Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining

The universal size reference — a cigarette box comparison. This thing is seriously big.

Action pose... but honestly, aside from the sheer imposing bulk, it's not all that dynamic. ^^;

Upper body close-up

That massive backpack, as expected.

HGUC THE-O - The legs have some really great detail. The inner frame is clearly visible from the outside. (Though it's a bit

The legs have some really great detail. The inner frame is clearly visible from the outside.
(Though it's a bit dark in the photo and hard to make out... T_T)

The molding inside the skirt. Panel lining nightmare

Countless panel lines including the soles of the feet... (panel lining nightmare, as expected-)

A shot from below looking up. You can really feel that overwhelming sense of imposing mass...

A hand(?) comes out from the skirt to hold the beam saber.

Behold the legendary Four-Sword style THE-O! (Looks like it might end up cutting itself though... ^^;)

HGUC THE-O - Size comparison with the HGUC Gundam Mk-II. The Mk-II is already on the larger side, but THE-O's insane backpack

Size comparison with the HGUC Gundam Mk-II. The Mk-II is already on the larger side, but THE-O's insane backpack presence is just killer.

Even the HGUC Zaku III, which is considered pretty big, doesn't even come close...

HGUC THE-O - A shot with the HGUC RX-78 and MG RX-78 (v1.5) for size comparison! It's way taller than a regular HGUC and near

A shot with the HGUC RX-78 and MG RX-78 (v1.5) for size comparison!
It's way taller than a regular HGUC and nearly matches the MG in height... and the backpack bulk is practically on par with the MG Dom~

Straight build photo before panel lining

Whoa...
Who would've thought THE-O would get an HGUC release... This is a masterpiece that caught a lot of people off guard.
THE-O, famous for its imposing backpack presence in Zeta Gundam, has been released
in 1/144 scale with absolutely killer detail.

First off,
true to its reputation for backpack dominance, it boasts a height and bulk that makes every other kit look tiny by comparison. Most of the complex vernier sections are molded as separate parts with proper color separation (though the green inside the verniers isn't represented), and the inner frame on the legs is very well executed too.

In particular,
the molding detail on the inside of the body and various skirt interiors is just outstanding. As a result, the panel lining workload is pretty substantial — it actually takes way more time than most MGs. In my case, using Dalong's double panel lining method, the panel lining alone took about 7 hours, which blew way past my assembly time estimate. I already tend to work pretty slowly to keep things clean... but the satisfaction after panel lining is really high with this kit. ^^

For such
a chunky build, the articulation on the arms and legs is actually pretty decent. That said, given the nature of that massive backpack, it doesn't really look like it's moved much even when you do pose it... Also, maybe because of the sheer size, the joint connections feel a little loose. It's not so bad that posing becomes a struggle like some floppy octopus-style kit, but the slightly weak joint retention is a bit of a letdown.

The hidden
hands under the skirt are also included, so you can recreate the terrifying four-sword style. And helpfully, four soft plastic beam saber parts are included to make that possible.

Overall,
this is a highly recommended HGUC that captures the characteristics of the awesome THE-O exceptionally well — with a size and level of detail that almost makes calling it 1/144 scale feel like an understatement. ^^

HGUC THE-O | 2002.12 | ¥2,600

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.