Monday, March 4, 2019

Gunpla #42 - HGUC Jegan Type-D (Escort Type) Review


I love Jegan. It's definitely one of the best, and probably the most diverse grunts in Gundam universe, alongside Zaku and GM series. Anyway, the Jegan I would like to talk about this time is the most recent variant which made cameo in MS Gundam Narrative (NT) OVA, the Jegan Type-D (or D-type?) Escort type (let's call it Escort Jegan from now). The kit was finally released as a p-bandai exclusive in January 2019, two months after the movie screening in Japan. As cool as it might look like, this mobile suit ironically didn't have much action time after got blasted by the (outdated) Dijeh in the movie. But who cares? It still the Jegan, and Jegan is always cool!!

Upper Torso
It may look obvious that HGUC Escort Jegan is basically a retooled version of HGUC Jegan ECOAS type which I've reviewed in the past, thus, I would not talk much about stuffs such as articulation because they are basically the same kit. Of course, there are new stuffs (and sadly, missing stuffs) with this kit.

With everything it brought with
To start, let's talk about the new stuffs. This Jegan gets a brand new COOL head which has never been seen in any previous Jegans. It looks very similar with Jesta, or rather Gernsback from Full Metal Panic. Another new stuffs is the new COOL chest armor. In contrast with Jegan ECOAS chest armor which was quite 'meh' IMHO, the new armor has more details with the 'rib-bones' patterns. This new armor looks like a kevlar vest and it makes Escort Jegan has more robust chest than any Jegans. Finally, this kit comes with a brand new COOL short-machine gun. These COOL new stuffs make this kit looks more militaristic than ever.


As with Jegan ECOAS type, Jegan Escort also gets Jegan beam rifle, a shield, a bazooka, 3 hands (2 standards, 1 right trigger), 2 beam saber effects (long and short) with additions of extra spare parts to make other Jegan heads (normal, Type-D and ECOAS), as well as ECOAS chest armor, waists, crotches and a 'runner handler'. With all new stuffs, this Jegan is basically an upgraded version of Jegan ECOAS type.




Now, let's talk about the bad stuff about this Jegan. Firstly, no marking stickers as the ECOAS version. I don't know why, but the latest HGUC kits I bought (Sinanju Stein, Gustav Karl and this Jegan) don't include marking stickers at all. That's pretty lame. Another bad thing is (as always) foil sticker for part separation, and there are lots of them for the chest armor, and waist section of the kit. Eventually, I chose for not using any foils and just painted the part with grey color. For the lacks of marking, I finally used custom water slide decals to add more details with the kit. The articulation of Jegan Escort is definitely same with ECOAS type. Good thing is the (left) hand could grab the gun handle for making a natural pose as seen in the movie.


The verdict, this Jegan is a nice addition to HGUC line, especially for Jegan. It's totally cool, comes with new parts, and with price lower than 2000 yen, it's well worth the money. Should you buy it? If you're a Jegan's fan, you should not miss it.

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RGM-89D-ESC Jegan Type-D (Escort Type)

Pros:
  • New parts for head, chest armor and gun
  • Comes with many extra parts (as Jegan ECOAS type)
Cons:
  • No marking stickers
  • Lots of foils. Paints needed for better end results.

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