SD BB Senshi Tenrei Gundam

Release 1996.3

Price ¥1,000

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Runners

Parts diagram

Manual

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Straight build of the samurai form before applying seals — front shot

Samurai form after applying seals

Multi-color coated painted runner included as a first-edition exclusive.

Samurai form with armor removed

SD Tenrei Gundam - Light armor type (1/2)

SD Tenrei Gundam - Light armor type (2/2)

Light equipment type

SD Tenrei Gundam - Add the chest armor, raise the head antenna, then plug the parts from inside the backpack onto the shoulde

Add the chest armor, raise the head antenna, then plug the parts from inside the backpack onto the shoulders
to configure the battle form.

SD Tenrei Gundam - Lay the body face-down and rearrange the parts to form the Kijin Senkuzan configuration. (1/3)

Lay the body face-down and rearrange the parts to form the Kijin Senkuzan configuration.

SD Tenrei Gundam - You can mount additional weapons gathered on the wings — and for the head antenna, you get to choose betwe

You can mount additional weapons gathered on the wings — and for the head antenna,
you get to choose between a Gundam face-type part or a standard head antenna-type part.

With the additional armor mounted

Add multiple pieces of additional armor to the battle form and you get the final Hirakou form.

The Hirakou form, boasting a spectacular visual.

Inside the box there's a paper display base, seemingly intended to be used as a stand.

In the Hirakou form, the articulation of the arms and legs is very poor due to the combination gimmick.

Action pose

Together with SD Noryugundam

SD Tenrei Gundam - You can do a crossover with the Raikuken sword from SD Kidou Musha Tengaiou and the wings from SD Cho Kido

You can do a crossover with the Raikuken sword from SD Kidou Musha Tengaiou and the wings from SD Cho Kidou Daishogun (Kessho Hirakou Tenku Hououyoku).
To attach the wings, you'll need to insert a separate part between the shoulder and the body.

This kit is the SD Tenrei Gundam, released as part of the New SD Sengokuden Mushin Hirakou series. One of its standout features is that the first edition comes with a runner that has a pretty impressive multi-color coating applied to it. Thanks to that, you can achieve a dazzling look even with just a straight build — though keep in mind that reprints have this handled with seals instead.

This kit can be configured in a variety of forms. There's the light armor type, the samurai form with armor on, and the battle form where you add and rearrange the armor. Then, if you add the fancy painted armor pieces and extra parts to the battle form, you get the Hirakou form — which is really the highlight of this kit. On top of that, you can also put it together in the face-down Kijin Senkuzan configuration, and there's even a display rack mode where you combine the additional weapons.

Up through the samurai form, you get the standard level of SD articulation, but from the battle form onward the shoulders lock in place and the range of motion starts to shrink. Once you go all the way to the Hirakou form, the legs don't move easily either, so posing it is pretty much out of the question. That said, the visuals are so spectacular that it's honestly satisfying just to have it standing there on display.

There's also a small display base sub-box included inside the main box, but in practice the bottom tends to cave in easily, so it doesn't seem all that useful. As for crossover features, you can attach the Raikuken sword from SD Kidou Musha Tengaiou and the wings from SD Cho Kidou Daishogun (Kessho Hirakou Tenku Hououyoku) — though the size difference is pretty significant, so it does feel a little unbalanced.

Anyway, this is one of those rare kits from Bandai that comes with a pre-painted runner, and while it can be a bit hard to track down, I'd definitely recommend going for the first edition if you can. :-)

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.