Series: High Grade Universal Century (HGUC) 1/144
Title: MSA-005 Methuss
Release Date: 03/2006
Suggested Price: ¥ 1400
No. of Parts: 96 plastic + 54 ABS + 23 polycap + 1 wire
Plastic colors: yellow, dark blue, gray, translucent yellow, clear
Gimmicks: transformable, power cables to link up with HGUC Hyaku Shiki’s Mega Bazooka Launcher, removable beam sabers stored in legs

Introduction

Contributor: Clem-Master-Janitor
Date: September 25, 2009

When I decide if I’m going to invest in a kit, I try to look for an odd design. I’m not sure why, but with how homogenized the designs of the Gundam Universe can be (either they’re reminiscent of a GM, a Zaku, a Dom, a Gelgoog, or a Gundam), it’s refreshing to see a design that doesn’t remind me of any of the typical kits. When I first saw the Methuss, I wasn’t sure what to think of this design. It didn’t look like anything I had seen before with its yellow color, thin arms, minimal armor, and transformation system. Eventually I invested in this kit. How did things go for me?

Head

Small but detailed with recessed sensor lights in its forehead. These tiny sensors can be a pain to paint and the clear plastic piece that goes over it can cause it too look too dark. With a small modification, a person can make it so the ABS plastic containing the mono-eye rail and power cable can be removed from the head armor. This is useful for painting as a person won’t have to mask off the super tiny parts. Speaking of small, the mono-eye is nearly impossible to see, no matter if you paint it  yourself or use one of the three included stickers for looking left, right, or straight ahead. A translucent green mono-eye would have worked so much better than the sticker. With clear plastic in the head and translucent for the beams of the beam saber, a small bit of plastic wouldn’t have hurt the price of the kit. 

I mentioned earlier that the head uses an ABS piece to make up the internal workings of the head. This piece connects directly to another ABS piece in the torso. It makes for a very sturdy and solid base for the head to sit upon. I’ve noticed Bandai’s HGUC transformable kits seem to use this option a lot (Bawoo and Zeta for instances). Make it a point not to twist the head too much. You may risk wearing out the plastics holding the head on its shoulders, unless you want a bobble head Methuss. Then, twist away.

Torso

It’s of no surprise the torso is incapable of twisting. Really, with all the fine mechanisms needed to make the Methuss look like the Methuss, to widen the chest enough to allow a twist might have thrown off the whole kit‘s look and stability when transformed. Instead, it flexes up and down for transforming to Mobile Armor Mode. The neck has the same range of motion, allowing the head to be pulled down when the nose section on the back is pulled forward during transformation. Without that play, the head would get in the way all the time. Speaking of which, the nose section sits as the backpack thrusters for the design. It rides on an arm with a joint near the attachment point inside the nose section and another joint built directly into the back of the Methuss.  Problem with the nose section is the plastic’s actual assembly. It’s designed to insert in a series of thin parts, mostly liked to keep cost down. While it does work, but when you try to hide the seams (which are very visible in this section) and then assemble, it can easily crack the work you did hiding those seams. Talk about a waste of hard work.

The cockpit assembly pops off easily. Where this would be a problem in most designs, it is necessary for the kit’s optional design. Instead of just using the normal Methuss layout, a person with the HGUC Hyaku Shiki’s Mega Bazooka Launcher kit can link the two together, thus giving the Launcher the added energy boost via a link cable system provided with this kit. So, if you have that kit, it is a nice bit of extra for the torso alone. Also installed in the cockpit’s piece is the first of the three parts for landing gear. It’s designed to be pried off relatively easily. I’ve never used it so I’m not sure how easy it really is, especially after painting. 

Shoulder joints have a great deal of forward flex, necessary for the transformation. The bonus is you get a bit more pose action. The downside is the recessed painting and detailing that you’ll have to find a way to paint. Not exactly a fun time trying to prevent your hand from slipping and marring the paint job with a brush nor is it easy to mask such a tight, small area. In general, small paint jobs are the evil of this kit. The red sections next to the head are not painted. They are molded in yellow so its paint time. The power cables in the blue section under the head also require paint to color them properly. It can make the kit look really nice but also aggravate a person when they realize a piece in need of paint wasn’t painted. It happened to me a lot. This kit is loaded with areas hidden and in need of paint for that added pop.

Arms

The tops are very bulky. Polycaps are built in on both sides of the shoulder, for connecting to the shoulder’s female plugs in the torso’s male pegs and for placing the armor guards on the outside of the kit. This also gives the shoulder armor flex for lifting up the arm and avoiding a hindrance to posing. The armor making up or guarding the thruster/vent assembly in the shoulder slides on and is made of two pieces. They don’t mesh the best, resulting in the seam being visible. I think this is mostly due to how thin the plastic is causing a bit of warping from piece to piece. You’ll have to paint in the green on the armor and also in the shoulder’s ‘tube’ bit on the front. I originally thought this was some type of cannon. What it actually is… I have no clue. Since it has that green color painted on, I’m guessing some type of light. Not sure why it needs a light there. Bandai could have given the translucent green parts necessary to really make the kit awesome. Instead, they leave you with a paint brush in hand. I’m sure the adventurous modeler will custom build their own translucent pieces. 

