Master Grade 1/100 Gundam Heavy Arms EW version(Katoki Design)
Anyway, first up is my WIP and review for the MG 1/100 Gundam Heavy Arms EW. Please do remember that I'm a newcomer with making WIP reviews on blogs. So please do bear with me.
As everyone who watched Gundam Wing knows, the Gundam Heavyarms is well, armed with heavy weaponry. He's got a gatling gun(his main weapon), a army knife on his right hand, he's got tons of missiles(that didn't seem to run out in the TV. lol) he's also got a concealed beam saber on his left arm(customized for Heero Yuy when he fought with Lieutenant Zechs Marquise).
Unfortunately, the TV version of the kit is yet to have a master grade(only the wing TV has a master grade). But Bandai came up with something that's as good as the TV version. Which was make the EW version of the unit. In the Endless Waltz OVA, it was already the Heavy Arms Custom(4 gatling guns, 4 chest gatling guns), no army knife and no concealed beam saber). Bandai released this early 2012 if i remember correctly. (I actually got this kit back in March/April 2012). This kit is a surprise birthday gift from my girlfriend (I was planning to buy one myself and I thought she bought this one for her. but to my surprise... it's mine. lol.).
A. Box
 |
| with this alone you know that this kit is heavily loaded with weapons and shit |
The boxart is more than enough to show you that this is one heckuva unit. Photo shows he's not called heavy arms for nothing.
When I first saw the box art I was like, heck, it's like he's saying everyone is just bullet fodder or something. And I haven't even started on anything yet. lol.
B. The runners
When I first saw the box art I was like, heck, it's like he's saying everyone is just bullet fodder or something. And I haven't even started on anything yet. lol.
B. The runners
There are around 14 runners I think. 3 of which are ABS while one is the Polycap runner, there is also one runner that has the clear part but there's only 1 piece. The wire where you'll put the parts for the link belt of the machinegun is separate and does not belong to any runner group. Of the 3 runners which are ABS, 2 are identical so basically there are only 13 runners. The stickers (foil and clear) and the dry transfer decals are sealed together in a small plastic.
C. The Build
C. The Build
 |
| My workplace ver 1.0 |
Building the HA EW is no easy task. it's smaller than the usual kit's I've built (Exia, Zeta) and just like the Crossbone Full cloth, i also had a hard time with some small parts. anyway, 1st things' first:
The cockpit:
As you can see, the cockpit assembly is pretty small. probably made out of 4-5 parts. There's no gimmick to the cockpit btw except you can open the doors(which i'll be showing later.
There really isn't much to do with assembling the head since it's pretty straight forward. Although I like how the parts of the head were prepainted. The v-fin could use a little touch up. Maybe a little gold can do something for it? Several stickers will be placed here. one for the eyes, and another for the front camera. i think there's also another one for the hind cameras.
Side note: I decided to paint the head part gold for some odd reason. I guess I thought it looked real good with gold in it. :P
The Upper Body:
To continue, you'll be attaching several parts to the cockpit. The yellow parts, and then the gatling gun and then the machine cannon near the neck part.
Note: there is a part that you attach on top of the chest gatling that are pretty brittle. so be very careful when you remove the part from the runner. I nearly made a mistake there. Also, the chest gatling could also use some paint. Maybe touching it up with gunmetal would do the job.
I found assembling the arms enjoyable. Since as I looked at the manual I already noticed that there is a lot of parts that I can paint. I noticed that the missiles on the shoulders were made separate from the shoulder armor parts, i decided to paint them red since as they were, they were too bland. And painting the missiles would make them appear separate and removable. :)
I was unable to take several photos during the construction since it was nearing 2 AM when I did this. Anyway, the blue part on the chest is attached separately. Be careful when cutting it since the top blue part should touch the other side.
It's a bit hard to insert and I made the stupid mistake of cutting a part. Luckily I had some spare cement for a plane I worked on a few months prior to this build.
The Lower part of the body
The cockpit:
 |
| Mr. Barton is so small |
 |
| Bye bye Trowa~ |
As you can see, the cockpit assembly is pretty small. probably made out of 4-5 parts. There's no gimmick to the cockpit btw except you can open the doors(which i'll be showing later.
As you can see, to close the cockpit you only have to attach the cockpit's doors. There's not much you can do during the construction of this part.
The Head
The Head
There really isn't much to do with assembling the head since it's pretty straight forward. Although I like how the parts of the head were prepainted. The v-fin could use a little touch up. Maybe a little gold can do something for it? Several stickers will be placed here. one for the eyes, and another for the front camera. i think there's also another one for the hind cameras.
