Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Underside

Hittekai Ginkei [Nuri Botoke] - Detailed shots by section (1/4)

Hittekai Ginkei [Nuri Botoke] - Detailed shots by section (2/4)

Detailed shots by section

Unique stand

The stand mounting hole can be covered with a cover.

The side units can be displayed either open or folded — your choice.

You can open the small cover inside the side unit.

Cover open (left) vs. closed (right)

The landing gear is swappable, and the entire landing gear section can be extended outward.

The wing units move at a variety of angles.

Wings folded pose

Wings and side unit covers all open

Hittekai Ginkei [Nuri Botoke] - Pre-landing pose with landing gear attached (1/4)

Hittekai Ginkei [Nuri Botoke] - Pre-landing pose with landing gear attached (2/4)

Pre-landing pose with landing gear attached

Together with the Ginkei (white).
Identical kit 100% — only the molded color differs.

This kit is the Ginkei [Nuri Botoke] from the shooting game Ikaruga. It's a black version of the Ginkei (white) released nine years ago — a 100% pure color variant where only the molded color has been changed to black. In Ikaruga, the ship can switch between black and white depending on the situation, with a unique mechanic where it absorbs bullets that match its current color. Because of that, black and white versions of the Hishouzame Ikaruga have been released before, but in the case of the Ginkei, it took a full nine years for the black version to finally arrive.

So all the structural features are identical to the original, and for this review you really just need to check out how the new color looks. This kit still stands out with its wide range of moving parts and precise detailing. The side unit assembly does require some tedious gluing work, but most of it goes together snap-tight. That said, the wings have quite a few moving parts and the joints can be a bit iffy — it's sometimes tricky to get them to hold a specific angle. If you push the joints all the way in before posing, they'll hold well enough though.

What makes this kit worthwhile is how faithfully it recreates a mecha from the game in three dimensions. It's definitely a niche item, but if you've had a blast playing Ikaruga — whether on Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox, or elsewhere — this should be a pretty exciting piece to add to your collection. :-)

Hittekai Ginkei [Nuri Botoke] | 2021.5 | ¥5,400

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.