2000s Misc Releases

Containing over 400 pieces, this is one hell of a build. Took me a couple evenings to build, several hours to detail (with gundam markers, half the time was spent wiping off mistakes), and another evening to sticker. The stickers are even fussier than NJR ones, but at least they’re thinner. I still need to panel line, but that will have to wait.

285 pieces, how!? I decided to detail this one as I built it, but after all that work (15 hours building and panel lining), I have no energy left for the application of stickers. I’ll wait a while for that. Best thing about this kit is the choice of canopy colors: orange for the newschool fans, and smoke for the oldsters. Take your time deciding, because prying apart these pieces is nearly impossible without casualties. Worst thing about this kit is the minimal jaw movement. I modified mine based on this guy’s work, and got a bit more movement (enough to make me happy, at least).

One year later, and I’m finally finished. All the time I was putting off doing stickers, I was also bothered by the ham-fisted panel lining job this poor guy got. My previous gold and silver markers were a piece of crap, so I redid the teeth and hydraulics too. Either this project was cursed, or HMM kits really don’t stand up do disassembly, because I broke three pieces AND lost one. I replaced the lost one (a cap-like piece that holds the shoulder armor on) with a leftover Armored Core weapon. Just what the crap it’s supposed to be, I don’t know.

Well, Irvine’s gun has never looked better. Empire Command Wolf LC was the second limited kit from the HMM line, released summer 2007. It is a recolor of the regular Command Wolf, but it also includes a new weapon—the long range cannon (like Irvine’s variant in the NJR). It sold out quickly, teaching a valuable lesson: if something’s limited, don’t hesitate! I hesitated, so I had to pay a lot more on the secondary market.

What to glue, what to paint, check it out, check it out!

I’m done! While not having as many pieces as Shieldy or Command Woof, it was still quite the complex and satisfying build.

Since this one was a mega-build, usually taking a whole evening for each section, I thought I’d do an “in progress” review and point out cool features and potential trouble spots.

OK I’m completely in love with this kit, and I never used to even care about Shieldies. Thanks, Kotobukiya! The first HMM Shieldy was nice enough, but the color scheme on this one brings out a lot more detail, and has nicer contrast. Plus, gigantic cannons—always a plus! I think this one took about 16-18 hours to do, but that was spread out over a couple months, so I wouldn’t get burned out.

Another HMM build review/tips guide! Today we ask: should you glue some parts, even though it’s a “snap together” kit? The answer will surprise you.

(The answer is “yes”.)

Thanks to a sale at HLJ I was able to pick this up for cheap(ish).

This kit was actually a two-fer, coming with a regular Molga, and one in Genesis colors with the Canory Unit. The HMM-ified Molga loses the secret missile compartment in the back, but gains a TON of flexibility, plus little grub-legs. I’d say it’s a fair trade.

Since there weren’t enough pitfalls to warrant a full build review, I’ll just say it here: the brown plastic pieces that make up the wheel retracting mechanism are very fragile, and a tight fit. Trim the pegs a bit, to ease stress!

Aaaand here’s the other half of the HMM Molga two-fer. The Canory unit has a lot of detail and looks great, but a lot of it is made from the semi-fragile brown plastic. Mine is showing stress lines where the arms mount to the gun, and also where the “jewel” under the barrel goes. Also because of that plastic, I’m keeping this one’s wheels permanently in anchor mode, since the mechanism for them is extra fragile.

Best HMM ever! More to come… someday…

Yeah, so I pull this guy out of storage for display in my new place and… dang. Armor flew off just from looking at it, the rubber ammo belt broke clean off, all the joints were suddenly super loose, a good heapin’ helpin’ of ETC… Screw this kit, screw it hard.

Short review: WOOT! Long review to come. I love this little guy.

For now, check out the build review.

This was a fun build, with very few tough parts (which weren’t even that tough). The main thing with these smaller kits is having to do a lot more painting than with large kits, if you want that “looks just like the box!” style. I think Kotobukiya’s getting better at engineering these things, because there were not as many parts that needed gluing to keep the kit stable.

For the longest time, people have wanted an HMM Kong. Especially me! But now that it’s out, and I have built it, I’m kind of disappointed, because it did not overcome the worst qualities of HMM kits—the fragility*. I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but this one’s going to require serious amounts of glue just to keep it from shedding armor and fingers every time you look at it.

Pics still to come, if it can survive being photographed (don’t expect any exciting poses; I don’t have the patience). Screw it, just look at Dalong’s pics instead.

Hello from the future! At long last there are some pics! It’ll still be a while before I get a full on review, so here’s the short-ish one:

VERY FEW COMPLAINTS, IF ANY.

This booklet came with the first production run of HMM-008 Molga/Molga Canory to commemorate the release of ten HMM kits. It’s printed on high quality, thick paper and has all the box art from the first ten releases.

Not much to say here, but things are different. Apart from the brand new pilot (which has very basic articulation!), I was surprised to discover the caps are a bit smaller than their rubber Tomy counterparts.