HGGundam Build Fighters: Battlogue

amazon.co.jp A-Z Gundam

A cyan-and-orange Zeta Revive remix that transforms clean and poses messy.

MechaGrade Score

3.4/5

amazon.co.jp A-Z Gundam · 1/144 · 2018

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2018

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a genuinely good Zeta Revive kit wearing a flashy Amazon-exclusive paint job, and that is both the appeal and the ceiling.

The transformation into Wave Rider mode is the star of the show, smooth and satisfying once you know the sequence. But the balance and nub cleanup work against it in a way the original Zeta Revive did not have to deal with, so I cannot call it an upgrade across the board.

Best for: Zeta Gundam fans who want the Build Fighters spin on the frame and don't mind extra cleanup for it

The full review

What it is

This kit takes the HGUC Zeta Gundam Revive frame, Bandai's modern take on the classic transforming MSZ-006, and reskins it in a bold cyan and orange scheme built for Tatsuya Yuuki's overseas tour arc in Gundam Build Fighters: Battlogue. It carries over the Revive frame's transformation gimmick into Wave Rider mode, adds a new backpack, an Unlimited Saber with translucent green effect parts, and A and Z Mega Rifles. Snapping the backpack closed and watching the whole thing fold down into a sleek fighter is the moment that sold me on this kit. It is a fun, distinctive take on a suit I already had a soft spot for.

The catch

The new backpack and other reworked parts have rough nub marks that take real care to clean up, more than I expected from a kit built on an already-solid frame. The ankle ball joints run loose, and combined with a top heavy upper body, ground poses take patience. The top-mounted cannons also physically clash with the head fins, so you end up preplanning backpack position before you commit to a pose rather than freely adjusting on the fly. It is not a kit you can just pick up and pose without some fighting.

Who it's for

If you already like the Zeta Gundam silhouette and want the transformation gimmick with a color scheme you won't see on any other kit, this is worth tracking down, especially since it skips almost all of the original Revive's stickers in favor of molded color. If rock-solid stability on a flat surface matters more to you than novelty, put this one on a stand and treat it as a shelf piece rather than a display fighter, or look at the standard Zeta Gundam Revive instead if fussing with balance isn't your idea of fun.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

Assembly leans on the same Zeta Revive engineering that made the base kit well regarded, so the frame goes together cleanly and the transformation sequence is intuitive once you have done it once. Where this kit adds its own parts, mainly the new backpack, the gate placement is noticeably worse than the rest of the runners, so budget extra time with a hobby knife and some sandpaper if you want clean panel lines on those pieces.

The articulation is there on paper, ball jointed ankles, hinged wings, a multi-jointed backpack, but the payoff is inconsistent because the kit is top heavy and the ankle joints run loose out of the box. Color separation is the real win here: outside of the eyes and head camera, this kit uses molded plastic instead of the sticker sheet the standard Zeta Revive leans on, which makes for a cleaner build and a better looking result long after the sticker shine would have worn off.

Lore & trivia

01The A-Z Gundam was built by Tatsuya Yuuki in Gundam Build Fighters: Battlogue for an overseas tour, and in the show's story he battles Sei Iori's GAT-X105B/GC Build Strike Galaxy Cosmos before that trip.
02It was released as an Amazon Japan exclusive kit, tied to Amazon Prime Video's Japanese streaming rights for Battlogue.
03The kit is built on the HGUC Zeta Gundam Revive frame and keeps the source suit's full transformation into Wave Rider mode.
04Its loadout includes four Vulcan guns (two shoulder mounted, two below the chest vents), A and Z Mega Rifles, and an Unlimited Saber with translucent green effect parts.