Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

This set includes two kits bundled together — Vayeate and Mercurius.

Vayeate

Detail shots

The round generator and beam cannon

Movement of the beam cannon's sub-arm and handle

The generator's open gimmick

The beam cannon and generator are connected by two lead wires.

You can swap out the face cover to display the camera-exposed head.

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - One open hand is included, though you'll need to borrow the hand back parts — they're shared

One open hand is included, though you'll need to borrow the hand back parts.
They're shared between Vayeate and Mercurius.

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Interestingly, the hip-to-leg connection uses a ball joint. The articulation here isn't grea

Interestingly, the hip-to-leg connection uses a ball joint.
The articulation here isn't great, and it tends to pop off fairly easily..

The articulation is identical between Vayeate and Mercurius.

There's also a hip slide gimmick.

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Due to the structure, there's a bit of a limit to how far you can raise the shoulders sidewa

Due to the structure, there's a bit of a limit to how far you can raise the shoulders sideways.

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Action pose (1/6)

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Action pose (2/6)

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Action pose (3/6)

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Action pose (4/6)

Action pose

Alongside the old 1/144 Vayeate from 1995.

Mercurius

Detail shots

Weapons loadout

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - The front of the shield can hold beam parts, and the inside has a handle you can grip facing

The front of the shield can hold beam parts, and the inside has a handle you can grip facing forward.

The 10 Planet Defensors can be separated and combined.

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - You can change the angle of the fixing pins, so you can freely arrange them in a straight li

You can change the angle of the fixing pins, so you can freely arrange them in a straight line or a curved formation like shown above.
The connection between Planet Defensors is solid too — once you snap them in, they don't come apart easily.

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Using the included clear support stand, you can display the Planet Defensors floating in the

Using the included clear support stand, you can display the Planet Defensors floating in the air like shown above.

You can swap out the face cover to display the camera-exposed head.

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Action pose (1/7)

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Action pose (2/7)

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Action pose (3/7)

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Action pose (4/7)

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Action pose (5/7)

Action pose

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius - Alongside the old 1/144 Mercurius from 1995. It feels like there's even more of a difference

Alongside the old 1/144 Mercurius from 1995.
It feels like there's even more of a difference here compared to the Vayeate.

Vayeate & Mercurius combined action shots

Leftover parts

Together with the HGAC Leo.

This is the HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius, released as a Club G (Premium Bandai) online exclusive. The two units are a paired duo — one focused on offense, the other on defense — and share essentially the same body structure apart from the head, differing only in color. Back in 1995, the 1/144 old kits were released separately, but the HGAC versions come bundled together.

First off, as you'd expect from a renewal after 26 years, the quality is incomparably cleaner than the old kits — the molded colors are deep and vivid, the color separation is sharp, and the overall sculpt looks really tidy. Articulation isn't amazing given the design, but the hip slide gimmick is a nice touch and you can pull off a decent variety of basic poses without much trouble. Overall joint strength is on the sturdy side, though the ball joint connecting the hip to the leg does tend to pop off during posing.

Vayeate's signature weapons — the generator and beam cannon — are nicely done, with the open gimmick and lead wire connection points all well represented. Mercurius's 10 Planet Defensors can be freely arranged and linked together, and you can display them floating in the air using the included clear support stand. Both units can have their face covers swapped out to show the camera-exposed head, and one open left hand is included and shared between the two.

Aside from that iffy ball joint at the hip, the overall quality is clean and solid — exactly what you'd expect from an HGAC kit. After 26 years, we can finally put together a proper paired display of these two, and for Gundam W fans, this all-new-tooling Club G kit seems well worth the investment. :-)

HGAC Vayeate & Mercurius | 2021.1 | ¥3,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.