Okay, I know there were announcements for the new MG Zeta Gundam Ver.Ka. and MGSD Freedom Gundam. But High Grades are my bread and butter in this hobby, so I’ll put out my unsolicited thoughts for those first. But I’ll definitely cover them in the next post.
Also, my watermarks are all over the place on this one.
A day leading into this year’s All Japan Hobby & Model Show, and a couple or so days before the Witch from Mercury drops, Bandai Spirits has announced more kits in the HG THE WITCH FROM MERCURY line. You can check all of them on the official site but let me chime on a couple of ones that I’ll have better chances of getting.
HG 1/144 Gundam Lfrith Ur
If you haven’t seen the Witch from Mercury “PROLOGUE”, then this might come as a little spoiler, but towards the end of that episode, we see both Eri Samaya (who we assume is also Suletta Mercury) and her mother escape the attack of Cathedra’s forces inside the Gundam Lfrith. We are yet to know what exactly happened to that Gundam afterwards, but it looks like there are a couple of derivatives built, starting with the Gundam Lfrith Ur.
While the Gundam Aerial, Gundam Lfrith, and Gundam Pharact were departures from typical Gundam designs, it appears Gundam Lfrith Ur over here goes back to the conventional blocky aesthetic, like full armor type of blocky. And if it weren’t for the GUND Format panel on its chest, I wouldn’t think this came from the Witch from Mercury.
It also reminds me of Seravee Gundam, especially with that head unit design.
The full armor vibe isn’t unwarranted as it does look like this mobile suit is configured for heavy artillery, which is also reflected in its weapons. These include a beam gatling gun-like weapon, a couple of beam sabers, a shield, and a peculiar rear-mounted pod that appears to be a Gund-Bit/Bit Stave unit.
They also show a little bit of construction that highlights good articulation despite the bulky appearance.
HG 1/144 Gundam Lfrith Thorn
The second Gundam Lfrith derivative revealed is the Gundam Lfrith Thorn and it immediately reminds me of Gundam Gusion Rebake/Rebake Full City with its desert color scheme. Consequently, I’m also not a fan of this color so if I’ll get a copy, I will repaint this to light gray or something. We’ll see.
Okay, I had to do a double take when I saw these profile views as the kit looked disproportioned. We are used to seeing Gundams with relatively smaller torsos compared to relatively longer legs. This guy, on the other hand, has a rather wide upper torso combined with bulky thighs, short shins, and long forearms. So yes, the proportions of this guy are all over the place! It’s as if the lower legs were blown off and they had to do some field fixes and just attached tiny replacement legs.
It only has a couple of accessories, and a single weapon — that being this massive cannon, and that single Gund-Bit mounted on its back. Do note that for both kits, I’m only assuming that these are Gund-Bits. You will also notice multiple ports on the armor that allow expansion and other compatible parts to be attached for further customization.
HG Mirasoul Flight Unit
We also have listing for a couple of support and accessory kits, one being the Mirasoul Flight Unit for use with the HG Gundam Aerial. With the relatively short run of this series, confirmed to be 2 “cours” or 12/13-episode parts, I don’t think we’ll see the typical Gundam progression of starting on Earth then going into space. So, it only makes sense that this flight unit doesn’t look like the Aile Striker or G-Self’s Atmospheric Backpack.
Speaking of G-Self, its Space Backpack looks similar to Gundam Aerial’s Mirasoul Flight Unit with those two large pods attached to the back. It also uses the same two-peg connector common to most modern HG kits. The pods themselves are articulated and a portion can be extended to reveal even more thrusters, I guess.
The flight unit also has storage for the beam sabers since you are replacing the original backpack that had them, which is also a nice touch. It also means I can’t glue the original Gundam Aerial backpack when I build it. In addition to the flight unit itself, the kit also includes additional splayed manipulators for the HG Gundam Aerial for more posing options.
the Witch from Mercury Weapon Display Base
A distinct feature of Gundam Lfrith, and most likely the Gundam Aerial, are their Gund-Bits/Bit Staves which looked great in animation. Unfortunately, the Gundam Lfrith kit doesn’t include a display base to pose these bits when deployed. Well, it looks like Bandai Spirits is very aware of this and would definitely want us to purchase this Weapon Display Base set.
Each set includes parts to prop up to six Gund-Bits, which works for Gundam Lfrith, but for Gundam Aerial who has more than six Gund-Bits, you are recommended to purchase two sets. Well played there Bandai, well played.
While I’m definitely getting the Mirasoul Flight Unit and the display base, I’m still on the fence on the two Gundam Lfrith derivatives. But I guess that’s just me having color preferences, and I can always paint them if I want to.
In any case, I didn’t cover all new the Witch from Mercury kits revealed, like the Full Mechanics Gundam Aerial. To check all new announcements, just head on to the Bandai Hobby Site special page linked here.
