Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild - Various angles (1/6)

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild - Various angles (2/6)

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild - Various angles (3/6)

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild - Various angles (4/6)

Various angles

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild - Detail shots (1/4)

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

Weapons loadout

Beam rifle (standard configuration)

After detaching the barrel and both grip sections, you can extend 2 gimmicks as shown above.

Long-range mode beam rifle with the extended barrel and grip parts (included separately) attached

The beam rifle can be mounted on the center of the backpack.

The newly designed shield

The way the Bit Staves detach is similar to the original Aerial.

All 9 Bit Staves attached to various parts of the body

You can attach all the Bit Staves to the long-range mode beam rifle to form the Gunbit Rifle.

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild - When displaying the Bit Staves in their deployed state, you can use the separately sold Weapon Dis

When displaying the Bit Staves in their deployed state, you can use the separately sold Weapon Display Base.
But unlike the original Aerial, there are 5 Bit Staves with straight pins,
and 4 that need to slot into a long groove,
so two Weapon Display Bases just don't have enough joint parts T_T

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild - The use of in-mold color parts and the optional sticker system are the same as the original HG Gun

The use of in-mold color parts and the optional sticker system are the same as the original HG Gundam Aerial.

Built with the normal black chest configuration

The deployment gimmick stored in the flight unit

Articulation is excellent as expected.

Shoulder and waist articulation

Flight unit articulation

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild - Beam rifle pose (1/3)

Beam rifle pose

Beam saber pose

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild - Gunbit Rifle firing pose (1/3)

Gunbit Rifle firing pose

Pose with Bit Staves attached to the body

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild - A pose with all Bit Staves deployed using two separately sold Weapon Display Bases. The missing jo

A pose with all Bit Staves deployed using two separately sold Weapon Display Bases.
The missing joint parts were handled with double-sided tape.

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild - Comparison shots with the HG Gundam Aerial. (1/3)

Comparison shots with the HG Gundam Aerial.

This kit is the HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild released as part of the Mobile Suit Gundam "The Witch from Mercury" series. It's a completely new 100% new-mold kit with no shared parts from the previously released HG Gundam Aerial. It comes with the flight unit included by default, and the overall design leans more toward a combat-oriented look.

The general build style is pretty much the same as the HG Gundam Aerial — the in-mold color parts and optional sticker system work the same way, and you can still detach the Bit Staves from the shield and attach them to the body or beam rifle. The key difference, though, is that unlike the original Aerial where only 2 Bit Staves could be attached to the beam rifle, the Rebuild lets you attach all of them to form the Gunbit Rifle.

You can use the separately sold Weapon Display Bases to display all the Bit Staves (which split into up to 11 pieces) in their deployed state — but unlike the original Aerial where two bases were enough, the Rebuild's Bit Staves include 5 with straight pins and 4 with straight slots, so you end up short on joint parts T_T Since each Weapon Display Base only comes with one of each joint part, you'd technically need 5 bases. You could probably make it work with 4 if you're clever about it, but either way it's a pretty annoying situation. In my case, buying more bases felt like a bit much, so I just used double-sided tape to display some of the Bit Staves in their deployed positions.

On top of that, the beam rifle can be switched to long-range mode by extending 2 gimmicks at the rear and swapping out the barrel and grip. The top of the flight unit also has a gimmick where 2 yellow pins can be opened up, and each of the 4 thrusters can be individually rotated in set directions.

All in all, it feels like a solid upgrade over the original Gundam Aerial in a number of ways. The articulation is excellent, and the joints are smooth yet hold their position well, making it a really enjoyable kit to pose. The parts also lock together firmly, giving the whole thing a nice solid feel — which I really appreciate. Just keep in mind that if you're planning to deploy all the Bit Staves, two Weapon Display Bases won't be enough.

Overall though, this is a well-made kit with satisfying quality and design. It also feels like it has a more mainstream, crowd-pleasing look compared to the somewhat quirky proportions of the original HG Gundam Aerial. If you're a fan of The Witch from Mercury, this is definitely one of the first kits worth building before anything else :-)

HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild | 2023.3 | ¥1,700

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.