Since HGUC Hrairoo is HGUC Gaplant in different color and with additional parts, one can also build regular Gaplant out of the box. It only lacking the booster, but the main unit is still there. And thus this review can also applicable to regular HGUC Gaplant, in case anyone want to buy one.

 

 
Before we start, I want to clarify one thing. In previous part, the arms were built with the hollow section on the shoulders filled with an ABS part. That part is actually Hrairoo part and not from original Gaplant. I put it there because I don’t want to pry open the shoulder again when I build the Hrairoo part. But then I noticed that it hampers the transformation mechanism so I got them removed. With that out of the way, let’s get it on with the model now.
 
 

Obligatory multiple angle view.
 
 

Arm articulation. The “armpit” part gave additional moving point although not so much.
 
 

Leg articulation. Not much to expect.
 
 

Trying to make some action poses with the shield gun. One gun, two guns…different angles…
Not much variation for ground pose, let’s just stick it to its own display base.
 
 

Now that’s much better.
 
 

Just look at DEM THRUSTERS.
 
 

Trying out different poses.
 
 

With beam sabers. Molded in dark blue, I painted the blade silver and the sprayed with Tamiya clear red.
Doesn’t look good due to my inexperience with spray paints (and I blame the wind too!).

 
 
Despite being an old HGUC, transformation for Gaplant is nicely designed and requires none of the parts removed nor adding new parts. Perfect transformation, one could say. The process is kinda confusing at first but later it’ll be easy to pull. I can’t find a way to easily explained the process but trust me, it’s not that hard. The resulting MA mode is solid and looks awesome as well. If I have to complain, the legs aren’t locked to anything. Luckily, they stay where they are and never had any problems (so far). Another complaint is that the base locked on “nose up” position and no other (since it was designed with additional booster parts in mind). With the comment done, now it’s time for some MA mode pictures.
 
 

 
 
The original Gaplant has dark bluish-green color scheme with a dash of red. In my opinion it looks very menacing and worthy of bad guy mech. This version has dark blue (almost black) and white with few yellows as accent. It’s surprisingly works well with Gaplant too, not losing any of its fierceness at all. I like how the yellow accent concentrated in the middle of the body. For something that is just undocumented bonus, this “plain” Gaplant is surprisingly nice. However, the model is clearly not designed to switch back and forth between Hrairoo and Gaplant. One must pry open tightly-joined parts to achieve that, better stick with one mode. If anyone want a Gaplant then it’s better to choose the original HGUC anyway. I mean, anyone who buy HGUC Hrairoo surely wants to build a Hrairoo and not a booster-less Gaplant with Titans Test Team color scheme. And so, I’ll start to build Hrairoo parts next.

 
Seems like I took a long absence from this blog. Well, real life and general laziness and all that. Anyway, done with the arms of Gaplant thus finishing all necessary parts for Gaplant. But not for the kit itself since Hrairoo parts are waiting next.

 

On top are cables for the upper arm, molded in white.
At the bottom are “armpit” parts, molded in gray.
One can see how much painting are necessary to achieve the result.
 
 

All component for the arms, minus polycaps.
 
 

Maximum elbow bend. Standard HG fare.
 
 

Moving on to shield/booster/rife combo. The thrusters were jointed together (left),
but I separate them (right) so they look much better.
 
 

Then I painted the outer rim silver, with the rest, less-visible outer surface grey
in order to save precious silver marker I have.
 
 

Shield binder components. Not many there, just enough to pull its few gimmicks.
 
 

Size comparison of retracted mode (for MS) and extended (for MA mode) with a Gundam Marker.
 
 

Just plug them into the arm and done.

 
 
Review of (regular) Gaplant next.

 
Well it only took few seconds to put the weapons into already finished model, but I need time for completed model photoshoot. And here it is, the completed 1/72 Nineball from Kotobukiya.

 
Overall View
 
 

Obligatory all sides shot.

 
 
Articulation
 
 

Summary of articulation,
Left: obligatory Dalong pose
Right: Whole torso goes 360 degrees turn
 
 

Maximum vertical range of the head.
 
 

Left: maximum forward and upward movement range of the shoulder. Quite disappointing.
Right: rotation point just below shoulder armor; similar to Bandai Gunpla.
 
 

Maximum leg spread and kneeling pose. I’ve said before that it’s not really good.

