised at how many runners there were in this kit. As you can see, there are just a few runners, and they are fairly small in size. I initially thought that this was the case because the gunpla itself was slim and sleek, and without a huge option part or backpack. This kit comes with 2 A runners in red, 2 B runners in grey, 1 C runner in yellow, 1 D runner in dark red, 1 E runner in white, 1 F runner in grey, 1 G runner in grey, 1 beam saber runner with 4 effect pieces, and 1 polycap runner. 

Size Comparison

Turns out this kit is actually fairly small, which is why there were so few parts. Initially I thought it might be as small as the Crossbone Maoh, but as you can see, this is still the shortest and smallest of all my HG gunpla, and the Red Warrior is still taller. However, the Crossbone Maoh will get some more beef on it once you attach the satellite skull pack. Regardless, the suit itself is shorter. 

Weapons and Manipulators

This kit comes with various weapons which can be swapped and interchanged with the back pack. The pack has two arms which connect to each weapon through hard-points. Each weapon can then be deployed under the arms for the Red Warrior to grasp and use. 

This kit comes with 4 manipulators: 2 closed fists, and 2 holding hands. 

This kit also comes with:

Beam Rifle 甲
Beam Rifle 乙

When combined, they form the Long Rifle

There is also a part to swap out to create the Beam Gatling. 

Hyper Bazooka

Handgun w/short and long blade attachments to create... A GUNBLADE!!! (my personal favorite)

It also comes with 4 beam effect pieces, 2 short and 2 long to be inserted in the beam emitter on the right wrist.

The left arm comes with the mini shield

I actually really love the play options for this kit.

You can also flip the chest armor to reveal missile pods. 

Articulation

The arms can't bend all the way up, though it has a good bend overall because of the elbow joint. However, there is very limited range of shoulder movement because of the armor. The arm can come mostly all the way out to the sides, and the wrists sit in ball joints as well. You can rotate the arm on the bicep. All in all, the arm articulation leaves a bit to be desired. 

The leg articulation is also the same. The front skirts don't lift up very far, so you can't bring the legs forward. The amount of movement from the legs actually relies on the fact that the connection points sits on a peg which can tilt up and down. The bend isn't very great, and neither is the ankle movement. 

 Color and Quality

As you can see, this kit is molded in a very nice red plastic, with accented pieces of darker red on the front armor. There are also some white and yellow pieces that pop out at you at various places. It doesn't rely on too many seals to create this color contrast. There is a seal for the eyes, the hyper bazooka sight, and the back of the head. 

One issue I had, was with the seam lines and the gating. This kit had some really runner gashes when removing it from the kit, in very noticeable and prominent places, such as the front of the arms. Typically, I don't have issues with nub marks, but I found myself, even when meticulously taking my time cutting the pieces off the runner, running into these gashes. I'm not sure if it was just me, but there were some very thick pieces of plastic connecting to small parts. 

Pros and Cons

This kit is mostly in red, but does not suffer from a lack of color separation. The deep reds, whites and yellows really makes this kit look great even if its only mostly red. This kit doesn't rely on seals to create detail. The amount of weapons it comes with is superb, and it looks great holding each weapon. The kit provides a variety of play options. 

This kit is fairly small. At a $23 price tag off Amazon, I was expecting more plastic. Thick runner contacts that are hard to manage for small pieces. Weapons tend to pop off the connection arms to the pack when trying to swap it out. Weapons come in very bland grey plastic. Even gunblade does not have any color separation. Needs to be painted if you want it to be accurate. Articulation leaves a bit to be desired. Difficult to pose, and can feel a little stiff. 

Verdict

This kit still looks great, and you won't be disappointed with the colors. If you love the Red Warrior, though, you may be slightly disappointed. I expected more from this kit in terms of its pose-ability and articulation, but found in the arms and legs that it was fairly lacking. However, the amount of weapons (unique in and of itself) were very refreshing. I just had to have the gunblades, and the short beamsabers which emit from the arm was an added bonus as well. 

However, at a $23 price tag, I would hold off on this kit. I definitely would have wanted to pay less for it, at least by a few dollars. But, if you must have it, I can't say that it won't make a great addition to your Build Fighters collection. 

But I'm totally on this kit if there's an MG release, or a Ver Ka even...

Until Next Time!

Did I mention I was sad they didn't include open hands so we could recreate the heavenly descent?