SD BB Senshi Kensei Gundam

Release 1998.7

Price ¥1,000

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Runners

Parts diagram

Manual

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

SD Kensei Gundam - Straight build front shot before applying seals (1/2)

SD Kensei Gundam - Straight build front shot before applying seals (2/2)

Front view of straight build before stickers

Kensei's armored form after applying seals

You can equip two different armor forms.

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

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

Light equipment type

Tenchu's cloak wearing form

Tenchu's cloak is made using the paper parts included in the box.

An armor display stand is included.

Both armor types displayed on their stands

Weapons include the Hado-Seiko and the Kongoken sword.

Unusually for an SD kit, two swappable hand types are included.

Typical SD-level articulation with rotating head, arms, and feet.

Action pose

Together with SD Musha Gundam 01

This kit is the SD Kensei Gundam, released as part of the Shin SD Sengokuden Tensei Shichinin-shu series. It's priced at ¥1,000, which is a bit on the pricey side for the series, but the contents are correspondingly more generous. You can build it in two configurations: Kensei's armored form or wearing Tenchu's cloak.

The Tenchu cloak comes with separate paper parts that you fold to assemble, and a nicely done display stand is included so you can show off each armor separately. Also, unusually for an SD kit, it comes with two swappable hand types — an open hand and a fist.

The basic construction follows the Tensei Shichinin-shu series style, with two soft-material frames and solid color separation throughout — though the seal usage is on the heavier side. And perhaps because of the higher price point, this kit doesn't have the hollow-looking backs of the arms that plague other kits in the series.

That said, considering it costs twice as much as other kits in the lineup, the overall package feels a little ambiguous. It's not particularly large, and there's no standout accessory like a horse or anything like that, so the value proposition is a bit iffy. It doesn't immediately look like a step up from the ¥500 kits at a glance, and it lacks that commanding presence you'd expect from a ¥1,000-class SD Musha Gundam.

Anyway, the unique Tenchu cloak and the fairly elaborate Kensei armor are the main selling points here, and the overall build quality is clean and tidy — so if the style appeals to you, this should be a fun kit to put together. :-)

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.