One of the main Mobile Suits used in the anime series by Neo-Zeon was the Bawoo. The AMX-107 Bawoo is an impressive transformable suit.
The High Grade 1/144 scale kit by Bandai is equally impressive. It arrives on 6 separate parts trees molded in full color. The molding areas have been simplified a little to make molding easier. Even so it is an impressive kit with no additional added detail, while a little paint in some small areas will pay off in droves.
This is a well-proportioned 1/144 scale kit that is relatively easy to assemble and easy to transform. It looks quite impressive as a straight from the box assembly. There is enough separately molded bright yellow trim areas to really draw the eye and help with the appearance of the finished display.
Complaints are few and far between and must be placed in context. By their nature the 1/144 scale kits, even the High Grades, are simplified in their assembly and mold. This allows Bandai to produce a stunning little series of kits while cutting their own costs for the line. This savings comes down the pipe to the end consumer as the 1/144 scale HG line is usually less than a third the price of a 1/100 scale Master Grade. This simplification causes some inherent issues that are easy to fix or ignore.
The beam sword is molded in a solid color instead of the traditional 1/100 scale transparent. The easy solution is to forget the kit even has one and display it with the rifle. The other issue rests in the Mobile Suit’s design. The Bawoo has many little contrasting details that make it look amazing on the anime and box art. The kit, as molded, lacks many of these details and appears a little dull. The yellow details that are so striking on the design are lacking from the waist down.
The kit as pictured attempts to correct some of these issues while maintaining the ease of assembly. The panel lines were called out with a very fine black Gundam Marker. All of the red details were added with a normal Gundam Marker as were most of the small yellow vents and rocket covers. The shield is molded in a single piece of gray and really looks flat. To solve this, some masking tape was applied to the shield and trimmed with the ever handy hobby knife to mask the yellow trident logo. It was painted with a yellow Gundam Marker. The red cones were then added to the thrusters and the entire shield was given the panel line treatment. While not perfect, on a 6 inch tall kit the results are amazing.
The attention to detail that Bandai added to the mold helps this kit shine among the rest of the 1/144 scale series. With a little help from the builder, this can easily become an impressive little display piece that can proudly call any shelf in the house home.
