Today we are going to take a look at Bandai’s Jet Effect accessory set:
Basically, they are a bunch of parts that can look either like energy blasts or thruster exhaust, along with as clear parts that let you hook them up to an Action Base.
As the packaging shows, you can use them with everything from mobile suits to Dragonball Z figures, but it is not a coincidence that they were released right around the same time as the Real Grade Nu Gundam and RG Sazabi, as these were (literally) tailor made to use with their funnels.
That being said, a word of advice - each pack of parts only comes with enough to use with three funnels, so you might want to buy two of them.
Another word of advice - the Action Base is not included, so buy one of those too (make sure it’s an Action Base 4 or 5).
I kind of hate that I have to give you so many warnings and caveats. I wish it was easier to figure out what you do or dont’ need to use these. But hey, at least now you know.
Starting off with the Jet Effects themselves, they’re surprisingly configurable. If you use all the pieces, you get a full on energy blast:
Notice that it has two different ball joint connectors, so you can position it how you want on the base.
If you wanted to, you could also make a smaller looking energy blast:
Or double up:
Or even connect two Jet Effects together (though I don’t know why you would exactly):
The package also comes with some clear spacer pieces. These serve two purposes. First, you can use them to extend the length of the Jet Effect:
You can stack up to two spacers onto a single Jet Effect, giving you three different possible sizes:
Second, you need to use the spacers to connect the Jet Effect to the Nu Gundam’s fin funnels. Three of the six spacers have a cross-shaped connector that fits perfectly into the back of a funnel:
How to Attach to the Action Base
There are a whole bunch of clear parts needed to plug the Jet Effect into the Action Base. For some reason, you get for of each kind of part, even though there are only three Jet Effects:
Not that I’m complaining, really. The extra parts can be used to extend the height or length of one of the Jets if you so choose.
The photo below shows how the parts are meant to connect:
Though it isn’t an exact science. They are designed to connect in different ways to give you different configurations:
And of course, you can use the extra parts to extend it even further:
Once you have it the way you want it, you can plug it into the small holes on the Action Base:
These holes are only present on the base plates used by the Action Base 4 or 5, so make sure you listen to the packaging (and me) and get one of those.
So there’s your general overview of the Jet Effect Parts. It bothers me a lot that you have to have two packs and an Action Base if you want to pose all the fin funnels. On the other hand, I like how configurable they are. You can use the included parts to get the Jet Effects in pretty much any position you can imagine.
Now let’s rig them all up alongside the Nu:
Aaaaaaaaand tada!!!
I was really excited to crack these open and get posing, but when it came time, I found it to arguably be more trouble than it is worth. Even on an Action Base 4 - a stand meant for 1⁄100 kits, with lots of space - I felt like I didn’t have enough space when using all six funnels. And while they look cool enough, I learned that the Jet Effects are not the kind of accessory that instantly plus up your model. You really have to think carefully about the position, placement, angle, etc of each funnel. The more dynamic they look, the better, and I found that I didn’t really have the patience to do them justice.
I’d say that if you have a spare Base lying around, and you’re curious, spending a couple bucks on a single pack of Jet Effects might not be a bad idea if you want to play around with them. But I wouldn’t go all out, with two packs and a fresh base, unless you really think you’ll be interested in tinkering to get the pose right.
Conclusion
And with that, we finally wrap up this odyssey of a build. There were highs and lows. I laughed and cried. And in the end, I’m glad to be done. Not that it wasn’t worth it, mind you. I’ve just never spent so much time or energy (physical, mental, or emotional) on a single model kit. To be fair, it was wholly deserving - the Nu has the best articulation, and some of the best detail I’ve ever seen. I just …. need a break. Not from Gunpla in general, mind you, just this particular one.