Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

HG Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam - Detail shots (1/4)

HG Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

Dry decals are applied to the shoulders and front skirt.

There are also 7 dry decals with numbers printed on each of the 1st-generation Dragoon weapons.

7 guided beam cannons that can be detached from the backpack.

HG Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam - The beam sabers that attach to the side skirts are a bit loose. -_- You can sort of rest them i

The beam sabers that attach to the side skirts are a bit loose. -_-
You can sort of rest them in place, but they fall off every time you move the kit.

You can recreate a beam cannon firing scene using the 4 effect parts.

Articulation is average.

HG Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam - The shoulder joints using dumbbell-shaped ABS ball joints are a unique touch, but.. the articul

The shoulder joints using dumbbell-shaped ABS ball joints are a unique touch, but..
The articulation isn't great and the movement feels stiff — not really worth it~~

The Shiranui pack moves at various angles just like in the show.

The beam saber can be attached under the rifle like a bayonet.

HG Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam - Beam saber + beam rifle action (1/3)

Beam saber + beam rifle action

HG Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam - Aerial shooting poses (1/2)

HG Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam - Aerial shooting poses (2/2)

Aerial firing pose

Beam saber action

HG Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam - Beam cannon launch scene recreation (1/4)

HG Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam - Beam cannon launch scene recreation (2/4)

Beam cannon launch scene recreation

Beam cannon + double beam saber action

Together with the 1/100 Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam.
The coating quality looks about the same..

Together with the HG Destiny Gundam.

The golden Gundam, Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam, has been released in HG. True to its design, the outer armor comes with a gold plating, and the coating quality is just about on par with the 1/100 version — nice and clean.

The Akatsuki Gundam itself has a somewhat different structural design compared to the existing HG SEED Gundams, with the most notable feature being the dumbbell-shaped ball joints used for the shoulders. That said, these stiff ABS ball joints actually have a narrower range of motion than you'd expect, and the movement feels pretty stiff too.. which makes you wonder why they even bothered going this route. Trying new things is fine and all, but.. plain old polycap joints seem better in every way. ^^;

The Shiranui pack — one of the two backpack options for the Akatsuki Gundam — is characterized by its 7 bit weapons, which are 1st-generation Dragoons: guided autonomous beam cannons. They're fully detachable, and you even get 4 effect parts to recreate the launch sequence, which is a nice touch. The various moving parts of the Shiranui pack are also well reproduced, letting you pose it firing straight ahead or angled up, down, and sideways in all sorts of directions.

One notable feature of the HG Akatsuki Gundam is that it comes with dry decals — something pretty rare at the HG level. Probably because it's a gold-plated kit, and it's handled the same way as the 1/100 Akatsuki Gundam.

As a plated kit, you could say it "turned out pretty well".. but there are some downsides worth pointing out — the gold plating pushes the price up to a fairly steep ¥2400, the beam saber fit on the side skirts is loose, and the awkward ball joints actually end up limiting the range of motion more than helping it.

For the Akatsuki Gundam, I'd actually recommend the HG over the 1/100. The 1/100 Akatsuki Gundam full set runs ¥6500, which is just too pricey, and the HG has the advantage of being smaller and more manageable. Either way, it's a kit worth recommending to anyone who liked the Akatsuki or is a fan of gold-plated kits. :-)

HG Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam | 2006. 2 | ¥2,400

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.