Kimi The Builder

Unsure, ugly, but somehow they’re cool as heck

HELLO! We are back!

In today’s 554th edition of our Let’s Talk Gunpla segment, we will continue where we left off with our recent Retail announcement and discuss the new details we got from the recent Retail Release announcements for the upcoming Netflix Gundam: Requiem of Vengence series. It just so happens they are the last two kits left for us to discuss.

However, these two kits have been somewhat challenging to discuss because we kept loathing and liking them all simultaneously, which we admit is quite confusing.  

So, without further ado. Let us get into it, shall we?

HG 1/144 Zaku II F-Type (Iria Solari Ver.) (HGRFV)

Release Date: October 2024

Estimated price: JPY 2,090 (MYR 61.98* / USD 13.15* / EUR 12.28*)

*The price is subject to change, depending on the situation

Admittedly, even though some of us here were not keen on this release when we saw the Zaku II Solari for the first time, we admit that the design is starting to grow for some of us here.

Yes, even though we still think there is just too much going on here in terms of design for an MS in a Gundam series, we also agree that it looks credible—like something that belonged on the battlefield.

Also, despite the build looking clean for the promotional materials, Bandai’s choice of color scheme for this kit made the Zaku II Solari look unintentionally weathered. So, good job there, Bandai.

What’s more, we are surprised at how well articulated this kit is, considering it is pretty bulky and has a lot of, we assume, stiff points.

Admittedly, the articulation isn’t as impressive as the HGUC Zaku II REVIVE, but for the first in its line, it is looking pretty good, to be honest.

We like the new vent design; it looks pretty good and practical.

It is nice that it comes with many cool decals and markings for the Zaku II Solari.

Admittedly. We might see ourselves getting this, but we aren’t sure most people would be interested. We might see a spike of interest in the kits when the show ultimately airs, but that depends on how cool it looks in the anime.

HG 1/144 Gundam EX (HGRFV)

Release Date: October 2024

Estimated price: JPY 2,090 (MYR 61.98* / USD 13.15* / EUR 12.28*)

*The price is subject to change, depending on the situation

Unlike the Zaku II Solari, the HGRVF Gundam EX never warmed itself into our hearts because we couldn’t get over how bad it looked.

Somehow, the designers for the Gundam EX managed to design an MS that looked like the budget version of the Katana Gundam. Worse, the armor design on the HGRFV Gundam EX looked like the designers created the armor bits from balloons.

Not to mention, the color scheme looks terrible. Different from the one we get with the Zaku II Solarim, the color tones they used here do not go well with the overall look of the kit, especially the blue tones on the beam rifle.  

So, yes, we are not huge fans of the looks of this kit.

But admit that at the same time, we do like all the awesome features this kit comes with.

We love the badass backpack Vulcan cannon and how Gundam EX’s three-beam saber backpack rack works, not to mention the insane detail you get here.  

Best of all is the articulation. When we first saw this kit, we expected it to have a limited range, considering how weird the designs for some sections were. However, we are happy to report that it has no articulation issues.

At the end of this, we find ourselves torn between these two kits.

Visually, there might be better-looking kits we’ve seen, but we love all the features these two kits come with.

And we admit that we still see ourselves getting these two to see and experience these two kits for ourselves.

That concludes our 554th edition of the Let’s Talk Gunpla segment. It’s nice to finally cover all the leading retail releases for the last half of the year. Admittedly, we are sad that we are not seeing a new mainline MG release for this year, but we hope that we get something MG-related revealed sometime soon.

And we hope it’s not another MG Ver.Ka release.

Anyhow.

We’ll return in the upcoming segment next Thursday (hopefully) with a new blog post! So do look forward to that!

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Hopefully, by sharing our love and passion for building and writing about gunplas or other plamos here, this post will inspire all of you to pick up the hobby—or, better yet, reignite your love and passion for the hobby.

We shall see all of you again soon, and we hope all of you here have a splendid day and week ahead! Oh, before we go, please have an excellent time building your awesome gunplas there and until next time.

Ciao!