Review MG Gundam AGE-1 Normal

I hummed and hawed about this score for some time. When I first saw the design for the AGE-1 Normal I thought it looked too unoriginal notably the head, which looks so much like Reborns Gundam, and the basic look of the body which is obviously based on the RX-78-2. I did, however, like the differences, particularly in the backpack, with that car spoiler look,

as well as the torso with the triangular shapes found throughout. And I do like the little openings found on the armor panels.

I could mark this lower and say ‘zero points for originality’ as it looks exactly like the RX-78-2 in terms of color scheme but you know what? They work. The color scheme has been successful for so long so I shouldn’t fault it for being less than original. The black on the knees do break up the white of the legs, which is a good thing.

While there isn’t much if you look at quantity of weapons (though the short beam sabers are nice) the design of the weapons themselves, notably the rifle, earn them extra points.

The beam rifle features a very articulate handle which allows you to easily place it in the hand of the AGE-1 and attach it to the back of the lower arm securing it in place and ensuring that AGE-1 will hold it without worry. The shield attaches the same way and fits so securely that it’s difficult to remove the shield and rifle from the connection to the arm. I appreciate this and it means I can pose the kit in more extreme poses without the weapons falling or being knocked off

You can put the AGE-1 into a wide range of poses and it still holds itself up. The articulation in the lower half of the kit is excellent and the feet almost always seem to hug the floor but I was more impressed with the shoulders.

The unique shoulder design allows the shoulder joints of the AGE-1 to move in way similar to how a human’s shoulder socket joint works, which means great poses!

Passes the balance test!

The engineering seems ahead of the other MG kits even the newest releases and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some of this engineering used in 2.0 or 3.0 versions of suits.

The skirt design is also different from what I expected when I saw pictures of the kit. The yellow and white parts can move together or independently which allows that great range of motion found in the hips. That little hatch on the rear center block flips down to hold the rifle, too. Cool!

The coolest design in this suit is is the cockpit hatch. There is a movable assembly at the top as well as the bottom of the hatch which allows the hatch cover to click into place so you don’t need to worry about it flipping forward if you bend your kit that way. Also you can posing the pilot figure on the hatch.

You'll have a great time with this kit. While building it you'll encountered many design elements you haven’t seen before and when eventually saw what they allowed the kit to do you will be impressed. While the build sometimes can feel like an HG the payoff is that it moves like one. This is one of those kits that is as much fun to play with once assembled as it is to put together. More importantly, this kit deserves more recognition and encourage anyone who is on the fence to jump on the AGE-1 Normal bandwagon.

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