1/144 AG Age-3 Fortress & Orbital Gundam Review

1/144 AG Gundam Age-3 Fortress & 1/144 AG Gundam Age-3 Orbital

What's Included?                                                                                                                            Fortress                       Orbital

7X Runners                        8X Runners

1X Gage-ing Chip               1X Gage-ing Chip

Well before I begin as I usually do it I want to discuss the overall package. I will be honest. It appealed to me. I keep all of the box arts I get when I get models and this is definitely something to keep. The box art itself is very well illustrated and nice to keep. As for the overall contents one thing did surprise me. I figured since its $9-$10 that it would come with an instruction paper. However the instructions are printed into the box itself. LOL! So if you get this don't throw out the white box because that's is what its printed on.

Now before I begin I would like to clear up these are as basic and simple as models go by so not that much to talk about.

Runners:

Orbital                                                                                                         Fortress

Comparison

 Well as you guys see here is a high resolution photo of the AG Age-3 Fortress and Orbital heads. The picture might seem off because I used flash on my camera to give it more lighting. Anyways as far as detail and difference. Nothing. They are both identical. So not much to say. Detail and etc will be discussed more later. 

In this picture I just show you a simple comparison of the body. The upper portions of the body are identical and used with the same plastic moldings. However the skirts are different. The Fortress has heavy weaponry based designs while the Orbital has fast speedy designs overall. I think the AG models do a good job of getting the idea down. If these models had detail they would be just about perfect. 

The legs are just one piece basically nothing much to say. Just showing you pictures of the overall comparison. The details are what I will cover next. However based on these photos you can tell how basic and simple the model is.

 The arms I give credit for they are more detail oriented than the legs. Really. The legs only have like 2 pieces of plastic while the arms have 5-6.

That's about it for comparisons. I don't really like talking or writing for model reviews. I let the pictures do the talking. However I still need to improve on that as well. hehe.... ^_^

Detail/Proportion

As you see in the pictures the overall detail and design of the Fortress and Orbital are the same. The core fighter pieces are also identical. However to simply put it in a few words the detail is there and can be panel lined and can even add more panel lines to it but it definitely needs a paint job before you keep it for display.

For a basic $9-$10 model there is only so much I can go over. The overall detail shown in the above pictures just gives you a simple idea of it. If your looking for detail here is a quick guide.

Advanced Grade=Less plastic(Easiest to build)

High Grade= More plastic(Mid Level Easy build)

Real Grade= More plastic/Inner frame(Moderate build)

Master Grade=More plastic(detailed from top to bottom)(Advanced build)

Perfect Grade just follows that.

Simple enough I trust.

To wrap up this simple and short review I am just going to provide the videos for you to watch to get an overall idea of the looks of the models.

Orbital

Fortress

Final Thoughts however this model isn't something to have for collection. It is for beginners or for people who have custom concepts they want to make or test.

Thanks!

Reviewed By: FlashX007

1/144 HG Age-3 Gundam Review

1/144 HG Gundam Age-3 Normal

What's Included?

8X Runners 

2X Small Sticker Sheets

1X Instruction Packet

Now before I begin my review I of course want to explain the package contents before I move forward. So to start off the runners that make up the model in total is 8. If you count the polycaps. If not then its 7. Moving forward to the small sticker sheets. One has the face and the upper body stickers in general. While the other has the detail stickers like for the shoulders and the sensors. Etc. Then you have your normal instruction packet which is useful to hold onto if you want to recolor it according to the color guide the packet shows.

Now moving onto the exciting part!

Runners:

  

Comparison:

Ok so I don't think I need to say much. Just enjoy the picture comparisons as they explain it all. I compare the HG with it's Advanced Grade (AG) forms. On another note the HG Age-3 Orbital will be coming out next month before the Fortress so be sure to look into holding off so you can have all 3 forms in HG since I am sure the Fortress would follow the Orbital release with 3-4 weeks afterwards.

