This is another kit I got when I went on vacation back in the summer. From an official Bandai store no less!
I’ll admit that I haven’t seen all of Reconguista in G (I missed out on seeing the last two film adaptations when they were very-briefly uploaded to Youtube), but from what I have seen of it, I can say that I quite like the G-Self. And what better way to honor it than with this model kit that comes with the crazy-ass Perfect Pack (which I did not get to see onscreen yet, but I’m still going to build it!)
About the Mobile Suit
I’m not going to go into a deep dive on this one, as I’m not yet familiar enough with the Regild Century timeline. Suffice to say that the G-Self is the Main Protagonist Mobile Suit.
Interestingly, it was designed by the legendary artist Akiman. If you’re a Gundam fan then you might know him as the guy who did the character designs for ∀ Gundam:
And if you’re into video games then you’ve certainly seen his artwork for Street Fighter:
But it turns out he does some mecha design work too, including for G-Reco. And what a design the G-Self is:
The best way I can describe it is that it looks like if you took a teen boy protagonist from a Shonen anime and made him into a robot. For me it’s the color scheme, the bright and friendly eyes, and the fact that, at least from the underside, it looks like it’s wearing sneakers.
The only thing that’s frustrating about it is that it stands (mostly) alone. So many Gundam designs are afraid to deviate from tradition, and I hate that. I think it’s okay, especially after this many decades, to go off the beaten path a little bit, and try to do something unique (especially considering that some of the biggest swings at originality led to the G-Self and the Turn A, the latter of which I still assert is one of the best designs of all time)
Some Flavor Text
While I won’t do a deep dive, I did machine translate some of the flavor text from the manual, mainly about the Perfect Pack (which is the crazy looking backpack this model comes with. It shows up late in the story, some time after the third film, which is why I haven’t seen it in action yet).
I present it to you now without comment:
The "Perfect Pack" was created by Happa, the genius mechanic of the Megafauna aboard the Crescent Ship during the return journey to Earth. Because it was developed with the assistance of technicians from the Venus Group and utilized newly acquired materials, it is officially credited as a product of the Venus Group.Incorporating the capabilities of all previous backpacks, along with a wealth of unique, specialized functions, this was the first backpack designed exclusively for the G-Self. It became a formidable weapon, powerful enough for a single unit to sway the outcome of the entire conflict.
It incorporates all the functions of previous backpacks, and the color of its photon armor shifts depending on the active mode. (Note: This is based on current, in-progress settings.)
The photon armor shield, developed by applying technology from the Reflector Pack, not only nullifies beam attacks but can also absorb them and convert them into its own energy. It was Bellri's quick thinking to utilize these multi-layered shields, generated via photon energy, as a heat-shielding measure against the adiabatic compression encountered during atmospheric reentry.
Traffic Fin
A unique component attached to the left and right sides of the Perfect Pack. It functions as both a guided missile and an emitter for a tractor beam.
Beam Rifle
A beam rifle that the G-Self possessed when it descended from space. It features better energy focus and greater destructive power than the version used by the Amerians.
Photon Armor Shield
A dedicated shield developed alongside the Perfect Pack. It incorporates technology from the Reflector Pack, though it consumes a significant amount of energy.
Tractor Beam
Utilizing technology from the Tricky Pack, this beam interferes with an opponent's physical structure to immobilize them.
Photon Torpedo
Crystalline structures containing antimatter, generated at the base of the Perfect Pack. Upon contact, they cause the target material to be completely eroded away.
Omnidirectional Lasers
Since the G-Self’s entire body functions as a photon battery, this weapon harnesses its immense energy and discharges it as lasers in all directions.
Photon Searcher
Sensor particles are released from the base of the Perfect Pack to detect photon energy. While these particles appear as black smoke to the pilot, they are invisible from the outside.
About the Build
This model is somewhat notorious online, largely due to the fact that it has 50+ stickers:
I admit that this is quite a lot, but I also can say that most of them are applied to flat surfaces, and so are very easy to work with. I’ll also say that most of them look decent enough, with only a few that I felt ought to be replaced with hand painting (such as the cross on the shield, or the little red lightning bolts (AKA Decal #17)).
But regardless of what I think, this model does require a lot of work. Not just because of the stickers, but also a lot of those plain blue stickers are supposed to look shiny and glowy, which I tried to achieve by painting over them with metallic blue paint, and then applying a clear gloss coat.
It also requires quite a bit of masking if you want to keep all the clear blue plastic looking shiny.
And on top of all that, there’s the fact that a lot of that blue plastic is laid right on top of plain white plastic, and in my opinion it doesn’t look all that great:
My solution was to paint the underside of these parts with a metallic Gundam Marker, to make it look like there’s sparkly photon energy brewing underneath:
I mean, I think it looks cool, but your mileage may vary.
All in all it was a lot of effort for a High Grade, but I didn’t mind it at all. There was very little seamline removal to deal with, nor any particularly nasty colors to try and paint with. It was very much a labor of love.
Finished
I think this is most definitely a case where all that love and effort paid off.
I won’t say this is the most complicated High Grade ever made, but I’d say this is definitely on the higher end of HG intricacy:
The only problem with it is that the articulation isn’t quite what I was hoping for, particulaarly in the legs and the torso twist. It makes up for that somewhat with just how expressive it is:
But still, I’d have liked it if it were easier to take fun action shots:
Alright, let’s get some gear on it:
Side note: I had to paint all that color on the beam rifle, which was slightly easier than I expected (and very much worth it). I also removed the yellow stickers on the shield and replaced them with paint, which was not quite as easy (but probably still worth it: with the stickers, you can easily see where one ends and the other begins, and there’s no way to make them look seamless)
Perfect Pack
And now for the Perfect Pack:
If you’re anything like me, you’ve maybe seen promotional shots of this model and wondered “how exactly does the Perfect Pack work?” Allow me to show you the magic. It’s actually made out of two sections: a top half that plugs in right behind the head, and a bottom half upon which the two big fin things attach via control arms:
This means that the fin things can reposition in different ways, which in retrospect explains why this is the Perfect Pack. It can reconfigure to be whatever it needs to be:
The fins also open up in order to go into firing mode
And then finally there are the photon shields. The kit comes with four big blue effect parts for this, and it turns out they … don’t look quite that great in most lighting conditions:
This includes the dark lightbox, but also a regular bookshelf. However, put them in the white lightbox, and they look like actual special effects:
Look how gorgeously glowy they are. These shots alone were worth the price of admission. Or at least that’s what I tell myself, because not long after I took them, I broke one of the effect parts at the mount point. And because the peg is oh so tiny, I can’t fix it by pinning it with a piece of wire or something.
Maybe I could get it to hold with some sticky tack, but for now I’m just going to leave it be. Since they don’t look that good on the shelf, I’m just going to pose it without them. And if I ever want to put it back in the lightbox for a some more shots, I’ll just give the sticky tack a go and see if it works (and if not, at least I got these shots before it went south).
All in all, it’s quite an impressive little High Grade, and already it’s got some great shelf presence. Not sure how many more G-Reco models I may go and look for, but I’m glad to at least have this one.