May has always been an expensive month for me, though that’s not reflected in this month’s Box Art Extravaganza. I do have one kit purchased out of the three I’m looking at below.
On the top of this list is the HG Red Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX. If you’ve been closely watching the series as the episodes drop weekly, then I don’t need to provide additional context for this kit. To those who don’t, think of the RX-78-2 Gundam placed in a timeline with retroactively flipped events and is piloted by Char, or was piloted by Char. I initially had this on pre-order but what I really wanted is the HG White Gundam, which was recently confirmed to be released in December. Both should be practically the same outside of the colors, some accessories, and the Psycommu unit attached to the sides of the head.
HG 1/144 Red Gundam
May 31, 2025 / ¥2,500
Order from HobbyLink Japan
Then there’s MODEROID Bravern, a kit I’ve been waiting ever since the series ended during the Winter 2024 anime season. Good Smile Company did prioritize The Gattai version last year so we’re getting the MODEROID versions of both Bravern and Bang Dragon in 2025. As expected, the package illustration was done by Masami Obari and oddly enough, it doesn’t feature Bravern any of the poses we tend to associate with Obari.
They also included an illustration of Isami just standing there on the lower lefthand side, even if the text below him clearly says Isami is not included with this kit. On a related note, I recently got a copy of the MODEROID M2 Exceed Rhino and was wondering if we’ll get more kits from this series. In any case, I can start building this kit ahead of Bravern himself.
MODEROID Bravern
May 2025 / ¥8,800
Order from HobbyLink Japan
Last on this list is something I rarely cover, but gets my interest every now and then, and this kit certainly fits the bill. I have very little exposure to Kow Yokoyama’s Maschinen Krieger science fiction universe, but I do have a Sen-Ti-Nel 1/16 scale Fireball, which is categorized as a Super Armored Fighting Suit, or S.A.F.S. On the other hand, this kit is of the standard Armored Fighting Suit (or A.F.S.) Mk-I and Mk-II models.
What’s interesting with this kit is that unlike most Maschinen Krieger (or Ma.K. for short) which would require glue and advanced modeling skills, this one is snap-fit and has articulation via polycap joints. That’s not saying these would be Gunpla levels of easy, but it is definitely more accessible to casual builders like myself. This kit is 1/20 scale, which is probably why I won’t get one, but it did reignite my interest in Ma.K. and I might attempt to track some of those 1/16 Sen-Ti-Nel figures.
Maschnen Krieger 1/20 A.F.S. Mk-I & A.F.S. Mk-II Set
May 2025 / ¥4,200
Order from HobbyLink Japann
