Introduction
So today this little gem (the Shiranui Second Yuya Bridges Ki kit) arrived with the postman:
The kit is by Kotobukiya and is from the MUV-LUV alternate total eclipse range. After watching the series I really liked some of the suits in there. I had a look around and found this one. I decided to take a chance and pick it up to see what it was like.
Riders
Before I get into it I should point out some riders. The kit is not to a specific scale so like the Bandai SD kits. I have never built one of the Bandai kits so I don’t have a benchmark to put it against. So my comments come with no real standard to measure against. So with that out of the way lets head in to it.
How was the build
The build was quick, which I expected. I still need to perform a strip down and cleanup, but it went together quickly and simply. I think that all these kits are likely to have similar build times. I have seen some Bandai kits like the Neo that look to be more complex in terms of number of parts, but I haven’t been fortunate to build any of those. My favourite part of this build were the semi transparent blue cast pieces. I found they add some real contrast to the model, and help it stand apart.
Although simple to build, I would say the instruction manual would benefit from some tweaks. In particular there are some steps that you need to do in specific order, and just a 1, 2, 3 etc. on them would make the build go more smoothly. It wasn’t a “massive” problem but it was a little irksome.
The joints all went together smoothly and the ball joints have a nice combination of friction and ease of movement.
So what does it look like?
As you can see from a straight build it looks ok. I think some panel lining on it would really make it come alive though. Also to be fair the pictures don’t show off the blue pieces which also add a nice dimension to it.
Conclusion
I think I would like to build a Bandai SD so I can compare and contrast. I would also like to get and build one of the bigger versions of the Kotobukiya kits to also compare. On the whole the build was a building version of a palate cleanser. It was simple, and fun. Ultimately a build should be fun. I found it a welcome change of pace to the MG and RG builds. Now, after my mini diversion, I’m ready to dive back into the painting and possibly my next RG on the list. With maybe a little trip to panel lining on this mini kit to just give it a little bit more of a lift.
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