 
 
Action
 
 

And now some action! Here’s Nineball shooting while strafe-boosting to the left.
 
 

Enemy airborne! Enemy below!
Want to take some aerial pose but too lazy to dust my Action Base
 
 

EO deployed. One small Action Base was conveniently nearby though, so I used it for this.
 
 

My camera is out of focus It moves so fast it’s blurred!
 
 

Deploying missiles…sort of. Since the missile container is one solid brick,
I can only tilt it to show as if I’m selecting the missile as my weapon.
 
 

And now Nineball’s signature weapon, the grenade launcher. Just unfold it to deploy
(And just pretend we have OP-I because kneeling pose sucks).
 
 

It looks great from any angle.
 
 

Especially from Behind. Oh yeah.
 
 

In high angle like this, the launcher looks like an artillery cannon now.
Totally cool.
 
 

Folding it back after used.
 
 

This model doesn’t came with blade effect parts, but this one from Bandai 1/100 Wing Gundam Zero Custom
fits nicely, and look convincing enough.
 
 

Unfortunately, doe to limited shoulder movement, it’s not possible to replicate
blade slash pose. This is probably the real reason why Koto didn’t bother to include the blade.
 
 

I noticed some direct sunlight passing through my window, then I put the blade
in the exact sunlight spot. Voila! Free light-up effect!…That only lasted for few minutes.

 
 
Conclusion
 
 
I’ve put my thoughts on each parts and weapons, on both model and game incarnation, previously. As a whole,this model feels solid and feels different Koto Alteisen Progressive ver. I’ve built earlier. Most (not all, there are still exception) parts connected tightly and the joints are tight as well. I’ve said before this could be a bad thing if you want to take it apart for a reason. Just be careful or plan your build. Next, about number of parts. Even for deceivingly simple looking legs there are many many parts, making it solid and not hollow at all. Again, this huge number of parts can be daunting too. Again, I suggest being careful and patient when building this model, try not become frustrated. My frustration came from having to clean numerous nubmarks, especially in small parts. And speaking of nubs, Koto isn’t much better or worse than Bandai. Sometimes it’s cleverly concealed, sometimes it’s clearly exposed in undesirable location. Not much differences between both company. As for articulation, except for shoulders, it’s true to source material so not much complain on that

 
 
The last hurdle is the price. This thing cost the same with Bandai Master Grades, that have advantage over gimmicks (inner frame etc), articulation, accessories, parts count, playability, and (usually) size. It’s hard to compete with that. Plus not all AC kits has convenience amount of pre-painted parts like Nineball here so sometimes further work required. Unlike MGs that usually color accurate out of the box. Moreover the price of newer release are constantly increasing, being released in 2007 Nineball is 900 yen cheaper than 2010 released Oracle despite the content is roughly the same. So I’ll just recommend this to AC fans out there, or for those who want building something different. Building this is indeed something fresh to me.
 
 
And that’s it for Nineball. Now I gotta need to finish my backlog.

 
Short update for the weapons. They’re naturally simpler in construction than other parts. And…Not much else I can say actually.

 
Arm Unit (R): CR-WR93RL (Linear Rifle)
 
 

Very simplistic construction with only four parts, the fewest in this model.

 
 
This linear rifle is one of my favorite weapon in game. Balanced power and ammo count, good for both mission and arena battles. And I always prefer solid weaponry to energy ones. I also love the look of this weapon. Looks powerful and (maybe intentionally) a lot more similar to legendary KARASAWA rifle of the old AC, compared to Nexus-Last Raven “real” KARASAWA, WH-04HL KRSW. The only reason why I rarely stick to this weapon is because it’s always a secret weapon, not available in the shop from start. And I usually unlock it when I already comfortable with my AC build using another weapon. Oh well.
 
 
Arm Unit (L): CR-WL69LB (Laser Blade)
 
 

Much smaller than the rifle, but consisted of a bit more parts (6 to be exact).

 
 
This laser blade is actually the weakest version, the one player starting with. Guess upgrading the blade is the least priority for Nineball. Model wise, this one didn’t come with any effect part at all. I haven’t tested if Bandai MG saber blades can fit.
 
 
Back Unit (R): Magoraga (Micro Missile)
 
 

Kinda hard to choose the angle here, since it’s basically a brick anyway.

