Gundam HeavyArms Kai (Endless Waltz)

Presenting the Gundam Heavyarms Kai from the Gundam OVA Endless Waltz - aka XXXG-01H2 Gundam Heavyarms Kai, Heavyarms Kai or Gundam Zero Three.

This is an assembled Bandai EW-04 1/100 scale model assembled and hand/spray-painted by me.

To the uninitiated - including me - this is an upgraded version of the Gundam Heavyarms XXXG-01H seen in the Gundam Wing Television series which bore a bright red-orange and white paint scheme versus the dark-blue, gray and white that you see here.

Unfortunately I don't/didn't/won't follow Gundam. It's just not my thing, so there's not much that I know about this particular Gundam or Gundams in General.

All I know about this particular Gundam is that he's space-worthy, piloted by a guy named Trowa Barton, has enough firepower to level a city.

And looks REALLLLYYYY COOOOOOLLLL!!!!

Especially with that harlequin mask



So I had to have him - I actually have two of him, this one is the more detailed one. 

The Gundam Heavyarms Kai is armed with:

• Two (2) fire-linked Vulcan guns mounted in the Heavyarms' head used as an anti-missle weapon. 
• Two (2) fire-linked Machine Cannons mounted in the Heavyarms' upper torso
• Four (4) fire-linked Gatling Guns mounted in his chest
• Four (4) 9-tube homing missile launchers mounted on his legs.
• Two (2) 22-tube micro-missile launchers mounted in the Heavyarms shoulder pauldrons.
• Two (2) 4 tube micromissile launchers mounted on his hip armor
• Two (2) Double Gatling guns that can be stored on storage racks on the Heavyarms' back-pack when not in use. 

What's to like about the Gundam Heavy Arms Kai?

 As far as models are concerned, Bandai did a really good job in creating this one:the articulation is high; the rubber and plastic parts blend seamlessly; the Dual Gatling guns can be hand-held or stored, his chest piece opens to reveal the Four-Gattling guns, the hip launchers retract, and; the missile racks, ALL the missile racks, open. 


Clearly Bandai built this model to be simply awe inspiring - with a touch of the romantic thanks to the mask - which was a pain to paint by the way even with Gundam pens. Speaking of, the kit actually comes pre-painted (Very basic) and, with the application of the provided stickers, does not need any additional paint. But Heavyarms Kai looks waaay better painted. I deviated slightly from the suggested paint-scheme though. 

Personally I believe that the Heavyarms Kai on the field must be simply one of the scariest things you may encounter. True, he's not THE most powerful of the Gundam Wing Gundams - long debate there - but he can dish out so much damage at a distance, you can't help but want to stay away. 

Here's the Gundam Heavyarms Kai with his Gattling Cannons stored:

And here is the Heavyarms Kai in full "Alpha strike" mode:

Is that sexy or what?

What's NOT to like about the Gundam HeavyArms Kai?

The biggest problem with the Gundam Heavyarms Kai is the obvious - and it happened in the Endless Waltz OVA, the Heavyarms is ammunition dependent and ran out of ammunition in the movie. 

Further, the Bandai version's mobility is actually quite limited. No this particular Heavyarms Kai cannot kneel, and there's a limit to how far he can spread his legs. the Heavyarms Kai's arms also has difficulty actually lifting his Gatling Guns - as they are quite heavy, so you'll find posing him quite difficult.

AND HIS PARTS KEEP FALLING OFF!!!! I didn't notice the missing armor piece from his skirt till after the shoot.

If you can find him  - as he tends to be quite rare here in the Philippines - the Bandai EW-04 1/100 scale model kit is worth around US$ 30 (Roughly PhP 1,260 plus shipping)

I wouldn't mind another one.