The Upper Body:
To continue, you'll be attaching several parts to the cockpit. The yellow parts, and then the gatling gun and then the machine cannon near the neck part.
 |
| Shoulder missiles painted red |
 |
| with some armor |
 |
| arm assembly. |
I found assembling the arms enjoyable. Since as I looked at the manual I already noticed that there is a lot of parts that I can paint. I noticed that the missiles on the shoulders were made separate from the shoulder armor parts, i decided to paint them red since as they were, they were too bland. And painting the missiles would make them appear separate and removable. :)
 |
| Attaching the head and arms to the body. |
It's a bit hard to insert and I made the stupid mistake of cutting a part. Luckily I had some spare cement for a plane I worked on a few months prior to this build.
The Lower part of the body
The lower body, mainly the skirt, the feet, and the legs took a bit of time. There are some interesting parts here and there and it took me a while since i got fascinated with the engineering done with this kit. Again, I painted the missile pods red using the welcoat acrylic paint. poor paint job ikr? =))
The knee armor actually moves upward when you bend it. There really isn't that much to talk about with this part since there aren't that many gimmicks or whatever. The only gimmicks I noticed about this part of the gundam were the missile hatches(which opens), the knee armor that moves upward, and the missile pods which look bad ass on its own.
Backpack
There really isn't much to say since there are no elaborate engineering stuff done for the backpack. it's very basic and there is a lot of room for detailing. I, for example, painted the boosters silver(for some odd reason) . I guess I thought it looked cooler that way.
Weapons
Now we go to the weapons. first up is the Army Knife. As far as I remember, the TV Heavy Arms also had an army knife on one arm. but i think it didn't move the way the HA EW did.
Building the weapon is pretty simple since there are only around 2-3 parts i think.
Btw, I painted the blade of the army knife metallic silver. Though i think i should have used gunmetal but what the hey! it'll just get dirty since he'll be using it on them Leos. hahahaha!
Now, the last stop is probably what i waited for when I got this kit. The Beam Gatling Gun with the shield.
Just like most of the parts of this kit, the beam gatling is pretty easy to assemble too. Just some parts and then poof~ But spray painting the barrels, now that's difficult. I tried masking(And failed big time, imo). just so i can control which parts will get the silver color. I decided to stick with the silver color due to the fact that i don't have any gunmetal lying around. :/ Anyway, here are the assembly photos:
Probably some of the hardest parts of this build. painting them barrels after masking them
Removing the tape showed my mistakes. LOL.
Accessories
So now we enter the fun part which is the accessories. The Heavy Arms EW doesn't have that many accessories unlike the Crossbone full cloth or the FA Unicorn, but it does have a badass gatling gun. but before we get there, let's talk about the back pack first.
Weapons
Now we go to the weapons. first up is the Army Knife. As far as I remember, the TV Heavy Arms also had an army knife on one arm. but i think it didn't move the way the HA EW did.
Building the weapon is pretty simple since there are only around 2-3 parts i think.
Btw, I painted the blade of the army knife metallic silver. Though i think i should have used gunmetal but what the hey! it'll just get dirty since he'll be using it on them Leos. hahahaha!
Now, the last stop is probably what i waited for when I got this kit. The Beam Gatling Gun with the shield.
Just like most of the parts of this kit, the beam gatling is pretty easy to assemble too. Just some parts and then poof~ But spray painting the barrels, now that's difficult. I tried masking(And failed big time, imo). just so i can control which parts will get the silver color. I decided to stick with the silver color due to the fact that i don't have any gunmetal lying around. :/ Anyway, here are the assembly photos:
Probably some of the hardest parts of this build. painting them barrels after masking them
Removing the tape showed my mistakes. LOL.
Originally, only the end of the barrels were supposed to have the silver paint, but as I said, i'm a newcomer to spray painting small parts. Another sidenote: I painted the bullet chain with gold since i thought most bullets looked like gold. hahaha.
So there you have it, I am now finished with the assembly of this badboy. I guess it's time for some shots~
Some shots
So there you have it, I am now finished with the assembly of this badboy. I guess it's time for some shots~
Some shots
The Verdict
What can I say? I definitely recommend this kit. It might not be accessory heavy but it has some pretty nice gimmicks. The design looks awesome and arguably, this is the best looking kit from the MG EW line. There's a lot of room for detailing but you can choose not to detail him and he'd still look good. If you're having doubts getting this kit, believe me when I say it's worth the money.