 
 
Micro missile is my favorite kind of missile in AC.Individually, it’s weaker than small missile but it always launched in swarm. Thus it’s great to overwhelm anti missile system the enemy has. Plus cool effect of Itano circus. Can’t ignore that. But Magoraga here is my least favorite. Because it has the least amount of missiles in one swarm. Only five, while my favorite Kinnara has seven (and they both have the same attack power per missile). And there’s also one that launched nine but I haven’t got any success unlocking it in Last Raven. Anyway, model-wise, it doesn’t have any kind of hatch-open gimmick which is quite a letdown. And for such simplistic brick it has quite some parts, even more than linear rifle. Lastly, parts included to convert it so it can plug into left back weapon slot.
 
 
Back Unit (L): CR-WB78GL (Grenade Launcher)
 
 

The launcher in folded position.
 
 

The launcher in firing position.
 
 

The length of launcher in folded mode is around 10.5cm and 16.2cm in firing mode.
Quite successful making it compact when unused.

 
 
This grenade launcher has been around since the first game. It’s not the most powerful, but it’s a symbolic weapon for an AC. And this grenade launcher is also one defining feature of Nineball. Stat-wise, other than high attack power it also has high attack heat since the shell is exploded upon impact. But on minus side, it only got 12 round of ammo and slow attack speed (interval between firing, not shell travel speed). As for its plastic incarnation in this model, I’m satisfied with the folding gimmick. It’s solid and easy to pull. However, since the hinges are all plastic, I advise caution and careful handling. Also, it needs painting and weathering or at least panel lining to make it not looking so plain and plastic (I painted the sensor blue). Like Magoraga, it also came with parts to change it as right back weapon instead.
 
 
Well, all parts are completed so the next post will be about the completed model.

 
Moving on with Nineball arms and legs. Just like Mirage head and Crest Core combo, Nineball also has Mirage arms and Crest legs. So, excluding weapon, Nineball has equal amount of both company parts. Ok, that’s just mildly interesting trivia. Anyway, parts count still amaze me. But then having to build them twice is such a torture. Well, that’s common thing in building humanoid mech models.

Arms: A05-Langur
 
 

I forgot to take more pictures of the arms, but this one will suffice.
The elbow can only bend 90 degrees and the wrist can only rotate.

 
 
Arms construction is pretty much like Bandai gunpla. Except that this one has more intricate exterior parts. And while the articulation seems unimpressive, it’s actually accurate to its source material. Other than unused extension slot, no gimmick for the arms. Game-wise, I have no particular favorite for non-weapon arms aesthetically or technically. This Langur is decent arms design I think.
 
 
Legs: CR-LH80S2
 
 

The legs, separated into three components.
Upper sections are different for both left and right, but below the knee they are perfectly symmetrical.
 
 

Range of articulation. Standard 90 degrees bend for the knee.
Ankle joint is cleverly designed though, so it can bend far more than it looks like.
 
 

In the game, legs and waist are in one package.
So here’s the waist. Not much to say.
 
 

And here’s the legs, as seen in the game’s parts selection screen.
 
 

80S2 is mid-weight legs with medium load and medium speed.
Pretty good if you want balance.

 
 
The legs naturally got more parts than arms. And most of them are big and easier to clean and handle. Again, range of articulation is accurate to the source material (ACs never meant to do something like Char’s kick anyway). Kneeling pose is doable, but a bit unnatural. But hey, being a special AC, Nineball doesn’t have to kneel to fire its back cannon. Even that impostor Baby’s Breath got OP-I. So, no kneeling necessary LOL. Anyway, we have all basic parts completed. How about assembling them?
 
 

Looking good there. Being based on CG model, of course the proportion will be perfect.

 
 
Now only weapons left…which I will build next.

 
Starting with the head and the core. I’m amazed at how many parts necessary just for the core alone. With this huge number of parts I won’t take parts breakdown picture. Too many parts to laid out and heavy risk of some tiny parts lost or getting blown by the wind in the process. Those tiny parts are really really tiny. There are other difficulties in building process too, but anyway pictures of finished head and core first.

Head: YH-12 Mayfly
 
 

Mayfly is my favorite AC head design, aesthetically. Those parallel visors on beak-shaped head, very menacing yet elegant.
Functionality wise, it has integrated radar. Good enough for me. Don’t really care for other stats.
 
 

The use of clear parts make this piece really stands out.
There are quite number of parts and the construction is unusual, unlike many gunplas I’ve build.
 
