HGUC 053 RX-178 Gundam Mk II + Flying Armor

This is the HGUC Gundam Mk II and Flying Armor. It was featured in the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Series. As Anaheim Electronics continued its \”Z Project\” of next-generation mobile suit development for the AEUG, new items were needed to help boost the Mark II's performance. The first of these was the Flying Armor, a sub-flight system based on the new \”waverider\” technology being developed for the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam. The Flying Armor unit - built exclusively for the Mark II - allowed the Mark II to safely enter the Earth's atmosphere, and then act as a sub-flight unit, giving the Mark II unprecedented mobility in atmospheric combat.

Head: The head unit can equip the optional vulcan gun, like the other two models. It has average movement from side to side but almost no horizontal range.

Torso: The Torso construction for the HGUC Mk II was innovative to the rest of the HGUC lineup as it strayed from the traditional construction methods of having two pegs sticking out of the sides of the torso for the arms to connect to. The Mk II's arm connections are actually their own separate piece that blend the shoulder into the torso construction. This also adds slight mobility over traditional HGUC torsos. The Armor over the cockpit can be removed to reveal \”details\” but as far as I'm concerned, this feature is useless as the cockpit door still remains and there is a small box with \”details\” forged into it. I wouldn't even bother investigating this… it will only upset you.

Backpack: The backpack construction is slightly different from the other two Mk II HGUC's. Instead of a plastic curved \”cable\” on the Beam saber hilts, there are actual cables. These let the hilts tilt more and are designed specifically for the pose on the Flying Armor. There is still a slot where this HGUC can attach itself to the G Defensor to make the Super Gundam so… technically you could have the Super Gundam riding the Flying Armor (if you want to go all out, but it seems useless as far as purpose goes)

Skirt Armor: Like most HGUCs, the front skirt armor plates are molded together with a bar between the pelvic armor. This can quickly be fixed by cutting the two in half and making them independant. The far left and right skirt armor plates can hold the E-caps cartridges that come with the Hazel HGUC kits. There is also a fold-down hilt for the bazooka it comes with.

Arms: Standard HGUC single-joint arms here. Accurate, moderate poseability, single-jointed elbows, and a hole for the shield… whoopee!

Legs: Standard HGUC leg units, with the exception of the double-jointed foot. The front half and back half of the foot can move. This feature helps it fit into the Flying Armor, even though the kit itself was designed far before the Mk II + Flying Armor kit was introduced.

Weapons: This kit comes with the standards for the Mk II. Its beam rifle, its beam saber (molded-in-hand, non-transparent) and shield. The Beam Rifle has a handle that can extend out for the double-handed firing poses. The Shield can also be \”folded\” for storage and connects to a peg thats connected to the arm unit.

Hands: This kit comes with a trigger hand, a saber hand with the saber molded into it, and a left hand fist (with the hole down the center of course)

Flying Armor: The Flying armor itself isn't too complex. Heck, its just a big wave rider for the Mk II! It has no landing gear, no moving parts… but it can actually do alot. The Feet of the Mk II fit right into the slots in the back and then hands clip in to their respective housings. If you've seen the Jegan + Base Jabber MSIA, that figure has to actually hold onto handles on the Base Jabber. Nope! Not this Mk II! The Flying Armor also has a nifty stand that can be angled for different displays. Theres a little slot it fits into underneath the Flying Armor. The shield of the Mk II also fits perfectly in the front-middle of the Flying Armor. The Flying Armor's design is simple and its coloration is too. Hence, the masters of HGUC design have made it so theres really no painting needed to make this Flying armor accurate. The Flying armor really hangs on to the Mk II, so even posing upside-down (if you really wanted to) is possible without the Mk II falling off and scattering its broken parts all over your kitchen floor.

Overall: This kit is colored slightly darker than the Super Gundam's Mk II kit. Makes it look a bit more like it did in the anime. Its basically the same base kit with the exception of that retooling in the backpack with a fancy hunk of plastic that it can ride. It looks great, its a solid build, and it can work with the G Defensor too… thats sums up a nice solid kit in my eyes. Nothing too spectacular, but if you were expecting to see re-tooled joints or new optional parts in this, you don't know Bandai very well!