In case you’re not aware of the Chinese zodiac/lunar calendar, 2024 is designated as the year of the wood dragon, and it seems like Bandai Spirits is very aware of this. In June, they announced the HGAC Altron Gundam, from Gundam Wing, for an October release. And now, they are delving back into the Future Century as we get one step closer to the completion of the Shuffle Alliance with Neo China’s HGFC Dragon Gundam.
The Dragon Gundam follows Gundm Maxter, released in late 2023, as the fourth member of the Shuffle Alliance to get a modern High Grade. This just leaves the Bolt Gundam and the group will be complete. The kit should also benefit from all the modern engineering that made both the HGFC Gundam Maxter and Gundam Rose such great kits.
As a mobile fighter specializing in martial arts, the HGFC Dragon Gundam is also able to replicate those dynamic and highflyer poses seen in the series.
The Dragon Gundam is very much known for its Dragon Claws, something spiritually carried over to Gundam Wing‘s Shenlong and Altron Gundams. But unlike the latter two, there are no explicit extension mechanisms, and the Dragon Gundam just seems to have endless arm segments for this attack, something that was also done with the Endless Waltz version of the Altron Gundam. As such, four extension parts are included, and can be used in either or both arms.
For weapons, the Dragon Gundam comes with several, chief among these is the Feilong Flag, which are poles that can be deployed from various spots, either from the shoulders or from the Core Lander. The kit comes with six poles and various beam effect parts, including six beam flags that you can attach to the poles and mount on the included display stand. The “pigtail” segments extending from the back of the head are also articulated, and you can even replace the tip with a special part to replicate its Benpatsu Tou attack.
The effect parts don’t stop there as we get even flashier with the Shin Ryuusei Kochouken, manifesting as butterfly wing-like flames emanating from its back. I believe this will come in the form of a plastic sheet printed with all the colors seen from the series. And much like the previous G Gundam kits, the Dragon Gundam also comes with an original gimmick from series director Yasuhiro Imagawa. This will be an extra part to make the Shin Ryuusei Kochouken attack even more flashier.
I’m not really a fan of green-colored Gundam, and just like the Altron, I’m planning to paint the Dragon Gundam in some shade of blue if I get one. Which leads to my unfortunate point of having to settle with Bandai Spirits’ decision on kits that get retail release and kits and are stuck behind Premium Bandai. It does make sense in the argument that G Gundam is an older series, and its target demographic won’t have issues dealing with Premium Bandai. Except that even in overseas countries that have localized Premium Bandai stores, being able to secure a pre-order is still a challenge.
In any case, we are already expecting this so if you want to get your hands on this kit, hop on to your preferred channels when securing a Premium Bandai exclusive item.
HGFC 1/144 Dragon Gundam
November 2024 / ¥3,600
Premium Bandai Exclusive