 

A separate neck part is necessary to connect the head into the core.
In parts selection screen in AC games, this neck part is nowhere to be seen
(but they are there in completed AC).

 
 
The problem in constructing the head lies on the size of its parts. They’re small and delicate yet need some force to snap fit (more on that later).
 
 
Core: CR-C98E2
 
 

This core is also my favorite in aesthetic and functionality.
Note: it’s hard to balance the core like in this picture, hence for the next pics I support it
with a roll of masking tape.
 
 

Crest-made cores all have angular and blocky design, contrary to curvy and organic Mirage design.
Among those cores made by Crest, I find 98E2 to be the most pleasant-looking.
 
 

I like the elongated and streamlined “hood”, but the beauty lies in balance.
Note that I painted the cables and pistons with silver Gundam Marker.
 
 

Those “chest” vents are nice touch, felt very familiar with Gundam design.
 
 

That spoiler-thingy on the back is actually Exceed Orbit (EO) built-in weapon.
This is what I like on 98E2 functionality; since I’m suck on using Overboost, so EO cores for me.
In this model the EO is detachable but just that, nothing more.
 
 

The turret in front section is actually Core Anti Missile System (CAMS), unique to Crest-made core.
It shoots down incoming missiles with pewpew lazors, not that reliable but better than nothing.
The turret is movable in this model.

 
 
I’m not exaggerating when I say the number of parts needed to build the core alone is absurdly high. About 61 parts excluding polycaps. And unlike Master Grade models, the core has no complicated gimmicks/elaborate inner frame/sophisticated articulation. The parts are there to show insane details in the core design. And yet there are still some area with incorrect color. Not much, but still there. If Bandai designing this, I bet they can use half the parts with same result.

Other things I encountered when building this model. First, looks like it came with special coating. Nice, but that only makes nub marks even more visible. The same with painted parts (i.e red parts in black runner vice-versa). As for nub placement, I’ll reserve my judgement until I build all the parts.
Next, about how tight the parts plugged to each other. I hurt my hand when trying to fit two segments together. I recommend everyone to recheck before joining two halves together. Don’t want to pry them apart later due to one part or polycap left out. Obviously, if anyone ever planned to paint this, better plan ahead.

Next will be arms and legs.

 
Just got this yesterday, and while HGUC Hrairoo and Advanced Hazel are still in progress, I can’t contain my excitement and planning to build this right away. This is my first Armored Core variable Infinity kit, and the third after Kotobukiya made after 1/144 SRW OG Alteisen Ver. Progressive and Gespenst MK.II Kwai (Albero Custom) from the same line. Before we take a look at the item itself, first the history of this red mecha.

 
Copy-paste from Armored Core Wikia: “Nine-Ball is the name given to the famous red-colored AC that has appeared through various installments in the Armored Core franchise, often as a testament of challenge towards players at the end or after the end of the game it appears in.”. You can check more on that wikia article. As for me, my encounter with Nineball was in Armored Core: Master of Arena (MOA).

Nineball as seen in its Playstation era.
Kotobukiya is going to release a model of this version later.

 
 
This version of Nineball I bought however, came from Playstation 2 era AC games. This one is particularly modeled after the one appeared in AC Ninebreaker game box cover.

AC Ninebreaker cover. I bought the game just for the cover alone. No, really.

 
 
And then similar (not Nineball, but look the same) AC appeared in AC Last Raven. And while the real Nineball never appeared in Last Raven, it was in that game that I have the most memory of Nineball. Because I tried so hard to obtain parts I need to recreate Nineball. I even beat VR Arena just for the sake of getting Nineball’s head part, YH-12 Mayfly. I’m not really good at AC game, especially in vs AC mode. But I went all the trouble of fighting every VR Arena ranker just for that part. And it’s not like Nineball configuration is godlike or anything. It’s pretty average and kinda useless without OP-I optional part (which the player can never have). I guess I just like the look.

Code: Crimson, the impostor in Last Raven

 
 
But there’s another personal motivation for getting this kit. Years ago, I saw this particular kit in local toy shop. But I don’t have enough money back then. And I just recently wasted my money on something useless. After searching for more info on the internet, I found out that this kit is limited edition (or maybe not, not sure; I managed to find this kit now somehow). I really regret it. And thus this is some sort of vengeance lol.

