Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - Size comparison with the universal standard — a cigarette pack. It's a bit bigger than your typical HGU

Size comparison with the universal standard — a cigarette pack.
It's a bit bigger than your typical HGUC.

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - The photo on the right shows the bare back without the shield. Upper body front shot. The Gelgoog's sig

The photo on the right shows the bare back without the shield.
Upper body front shot. The Gelgoog's signature flat pig-snout look is totally nailed here.

Even on HGUC, mono-eye movement is standard! You can rotate it after lifting off the head cover.

4 hand types in total. The action-pose left hand has a pretty nice look to it.

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - It's fairly simple, but even on HGUC there's molded detail inside the skirt. The shoulder ducts from th

It's fairly simple, but even on HGUC there's molded detail inside the skirt.
The shoulder ducts from the MG are gone, which makes it look a bit plain... but that straightforward simplicity is very much the HGUC way.

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - The arms only bend about 90 degrees, but the leg and skirt articulation is worth paying attention to. T

The arms only bend about 90 degrees, but the leg and skirt articulation is worth paying attention to.
The Gelgoog's dream has finally come true! The split skirt articulation that so many people tried to mod in during the MG days has finally been realized.
Having those skirts fixed in place used to severely limit leg movement.

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - On top of that, the range of motion on those split skirts is very, very wide, so they barely restrict t

On top of that, the range of motion on those split skirts is very, very wide, so they barely restrict thigh movement at all.
The hip rotation structure that started with the HG SEED series has been applied to this kit as well.

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - Check out the split skirt gimmick. It uses a round ABS ball part to allow movement — this is the same s

Check out the split skirt gimmick. It uses a round ABS ball part to allow movement —
this is the same skirt articulation system first used on the MG F91. Seems like they're planning to keep pushing this approach going forward...

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - The waist has a double-joint that moves independently, and the upper body has quite a wide range of mot

The waist has a double-joint that moves independently, and the upper body has quite a wide range of motion. There have been a lot of waist joints in the past that were barely
functional, but this joint structure really helps a lot when pulling off action poses.

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - The shoulders do swing forward, though not by a huge amount. The double ankle structure lets the feet b

The shoulders do swing forward, though not by a huge amount.
The double ankle structure lets the feet bend forward at a surprisingly large angle.
Similar approach to the HGUC Zaku II.

Action poses. The naturalness is on a completely different level compared to the MG...!

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - The shield that was always a struggle to hold up on the MG stays firmly in place on the HGUC. Looks pre

The shield that was always a struggle to hold up on the MG stays firmly in place on the HGUC. Looks pretty cool, right?

Beam naginata action — Shaolin style~!

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - This Gelgoog also has a mounting gimmick built into the crotch area... making it compatible with the st

This Gelgoog also has a mounting gimmick built into the crotch area...
making it compatible with the stand included with the HGUC Asshimar/Gaplant.
Thanks to that, much more natural action poses are possible!!

Abi-yo~

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - Together with the MG Char's Gelgoog. As the 10-year gap between them suggests, yet another HGUC has bee

Together with the MG Char's Gelgoog. As the 10-year gap between them suggests,
yet another HGUC has been born that surpasses the MG in quality.

A collection of HGUC kits in Char's signature colors. All three have subtly different molded colors.

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - A collection of HGUC Gelgoogs. The original Gelgoog came out way too late; though at least it came out

A collection of HGUC Gelgoogs. The original Gelgoog came out way too late; though at least it came out at top quality because of that...

Together with the similarly colored Gelgoog J. Quite a different style though.

HGUC Char's Gelgoog - A collection of Zeon's three main mass-production units from the One Year War. The Gelgoog was always t

A collection of Zeon's three main mass-production units from the One Year War. The Gelgoog was always the biggest of the bunch.

Straight build photos

The Gelgoog has finally made it to HGUC. It came out so early in the MG lineup that the quality left a lot to be desired, and people complained about it quite a bit. On the HGUC side, it took surprisingly long to come out given how significant the suit is. But thanks to that, it's been born with top-notch quality packed with all the latest technology — so it's hard to complain. ^^

First off, Char's signature pinkish molded color came out nicely, and the parts are cleverly arranged so seam lines are hidden on most major surfaces like the shoulders and legs. Overall joint strength is just right, holding any pose firmly. The proportions are a bit on the stocky side overall, but it has that HGUC feel — simple yet solid, and truer to the original design. The shoulder duct gimmick is gone, which does make it look a bit plain in that area, but that's all part of the HGUC charm, and it feels like a deliberate choice.

The most welcome feature on this HGUC Gelgoog is probably the split skirt articulation gimmick. Because of the Gelgoog's design, those round skirts look like they're fixed in place, and on the MG they severely restricted thigh movement — making it a kit with absolutely terrible articulation. It even became a trend for a while to chop up the skirts and mod them to be movable.

But on the HGUC, they've gone beyond the Gelgoog's inherent design limitations — both side skirts now move independently on ball joints, and with a wide range of motion at that. So the skirts don't restrict thigh movement at all. On top of that, the hip rotation structure first introduced in the HG SEED series is also applied here, making the thigh articulation so natural and wide-ranging that you'll find yourself going "Wait, is this really a Gelgoog!?" The knee range of motion is also pretty good for such chunky legs — it's the cherry on top!!

With the effective double waist joint, improved shoulder joints, split skirts, hip rotation, and all sorts of other technologies packed in, this HGUC Gelgoog is a completely different beast from the Gelgoog we've known. It's truly the definitive Gelgoog. And like recent HGUC kits, it comes standard with a stand mounting gimmick in the crotch, making it compatible with the stand included with the Asshimar/Gaplant. It might be a bit much to include a stand with every single kit, but it looks like this shared stand mounting gimmick will continue to be included going forward.

The build feel and quality are so good that there's really not much to complain about, but if I had to nitpick one thing, it's the way the hand grips the beam naginata — it's a bit iffy. The hole in the hand and the beam naginata connect loosely, so getting it to stay in place for action poses is pretty hit or miss. I wish they'd tightened up the tolerance just a little more. And while it's not a huge deal, the beam saber parts that were included in the MG are missing here.

Just like the MG, the HGUC lineup also kicked off with Char's unit, and it looks like various Gelgoog variants will follow. I'd love to see a White Glint — I mean, a Gelgoog from "Cucuruz Doan's Island" — wait, I mean a Gelgoog from "The White Base" — anyway, a Garma's White Glint version... At this level of quality, whatever variant they release, it's more than welcome. :-)

This adds yet another HGUC kit to the list of those that surpass their MG counterparts, and it's a masterpiece that completely revamps the image of the Gelgoog as an MS — one that had a pretty poor reputation up until now. Even setting aside memories of the old Gelgoog kits, this is clearly a highly polished kit that can hold its own against anything else out there. If you're a One Year War fan, this is an absolute must-buy! ^_^

HGUC Char's Gelgoog
2006.10
¥1,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.