Your Bag

Complicated. That one word sums this kit up nicely. It is a sight to behold and I'm glad I got it, but this thing is a beast. I spent less time on the Psycho Zaku than this guy. I don't regret it at all, but be aware of what you are getting into.

This is a big build - virtually two kits in one box. You build the Gundam itself and then layer a whole pile of equipment and additional armor over the top of it. Tons of detail. Lots of decals. Fantastic articulation. Lots of gimmicks. Truly an impressive build. I just wish the included stand felt more steady/sturdy.

It's Thunderbolt Gundam. Come on, guys. You know it rocks.

I love the this MS design a lot; it's actually among my favorites. But it seems inherently hard to turn this MS into a model kit. While an HG kit can't effectively capture the details, the MG kit suffers from other problems that make it painful to build and pose. A couple things that annoyed me most are the right arm weaponry's weight (too heavy for shoulder and elbow joints to support) and the joint seals (painful to install, or maybe it's just me that is particularly bad at this).

For my first Ver. Ka build, I was delightfully surprised by the full armor. the trash bags were annoying at first, but I figured out how to work with them (eventually). I still need to do waterslides on him, but the build was very involved and I enjoyed every step of the process. While my love for Gundam Thunderbolt makes me blind to these issues, I still must point out some flaws of the Full Armor Ver. Ka: (-) His stand frankly sucks. I suggest using a sturdier stand to ensure he doesn't fall. (-) With everything attached, the Full Armor cannot hold its weapons up. Maybe I messed something up when building the arms, but the double barreled beam rifle is heavy as can be. That being said, I am still glad this kit was my first Ver. Ka build, and I can easily recommend it. The build is fairly involved, but the end result is truly spectacular.