HG 1/144 Genoace Custom Part 1

Unicorn Gundam [GM Mode]
Starting on a new Gunpla project with a "relatively" new kit in my collection after the review of Figma Mari Illustrious Makinami. ^^


This is High Grade 1/144 Genoace Custom from "MS Gundam AGE". Released in late 2011, it's indeed newer as compared to the other kits I worked on this year. ^^; Yet, looking at the release date now, it does surprise me that a kit that I still consider new is already more than one year in age.

Ah, the Gundam AGE age pun XD

Time flies extremely quickly is my main point there I guess, and hints for that are revealed through almost everything, including Gunplas that are yet to be assembled it seems. ^^

I remember this kit was a fast purchase just like HG 1/144 Gafran. I really like its design, especially the new waist joint design which seems to be a pivotal feature on the kit. Even though I planned to work on it right away and do a lightning review like Gafran, the plan was abandoned because the detailing work involved seemed a lot and more complicated than Gafran. I couldn't even decide on the color for its panel lines at that point due to "Unicorn Gundam Syndrome" (XD) - black lines would appear too outstanding on a kit that is predominantly white. It wasn't until some time in the second interval of last year when I got Tamiya's Panel Line Accent Color (Gray) and Gundam Marker GM02 Gray with fine tip that the issue with panel lining Unicorn Gundam was solved (for me). ^^ Looking back at the long delay on working on Genoace Custom, I'm actually very glad that I didn't go with whatever and completed the kit right away just because I like it very much. The positive outcome as seen on the completed HGUC Unicorn Gundam [Unicorn Mode] and [Destroy Mode] gave me the confident that the detailing method, or rather the tools used are going to give this kit the great appearance on just about the same level as well.


For the MS itself, I like Genoace Custom's design more than its original unit. I like the more solid-looking helmet and shoulder armors, as with its larger backpack with two thrusters instead of one. The larger Beam Spray Gun III B that can mount a large knife looks much cooler than the small pew-pew on Genoace too. ^^ It's a great design overall. Even without comparison to the original Genoace, those features listed above, which are some of my favorite design points for a MS are reasons good enough for me to get this kit. ^^

The overall white color scheme is another major selling point of the kit as well, but seeing that it's almost identical to Unicorn Gundam [Unicorn Mode], it doesn't look outstanding to me anymore. ^^; However, one design feature which does seem interesting is the large personal insignia of Woolf on the shield. As the only patch of redness on the entire MS, its color contrast is very eye-catching. ^^ From certain angles, it doesn't even look natural on the MS at all, but that seems to make it even more significant. ^^




Introduction of the kit on the sides of box.


Content.







The instruction manual.


All runners.
A look at the runners' design:


Runner A - A multi-color runner that contains parts mainly for the arms and legs.



Very nicely designed one-piece parts for various components of the legs.


While the Heat Stick and knife seems to be molded with the same color, they have to be separated because of kit variation design.


Runner B - Contains gray parts mainly for the joints and weapons.


(Left) Face parts with a pair of eye-like camera design.
(Right) Just two parts for the entire waist. ^^


(Left) One-piece part for the Heat Stick's handle.
(Right) Heavy paint work required for the simulation gun. ^^;


The empty slot on the right side of the runner is meant to hold parts that are specific to Genoace.


Runner C - Contains white parts for the shoulder armors, helmet, backpack, feet and shield.


(Left) A large fish-mouth like part for the front side of the helmet. XD
(Right) One-piece parts for the feet.


(Left) Very Unicorn Gundam-looking shoulder armor design. ^^
(RIght) The compartment to store the Heat Stick is molded together with the inner layer of the shield. Impressive as it is, painting the compartment is going to be quite troublesome. ^^;


Very clear runner separation hints that indicated the append a new section containing parts specific to Genoace Custom.


Beam saber runner SB6 (only one beam part is required by Genoace Custom) and clear green visor part on the special runner CL-2. CL is code for "clear len" I speculate. Genoace's clear part runner has the code of CL-1.


Polycap set PC-001.


Foil sticker and clear sticker sheets.
Only one wolf head emblem is needed for the shield, the other one is meant for the Advanced Grade version if you assembled that before getting this HG kit I think.


All removed parts are organized and stored in individual paper containers.
As mentioned earlier on, for sharing the same color scheme, I think the detailing method used on HGUC Unicorn Gundam [Unicorn Mode] and [Destroy Mode] is going to work well on this kit, so the same "preliminary" round of panel lining work can be done right away. ^^





All the white parts are panel lined using Tamiya's Panel Line Accent Color (Gray); while gray parts are done using the black type. Cleaning up on all the excessive panel lining paint is on the to-do list next, but there's more than just that. There are quite a few parts that need to be painted as well. ^^