Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body and head

HG Shaldoll Custom - Back and weapons (1/3)

Back and weapons

Legs

HG Shaldoll Custom - If you cut the center section of the front skirt on this kit to make each side move independently, it dr

If you cut the center section of the front skirt on this kit to make each side move independently, it droops down badly like that;;
The connection doesn't hold well at all and it just falls right off.
The original kit G-Exes had a bit of the same issue, but the Shaldoll is way worse T_T
I had no choice but to take it apart and glue it back together.

Interestingly, the beam saber is mounted on top of the backpack on a rotating joint.

Leftover parts from the color separation changes.

Articulation is pretty good.

HG Shaldoll Custom - Rifle shooting pose (1/3)

Rifle shooting pose

HG Shaldoll Custom - Shooting pose using Action Base 2 (1/4)

HG Shaldoll Custom - Shooting pose using Action Base 2 (2/4)

Shooting pose using Action Base 2

Unsheathing pose

HG Shaldoll Custom - Beam saber action (1/4)

HG Shaldoll Custom - Beam saber action (2/4)

Beam saber action

Together with the original kit, G-Exes.

This kit is the HG Shaldoll Custom from Gundam AGE — and it looks like a GM through and through. The face especially is pure GM, which gives it a kind of endearing charm. It's also got a lovely green molded color that's pretty rare in the Gundam world, giving the whole thing a sort of eco-friendly (?) vibe.

First off, the green molded color came out really nicely, so the finished build looks super fresh. (Gotta be the color scheme...) Being a modern HG kit, the joint strength and articulation are both excellent — posing is a breeze, and even just bending the limbs casually gives it a really dynamic look. In terms of lore, the Shaldoll shares major body/arm/leg parts with the G-Exes, and sure enough, this kit is a variation that reuses a good chunk of the HG G-Exes runners with just the molded color swapped out.

The most annoying part of the HG Shaldoll is the split front skirt. Like most HG kits, you can cut the center to separate the left and right front skirts so they move independently — but there seems to have been some kind of design oversight here. Usually splitting them causes a slight drop in holding strength, but this is the first time I've seen a front skirt this completely hopeless after cutting ㅡ,.ㅡ It's not just that they droop to the sides — the connection is so bad that the skirts literally slide off on their own. It's clear that independent movement after splitting was never considered in the design at all. Sure, you could reinforce it in various ways, but this is supposed to be a simple mod... Honestly, fellow builders are better off just leaving it uncut for the sake of your sanity. I ended up having to take mine apart and painstakingly glue the left and right front skirts back together.;;

Anyway, as long as you avoid that loose front skirt situation, this is a clean HG kit with not much else to complain about. That lovable GM face paired with a fresh green body... if you don't have any issues with the design, this is a great Gunpla I'd happily recommend to anyone looking for a fun build :-)

HG Shaldoll Custom | 2012.4 | ¥1,200

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.