Kit Review

Straight build

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Size comparison with a cigarette pack — the wingspan is about 40cm, which is

Size comparison with a cigarette pack
The wingspan is about 40cm, which is pretty massive.

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Jet Pod in various angles (1/5)

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Jet Pod in various angles (2/5)

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Jet Pod in various angles (3/5)

Jet Pod in various angles

Underside

The upper/lower clear canopy can be swapped out for standard molded parts.

The main wings can be angled upward.

The vectored thrusters at the rear can be angled downward.

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Both the front and rear flaps inside each main wing have a slide gimmick, all

Both the front and rear flaps inside each main wing have a slide gimmick,
allowing them to extend outward.

Movement of the secondary wings and flaps

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Open the rear cover to make room, then open the canopy while lowering the bac

Open the rear cover to make room, then open the canopy while lowering the back section to open up the cockpit.

The main body can be broken down by section as shown above.

You can spread the wings on the cockpit unit to turn it into an Air Glider.

Air Glider

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Bottom view. The stand mounting hole is quite large, so it's not compatible w

Underside.
The stand mounting hole is quite large, so it's not compatible with standard Kotobukiya stands,
and you'll need a Flying Base Neo with a wider peg.

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Since I don't have a Flying Base Neo, I used leftover parts from Hexa Gear to

Since I don't have a Flying Base Neo,
I used leftover parts from Hexa Gear to make a large-diameter joint part and mounted it on a stand that way.

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - You can open the top of the Air Glider and attach it to the back of a Hexa Ge

You can open the top of the Air Glider and attach it to the back of a Hexa Gear Governor kit.

The Governor kit can be seated in two different configurations as shown.

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Shots of Early Governor Vol.1 riding the Air Glider. (1/4)

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Shots of Early Governor Vol.1 riding the Air Glider. (2/4)

Shots of Early Governor Vol.1 riding the Air Glider.

When seating a Governor inside the Jet Pod, they need to be in a prone pose.

Governor seated inside the Jet Pod.

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Jet Pod on a stand (1/3)

Jet Pod on a stand

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Let's try combining it with the Bulk Arm Beta Standard Spec in the same deser

Let's try combining it with the Bulk Arm Beta Standard Spec in the same desert color.

First, remove the two small armor pieces on the chest area.

Spread out the Jet Pod's front unit as shown above,

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - then attach it to the Bulk Arm's upper body, close the canopy as shown, and s

then attach it to the Bulk Arm's upper body, close the canopy as shown, and spread the shoulder armor open.

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Add the T-shaped joint part to the back, then slot the Jet Pod's side panels

Add the T-shaped joint part to the back, then slot the Jet Pod's side panels in on both sides.

Attach the wing unit to the top of the side panels, then..

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Stow the rear cover of the Jet Pod's top unit inward, fix it to the upper bac

Stow the rear cover of the Jet Pod's top unit inward, fix it to the upper back, then attach the wing on the other side too.

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Disassemble the shoulder armor, apply the separate joint parts included in th

Disassemble the shoulder armor, apply the separate joint parts included in this kit,
and attach the missiles that were on the Jet Pod's wings.

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Combined with the Bulk Arm Beta. (1/4)

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Combined with the Bulk Arm Beta. (2/4)

Combined with the Bulk Arm Beta.

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - The center of gravity is shifted toward the back, causing the upper body to t

The center of gravity is shifted toward the back, causing the upper body to topple rearward.
The Bulk Arm's waist joint is pretty weak, so getting it to stand upright properly is really tough. T_T

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - I thought putting it on a stand might help, but this time the lower body is t

I thought putting it on a stand might help,
but this time the lower body is too heavy and the waist is too weak, so the lower half just droops down. T_T

At least with the cockpit open configuration, it can stand upright.

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. - Together with the Hexa Gear Desert Buggy and the Alternative Cross Raider Des

Together with the Hexa Gear Desert Buggy and the Alternative Cross Raider Desert Color Version, both in the same desert color scheme.

This kit is the Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. released as part of the Hexa Gear series. It's a large aircraft-type kit with a wingspan of up to 40cm. Primarily it's a booster pack designed to combine with the Hexa Gear Bulk Arm series, but the cockpit unit inside the completed Jet Pod can also have its wings spread out separately to form an Air Glider.

The Jet Pod's front canopy lets you choose between clear parts or plastic parts, and both main wings feature a gimmick where the front and rear flaps extend outward via a slide mechanism. The main wings and secondary wings themselves also have movable sections, giving you plenty of ways to pose the wings. On top of that, you get a movable rear vectored thruster and a cockpit hatch open gimmick — and the overall stability of all these moving parts is solid enough.

A Governor kit can be seated in the Air Glider unit — since the internal mounting pin locks into the Governor's back, it holds on really securely. Two riding poses are available: prone and standing. When seating the Governor inside the Jet Pod itself, you'll need to go with the prone position.

There's a stand mounting hole on the underside of both the Jet Pod and the Air Glider, and given the size of the kit, the hole is pretty large. It's not really compatible with standard Kotobukiya stands, but it does work with the Flying Base Neo which comes with a thicker peg. In my case, I just used leftover Hexa Gear parts to rig up a thick peg and mount it on a stand.

The combining process with the Bulk Arm — which is really the main feature of this kit — isn't too difficult overall, though you do need to be careful when inserting and removing the inner side panels since they can be quite stiff. The combined look is pretty cool, but the upper body is so heavy and the center of gravity sits so far back that standing it upright is a real struggle. I managed to carefully balance it for photos, but the waist joint is weak enough that the upper body tips backward easily. I thought a stand might solve things, but then the lower body turned out to be too heavy and just slides down on its own. The combining gimmick and the look are both fine — it's just the Bulk Arm's waist and leg joints that can't hold up. T_T

Anyway, it's a fun mecha model kit with a lot of different configurations and gimmicks to play with. The big letdown is the stability issue when combined with the Bulk Arm, which is the whole point of the kit. Honestly, just enjoying it as the Jet Pod or Air Glider on its own is probably better for your sanity — if you do want to pull off the Bulk Arm combo, joint reinforcement is pretty much a must. That said, if you're into large mecha model kits like this, it's definitely a fun one to build. :-)

Hexa Gear Booster Pack 005 Desert Yellow Ver. | 2021.4 | ¥5,200

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.