Series: High Grade Gundam SEED (HGGS) 1/144
Title: ZGMF-X23S Saviour Gundam
Release Date: 03/2005
Suggested Price: ¥ 1500
No. of Parts: 106 + polycaps
Plastic colors: dark gray, gray, red, yellow, white
Gimmicks: able to transform into MA mode

Introduction

Contributor: Aloysius
Date: August 24, 2005

For once I wanted something from the Gundam SEED DESTINY model lineup: the Saviour Gundam. While some people may have complained that it looks too un-aerodynamic, at least Athrun Zala's not piloting some huge robot in bright pink anymore.

Head

The head is just like any other 1/144 HG model head, but this one is
slightly more complicated. It consists of 7 parts which faithfully reproduce almost all the coloring seen in the anime. The yellow V-fin is nicely covered by a red forehead piece that is a welcome change following the 1/144 HG Aegis Gundam and the 1/144 HG Justice Gundam both of which use a single yellow V-fin that is not covered in the middle by any pink piece whatsoever. A blue sticker is used to recreate the head sensor and a white sticker is provided to hide the back of the white crown which is red. Again the new head joint allows for some great vertical articulation.

Torso

The collar of the torso is not as small as previous models giving the head a great deal of articulation both horizontally and vertically. One huge
disappointment is the lack of shoulder joints seen in the HG ZAKU Warrior or HG Impulse Gundam models. The torso extends behind to provide joints connecting the 2 long plasma cannons which can swivel rather freely thanks to the polycaps in the joints. The wings connected to the plasma cannons are red and some large stickers are provided to reproduce the colors. This guy can do some decent torso-twisting as well. While the bottom of the torso and the little beam cannon behind the long plasma cannon are in the right colors, some parts of the torso and the aircraft canopy-like part at the back of the torso still require lots of painting to look true to the anime. It also has a tail fin which can be articulated but a part of the aircraft canopy-like part is in the way.

Arms

The arms are standard in 1/144 HG models. Single elbow joints, 90 degrees of movement and holes in both lower arms for the shield brace. The beam sabers are stored really loosely inside the shoulders. No extra hands for gun-wielding or saber-holding.

Legs

The legs have double joints. These ones are not like those of the Impulse which cannot be removed. However they still allow for great poseability when you've always wanted so much to make this guy bend one leg high and pull off a flying pose. The double joints are actually used for the transformation, instead they make the legs longer, and the lower legs which taper upwards give the impression of really long legs. As usual front armor pieces lift upwards as a whole and can be split to move individually when one leg is lifted. There is a serious lack of coloring at the waist and this is partially rectified by white stickers for the front armor pieces and a
yellow sticker for the center of the waist. The lower legs have barely
movable verniers behind and movable flaps in front which cover part of the
feet. The feet have the usual ball joints and can bend in the middle for
transformation.

Weapons and Accessories

Shield- The shield is rather thick and requires some painting. While it's in
the white and red colors, a yellow sticker is provided for the line in the
middle and some dark paint is needed for the lower part of the shield. The
shield is connected via a polycap to a brace which goes to the arm. The
shield can be articulated at the brace. There is a peg at the back end of
the shield to connect it to the back of the waist during transformation.

Beam rifle- The beam rifle is slightly different from previous ones. It lacks
a secondary handle and has a peg near the back to allow it to be stuck to
the shoulder when in MA mode.

Beam sabers- The beam sabers can be removed really easily from the shoulders and include pink translucent beam saber blades to go into the beam sabers. Then they are simply stuffed into the hands.

Transformation- Compared to HGUC models like the Zeta Gundam which use a compartmentalized transformation system which involves removing parts of the model and re-assembling them, thankfully the Saviour Gundam does not depend on it. First the hands are removed and the waist is rotated 180 degrees. The instruction manual requires the head to look up, but that does not seem necessary. The wings are bent outwards and twisted 90 degrees so that they face backwards. The aircraft canopy-like part is pulled forward and the plasma cannons are bent 180 degrees forward so that the wings that are attached to them face the right direction. The feet are folded and the legs are bent, and finally the beam rifle is placed on the left shoulder and the shield under the body, at the back of the waist.

Conclusion

Nothing spectacular. You can't pull off the scenes in the anime where the
Saviour Gundam spins in the air and magically turns into MA mode. But if
you're an Athrun Zala fan and love his new not-so-pink Gundam, then you
should probably get one to add to your collection. Nonetheless I think it
looks decent and the legs are long and cool.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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