AYT! This is my very, very first mech model kit review and my very, very first Gundam model kit review as well. (I'm soooo excited!)
Today I'm gonna review the 1/144 Gundam Age 1 Titus from the new series Gundam Age. Though I haven't seen the series yet but I have this vague idea that the story is based on the past Gundam V series just like the Gundam Seed and Seed Destiny which was based on the Gundam RX 72, Zeta and Double Zeta respectively and the Gundam 00 which I think was based on Gundam Wing.
Anyways, I love big-ass mechs that's why I picked this kit first before the other Gundam Age series model kits because of the bulkiness (that sounded wrong…) of the design. And the mobile suit has very unique armaments that I haven't seen from other Gundam or mobile suits before or other mech units for that matter which we will discuss later on in the review.
The name of the this Gundam I think is based on Emperor Titus Flavius Ceasar who--in Roman history--was the FIRST Ceasar who succeeded his father before him. I don't wanna go into details because that's what INTERNET AND WIKIPEDIA IS FOR!! THIS IS A MODEL KIT REVIEW GUNDAMMIT! (hehe). Anyways, onto the kit.
BOX, MANUAL AND PRESENTATION
The box art will surely make you stop, look and pick up your jaw from the ground. The cover is an awesome image of the Gundam Titus doing it's signature clothesline move in all its dynamic and action-packed glory. (I pity the poor shmuck in the background who got hit.) Kudos to Morishita Naochika who painted the cover. Most covers of the new line of Gundam kits were made by him even the MG kits. I'm not a big fan of shiny metal painted mechs but his rendition is so bad-ass that I wanted to paint this kit the same shiny color he did. (good luck to that…)
The sides of the box has images of the model in different poses and equipped with its battle armaments so you'd surely know what you're getting right off the bat. Short history of the mech is also found on the sides but unless you know how to read japanese, you'll probably just ignore that section.
As always with Bandai kits, the manual is very clear and cohesive when it comes to directions on how to build the model. Graphics, symbols, and arrows are extremely helpful even for beginner level modelers. Colored images of the kit in different poses and different views will serve as reference for the modeler to help him in building the kit and also show what the model will look like--more or less--when it's done.
KIT BUILD
Bandai Gundam kits are well-known for their high quality and colored plastic parts straight from the spruse. You don't need to paint them once you're done and most kits come with decals or stickers to further enhance it, but serious modelers like me usually doesn't settle with just the things that came with it.
The kit is also a breeze to build because it just snaps together easy which is what Bandai is also known for. No need for glues with these kits.
The Gundam Age 1 Titus is very fun to build and very easy to build as well. It took me 'bout an hour to finish it. It would've been faster if I didn't clean every part with a nail file but I wanted the kit to be ready when the painting session comes. The parts snaps perfectly together without exerting much force. I never encountered any trouble when I was building this kit. Even the small parts were easy to place.
The new line of 1/144 models from Bandai is now designed in such a way that the seam lines in-between parts are conveniently hidden and makes it look like it's one whole mold. And because of this, it's also easier to paint them without as much as masking or de-constructing most of the parts.
1/144 scaled Gundam model kits are usually easy to build especially the First Grades and most High Grade kits so I really didn't have any trouble with this one.
ARTICULATION, FEATURES, ARMAMENTS AND GIMMICKS
For a 1/144 model kit, this baby can do very dynamic poses without problems. It can mimic the poses from the show with ease. For a bulky model kit, the joints were designed in a way that it does not hinder the movement of a certain part. Though the small, ball jointed hip skirt tends to pop off every once in awhile when you're not careful in handling the figure but doesn't really pose any serious problems. The kit also has a shoulder articulation not found in most 1/144 kits that significantly enhances dynamic possability. You can pose the kit in many different ways which is very impressive given the armored nature of the model. I had experiences with past model kits that falls apart or a whole section of the model pops off with just the slightest movement but this kit is very solid and very sturdy and you can actually pose it doing a high kick without worrying of it stumbling over. Its knees are double jointed so you can pose him kneeling on one leg without looking awkward.
Each skirt armor--both front and rear--has its own peg which does not hinder the leg's movement and adds more flexibility when posing the figure. Though it only comes with a pair of closed fists which is a bit of a let down to me because I was expecting at least 2 pairs of hands--one closed and one open--but it's not the end of the world. The hands however, are significantly larger than the hands on a 1/144 scaled kit but that's fine with me because it adds kick-assizm (Ha! I invented a cool word!) to the kit. Huge hands on a big-ass armored mech is a winner in all aspects!
The kit does not come with any separate weapon whatsoever. No beam rifles, guns or beam sabers can be seen on the mobile suit but the model kit however, comes with a pink translucent spruce consisting of 12 beam spikes and 2 ring blades. These are the very unique armaments I've been talking about that I haven't seen on any mech. 3 beam spikes can be attached on peg holes located on both shoulder armors. You can either put them on one shoulder or both depending on your preference but based on the images on the manual, those beam spikes are used as a tackling attack. When the Titus tackles an enemy using his shoulder, those beam spikes comes out of the shoulder armor that becomes a skewer of some sort which then pierces the armor of the enemy and adds significant damage to the attack.
There are also 3 peg holes on each knee armors of the Gundam Titus as well. The beam spikes can be mounted on the knee armors which simulates the Gundam Titus' knee attack. You can also go all out by putting all spikes on both shoulder and knee armors for that added bad-ass look. Bandai didn't have to give all 12 spikes for all the armors but still they did. That was very kind of them (of course it was added to the price of the kit).
The 2 ring blades are the Gundam Titus' main attack weapon. The rings can be mounted on both arms of the kit which then simulates the "clothsline-like" attack of the Gundam Titus. As I've said, I haven't seen the series yet but based on the images I've seen on the net and on the manual of the model itself, these spikes and rings are the Gundam Titus' means of offensive strikes which obviously makes it a heavy armored melee type fighter mech.
JUDGEMENT
The Bandai 1/144 Gundam Age-1 Titus is one model kit you really don't wanna pass up. It's a bad-ass looking' solid kit with very impressive articulation and very unique armaments plus with an affordable price tag, you really can't go wrong. A model kit worthy of being an emperor. Gundam Age-1 Titus, YOU RULE!
Now to cough up some dough to buy the Master Grade version...
