HG 1/144 Mr. Bushido's Ahead Part 7

Size and look
More images of the just completed HG 1/144 Mr. Bushido's Ahead: ^^












Closeups on the details:






[Head]







[Body]







[Back]







[Arms & weapons]







[Legs]
The first, and the most impressive feature of this model kit when I finished the assembly is its size. ^^ Everything just feels bigger, but not crazily out of proportion that it doesn't feel like 1/144 scale kit anymore. ^^; It's still clearly a High Grade kit, but its size is going to make it stand out a lot among others from the same Gunpla line. ^^

Spotting many unconventional design elements, Mr. Bushido's Ahead has a strange look that I like very much. ^^ It's a weird cross between Tieren (the shoulder block and waist) and GN-X (the forearms, legs and feet) in my opinion, but not without its own unique features. ^^ Among the features, I like the standing thruster blocks on the backpack the most. As mentioned in Part 1, they look like banners carried by Samurai warriors on their back when they rode into battle during the feudal period of Japan, and looking at the outcome, I think it was a good idea applying the two Takeshi ("武") dry-transfer decals onto the outer plate of the thruster blocks in Part 2, as they help to reinforce that oriental feel the MS design is trying to subtly imply. ^^ For that matter, I certainly like the "ox horns" behind the model kit's head as well. I didn't quite like this design feature the first time I saw it, as I felt the horns seem out of place on the overall MS design. The design grew on me after a while, and together with the thruster blocks, I can definitely see how the horns fit in with Samurai warrior motif of this Ahead variation, which of course supports the pilot's character design as well. The combination of the horns, quadruple eyes and spikes on its chin give it a really fierce look, which is a feature I prefer on my model kits. ^^

Apart from the size and look, the articulation design of this model kit is very impressive as well. The forearm's extra swivel joint is an articulation point not commonly seen on other High Grade kits, but it's going to be mighty helpful for Mr. Bushido's Ahead to pose with its beam katana and wakizashi. ^^ At the same time, I don't think that the extra joint was designed exclusively for this kit, which features close combat-type weapons as its only armaments, since the other two variations of this kit: Ahead and Ahead Smultron were also designed with to have this joint. The thrusters have two ball-type joints each that connect them to the backpack, which are more than enough for that component I think. ^^ It's also good to see the round hip blocks, an articulation feature available on Tieren and its variations implemented on this Ahead kit. With such fat thighs (XD), separate hips are always helpful for the legs to pose with greater flexibility. On the other hand, the lack of appendages around the hips and thighs that would obstruct their movement is another "helpful" feature to promote greater posability for this kit. While it's more about the MS design that enables that feature and not the articulation of the model kit itself, it's very helpful nonetheless. ^^

Some action poses from this kit coming up next. ^^