Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers + Panel lining

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

HGCE Murasame Kai - Various angles (1/6)

HGCE Murasame Kai - Various angles (2/6)

HGCE Murasame Kai - Various angles (3/6)

HGCE Murasame Kai - Various angles (4/6)

Various angles

Detail shots

Due to the backpack, you'll need to angle the legs back slightly to get a stable upright stance.

Weapons loadout

Shield interior detail

The beam rifle has two movable grips.
They also fold away for transformation.

The beam rifle can be mounted on the side skirts.

Excellent limb articulation

Forward/backward shoulder articulation

Waist articulation

Kneeling poses work naturally too.

HGCE Murasame Kai - Beam rifle firing poses (1/5)

HGCE Murasame Kai - Beam rifle firing poses (2/5)

HGCE Murasame Kai - Beam rifle firing poses (3/5)

Beam rifle firing poses

HGCE Murasame Kai - Beam saber pose (1/3)

Beam saber pose

TRANSFORMATION

Parts included separately for transformation

First, separate as shown above

Rotate the top of the detached chest armor as shown above.

After attaching the chest armor and arms to the transformation frame as shown above

HGCE Murasame Kai - Open up the bottom of the shield and attach it along with the transformation front skirt. At this point,

Open up the bottom of the shield and attach it along with the transformation front skirt.
At this point, the shield's joint parts can be tucked away into the center of the main body almost like they're hidden.

After transforming the legs and wings as shown above

Attach to the main body.

Finally, add the weapons to both side skirts and the transformation is complete.

HGCE Murasame Kai - Transformed into MA form. True to its parts-swap transformation style, it holds together well and looks n

Transformed into MA form.
True to its parts-swap transformation style, it holds together well and looks nice and slim.

Underside.

Leftover body after transformation

Alongside the HG Murasame mass production type released in 2006.
An 18-year upgrade!

Straight build

The Murasame Kai from the theatrical anime film "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM" has been released as an HGCE kit. Back in 2006, the HG Murasame (mass production type)was released, and now 18 years later it's been upgraded to HGCE. This is a unit capable of transforming into a Zeta Gundam-style MA form.

The basic construction follows the format of modern kits, with a polycap-less joint system. Compared to polycap-based joints, the hold is excellent and the articulation is great too — kneeling poses are easy to pull off. That said, the shoulder joints tend to pop out when raising the arms upward, which seems to be because the shoulder armor acts as a lever. On top of that, the wings occasionally fall off during posing, and the weapons attached to the wings can sometimes rotate around on their own.

The transformation uses a parts-swap approach, with a separate MA body and additional parts provided — the process is very similar to the HGUC Zeta Gundam. Some folks might be disappointed it's not a full transformation, but in return, the kit holds its shape well and looks great proportionally even after transforming.

Thanks to the new theatrical film, the older SEED HG kits that had been treated as outdated are getting a complete overhaul as HGCE releases. As befitting a long-awaited upgrade, the kit shows clear improvements across the board — proportions, gimmicks, articulation, stability, and transformation. Aside from a few joint stability issues, this is a solid, well-made kit overall, so if you're a SEED fan or just dig the look, it's definitely worth recommending. :-)

HGCE Murasame Kai | 2024.10 | ¥2,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.