Kit Info

Manufacturer: Bandai
Release: December 2007
MSRP: 1,000 yen
More info: Hobbylink Japan
Needed: Nothing really, but a good white paint and an ABS cement would be nice
Gimmicks: Transformation to flight position

Model Info

Graham's Flag is the signature unit of Graham Acre, one of the approximately 2.5 interesting characters in Mobile Suit Gundam 00. This version of the Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations (whew!)'s mainstay mobile suit is differentiated by its increased performance and sweet black paint job. Kind of looks like a Halo character, doesn't it? Anyway, Graham resolves to defeat the Gundams with his Flag. (Spoiler: He doesn't.)

Mini-Review

A venerable addition to Bandai's 1/144 High Grade line, Graham's Flag is both fun and affordable. Like many newer Gundam kits, the Flag uses no polycaps; all the joints are in solid ABS. So you don't have to worry about joints wearing down and becoming floppy--however, as pretty much all the rest of the kit is ABS as well, normal hobby cements like Tamiya Extra Thin will not work. As there are several places (besides the seamlines, which are thankfully not horribly obvious) where cement would be useful--the head and crotch come to mind--you'll want to grab a cement capable of fusing ABS.
Another issue is the transformation. While not crippled by the ability to transform like, say, the 1/100 V2 Gundam, the Flag does suffer for it, most notably in the arms, which pop off easily (after all, they need to be removed and re-attached to complete the transformation,) making posing more annoying than it should be. Note also that pushing the head in for the transformation locks the abdominal joint in place, so no, it's not stuck and you don't need to pry it back into position with a screwdriver. Considering how stupid the flight mode looks, is it really worth all the trouble, Bandai?
There's nothing really special about this particular build; lacking ABS cement, I just snapped the kit together, applied white paint in the relevant areas (as the white detail stickers are lame--unfortunately, my GSI Creos white acrylic is pretty lame as well,) did a little drybrushing and washing in silver for detail, and threw on a generous coating of Future Floor Acrylic for that mirror gloss finish and a nice smell to boot. Oh, and I used pastels to get that blue fade on the sonic blade.

[ home ] [ back ]