Kit Review

Straight build +
panel lining

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

This one has a really unique style.

Upper body close-up. The sticker placements here and there are relatively natural-looking.

HGUC Gabthley - There are 3 hand types included: 2 standard hands and 1 rifle-holding hand. It's a shame there are no open ha

There are 3 hand types included: 2 standard hands and 1 rifle-holding hand.
It's a shame there are no open hands, and while the detail is decent... the connection strength is really poor. -_-;

HGUC Gabthley - The two-part hand parts fit together so loosely that they're nearly impossible to keep in place without gluin

The two-part hand parts fit together so loosely that they're nearly impossible to keep in place without gluing.
The problem is, you can't just glue the rifle hand shut since you need to swap it out for the transformation...;;

As befitting a transforming kit, a dedicated stand is included.

The stand's mounting joint works the same way as the Asshimar's, allowing rotation in all directions.

HGUC Gabthley - Recent stands often have storage space in the base for leftover parts, but the Gabthley's stand takes this to

Recent stands often have storage space in the base for leftover parts,
but the Gabthley's stand takes this to a whole new level.
It can store all the various parts needed for transformation, spare hand parts, and even the beam sabers.

Interestingly, the beam sabers are mounted inside the arm armor — 2 on each side, 4 in total.

HGUC Gabthley - Being a transforming kit, the articulation isn't exceptional, but the proportions are great and it holds pose

Being a transforming kit, the articulation isn't exceptional,
but the proportions are great and it holds poses well, so I'm very satisfied with the articulation overall.

That section of the arm tends to pop off during transformation or posing. Best to glue it in place.

Action pose

Rifle / Beam Saber action

Putting it on the stand allows for more dynamic poses.

You can also flip the rifle around and use it like a bayonet.

To pull off this pose, the neck is designed to tilt back quite a bit.

~ Transformation : Middle Form ~

HGUC Gabthley - To begin the transformation, you first detach the front feet and leg armor. The leg armor clips on with just

To begin the transformation, you first detach the front feet and leg armor.
The leg armor clips on with just the right amount of tension — not too loose, not too stiff.

Pull out the thighs and extend them to full length.

Place it on the stand, then swing the leg frames forward...

Rotate the inner structure 180 degrees.

Claw legs complete.

The leg armor you removed earlier gets reattached separately at the knee area.

The Middle Form — the intermediate state on the way to MA mode.

In this Middle Form state, the front foot parts are left over.

~ Transformation : Mobile Armor ~

Raise the armor on the back upward, then lower the head and fold it over to cover the front.

Remove the hands, swing the arm armor upward, and pull the arm parts downward.

Fold the arms 180 degrees and tuck them away like so...

Open the rear skirt 90 degrees to make room for the legs to rotate.

Rotate the legs 180 degrees...

The front feet you removed earlier get reattached in MA mode.

Open the thigh armor and you can store the foot parts inside.

Straighten the legs out into a flat line.

Remove the two stand pin covers from the back. (You can store them in the base of the stand, of course~)

Swing the legs you straightened out forward — that is, rotate them toward the underside of the MA.

Attach the rifle to the now-exposed mounting pin...

Then plug in the separate stand adapter piece on top, and the transformation is complete!

It's quite a unique MA form.

Side view

Top view

Front view / Bottom

Viewed from the rear, you can see quite a few verniers with good color separation.

From the front, it kind of looks like some kind of bug;

Together with the Asshimar, another recently released high-complexity transforming kit.

The five HGUC transforming kits from Zeta Gundam

The HGUC Zeta series has already grown this large. Looks like 2006 is truly the year of Zeta. :-)

Straight build front / rear

In celebration of the Zeta theatrical film, Zeta-series transforming kits are being reborn one after another as HGUC releases. The last entry of 2005 is none other than the Gabthley! Despite being a 20-year-old design, it's one of those iconic designs that still holds up completely.

First off, the quality of recent HGUC kits goes without saying — they've been on an incredible streak of excellent color separation, solid joints, perfect transformations, and great proportions, and the Gabthley is no exception. The somewhat complex transformation is pulled off brilliantly, and with solid color separation and well-placed stickers, it looks great even as a straight build. Joint strength is especially important for transforming kits, and the joints here are stiff enough that the MA mode holds together really well. The proportions and articulation are also solid, making it easy to get nice poses when displaying it. :-)

Just like the Asshimar, a stand is included for MA mode display. Like the Asshimar, the stand's mounting joint rotates in three directions and is secured with a bolt-and-washer system, so you can adjust the stiffness to your liking. What really stands out about the Gabthley's stand in particular is the storage in the base. Most recent stands offer some storage for leftover parts, but the Gabthley's stand is top-tier in this regard. It can hold all the covers and stand adapters removed during transformation, the hand parts, and even the beam sabers — a total of 9 leftover parts, all stored in one place. It's genuinely very useful for storage and display. ^^

The Gabthley's transformation isn't quite as crisp and snug as the Asshimar's, but it's a fresh and fun transformation process in its own right. It looks like the kind of thing that could end up flopping open if you're not careful, but thankfully everything locks together solidly, which makes the transformation all the more satisfying. There are two transformation modes: the Middle Form, where just the legs split off into claws, and the full MA mode — and since both can be displayed on the stand, showing them off is a breeze.

The biggest complaint about this kit is the hand parts. Like other recent kits, the detail on the hands themselves is quite good, but just like with the Hazel, the connection between the hand parts is extremely weak. The rifle hand is especially problematic — the rifle is so large and long that positioning it is a real hassle. You could just glue it like you would with the Hazel and call it a day, but the problem is that during transformation you need to attach the rifle to the underside of the MA, so gluing the hand in place causes issues. At least with the Hazel, you could glue the rifle hand to the rifle itself (since there's a separate hand for the beam saber), but with the Gabthley, it's a real headache. -_-; And the lack of open action hands, which have been popular lately, is another minor disappointment...

That said, even in regular MS mode, it's nearly impossible to keep the hands in place without gluing, so gluing seems unavoidable. In my case, I ended up gluing the hands for the MS mode photos, then having to forcibly pry them off again every time I wanted to do the MA transformation;; This is probably the biggest frustration most people will have with the HGUC Gabthley.

Aside from this awkward hand connection issue, it's a nearly perfect HGUC kit. With 2006 set to be another year of Zeta theatrical releases, here's hoping we continue to see fresh Zeta-series transforming kits reborn in HGUC form, starting with the Paras Athene. :-)

HGUC Gabthley | 2005. 12 | ¥1,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.