OLD 1/20 Character Collection Kai Shiden

Release 1981.7

Price ¥100

OLD Kai Shiden - Group shot of the 10 Chara Collection boxes released together (1/4)

OLD Kai Shiden - Group shot of the 10 Chara Collection boxes released together (2/4)

OLD Kai Shiden - Group shot of the 10 Chara Collection boxes released together (3/4)

OLD Kai Shiden - Group shot of the 10 Chara Collection boxes released together (4/4)

Group shot of all 10 Chara Collection boxes

The runners come without any plastic bag packaging.

Box back manual and parts diagram

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

OLD Kai Shiden - Views from various angles (1/4)

OLD Kai Shiden - Views from various angles (2/4)

Various angles

Face close-up

You can choose between 2 different arm styles.

OLD Kai Shiden - The second arm style attached (1/3)

The second arm style attached

Together with Amuro Ray.

OLD Kai Shiden - Group shot of all 10 Chara Collection figures (1/3)

Group shot of all 10 Chara Collection figures

This kit is the Gundam Chara Collection (Character Collection) 1/20 Kai Shiden, released in 1981. The Chara Collection is a series of injection-molded figure model kits molded in a single ivory color and assembled with glue. There's no real articulation to speak of, but there's something fun about building your favorite Gundam character figures through a simple assembly process.

The 5th entry in the series is Kai Shiden, who made his mark aboard the White Base. The name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue (Kai... Shi-den...), and he's got a bit of a villain look about him — but he was such an essential side character that he rightfully earned his spot among the 10-figure lineup. What's notable is that, like some of the earlier releases, you get to choose between two different arm styles. And whatever else you might say, the sculpt does a pretty solid job of capturing that slightly shifty expression of his (..).

On a side note, his head is on the smaller side, so size-wise you could actually fit the helmet he's holding in his left hand onto his head — unlike Amuro, whose head is too big for that. You can't slip the head into an already-assembled helmet, but if you wrap the two helmet parts around the head before gluing them together, it works out fine. Anyway, Kai might not be the most popular character out there, but there's something meaningful about seeing even a supporting character like him get his own figure model kit. :-)

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.