Kit Review

Straight build

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 - Size comparison with a cigarette pack. These two come as a set, and there's quite a size d

Size comparison with a cigarette pack. These two come as a set, and there's quite a size difference between them.

Moebius (Zero)

Man~ it's so red that the details are hard to make out OTL

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 - Detail of the nose section. There's a decent amount of panel lines, but they still feel a

Detail of the nose section. There's a decent amount of panel lines, but they still feel a bit shallow...

Detail of the center body and verniers area

Gun Barrel detail

Actually... it stands up just fine on its own without a stand ^^;

The linear gun mounted on the underside of the fuselage can rotate.

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 - The gun barrels are detachable. Each has its own individual stand, and they can be connect

The gun barrels are detachable. Each has its own individual stand, and they can be connected with rubber tubing.

Gun barrel open mode.

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 - The opening covers have no locking pins or hooks — they just pop on and off, so the fit is

The opening covers have no locking pins or hooks — they just pop on and off, so the fit is ever so slightly iffy.

The rear of the gun barrels has an opening/closing gimmick.

All four gun barrels can be detached individually.

Together with the HG 1/144 Aile Strike Gundam.
The Moebius was that big, huh...

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 - Together with the gun barrel from the HG Gun Barrel+Dagger kit. They're the same style of

Together with the gun barrel from the HG Gun Barrel+Dagger kit.
They're the same style of gun barrel weapon, but the size difference is massive.
That orange gun barrel is probably smaller because it has to be carried on an MS's back...

Sky Grasper

Close-up detail shots. The detail level isn't anything special — just decent enough.

Underside

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 - The biggest feature of this 1/144 Sky Grasper is, of course, weapons delivery for the Stri

The biggest feature of this 1/144 Sky Grasper is, of course, weapons delivery for the Strike Gundam! ^^;
To recreate this, you'll need the HG Aile Strike and the No Grade 1/144 Sword/Launcher Strike Gundam kits.

The weapons separated out from each kit

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 - The Aile is no problem, but the Sword and Launcher packs come with separate attachment par

The Aile is no problem, but the Sword and Launcher packs come with separate attachment parts included in this kit specifically for mounting onto the Sky Grasper.
Meaning it's difficult to mount them using only the weapon parts from the existing HG or No Grade Strike kits...

Aile Sky Grasper. Just pull it off the HG and plug it in — done.

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 - The beam sabers are supposed to face forward, but due to scale limitations they can't rota

The beam sabers are supposed to face forward, but due to scale limitations they can't rotate,
so they end up pointing upward instead.

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 - To mount the Sword pack onto the Sky Grasper, you need to swap out the backpack and sword

To mount the Sword pack onto the Sky Grasper, you need to swap out the backpack and sword connector
with the parts included in this Seed Mecha Set kit.

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 - The shoulder armor on the Sword pack has no articulation gimmick, as expected from a non-g

The shoulder armor on the Sword pack has no articulation gimmick, as expected from a No Grade kit, so the shoulder cover is fixed in place.
Since the shoulder cover needs to move to mount it on the Sky Grasper...
this kit just provides a separate part with the shoulder cover already in the open position.

Additional parts for securing the weapons...

After all that trouble, the Sword Sky Grasper is complete!

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 - To build the Launcher Sky Grasper, you need to swap out the shoulder wing parts from the o

To build the Launcher Sky Grasper, you need to swap out the shoulder wing parts from the original No Grade kit.
The No Grade shoulder wings are fixed and don't fold... ;;

Launcher Sky Grasper.

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 - Comparison with the PG Sky Grasper. Being 1/60 vs. 1/144, the size difference is enormous.

Comparison with the PG Sky Grasper. Being 1/60 vs. 1/144, the size difference is enormous.
Unfortunately, no proper Sky Grasper was ever released in 1/100 scale... T_T

Seed Mecha Set 1 with the HG Aile Strike.

Together with various previous EX Model aircraft. The Moebius looks massive by comparison.

The Gundam Seed mecha — which seemed like it might be a bit too niche to get the EX Model treatment — has finally been released. It's called the Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1, and it's a combo kit featuring the Moebius Zero, the machine that hot-blooded hero Mu La Flaga rode into battle, and the Sky Grasper, the weapons-delivery aircraft for the Strike Gundam. As you'd expect from a combo kit, the contents are considerably more generous than other EX releases, and thankfully the price was set at around ¥3,500. (Though is that really cheap?!)

The Moebius Zero's molded color is, as expected, a single color — a red with a slight orange tint throughout. The molded color itself is fairly nice, but depending on your perspective the hue can feel a little toy-like... and critically, my camera doesn't seem to capture the color accurately. Compared to the calm, composed look in person, the photos came out looking a bit garish somehow. T_T

The detail level isn't anything extraordinary, but it's not bad either — and just because it's an EX Model doesn't mean it's somehow more refined!!! That's not really the case. The gimmick of all four gun barrels being individually detachable and poseable is faithfully reproduced though.

If you're thinking of the gun barrels from the old HG Gun Barrel+Dagger kit and then look at this Moebius, the size will catch you off guard;; Those gun barrels on the old Dagger were made small for MS mounting purposes, so that makes sense. Apparently the Moebius as it appeared in the anime was actually this big. Anyway — it's bigger than you'd expect. ^^

The Sky Grasper is molded entirely in white — just like the old S Gundam Attacker or Core Booster — which makes it easy to paint. The detail is nothing sharp, just solid and unremarkable. Maybe because the Moebius is so huge, but the Sky Grasper looks small and cute by comparison.

The most important thing about the Sky Grasper is that you can mix and match with your 1/144 No Grade and HG kits — swapping weapons around to recreate the weapons-delivery scenes. There's no Sky Grasper at 1/100 scale at all, and at 1/60 the PG Sky Grasper isn't compatible with the RD Weapon Set, so that recreation was never possible. This is definitely the biggest selling point unique to this kit.

Given that this combo kit was named Mecha Set #1, I'd assume the intention was that a #2 would follow... but whether #1 just didn't sell well or whatever the reason, it ended there;; After that, a few warships and mechs like the Giga were released as individual standalone kits rather than sets.

Anyway, it's a very appealing kit for Seed fans — and especially if you're a Mu La Flaga fan, the purchase value shoots up considerably. It's definitely a kit that really calls for a paint job, but compared to other EX Models the parts count for the price isn't too bad, and that's a plus in its own right. I can't help wishing #2 had come out too. :-)

EX Model Gundam Seed Mecha Set 1 | 2003.7 | ¥3,500 | 1/144

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.