Kit Review

Straight build + panel lining + partial paint

The universal size reference — a cigarette pack comparison.
It looks surprisingly small for some reason.

It's small and light with stiff joints, so it handles this much back weight no problem.

HG Hyperion Gundam - As expected, there are plenty of small spots that need partial painting — part of the head, shoulder ver

As expected, there are plenty of small spots that need partial painting — part of the head, shoulder verniers, chest ducts, and so on.

HG Hyperion Gundam - The triangular pyramid details scattered across the body have no color separation, so I painted them all

The triangular pyramid details scattered across the body have no color separation, so I painted them all yellow.

Gave the ankle guard verniers a quick paint job too.

Threw in some paint on the backpack verniers as well.

To attach the beam shield, you have to swap out the wrist parts.
A bit of a hassle..

A separate trigger-grip hand for the rifle is included.

HG Hyperion Gundam - The beam knife is uniquely stored on the side of the shin — the leg-mount part and the beam knife part i

The beam knife is uniquely stored on the side of the shin,
and the leg-mount part and the beam knife part itself are completely separate pieces.

The tip of the Forfanterie, the beam weapon, can rotate 180 degrees.

Articulation is an honest 90 degrees. Not exactly great.

Action pose

The neck is so stiff it can barely turn sideways that much.

Beam knife action pose

Forfanterie attack mode — one of the beam weapons. Looks powerful!

The knee and skirt range of motion is so limited that a kneeling-fire pose just doesn't work at all..

Alongside the Strike Rouge, MSV No. 1. The Hyperion really is on the small side.

Straight build photos

The 4th SEED MSV kit is the Hyperion Gundam, an original design created specifically for the MSV line. It's a completely new kit rather than a modification of an existing SEED kit, but... the design concept feels quite different from the rest. Different enough to make you wonder if this really belongs in SEED at all. The beam shield, which I haven't seen in a while, brings back nostalgia for the F90/F91 era of the early '90s — though it does feel a little out of place in the SEED aesthetic.

Anyway, as an MSV kit with a rare original design, its standout feature is the massive beam weapon called the Forfanterie mounted on its back. It hangs there almost like a cape, then rotates 270 degrees to swing forward into a firing pose. Quite a unique weapon~ and it looks pretty cool in its own way.

The kit itself has solid joints that hold up well under the weight on its back, but the articulation isn't great. Even when you try to get a more dynamic pose, the limited range of motion in the legs gets in the way. The neck in particular is very stiff and barely turns.

The color separation is fairly decent, but there are still spots here and there that need partial painting (see photos), and most notably, the yellow triangle details that serve as key accent points are completely ignored. Just painting those yellow triangles makes a huge difference — the color balance gets a lot more lively and attractive.

Overall, it feels less like a SEED MSV and more like just a brand-new Gundam design. Because of that, it's a bit hard to pin down what makes it stand out or how it differs from other kits... Still, the build quality is solid enough, so if the style appeals to you, it's definitely worth picking up without hesitation. ^^

HG Hyperion Gundam | 2004. 7 | ¥1,200

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.