The upper arm is attached to the shoulder by the shoulder assembly clasping around the upper arm, allowing the unit to swivel. It does bind up from time to time on the seams of the shoulder. A bit of pre-fitting and sanding will minimize the problem. Two sets of ABS joints surround the little bit of armor for the upper arm. They allow for some massive flex but also compensate for the limited flex of the polycap elbow. It’s tricky, but watch how you assemble the armor here between the joints. It appears to have a forward and backward but will fit either way. You’ll notice when its backward the joints don’t have nearly as much flex as when they’re correctly assembled. Also, the thin plastic of the armor can pop apart after concealing of the seams is finished. Another pain in the neck but what can a person do?

The lower arm bends on a polycap in the elbow. Where normally I’d ask what the hell an exposed polycap is doing in my HGUC kit, I have to be more lenient because how the kit works its hands. For beam saber use, the lower arms are left as you see in the picture, with the built in beam guns pointed down or toward the back of the kit. When a person opts to use the beam guns, the lower arms are spun around, turning the hands in the process to use the weapons. This is problematic as the armor design sticks farther out at the elbow. This jutting of plastic prevents the elbow from bending, even with the added lower ABS joints. Either you point in straight forward, using the upper arm joint to add a bit of bend, or you turn it a bit, making the gun aim up and off to the sides. This is an added anger point as the beam guns’ handles don’t like unfolding. The plastic pieces don’t have a good grip point for a toothpick or pin. Finally, you’ll have to paint the blue trim around the elbow and the blue joint holding the beam gun in place.

And guess what folks? Those damn ABS hands are here, too.  Included are one set of hands for either beam sabers or beam guns. Though nicely detailed, it takes very little pressure on the hands to pop them. I must admit these hands hold together better than most. After spending an hour on my hands and knees hunting down the thumbs, I’m still ticked. 

During transformation, the arms utilize all their flexing points. Hands are popped off and you’ll notice the shoulder armor has a female insert in the back above the vents. This allows the continuation of the armor bits connected to the back of the legs to insert and continue the design. I’m not really sure what to call these… wings, fins, or just armor?

Legs

Hips are built into the kit, as I mentioned before, eliminating all twisting of the upper body. The hooked bit of the crotch area flexes up and down for transformation to Mobile Armor Mode. The hips are extendable and will need to be pulled out during transformation. Problem is that you can pull them all the way out. It’s a pain, but what can a person do but put it back together again? Hidden here is the lone piece concealing the stand attachment. I should mention you will have to buy the stand separately. Makes sense that the other transformable suits like the Asshimar and Gaplant and Gabthley to have them but not this kit. This part is a bit of a pain in the ass to get apart, so I would decide in advance if you want to use the stand option or not and stick with that plan. Trust me on this.  

The knees utilize ABS again. It is sturdy but you’ll need to paint the gray onto the yellow plastic. This is a hateful moment as you’ll be dodging hitting the green power cables in the process. With the huge armor section in lower legs, painting and inserting the various and tiny parts can become a game of four letter words. There are no great cheats here for doing these so just take your time and walk away for a bit when you are ready to hurl something at a wall. Also, the beam sabers are concealed here. Two of the six are actually removable, similar to the HGUC Gundam’s beam sabers. Just pull them out and insert their beams and you’re ready to rock and roll.

Though it looks like details, the raised portions on the front of the lower legs is actually the other two landing gear points. A good yank will pull them free and you insert the landing gear assembly. I never use them. All the points in the lower leg work well, armor that needs to move and thrusters that need to appear all flex and close easily. The back bit that connects to the shoulders is located on a hinge near the bottom of the lower leg. It flexes nicely and doesn’t get in the way of the kit’s feet. A significant problem with this section in particular is the lack of panel line or raised details. The armor is smooth and flat and large, something that almost needs to be detailed extra. Sure, you can add a good chunk of waterslide decals, but that only solves a little part of this dilemma. 

Feet are very stable. They flex near the center on a polycap, folding over for Mobile Armor Mode. With all the flex in this kit, a person might fear it is unstable and will keel over. No need to worry about that. This baby is as stable as it gets. It takes a significant hit to knock it over.

Weapons and Accessories

Included with this kit are two beam sabers with detachable beams, two beam guns built into the lower arms, the cockpit assembly for setting up a power cable link (made of a wire coated in green plastic that needs to be clipped in half) to the Hyaku Shiki’s Mega Bazooka Launcher and an attachment piece to connect to the Launcher, and three pieces of landing gear. I won’t say any more about these since I mentioned all these parts during the above discussion.

Conclusion

Pros: Solid kit with a good transformation system. Odd that it’s more interesting in Mobile Armor Mode as opposed to Mobile Suit Mode. Very sturdy joints throughout and added parts for linking to the Hyaku Shiki’s Mega Bazooka Launcher. Its wide open armor and multiple vents and thrusters leaves a person with a good set of aftermarket waterslides some great customization opportunities.

Cons: ABS hands are a pain as always. Seams tend not to blend well if you don’t work on them. Throughout the kit, a person wonders if Bandai would put any details like panel lines or raised details to break up the blinding yellow wasteland that is most of the armor of the kit. The head has so much more detail than the rest of the armor, or, just as annoying, the details are all hidden in places most people will never see them, making me wonder why I went through all the trouble to pain them in the first place. No display stand for posing Mobile Armor is annoying as all hell. 

All in all, the kit is an interesting build, but not one I’d say a person just looking to slam together a kit should invest in. It is a slow, thought filled process to assemble and paint this kit. The reward is a very different looking kit from the norm. I think it probably would have been better to see this kit in a Master Grade versus the High Grade format. It’s just too small of a scale for all this kit really needs.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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