Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Detail shots

Being a transforming unit, articulation is pretty limited.. ^^;

HG Aegis Gundam - Rifle firing pose. With only one weapon, it's hard to pull off a wide variety of poses. (1/3)

Rifle firing pose.
With only one weapon, it's hard to pull off a wide variety of poses.

Transformation

First, remove the hands and side skirts..

Rotate the head and stabilizers on the back around..

Swing the claw parts on the arms and legs forward.

Fold the front skirt downward..

Spread the arms and legs out to the sides.

Rotate the chest armor upward, then

Bring the arms and legs together and attach the shield and rifle to each side — transformation complete.

Transformed into cruiser mode.

Cruiser mode detail shots

HG Aegis Gundam - Attack mode with arms and legs spread open (1/4)

HG Aegis Gundam - Attack mode with arms and legs spread open (2/4)

Attack mode with arms and legs spread open

Together with the 1/100 Aegis Gundam.

Together with the HG Aile Strike and Duel Gundam.

This is the HG Aegis Gundam, a transforming unit that's pretty rare in the SEED lineup. Just like the 1/100, the transformation gimmick is reproduced almost perfectly — and even at HG scale, the transformation process is still quite tricky. ^^;

The overall gimmick and structure feel like a straight-up scaled-down copy of the 1/100 Aegis, which means the build is surprisingly dense for an HG kit. The complicated transformation is just part of the Aegis Gundam's nature, so there's not much you can do about that — but even at HG scale, the transformation is faithfully reproduced, which means it's still pretty confusing to transform without the manual. The limited hip joint range of motion due to the transformation gimmick also makes it tough to pull off decent action poses in MS mode, but again, that's just the nature of the beast.

For a multi-joint transformer like the Aegis Gundam, joint strength is naturally the biggest concern. The 1/100 Aegis was actually a bit of a pain to pose, but the HG version is relatively smaller and lighter, so there's much less stress on the joints — that's a real plus. Compared to the 1/100, you can get decent poses in both MS mode and transformed mode without too much trouble. ^^

All in all, this feels like a meaningful HG kit — it reproduces the unique transformation gimmick at the same level as the 1/100, and the smaller size actually gives it better joint stability on top of that. If you're choosing between the 1/100 and the HG, the Aegis Gundam is one case where I'd definitely recommend going with the HG. :-)

HG Aegis Gundam | 2002. 12 | ¥1,200

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.