HG 1/144 Duel Blitz Gundam

This is the High Grade 1/144 Duel Blitz Gundam. :) This mobile suit comes to us from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom, and is piloted by Yzak Joule. The Duel Blitz Gundam is a version of the Duel Gundam modified to run on a nuclear reactor. The cockpit has also been upgraded to that of a Zaku Warrior’s. In addition to the Duel Gundam's original weapons, it is equipped with a new Assault Shroud armor that has weaponry reminiscent of the Blitz Gundam. All these changes were done by a group headed by Eileen Canaver and Ezalia Joule, with the process overseen by Yuri Amalfi.

This was honestly a really fun kit to work on. It only has a few color correcting stickers, and needs very little paint to get it looking anime accurate. What I also really like about this kit is that the Assault Shroud can be removed if you just want to display the Duel Gundam. One thing I will advise is not to glue the blue parts that go around the wrist area, as you have to swap those out with black colored ones for the Assault Shroud. I learned that lesson the hard way. 😅 The articulation is on part with other kits in this line, and the kit features gimmicks that allow even more range of motion in the shoulders and hips.

While this is mostly a pretty solid kit, I do have a couple of issues with it. First, the way the shoulder armor is designed, combined with how tightly it fits on makes moving the shoulders to pose the arms a bit of a pain in the neck, even with the gimmick that gives the shoulders more room. My other issue is a bit odd. I don’t know if this is an issue with all of these ones made, or if it was just a factor error in the one I got, but one of the slots where a piece is supposed to click into place had excess plastic that prevented the piece from clipping on. My guess is that it was an error made when the runner was removed from the mold, but I can’t be sure. I fixed it by trimming the excess plastic off.

Overall, this is a pretty solid kit, and very cool looking. The build is fun, and requires very little touch up work. I think that fans of the Assault Gundam will have a lot of fun building this kit, and it’s definitely worth picking up if you’re looki for a fun Gunpla project. :)