Friday, January 6, 2012

HCM-Pro Seravee Gundam Part 1

Last of the four

Starting the review on an action figure this time: HCM-Pro Seravee Gundam ^^


Perhaps it's my impression from Gundam Virtue's secret that was revealed the last among the four Gundams in "Gundam Double O" Season 1 which makes Tieria's unit the mandatory last one to be reviewed. ^^ 1/100 scale Gundam Virtue was the last among the four I worked on (yet to be completed), and sitting (somewhere) in my closet are HG 1/144 Seravee Gundam and Seraphim Gundam, which I have no plan on working yet, not until Cherudim Gundam and Arios Gundam are done I suppose. ^^; The same sentiment goes for this HCM-Pro version of Seravee Gundam as well. Somehow it must be the last among the four to be featured. ^^;

It's quite a "misconception" I think, because back in Season 2 of the anime, Seravee Gundam was actually the first among the four to debut. ^^;

I got this HCM-Pro figure together with Cherudim Gundam and Arios Archer Set, so there's no obligation to review those two first. Apart from looking at it with the "must-be-the-last" mentality, there's something special about Seravee Gundam that makes said chronological order in review important, which will be mentioned before the end of this posting. ^^



Closer look at the illustrations on box cover.

As mentioned in the introduction of 1/100 scale Gundam Virtue, I actually like that predecessor unit more than Seravee Gundam, specifically its size and overall look. If it's supposed to be a heavy armored MS with a huge cannon, then the bigger the better. I think that was what I said about Gundam Virtue. ^^ However, in terms of articulation and versatility, Seravee Gundam is definitely an improvement over Virtue Gundam. Since it doesn't have to conceal another Gundam inside itself, the armors are smaller - especially the legs, which should translate as improved articulation for them. Its GN Bazooka II has more modes and gimmicks, and apart from the two located over its shoulders like Gundam Virtue, there are GN Cannons on its knees now. ^^

For me, the greater improvement for Seravee Gundam is the design of its twin Seraphim Gundam. Since it's being carried outside the main body, its arms can work as cannons and beam saber wielding normal MS arms. Together with the two GN Cannons on the knees which also have hidden hands and beam sabers, Seravee Gundam can become an Asura wielding six beam sabers. ^^ That's definitely something better than its predecessor, since Gundam Nadleeh can't do anything before it's released from Gundam Virtue. ^^;

Despite liking the look and size of Gundam Virtue more than Seravee Gundam, I do acknowledge the better playability and higher gimmicks on the latter, and this HCM-Pro set which contains pretty much everything needed for Seravee Gundam and Seraphim Gundam should be good. ^^


Disregarding the mechanical design, you can have both Gundams in action independently of one another, as shown on the box cover. ^^




Both Gundams and Double Bazooka are visible through the front window.



Design on the various sides of the box.



Top (right) and bottom views of the package.






Introduction of the figures, accessories, gimmicks and loads of action on the back of the box. ^^


Exactly the same box size as Arios Archer Set from the same series.



The large box size also put it about the same as the box of HG 1/144 00 Gundam.


Box open.


Paper cutouts of Tieria, Mileina Vashti, Mr. Bushido and Haro on the flaps at the bottom of the box.
The number of characters shown are definitely more than that on the boxes of O Raiser, Cherudim Gundam and Arios Archer Set, and kind of random too. ^^





Package content.




With the top cover of the tray removed.


The manual and extra runners are placed behind the plastic tray.


Manual and a few extra runners for the two Gundams' accessories and option parts.




Apart from the usual instruction on how to configure the various components, the manual also includes an extensive introduction on the articulation design of this HCM-Pro figure.



The special "conclusive" gimmick for Seravee Gundam and its HCM-Pro buddies. ^^



Four extra mini runners ^^



Like the ones shown for Cherudim Gundam, the two runners with all the wrist joints are not made of ABS hard plastic.
Nothing new anymore obviously, but it's still pretty interesting to see that while option parts for display are made of ABS parts for HCM-Pro figures, the heavy duty joints aren't. ^^




The really unique feature of this HCM-Pro figure - a fixed staked palms that can link Seravee Gundam with its Celestial Beings buddies.


Like this. ^^
Not much practical purpose I think, but the scene seems pretty awesome. ^^

More images of the figure coming up in the next posting. ^^

No comments: