Despite what initially appeared as a copy of certain Gundam designs, SNAA’s Beyond Exquisite (or BE) line of Real Grade-inspired kits has quickly gained popularity outside the Chinese market. While the last release wasn’t exactly in my design preferences, the upcoming BE Giant Axe – Lancelot appears to return to that design preference. And some of the lore sort of explains why.
For context, I do prefer the more Gundam-looking ones, and with Iron Sickle – Kay having Sazabi/Sinanju-inspired vibes, I ultimately didn’t get that kit. Giant Axe – Lancelot returns to that Gundam aesthetic and the blurb on SNAA’s Weibo post basically explains that Lancelot, along with Grace, Gawain, and Achilles belong to the same group: The Knights of the Wind. I assume we’ll get similarly numbered kits looking like Kay, which leads me to believe that there would be a third group in this line. Whether I’ll get these is out there, but I am definitely picking up Lancelot.
You have to admit, Lancelot does look quite imposing and does deserve to lead the Knights of the Wind. It’s mostly white with blue and gold highlights, and sports a particle cape that’s molded quite well in translucent teal plastic. Let’s not forget the namesake giant axe which is literally as long as tall Lancelot is.
As with all kits in this pseudo-Real Grade line, Giant Axe – Lancelot has a complete internal frame that’s also brimmed with translucent teal and gold accents. The detail is okay though on the more prominent sections like the shoulder armors, there’s definitely sculpted detail you can paint to your liking. I personally don’t display my model kits with just the frames so I’ll just put the armor as usual, but at least the option is there.
Lancelot has two combat configurations, though their differences are only limited to the head unit and its particle cannons. Google translates the first configuration as the “giant roar” mode which is primarily due to the use of the “giant roar” axe. This is default configuration with the large animalistic horns on the head and is intended to inflict as much damage as possible with fewer attacks. You can also see that despite the massive axe, the kit is able to hold it without much issues.
Google translates the other configuration as the “hunting” mode where the large animal-like horns are ditched for a more traditional blade antenna and the rear binders are deployed to be used as swords. The particle cloak is also disengaged as the mode is meant for high-speed attacks. All the translucent teal parts are supposed to be energy storage units and each is activated to increase the attack speed in his configuration. The blades can also combine into a massive buster sword.
I wonder how the horn/blade antenna replacement would be done as I would rather have the whole head be replaceable instead of just the blade antenna.
I’ve been telling myself that I should build these kits already. But if you’ve seen my work-in-progress posts, then I can say that I’m not procrastinating either. But with the possibility of non-Gundam-based designs being sprinkled into the line, I might have the breathing room to build the Knights of the Wind. We’ll see, but for now, Lancelot is yet again another must have in this line.
