Product Line / High Grade THE WITCH FROM MERCURY
Scale & Class / 1/144 Scale Plastic Model Kit
Manufacturer / Bandai Spirits
Release Date / 2023
Appearances / Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury
Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury and the mobile suit duels within Asticassia School of Technology introduced a dynamic where each house, or the corporation they represent, has a distinct mobile suit aesthetic. Same is true for Earth House / Shin Sei Corporation’s lone mobile suit, Gundam Aerial, which got damaged after the duel with Grassley House, resulting in its upgraded form, simply named Gundam Aerial Rebuild. Making its debut towards the end of the first half of the series, the High Grade kit was released prior to the start of the second. Many consider the Aerial Rebuild design as more orthodox, especially when compared to the original Aerial. But the design nuances do make sense when it ultimately becomes the final enemy towards the end, a subversion nobody expected.
Much like the other High Grades of the same design lineage (e.g. Lfrith, Aerial, Calibarn), the Aerial Rebuild features similar construction and engineering. These include the use of in-molded parts for the shell units and C-clips at joints. It also has a bit-on form, a feature carried over from the Lfrith, where the individual GUND-Bits (or bit-staves) that form the shield attach at various points on the mobile suit. The Aerial Rebuild GUND-Bits also get an upgrade that allows them to combine with the beam rifle and form the GUND-Bit rifle, exponentially increasing its firepower. The kit can replicate this, though you will need to use replacement parts on the beam rifle as part of the combination. Lastly, the Aerial Rebuild now has a dedicated backpack unit, a component not present in the original Aerial and is supplemented by the Mirasoul Flight Unit. While the backpack isn’t as obnoxious as something you’ll see from Gundam SEED mobile suits, it does change the silhouette to a considerable extent.
