HGMobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

CFK-029 Michaelis

A sharp-looking Grassley suit with a genuinely clever arm cannon, held back by stiff joints and a reputation it never earned.

MechaGrade Score

3.4/5

Michaelis · 1/144 · 2023

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2023

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit more than its bargain-bin reputation suggests.

The Beam Bracer folding out of the right forearm is the best gimmick I've built in a while at this price point, and the translucent helmet plume and shoulder accents give it real shelf presence. Where it stumbles is articulation, the elbows and knees just don't bend far enough to hold the dynamic poses the design is begging for. This is a kit that photographs beautifully in a neutral stance and frustrates you the moment you try to pose it mid-swing.

Best for: WFM completionists and builders who want a striking display piece over a poseable one

The full review

What it is

The Michaelis is Grassley Defense Systems' answer in The Witch from Mercury, and Bandai gave it a genuinely new mold rather than recycling the Beguir-Beu's frame wholesale, which shows in how clean the surfaces are straight off the runners. The centerpiece is the Beam Bracer, a combination unit that replaces the right forearm entirely and folds between a compact beam rifle mode and an unfolded Antidote mode with a satisfying mechanical click. Building it feels less like snapping together a background mob suit and more like assembling a kit with an actual idea behind it. The included joint parts let you lock the arm in either configuration, which is a small touch I appreciated.

The catch

The elbows cap out around 100 degrees and the knees around 110, which is on the stiffer end even for an HG, and it means a lot of the more aggressive combat poses from the show are simply off the table. There's one sticker sheet doing real work on the face vents and torso details, so if you want it fully painted you're looking at masking rather than swapping a molded part. And I have to be honest about the elephant in the room, this kit shelfwarmed hard because of how unpopular its pilot's actions were in the back half of the show, which means retailers discounted it heavily and the secondary market never got hot. That's not a build flaw, but it's the real reason you'll see this one sitting on shelves.

Who it's for

If you're building your way through the full Witch from Mercury HG lineup, this one earns its spot, the weapon gimmick alone makes it worth the shelf space. Diorama and display builders who pose suits standing or in a light action lean will get the most out of it since the limited knee and elbow bend won't fight you. Skip it if you're chasing full-range articulation for dynamic action shots, or if you're buying based on show popularity, because the character baggage here is real and the suit gets overlooked because of it rather than because of the plastic itself.

The build story

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

Gate placement is standard HG fare and cleanup is quick, nothing here fights you on the runners. The polycap-free, all-new-mold construction means joints feel a touch different in hand than older HGs that reuse Beguir-Beu tooling, tighter in some spots, looser in others, but nothing that rattles loose during normal handling.

The Beam Bracer is the standout piece of engineering, a single forearm assembly that convincingly does double duty as both a beam rifle and an unfolded Antidote weapon, held in either state by dedicated joint parts rather than friction alone. The small left arm shield and twin beam saber parts round out a decent accessory loadout for an HG, though the articulation ceiling on the elbows and knees keeps the whole package from reaching its posing potential.

Lore & trivia

01The Michaelis is developed by Grassley Defense Systems and is piloted by Shaddiq Zenelli, the adopted son of the company's CEO and a third-year leader of Grassley House in The Witch from Mercury.
02It carries the same 'Antidote' Anti-GUND Format equipment first seen on the CEK-040 Beguir-Beu, but built into an entirely new mold rather than a shared frame.
03The kit is numbered #11 in Bandai's HGTWFM (High Grade The Witch from Mercury) line and released in January 2023.