Now it’s in my hand har har har!
 
 

Box thickness comparison with another Kotobukiya kit (1/144 Alteisen Ver. Progressive)
and Bandai MG 1/100 00 Qan[T]. They all on the same price range.
 
 

Manual front and back cover. Classy minimalistic design and different from other AC kits
(from what I’ve seen on the internet)
 
 

Manual inside. Parts list and painting guide.

 
 
This kit has insane number of runners. From A to V, some of them doubled and ended up in grand total in 31. FREAKING THIRTY-ONE runners excluding THREE runners for polycap. It has a twist though, that some (if not most) runners consisted of small number of parts. Even as less as two parts. This huge inefficiency and mild inconvenience is a proof of how difficult it is to attain Bandai level of excellent parts placement for future release strategy.
With this huge parts number I won’t do preview for each runner but will only highlight important and interesting stuff on them.

Pile of said runners
 
 

Just like 1/144 Alteisen, some of the parts came pre-painted. But the amount is on another level.
Instead of trying to invent something like Bandai multi-gate technology, Koto just went “Eh, let’s just paint those parts,”.
 
 

As one might expect, the emblem is nicely printed. Decals and stickers are rare things in Koto kits.
 
 

Clear parts for the visor(s). Very considerate of them to include another set
in case you want to paint it in different clear tint.
 
 

Most of the parts recycled from previously released AC kits.
But this one runner with 93RL linear gun is new despite there is another AC kit with the same gun (C01 Gaea).
Poor planning from Kotobukiya?

 
 
Next, I will start with the core.

Coincidentally with me building HGUC Gaplant TR-5 Hrairoo, this month edition of Gunpla Builders D in Hobby Japan also features Hrairoo. Gotta say the color scheme is looking great. If I have correct tools to paint my gunpla properly, I might use that color scheme for my Hrairoo. But not now unfortunately.

Even shorter update today with Gaplant’s legs. They’re simplistic build with not many parts, but the end result is huge. It definitely add massive image to Gaplant that the torso lacks. The only thing (at least for standard Gaplant) left is building the arms. But my panel liner dried out and I gotta wait until I can buy a new one.

 

Parts for the feet. There’s almost no details on the sole. It is designed so it can fold downward for transformation.
 
 

Parts for the legs, and “cutaway” view inside the legs. See that gray part where the thrusters attached?
That’s made from ABS. Oh, and I also painted the thrusters silver for consistency.
 
 

Attached to the torso and waist completed previously.
Suddenly Gaplant grows bigger.
 
 

Back view. Look at all those thrusters…

 
 
I haven’t build the arms yet, but looking at the manual I can say that the legs are the most simplistic step. The legs also stay untouched when other parts upgraded to Hrairoo, so all the work for the legs are done. Gotta do something with those nubmarks though. Articulation and stuff will be reviewed later when I complete the whole model.

 
I’ve been meaning to post this last night but then I got too sleepy. Again, like Advanced Hazel, only small update this time. To be exact, only waist section and display base. But it turned out that the waist isn’t as simple as Advanced Hazel was.

 

All parts for the waist. Polycaps were omitted for that shot and still plenty of parts.
And there’s more than just numbers, Gaplant’s waist is unique since it’s needed to be assembled as two sections.
 
 

Front section (minus side skirt armors). Notice the balljoints for the legs.
Not ABS so gotta be careful not to snap it.
 
 

Back section. Forgot to take the pic of its other side but nothing interesting actually.
I tried connecting both sections but there’s no way they can stuck together now.
 
 

Back section goes first. Then followed by front section, and then adjust it so both section comes together.
Not as easy as it looks.
 
 

But before I show the combined torso and waist, gotta have something to support it.
And thus the base got built. No comment on this, just as basic as it is.
 
 

Here’s where the base connect to the body.
The base is static unlike standard action base but the slot inside the body is movable.
This is a reverse approach compared to more recent bases.
 
 

All things completed so far.
Side skirts plug easily into their polycap slots.

 
 
As complex as it is, Gaplant’s waist assembly is nothing compared to Hrairoo’s version. We will get into it eventually, but here’s a quick rundown: There are only three steps (step 5-8) for assembling the waist on original HGUC Gaplant manual, but in HGUC Hrairoo, it took freaking NINE steps (step 5-14) for waist assembly. Yes, three times as much. I’m looking forward to it…or maybe not.