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MD-0032G Guel's Dilanza

A vain rich kid's magenta duel machine, and honestly it earns the swagger.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

Guel's Dilanza · 1/144 · 2022

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2022

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is one of the more entertaining budget HG kits Bandai has put out in a while, and I say that as someone who went in expecting a forgettable secondary-cast filler kit.

The proportions are deliberately odd, short thick legs, a huge feathered headpiece, a barrel chest, and somehow it all reads as exactly the kind of showy machine Guel Jeturk would pilot. It moves better than it has any right to for the price, and the color separation on that magenta shell is genuinely impressive out of the runners.

Best for: HG builders who want a cheap, characterful side-cast kit with real posing range and almost no paint required

The full review

What it is

The Dilanza line is the mass-production workhorse of Witch from Mercury, and Guel's version is the show-off custom, done up in vivid magenta with a decorative feathered blade antenna standing in for a normal head crest. Building it is quick and satisfying, five runners, a little over a hundred pieces, and the parts snap together with the same confident click I like in the better recent HG lines. The proportions are stubby and top-heavy on purpose and it works, this thing looks like a duelist's flex machine rather than a generic grunt suit the moment it's assembled.

The catch

The legs are short and thick, which means the nub placement on those big curved thigh and calf pieces is not forgiving, plan on careful nub cleanup if you want a clean finish since the magenta shows scarring more than a matte gray kit would. The decorative blade antenna headpiece is fiddly to seat correctly and a few builders have flagged it as the one part of assembly that needs patience. Knee bend tops out around 90 degrees, which limits how deep a kneeling pose can go, and this is a no-sticker, all-molded-color kit so there is nothing to fall back on if you scuff the finish during a bad clip.

Who it's for

If you enjoyed The Witch from Mercury and want a side-cast kit that actually holds dynamic poses instead of sitting stiffly on a shelf, this is a genuinely fun cheap build. It also works fine as a pure design piece if you just like the oddball proportions and don't care about the show at all. Skip it if you need forgiving big gate cuts on curved surfaces or you only want to build named-Gundam leads, this is a secondary-character kit through and through and it knows it.

The build story

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

Assembly is fast and confident, five runners (A, B, C, D1, E) at roughly 110 pieces, with parts laid out symmetrically so finding pieces is easy. Elbow and knee joints are pre-hinged for simple assembly, and the whole kit is polycap-free, everything is newly molded snap joints rather than the usual polycap ball joints. The only real slowdown is nub cleanup on those big curved leg panels and getting the ornamental head crest to seat straight.

The articulation is the real surprise for the price band: double ball-and-socket neck, a rotating waist, double-jointed elbows, thigh swing that lets the legs raise horizontally, and ankles that swivel and tilt. Skirt armor lifts to clear leg movement during wide poses. For accessories you get the beam partisan polearm, a beam torch melee weapon, and a beam rifle, plus a shield with an internal weapon dock, which is a strong loadout for an HG in this price band.

Lore & trivia

01The Dilanza is the standard mass-produced mobile suit fielded by Jeturk Heavy Machinery in The Witch from Mercury, and this variant is a custom build tailored specifically to Guel Jeturk's dueling style.
02Guel Jeturk was established as Asticassia's top-ranked student pilot before this custom Dilanza was defeated by the Gundam Aerial's GUND-BITs, after which he transitions to piloting the Darilbalde.
03The kit's decorative feathered blade antenna and vivid magenta paint scheme were designed specifically to reflect Guel's ostentatious personality rather than any in-universe combat function.
04The HG released as part of Bandai's numbered HGTWFM line (HG WFM #04) in October 2022, shortly after the Witch from Mercury broadcast introduced the character.