Detail/Proportion:

Ok so coming to detail and proportion its pretty simple. The detail is beautiful on this model Bandai really went top to bottom on this HG. I can easily say that the MG Age-1 and its forms come first and this ties in second when it comes to getting your moneys worth. I really have nothing bad to say about it. I am being honest too. I had some detail complaints on the HG Age-2 Double Bullet but this HG Age-3 has basically become my favorite. However it's not perfect nor do I imply that. The proportions does have some problems. Like the head for example. Too small for the entire body in general. I saw that in previous models as well though so its nothing that has changed. However the chest does seem slightly off. It goes inward towards the waist/torso. Then the body's waist/torso is outward so basically its fat at first then skinny in the middle then fat again going down. If that makes sense. I find this a slight problem since the mobile suit is trying to give off a human look. 

Articulation:

This is the most important part in my opinion. I gotta give Bandai credit. So without further ado...

Head:

The head moves forward and back. Also 360 degrees. 

Core Fighter:

The core fighter has articulated thrusters. Also a landing gear I think I am unsure what the small piece is. Probably small spoilers to adjust speed and etc. LOL! 

Arm:

The arm's spoilers move 90 degrees or so. Pretty simple but its cool and great for posing. 

The arm also has a new polycap joint which improves the articulation all around. Its really smooth and excellent. 

The wrist armor is also excellent it moves 360 and has a hidden beam saber hilt. Awesome all around right there. One of my favorite features on this kit.

Waist/Torso

The waist is on a ball joint so it does move 360 degrees of course.

The skirts all move and have a slight 45 degree articulation. So almost 90.

The leg bends 180 degrees. I say 180 because it deserves credit. You could say 160 or 140 however. It is incredible how much articulation improvement was put in this. This truly proves how much Bandai is improving their models. What's better than that is that they continue to do so! Expect this in all upcoming models. 

It also has 2 armor plates that move slightly which would be the knee and ankle armor plates. Pretty nice and understandable since its required for partsformation. The foot also bends 90 degrees again required for partsformation. Also moves all around and can tilt left and right.

Accessories/Weapons:

The model comes with a 2 point stand with a hollow underside used to store extra hands. The 2 point stand can pose the core fighter and g cepter. I prefer mobile suit form however of course. 

The model also comes with 3 hands in total. 2 are to be used one is extra. It is for the left arm. One open palm, one open fist to hold the Sig Maxiss. Nice and simple right?

The model also has 2 beam saber hilts and 2 beam sabers. They can be held in both hands. However you can also store the hilts inside the wrist armor and have the wrist armor and beam saber attached. Nice features coming from the Normal form!

The Sig Maxiss! This cannon/rifle is awesome. I call it a cannon because its too large to be called a rifle. It can be held as a normal gun or held like a cannon. Up to you. Plus it attaches to the back. Overall this cannon and the wrist plates my top favorite features on this kit.

Overall anything else I missed. I will not be partsforming it ever or even go over it because its a HG I don't expect it to be good and I really don't prefer it. As the picture shows though that is basically the flight piece attached to the G Cepter. 

Conclusion:

Time to wrap it up. Yes its unfortunate I will miss you readers. However I will continue my review with the AG! *wink* I overall hope this review was helpful and basic enough. I removed a lot of rambling I used to do in reviews and kept it short and simple here. For any comments or criticisms feel free to speak. lol

That is not my conclusion however I just want to say my overall final opinion of this model is it is worth the price point and simple. It has a lot to offer for a Normal form and its the latest enhanced model. For any questions on weight here is the answer right now. No problems! Any Age line model can stand on one foot if balanced correctly. It's all light weight. Nothing I have had so far has been heavy. I also would like to point out Bandai is improving and making more enhancements in the Age line. You can surely expect new model features from the upcoming MG Age-2 Normal to be released in August. Plus you will see enhancements for the upcoming HG Age-3 Orbital model to be released in August as well. I bet it will be enhanced because for one the foot needs to move 90 degrees completely to have a speed form or normal footing to stand. That is one enhancement there. Plus the overall ability to show that its a fast speedy form. Bandai needs to really represent how fast and powerful it is as shown in the anime. Plus they are probably taking advantage since it wasn't shown much in the anime. So that's why I think it's coming out before the Fortress. 

Anyways that wraps it up. Thank you iShop2Go for providing such a beautiful model for me to build and enjoy. This is hands down my new favorite. I like it more than my MG Age-1 and that says something!

Video Review (3)

This review goes along with my video reviews so I suggest looking at both. ^_^

Reviewed By: FlashX007