Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

HGGT Full Armor Gundam Thunderbolt Ver. - Even with the backpack sticking out so far to the back, it stands up just fine with

Even with the backpack sticking out so far to the back, it stands up just fine with a little balancing. ^^

HGGT Full Armor Gundam Thunderbolt Ver. - Close-up detail shots. The elaborate color separation and abundance of seals really

Detail shots.
The elaborate color separation and abundance of seals really stand out.

Four shields — count 'em, four!

The arm weapons with shields removed — dual beam rifles and rocket launchers

Beam sabers stored on the sides of the backpack

HGGT Full Armor Gundam Thunderbolt Ver. - The sub-arms that hold the shields can be swapped between folded and extended posit

The sub-arms that hold the shields can be swapped between folded and extended positions.

Two sets of hands included.

A dedicated stand is also included.

Articulation is decent enough.

HGGT Full Armor Gundam Thunderbolt Ver. - Full-on attack pose (1/3)

Full-on attack pose

HGGT Full Armor Gundam Thunderbolt Ver. - With so much stuff hanging off it, putting it on the stand definitely makes posing

With so much stuff hanging off it, putting it on the stand definitely makes posing a lot easier.

HGGT Full Armor Gundam Thunderbolt Ver. - Beam saber action (1/4)

HGGT Full Armor Gundam Thunderbolt Ver. - Beam saber action (2/4)

Beam saber action

HGGT Full Armor Gundam Thunderbolt Ver. - Quad shield action (1/5)

HGGT Full Armor Gundam Thunderbolt Ver. - Quad shield action (2/5)

HGGT Full Armor Gundam Thunderbolt Ver. - Quad shield action (3/5)

Quad shield action

HGGT Full Armor Gundam Thunderbolt Ver. - The poses do look pretty spectacular~ (1/3)

The poses do look pretty spectacular~

Together with the HGUC First.

The MS designs from Otakagi Yasuo's manga Gundam Thunderbolt have been released as HG kits, and the first one out of the gate is the Full Armor Gundam. As the latest entry among the many Gundam side stories, it's been gaining popularity recently thanks to its MSV-style designs and story. The distinctive MS designs that really show off the artist's personal style must have something to do with it — three kits dropped all at once.

First off, this kit uses absolutely none of the existing runners — it's a completely new tooling. At first glance it looks like it might reuse runners from existing kits like a Build Fighters kit, but the design is just too different for that, so they went ahead and released it as a full new-mold MSV-style kit.

The silhouette looks similar to the Full Armor Gundam we know, but there are big differences in the verniers placed all over the body and the fine details throughout. The most distinctive feature of the Thunderbolt suits is that the joint areas have a corrugated, reactive armor-like appearance, and on top of that, the numerous verniers scattered across the body are a major highlight. As you can see in the photos above, the color separation is remarkably elaborate for an HG-class kit, and even a straight build with seals already looks incredibly sharp.

On top of that, you can make use of all four shields, and the suit is loaded up with large weapons hanging off the back and both arms — it's a very satisfying setup for an MSV-style suit. Maybe because of all that complexity, the articulation is pretty average for a modern HG, but since it looks great even with just a slight pose, it doesn't really feel like a big deal.

That said, with so many parts — especially all the small verniers — some of them have weak connections and tend to pop off during posing. The final stage of Gunpla development involves checking snap-fit tolerances with test shots and making fine adjustments to the molds, and it does feel like that process wasn't quite thorough enough here. Of course, a little bit of glue is all it takes to fix it, so it's a pretty minor issue.

Anyway, as you can see from the photos, the tight color separation and eye-catching seals give the straight build an impressively high level of finish, and the gorgeous design is sure to satisfy even longtime fans — it's a great side-story kit. If you're interested in Gundam Thunderbolt, or just love a sharp-looking Gunpla, this is a fun new lineup that's definitely worth building :-)
(Personally, I think it's even more fun than recent HGUC releases~ ^^)

HGGT Full Armor Gundam Thunderbolt Ver. | 2013.12 | ¥2,700

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.