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 has already established itself for breaking several tropes and stereotypes within the Gundam franchise. And as the story reached its inevitable conclusion, it once again broke convention by making the main “hero” machine be the final villain. This provides precedent to introduce a late-series mobile suit for our main protagonist Suletta Mercury, the Gundam Calibarn. Taking further inspiration from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Gundam Calibarn is a powerful machine which was also in the running to be next generation mobile suit with GUND-ARM technology. Except that its maximum performance came at the cost of disregarding any protection for its pilot against data storms.
Being developed by the same organization as Gundam Lfrith or Aerial, the Calibarn also shares the same design cues, albeit more angular and masculine. This translates to the High Grade kit very well and still has the same novel build experience we’ve expected from the line. The Calibarn comes with two in-molded parts, one for the main chest shell unit and the blade antenna, with the color pattern representing its final multi-colored appearance. Be mindful, though, as C-clips are used in some joints, especially on the broomstick-inspired Variable Rod Rifle. I broke a couple of these clips while building mine and I had to acquire replacement parts from the aftermarket, so be mindful during assembly. Articulation is excellent though you do have to work with the armature connecting the Variable Rod Rifle to the main mobile suit. Otherwise, you can put the Calibarn in very dynamic poses, even making it ride a broom like a witch. Outside of the “broomstick,” the Calibarn also comes with the same Bit Staves as the Aerial Rebuild, just in different colors, and they can all be combined together to form the escutcheon (shield) or attached to the Gundam Calibarn for its bit-on form.
