Gunpla #33 - HGGO Gundam Local Type (Rollout Color) Review

I have a bunch of kits from Gundam The Origin series, but this is the first one I've officially built. When Bandai announced the first Gundam Local Type (the white-blue one) I was thinking like "Oh, the first gundam of the series, I will buy it", but the hefty price held me up from grabbing the kit, and now, I could say that I've never regretted that decision.

Like a common P-Bandai kit, Gundam Local Type (rollout color) is basically a recolor of Gundam Local Type North American type which was released as retail kit. No new molds added whatsoever with the only difference on the marking sticker. It's a little bit expensive than the retail version though. The only reason I chose the P-Bandai version was because of its color. I thought the yellow color scheme stands out more as it reveals the panel lines which were hindered by the black of retail version. I also like the "Heavy-equipment" and "Test-type" color theme as it looks much more of a prototype mobile suit. Moreover, the yellow gundam is rare, isn't it?

As it was my first Gundam kit from the Origin series, I could not compare it directly with the other HGGO Gundams. Anyway, because they share the same molds, I think the articulation is pretty much the same with its retail counterparts, which I found very good as it could do some nice poses. This was also the first build which I tried to customize by trimming the v-fin and cutting the front skirt in half.

I really like this kit, especially the accessories. It came with shoulder canon, machine gun, shield, 3 beam saber hilts, 2 beam saber effects. Unfortunately, there's only 1 extra hand for holding the machine gun. Anyway, Bandai provides us with 2 connectors to attach either machine gun or shield at the backpack. Since it shares some molds with the normal gundam local type, we also get the backpack from the previous release and spare parts for the chest vent. The marking stickers is also nice and blending better than the retail one. The only complaint I have was the ankle armors which were not movable as it molded in one with the leg parts. I also omitted the horizontal stickers for the arms and thighs as I thought they are giving too much retro feels to the kit. 

The conclusion is, this kit is very nice. Indeed, it's not the best out of the Origin series, but in terms of color scheme and marking sticker, I personally think it's definitely better than the American type version.  

-------------------

RX-78-01 [N] Gundam Local Type (Rollout color)

Pros:

• Cool color schemes
• Nice accessories and marking seals 
• Good articulation

Cons:

• Lack of extra hands
• Unmovable ankle armor