HGPost Disaster

STH-20 Hekija

A quick, honest hour with one of Tekkadan's saddest suits.

MechaGrade Score

3.4/5

Hekija · 1/144 · 2017

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2017

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a solid weeknight build, not a showpiece, and I think that is fine.

It goes together in under an hour with clean snap fit and no real fit problems, and the double elbows and knees give it more pose range than its plain silhouette suggests. It will not be the centerpiece of your shelf, but as a fast, satisfying build of a suit with real weight in the show, it earns its spot.

Best for: IBO fans who want Hush Middy's Hekija on the shelf without a weekend commitment

The full review

What it is

The Hekija is a background-tier Tekkadan suit from IBO season 2, and the kit matches that role honestly. It is a small, straightforward HG that goes together fast, with parts already molded in the right colors so there is nothing to paint before it looks right on the shelf. I had it built in under an hour, gates trimmed, no glue needed. The double-jointed elbows and knees are the highlight, they give it a wider pose range than I expected from a suit this plain, and the ball-jointed ankles hold a stance without flopping. It comes with a rifle with bayonet and a sword that can mount on the waist when not in hand, enough loadout variety for a couple of different display poses.

The catch

The head cannot do a full swivel because of the collar piece, and hip movement gets pinched by the side skirts once you try anything past a basic stance, so deep lunges look strained. The eye piece is a sticker sandwiched between the head halves rather than a printed or molded detail, and the shoulder and hip joint stickers are the ones to watch, several builders report they can crack or peel once the joints get worked through a full range of poses. Detail payoff is modest too. This is a simple, mostly flat-surfaced suit, so panel lines and shading do most of the heavy lifting since there is not much sculpted texture to catch light.

Who it's for

Grab this if you are working through the IBO Tekkadan suits, want a fast confidence-building HG for a slower week, or specifically want Hush Middy's or Lafter's Hekija on the shelf for what it means in the story. It is also a fine pick for someone newer to gunpla who wants a low-frustration build to practice gate cleanup and panel lining on before stepping up to a bigger kit. Skip it if you are chasing an all-time detail showpiece or expect MG-level engineering, this kit was never built to be that, and judged against its own HG price band it does its job well.

The build story

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

Assembly is genuinely quick, most builders clear it in under an hour with basic gate cleanup and no glue. Parts arrive molded in their final colors so there is no painting required to get an accurate look, and nothing on the runners fought me on fit. The eye piece is a sticker held between the head halves rather than molded or printed, which is a minor step back from kits that mold the eyes in color.

The double-jointed elbows and knees are the mechanical highlight here and they genuinely expand what poses this little suit can hold, helped by ball-and-socket ankles that tilt sideways and hold a stance. The waist and torso both get a bit of rotation and tilt too. Where it comes up short is the hips, the side skirt armor swivels to clear the legs but still limits how far you can push a dynamic pose, and the collar caps how far the head will turn. Loadout-wise you get the bayonet rifle plus a sword that racks on the waist when not drawn, which is a reasonable amount of gear for an HG at this price point.

Lore & trivia

01The Hekija is one of the Teiwaz Frame mobile suits used by Tekkadan in Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans season 2.
02Its known pilots in the anime include Hush Middy, Lafter Frankland, and Azee Gurumin.
03Hush Middy was killed while piloting a Hekija when a Graze sliced through the cockpit during Gjallarhorn's assault on Tekkadan's Mars base, one of the show's more brutal character deaths.
04The Hekija can shift into an 'Assault Form' for high mobility, deploying shoulder and rear waist thrusters and flipping up its feet to expose hidden thrusters.