Gundam Model Kits

Unlike standard MS, the Aegis is transformable, and it's chest plays a large part in it. So by any means, it is defiantly not standard. So I will split this into a few parts.MS mode- The chest looks rather wide, much like the lineart, however the waist is rather thin looking. The crotch/skirt armor looks great however. The backpack is large and bulky, while the two tail fins are poseable, and are needed to keep the balance steady. There is hardly any shoulder articulation, other than the fact the joints allow upward movement, but this is more for transforming the MS, rather than posing.
Transforming- The transformation here is well done. The backpack opens up, and folds in to hide the head (without having to remove it, which is a plus). The chest and crotch fold up into positions nice and are sturdy. It is now where we are shown the terrible 'Scylla' 580mm energy cannon that it uses in MA mode.Wing binders- Loosely attached to the mid section, these wing binders serve two purposes. Mobility, and to store the Aegis weapons on in MA mode. For transformation, the manual suggests that you remove them, but I found it's highly un-needed, making Aegis' transformation completely self-sufficient. Nothing except the hands needs to be removed. Always a plus.

Pretty nice set up they have I must say. The arms are basically a transforming replica of the lower leg. As you can see, the shoulders look tremendously like the calf and knee guard of the legs. As well, the forearms resemble a transformed foot. That's because they are. In transformed mode, they form the four arms that open up, and they look all the same. The arms here transform quite well, and fit quite nicely. The hands are the same as the Strike kit, except it's got an extra open palm left hand. Very nice.

Look nice, but are a pain in the butt. The big reason is the hip joints. They aren’t the standard ball and cup joints that MS have. They are regular peg on poly joints, and sadly, the peg is small, and holds poorly. Its thighs are made of two pieces: the hip, and the rest, which allows the legs to turn, so that they may transform. Also works for poses as well, if you can get them to balance. The lower legs are pretty hollow, but need to be in transformed mode, so it suffers in MS mode. The feet however, have great poseability, but are a little loose, which, again hurts its balance.

Beam rifle- Long, and well detailed. It's handle fold in, revealing a hidden peg to store the beam rifle on one of the wing binders. One problem is, the forearm design hinders the holding of the beam rifle a bit. A sticker is provided for the sensor.
Shield- Molded and built in all the right colors yet again, however, the underside looks pretty bad. Has a peg to plug it into the side of the forearm, or onto one of the wing binders.
Beam sabers- Located just below the wrists, and at the heel of the foot on the forearm, these beam sabers are pretty spiffy. Molded in clear yellow, they look pretty sharp. According to the specs, there are supposed to be two more beam sabers on the actual feet, but they are not built in this kit. Sadly. Transformation- The ultimate gimmick of this kit. As I mentioned before, it's practically self sufficient, and goes rather smoothly...however, the legs have a tendency to fall off at the hip, and lining up the legs is tough. They should have had some kind of system to lock them into place, but sadly there isn't. So to achieve the best look in MA mode, leave the legs open as if the cannon is ready to fire.

Not bad for the second outing for SEED in 1/100, and definitely not bad for a transforming kit as well. Again, minimal stickers, and most pieces molded in their right colors. However, the transformation system makes a pretty unstable MS mode. Pretty good, but it could stand a few improvements. (Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars)

Contributor: Matt "GuyverC" Bellamy

General and Technical Data
Series: High Grade (HG) 1/100 Release Date: 02/2003 Price: ¥ 2200