HG Raphael Gundam Review

This time, we will be reviewing the HG  1/144 Raphael Gundam, which was released in September 2010 !

The HG Raphael Gundam is a 1/144 scale model kit of the MS “Raphael Gundam” that appears in “Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie”. In addition to its slim body shape, it is equipped with a distinctive Seravee unit and big cannon on the top of its head. The claws of the big cannon can be deployed with a replacement part. This kit can be used to recreate scenes from the movie. The price is 2,160 yen (tax included).

This is the third Mobile Suit Gundam 00 kit to feature Tieria Erde’s suit. Unlike the previous models, such as the Virtue and Seravee, which were thick and heavily armored, this is a slender Gundam type. The distinctive large unit on top of the head is a gigantic backpack made from reused parts from the Seravee.

The main body is molded in white. Purple is used on the chest, and some parts are colored in Gundam-type basic colors such as yellow and red. Some of the coloring is compensated for by stickers, but it is not very extensive.

The unit on top of the head is heavy, and the Raphael Gundam itself is slender, so it is a little unstable when standing on its own. However, it is equipped with two GN bazookas on the back of the unit, which can be used as support for standing on its own. If the GN bazooka is lifted, it becomes almost impossible for it to stand on its own.

The unit on top of the head can be removed. Let’s take a look at the Raphael Gundam body without the unit.

Let’s start with the whole body. It has a simple, slim, muscular impression. It uses PC-001A polycaps, but they are not in the position that Gunpla theory requires, so the assembly method may feel a little unusual.

Head. The distinctive chin guard is sculpted. The sensor on the forehead is color-coded with a sticker on a clear part. It is a clamping type, so there is a seam at the back of the head, but it seems to be molded.

From the chest to the waist. It’s not a particularly elaborate design, but each part of the chest is carefully color-coded.

The shoulders are separate parts and can be moved using polycaps. The abdomen is a front and back clamp type with seams on the sides.

There is no molding on the back of the waist armor, and there is a hole on the back of the rear armor. The crotch area is a ball joint type polycap structure, but it is easier to remove the shaft side of the leg base part as shown in the image to avoid damage when removing it.

Arms. They are slender, but slightly muscular.

The upper arms are cylindrical, while the forearms are a clamping type with a front and back seam.

Shoulder armor. It is a simple front and back sandwich type design, with seams on the top and sides.

The legs are also slender and molded to the right degree.

Both the thigh and knee parts are clamped on the left and right, but there is no seam on the front. There is a seam in the middle on both the back parts.

Sole. The soles and heels are colored with red parts. The instep and soles are colored with stickers. The soles are molded and the seams are exposed.

By extending the toes and rearranging the heel parts, you can recreate the floating style.

The toes can be moved a little.

The backpack of the Raphael Gundam itself has a very simple design.

The two verniers are embedded in the fuselage and are color-coded as separate parts. The connection part with the upper Seravee unit can move up and down.

Seravee Unit. It has a very distinctive shape. It is equipped with GN Big Cannons (GN Claws) on both sides. It cannot transform into Seravee Gundam II.

The mounting parts for the Raphael Gundam on the inside can be removed.

The Seravee unit can be separated into the GN Big Cannon side and the GN Bazooka side. The shape of the Seravee Gundam II has been reproduced to some extent.

The head of the Seravee Gundam II is sculpted inside, and is movable to a certain extent thanks to a ball joint at the base. The head is assembled by sandwiching the face parts, and there is a seam from the top to the back of the head.

The GN Bazooka is fixed to the arm as a single unit and has no movable gimmicks. The bazooka itself is a left-right clamping type, so there are seams at the top and bottom. The sensors on the sides are color-coded with green stickers.

The muzzle is open to a moderate extent. The GN condenser is molded and color-coded with a yellow sticker.

The round mold on the back is color-coded with stickers. The shoulders are ball-jointed polycaps for moderate movement.

The base of the GN Big Cannon can be rotated. The armor in the foreground can be deployed widely, exposing the thighs of the Seravee Gundam II.

The thigh section is a clamping type with a seam on the left and right.

GN Big Cannon. It is finely sculpted by combining multiple parts.

The claws on the sides can be opened widely. Each joint can move, allowing the claws to move flexibly. There is a hole on the inside of the toe.

The rear armor can be slid up and down. The rear part has a cone-shaped GN Drive molded as a separate part. The cone part needs to be painted white.

Compared to the HG GM Ground Type and HG Lupus Rex, this is quite a large kit. The Raphael Gundam is 25.9m tall (head height: 21.7m).

