Series: High Grade Gundam SEED (HGGS) 1/144
Title: ZGMF-X13A Providence Gundam
Release Date: 03/2004
Suggested Price: ¥ 1500
No. of Parts: 137
Plastic colors: gray, dark blue, red, white, yellow
Gimmicks: MA-M221 “Judicium” beam rifle, MA-MV05A composite armed shield system (1 beam saber, 2 small beam guns), 11 DRAGOONS (3 spray-type, 8 normal type), some poseability (more on that soon)

Introduction

Contributor: Erishkigal
Date: September 24, 2009

September 26, C.E. 71: Rau Le Creuset hops into ZMGF-X13A Providence. Everybody cringes at his just-a-little-too-metro-for-a-villain jumpsuit, and how he proceeds to disable GAT-X105 Strike Gundam and GAT-X103 Buster Gundam without even blinking. And then there’s that anti-climatic fight between him and Kira. Really though, for such a powerful Gundam, it could have received a bit more screen time, though my friend points out to me that the damage bill is already high enough.

Anyway, I’ve always liked Providence better that its SEED DESTINY counterpart. Something about Legend just rubbed me the wrong way. But anyway, this is a review, not a rant session, so I'll shut up and move on.

The best thing about Providence is the simplicity and elegance of the model. Everything from head to accessories is simple to assemble, and yet doesn’t look like it’s tacky or they cut corners. And whatever they do in the anime (not too sure about the manga), the model is nowhere near as bulky as I thought it would be – it’s surprisingly lithe (that way I won’t be repeating this in every single section).

The other thing to note with Providence is that it has no major flaws (bar one which isn’t really its fault, since it's common to all the SEED models). All the pieces stay in place as they should be (well, all the ones that need to be seen anyway) when posing. This may have something to with the fact that I spray-painted the white areas black first, but I doubt it, since those same joints became really stiff when I went to assemble it. Besides, not all of the polycapped joints weren’t, yet they’re still a flush fit.

Head

Really, there’s not much to say about the head. It’s just as detailed as you would expect from a 1/144 HG series, just that it contains an extra part (or two) to make up for Providence’s visor.

Torso

Surprisingly, the little yellow vents are not impossible to put on, mainly because its sits in a nice groove. What is a little annoying, however, are the little MMI-GAU2 "Picus" 76mm CIWS on the top of the torso. Putting them on is a nightmare, although once they’re in, they’re in. It’s a similar story for the back half of the tubes that run along the sides. It takes a little patience to maneuver them into place, but again, once they’re in, they’re in. The collar does not limit the head movement at all, even though it looks as it would. Bonus points again.

Arms

The arms are standard rectangular prism Gundam arms. Nothing special to see here, move along now. The oversized should pads contain the little boosters on the inside, so it looks quite nice even if I did do a half-assed spray job on the inside. It also adds to the “spikiness” of Providence, something which can’t be bad, right?

Legs

Ahhh, the lovely legs. I’m not a pervert. Seriously. But I have to admit that Providence probably has the sleekest legs of any Gundam model I’ve ever assembled. It’s like a hybrid of Gundam and Zaku legs. It’s not that I don't like the Gundam legs, but they’re just a little hard edged, too robotic, and sometimes their flimsy ankle guards dive you up the wall. The Zaku ones have that horribly bulky side booster, which while is actually nice on a Zaku, really has no place on a Gundam. As you can see, the result is simply… superb. There’s no other way to describe it.

Actually it on the legs that the only major gripe I have with this Gundam, and all other Gundam SEED models. For a flying pose one really needs a stand (unless you have the money and time to hang up your Gundams), and the only way you’ll ever get any of the SEED models to sit on a stand is by buying one of those stands that go into underneath the hip area. It keeps the model in place by locking itself around the hip/leg joint area on the hip. The problem? It severely limits your ability to swivel the legs outward. Something which I guess can’t really be helped. Plastic does have its limitations.

Weapons and Accessories

Yes, the section most people are more interested in than any other section. So what does this guy have to blow things up with? Let’s just say, “Way too much.”

Jetpack and DRAGOONs- Let’s face it; we all know that Providence fans out there buy Providence because of the DRAGOONS. Unless you have a Rau fetish, which is also completely understandable, but let’s not go there… Well, the DRAGOONS and its associated jetpack don’t disappoint. The jetpack mounts the 3 spray DRAGOONS, each of which is a simple (but not bland) 3-piece construction that details all of the 9 gun nozzles on each. Of the remaining 8, 2 more go on the jetpack, and the remaining 6 sit on the hip. Bandai was kind enough to save us the trouble of having to assemble these ones on our own, so they’re one piece each. The jetpack itself is just as it should be as well, with little lacking in the way of detail. The 2 jetpack-mounted, non-spray dragoons can be folded forwards, so that’s looking at even more options for posing. Bonus points again. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with any parts for those of us wanting a “deployed DRAGOON” mode, but I’m pretty sure you could work out some sort of solution. The docking for the two DRAGOONs mounted on the back of the hip is not too stable, however. It tends to slip forward a little, but maybe it’s because my pose causes Providence to lean forward.

MA-MV05A composite armed shield system- Second only to the DRAGOONs simply due to the sheer firepower of the DRAGOON system, this baby not only packs an incredibly long beam saber that protrudes from the edge of the shield, but a pair of beam guns as well. It’s a pretty sleek design. The only criticism is that the supplied beam saber isn’t as long as I thought it would be, but then again, there’s never a long enough beam saber for me. Bandai wasn’t stingy with the parts here, so the entire thing actually looks nice even if you didn’t paint it at all.

MA-M221 “Judicium” beam rifle- I really feel sorry for this guy. It’s not lacking detail, it’s not particularly weak, and yet… there’s something not quite satisfying about him. Maybe, just maybe, it’s because Providence’s other armaments are so unique and awesome that a big beam rifle doesn’t stand out at all, while it might have been a jaw dropper on another model. Still, its a big beam rifle, not much else to say. Has to be mounted over the shoulder, you’ll snap off Providence’s arm trying to tuck it under.

Conclusion

Providence was a well thought out, well designed, model kit. Bandai seems to have slimmed it down from its anime counterpart, improving the look for the model. As stated before, the only real gripe is something common to all the Gundam SEED models, that an airborne pose limited the movement of the legs while posing. And it COULD come with a set of decals as well, but for its price, I’m definitely satisfied.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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