Gundam: The Witch from Mercury HG 1/144 { Aerial & Calibarn }
My first encounter with Gundam Aerial was not from an actual Gunpla kit but a Gashapon machine at Bandai. I was immediately drawn at the colors and it's very striking and seemingly aerodynamic silhouette despite being just the torso. Sazabi was also one of my choices but I was really gravitating towards getting Aerial... alas, I got the clear version. It sat on my desk for a long while before I decided to get a Gunpla kit, the HG 1/144 Aerial. It was my very first kit and I enjoyed the process of building and detailing Aerial.
I was able to finish building Aerial for 4 hours or so and from then on, I was hooked into building Gunplas (Although I really don't have much right now, I really wanted more! or at least try building other grades).
A few days passed and I just can't scratch the itch of getting another one, so I ordered Calibarn online. It must be my impulsivity after a stressful morning but I did not regret clicking 'buy'. That's why we're here now, for personal reasons, I'm going to share my review of these 2 HG models and also share my thoughts to my non-existent audience! YAY!!!
HG 1/144 Aerial
To start off, since Aerial is my first ever Gunpla, I will be BIASED (please forgive me). The building process was so smooth and it felt rewarding that, for an HG model, the parts would require 4-6 parts to be completed. You always end up feeling satisfied after cutting all those components from the runners and seeing all the odd pieces come together and make a... leg... an arm... etc. It wasn't hard at all (or maybe because I already have experience with the Gashapon one and years of making papercrafts and paper models) since plastic models and replicas always intimidated me. My only complaints are the right wrist ball joint is loose, the c-clips on the ankles feels flimsy, and the way the holographic chest panels are "placed" in the super structure of the chests makes it pop-out if you over extend the arm and shoulder joints.
HG 1/144 Calibarn
I took in building Calibarn feeling confident because building Aerial didn't feel like a challenge... oh how I was wrong... a little bit
Everything with Calibarn felt similar with Aerial, from the legs, to the torso and arms, and etc. I'm not complaining because the build process was very fun and entertaining. HOWEVER! the head! i don't know if it's this specific one I got but the head took me 15 minutes to assemble properly, some parts just didn't come fit or it pops out. It made putting on the front face plate a struggle to keep all parts intact. I've seen complaints about the abundance of stickers but I found that part the most fun with Calibarn but nobody seems to be complaining about the "bugger-burger" that is Calibarn's HEAD. there's also an abundance of C-clips and you have to be careful with them since those break off easily. the ankles are also flimsy with Calibarn and the waist and neck likes to pop off too.
Despite it all, I love them both unconditionally and I would recommend them for starters and those who wants to try Gunpla. Unfortunately...
"I broke some parts...."
surprise, surprise... I broke the left mount of Aerial's beam sword and Calibarn's left backpack thrusters. It is now superglued ( T_T)
(some beginner detailing using silver paint markers!!!)
“Stay by my side forever… And don’t lose any duels."
These two HG models are definitely really good and I think the hype around them are very valid with the amount of detailing, fun assembly gimmicks, and interesting building techniques; these Gundam: The Witch from Mercury kits above everything else! opinion might change once I've tried building the other Gundams. I might actually get a couple more from this Gundam line and also try out HG Unicorn battle mode!
Gundam Aerial & Gundam Calibarn