Next to the HG Gundam Harute from the same series. Both are large and have unique body shapes.

 

The head can be looked up widely. It can also be moved left and right easily. The chin and collar tend to interfere with each other, but by pulling the chin in, the head can be placed inside the collar armor.

The arms can be raised almost to a Y shape. The elbows can move a little deeper than 90 degrees.

The shoulders can swing moderately forward and backward in the same range.

The shoulders are separate parts, allowing for flexible movement. You can also create a step between the left and right shoulders.

By lifting your upper body slightly, you can swing it back and forth moderately.

The waist can be rotated 360 degrees without interference, and the figure can be displayed on the action base by inserting it into the polycap hole in the crotch area.

The legs can be spread out widely both front and back.

The knees can also be bent deeply. The internal parts of the knees are solidly made, but the inside of the knee armor has holes that look like they have been removed.

The ankles can only move slightly back and forth, and can also move left and right within the leg armor.

The crotch area is ball-jointed, limiting movement, so the legs can only be spread to the left and right in a V-shape.

Because the thighs interfere with the crotch area, there is only limited movement in both the knee-to-knee and bow-legged positions.

Although kneeling is not particularly stable, it is possible in a certain position.

When equipped with the Seravee Unit, the arms can be raised to roughly horizontal by moving the left and right GN Big Cannons.

In terms of overall range of motion, I feel that the Raphael Gundam itself is a little lacking in some areas given its slender size. However, there didn’t appear to be any particularly dramatic scenes in the film, and the upper unit moves aggressively enough, so it seems like it will be easy to recreate some impressive poses using the units.

Includes 2 claw (deployable) parts for the GN Big Cannon and a GN beam rifle.

Includes clear joint parts and a clear stand for the GN Big Cannon display.

The GN Big Cannon can be combined with the deployable Claw.

The deployable claw has a gun muzzle molded on the inside. There is also a hole on the inside of the tip of the claw. The claw is connected with a ball joint at the base, allowing it to deploy and move appropriately.

By using clear joint parts, it is possible to recreate the GN Big Cannon on either side or slightly separated.

GN Beam Rifle. It has a simple structure that can be clamped to the left and right, and can be joined at the top and bottom.

 

Some of the armor on the top of the main body needs to be painted green, and the sensors reproduced with clear parts need to be painted clear green.

Equipped with a GN beam rifle.

The GN Beam Rifle can be held in place simply by inserting it into the hand parts, but be careful not to insert it too firmly as it will not be secured in place and will easily come loose.

By unfolding the Seravee unit so it doesn’t get in the way, the Raphael Gundam becomes easier to move, allowing for more freedom in posing than I expected. Because of its unique shape, it’s quite interesting to try moving it in various ways.

Posing the Raphael Gundam by itself. It’s lightly armored so it’s easy to handle. Be careful with the GN beam rifle as it’s easy to drop it.

Although it isn’t used in the movie, if it had a GN Beam Saber, the range of poses might have been wider.

By using the joint parts and deployable claws, you can recreate wild and powerful poses.

By pointing the GN Bazooka and GN Big Cannon forward, we were able to recreate a characteristic flying style. However, in this case, the Seravee unit was easy to come off, so care must be taken to avoid damage from dropping it. The 3.0mm axis of the action base was also under a lot of strain. (I don’t think there is a form like this;)

By using the GN Big Cannon’s clear joint parts and clear base, the GN Big Cannon can also be displayed on its own.

Even if you display the GN Big Cannon alone and the Raphael Gundam as is, the heights will not match, resulting in a slightly unsatisfying pose.

Therefore, it may be better to display the GN Big Cannon (GN Claw) itself on its own.

Please feel free to take a few.

The white exterior parts glow when illuminated with a black light. (It’s a bit scary.)

The movable range of the kit itself is not very wide, and I thought that posing might not be very promising, but the upper seravy unit has a strong presence, and I was able to reproduce its unique form and attack posture. On the other hand, it was fun to see how different and interesting it was from the standard kit.

As a point of concern, it is a waste that the unit cannot transform into the Seravy Gundam II. It would have been nice if it had been made into a kit, at least sold separately. If you have the skills to modify it, it might be interesting to make your own based on this kit. Also, please note that the clear joint part axis of the GN Big Cannon is shallow, and the GN Cannon is a little easy to come off. (There may be individual differences.)

Although Thieria’s machine does not play an active role in the movie, it has some enjoyable parts, so why not recreate a powerful pose with the Raphael Gundam alone and with the GN Big Cannon?