#RX-78(G)E Gundam EX

[therosecrest]

[athena-gunpla]

HGUC 1/144 E.F.G.F. Prototype Close-Combat Mobile Suit RX-78[G]E "Gundam Ex"

Gundam Ex is here!! I had a lot of trouble pre-ordering this one, but luckily found it in-person at a Black Friday sale so picked it up and cancelled the pending order. Ever since the trailer dropped I've wanted to add this to my collection, alongside the 08th MS Team suits.

This kit has some of the best features of modern HG gunpla. There's excellent colour separation, with some cool part shapes on the arms and head to create the two-toned dark and light grey paneling, as well as some of the red accents on the chin and torso. There's almost no colour-correcting stickers, apart from a yellow one to colour the raised E.F.F. insignia on the shield and another to depict the targeting sensor on the beam rifle, and two red strips for the side skirts.

There were some details that needed to be painted, including the a whitish section on the bottom of the shield (which unfortunately turned out a little bluer than I intended due to the paints I had on hand), and the grey vent details on the face. I also ended up painting all the yellow sections by myself, to avoid them looking too shiny from the foil stickers.

The foil stickers also detail the eyes and front camera in a reflective red. There are 3 eye options for each of the compound eye camera activation styles, but I ended up using the option with all three cameras activated, as the eyes are rather small as it is, so this helps the eyes be more visible.

I also ended up painting the blue flame effect on the beam saber effects. Unfortunately, while in the show they're depicted with a prominent blue glow to their base, the included effect parts are a single transparent pink. I think they look a lot better with the transparent blue though.

As usual, I detailed this kit with my Tamiya weathering sets D and C, and some drybrushing in gunmetal and silver. I also had a new chrome silver marker which I used to pick out some of the rivets and piping.

There are also a set of nice clear stickers for the decal details, which are mostly a series of red lines and the "78 Ex" and "E.F.G.F." badges. These are well designed to fit flush over panels, although unfortunately the sheet doesn't have any spares.

The kit comes with two open fist parts, which have a unique peg connection rather than the typical ball joint, as well as a trigger hand for the right arm. The lack of a ball joint limits articulation a little, but the wrist can swivel independently, so posing is still doable, including of course the menacing approaching pose from the promotional materials and box art.

In terms of accessories, there's a large shield, which has a simple handle similar to the The Origin RX-78-02 and MSV GM, although there's no additional 3mm peg connection. The back has a gatling gun, with an ammo drum on the backpack and a flexible rubber ammo chain that can flex as you pose the gun.

On the left shoulder, there's a rack of three beam sabers, which swivels forward to dispense them into the suit's hand. There's also the beam rifle, which has a very stripped down design, appearing as just a few tube details attached to a small boxy body and large dish-shaped sensor reminiscent of the sensor from the original RX-78-2 design.

The kit has really impressive articulation. There are no polycaps, so everything is super stiff and secure. The hip joints can rotate downwards to allow the thighs to swing almost all the way forward and back. There's great range of movement at the shoulders as well, and there's a decent amount of waist rotation as well as a cool ab-crunch that reveals hidden mechanical detail under the armor. The skirt armor is designed from the start the move independently, so there's no extra cutting necessary to unlock movement.

Overall I had a great deal of fun with this kit. Panel lining took a really long time as it the kit is saturated with detail, but after completion, the detail really stands out. While I didn't end up enjoying Requiem for Vengeance very much, I'm glad I managed to get this model.

[virtualgirladv]

Gonna get streaming again, starting with some gunpla, help me pick what to build first :D

[mecharoulette]

RX-78(G)E Gundam EX

Origin: Mobile Suit Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance

1x:

[therosecrest]

[therosecrest]

[therosecrest]