Kimi The Builder

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A good trip back

I finally completed it!

It took me quite a while, due to my very hectic schedule, but I finally managed to complete the NG Vayeate. It was a kit that I struggled to complete, but funnily enough, it wasn’t because I had a horrible time with it. 

It was because I struggled to put into words my thoughts and opinions on the kit without being overly biased toward it. That is why I was taking quite a bit to write about my final thoughts on this No-Grade kit. 

But as ever, we shall first talk about a little bit of lore of this particular MS design here. 

So, without further ado, let us get into it, shall we? 

The History and development of the OZ-13MSX1 Vayeate

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Model name: 

• OZ-13MSX1

Classification: 

• Prototype Offensive Mobile Suit 

Weapon systems:

• Beam Cannon 

Height: 

• 16.3 m

Armour Material:

• Gundanium Alloy

Powerplant:

• Ultracompact Fusion Reactor

Total Thrust: 

• Unknown

Effective Sensor Radius: 

• Unknown

Crew:

• 1 pilot (or a Mobile AI System)

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Developed at the same time as the OZ-13MSX2 Mercurius, this is an offensive based, limited production mobile suit designed to work in tandem with the Mercurius. What makes both the development of the Vayeate and the Mercurius interesting, it was because it’s an MS that was developed from the ground up by the five captured Gundam Scientists. 

That is why both the performance and its capabilities were as good as the earlier versions of the 5 Gundams. Admittedly, yes, both of the MS wasn’t able to compete with the upgraded versions of the 5 Gundams. However, when you compare their performance against the mass-production MS’s, you would find that their battle records are akin to what you would see on a Gundam Type MS.

But performance alone isn’t the only thing that this MS had going for it, there is as well the matter of its main weaponry, the Vayeate’s Beam Cannon. Because what makes the Vayeate’s Beam Cannon interesting, is that the Beam Cannon followed many of the same design traits as what we see on the Wing Gundam’s Buster Rifle. However, unlike the Wing Gundam’s Buster Rifle, the Vayeate’s Beam Cannon doesn’t any have any limitations. 

How did the Vayeate was able to achieve this? 

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Well, that is thanks to the fact that the Vayeate carries at its back a small portable compact thermonuclear reactor and a particle accelerator. All of that enables the Vayeate to have an almost limitless supply of beam ‘ammunition’ for battle.

However, even though we do admit that the Vayeate Beam Cannon is impressive overall, but it doesn’t have any other weapons system besides the Beam Cannon. What this means is that the Vayeate doesn’t have the ability to protect itself in a CQC situation.

That may explain why the Vayeate and the Mercurius design features complement one another. Because the two MS was supposed to work in pairs, the Vayeate handles mid to long-range engagements while the Mercurius handles defense and close range engagements. 

Funnily enough, both the Vayeate and the Mercurius did somehow fell into the hands of two of the 5 Gundam pilots. Trowa Barton in the Vayeate and Heero Yuy in the Mercurius, which was quite fitting since the two MS is quite suitable for them. 

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Unfortunately enough, the two MS was destroyed, after an encounter with the Gundam Wing Zero. But all it’s not lost since the combat data gained from that battle was used to create the Virgo. 

Both the Vayeate and the Mercurius did eventually see action again after the White Fang decided to rebuild them for their use. But instead of using a human pilot, they decided to use the Mobile doll AI system, that used the Heero and Trowa’s earlier Mercurius and Vayeate combat data. 

However, both MS eventually was destroyed by Duo Maxwell in his Gundam Deathscythe Hell. 

With that ends the history lesson, and now let us get to the review bit, shall we? 

The Review

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Reviewing an old kit is never an easy job. There is alot that I need to take into consideration while at the same time try my very best not to make the mistake of comparing it to all the newer kits out there. 

However, even with that said, this is one old kit that I feel is one of the best ones that I’ve worked on so far.

I can imagine that to some of you reading here that it might be a bit strange for me to be making that claim, especially considering I’m reviewing a kit that was released 20 years ago. 

But trust me, there are a few good reasons for it. 

One of the things that Bandai got right here is just by the way Bandai designed the NG Vayeate. Because the NG Vayeate is a kit that I find to be a good looking and a fun kit to build, even when compared to the other modern standards. 

How is this possible you may ask? Well, by having a perfect mix of both fun and challenge all in one package. Yes, it is one of those kits that is a fun kit to pick up for beginners, and at the same time, is a kit that is good for those looking to take on something that is a bit more challenging. 

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Like I mentioned earlier, all of this is only possible mainly to the way they designed the NG Vayeate. Well, to be more specific here, it was more on the way they designed the parts. Because they made it easy enough for a beginner to pick it up but at the same time leaves enough stuff to do for the intermediate or advance builders. 

What makes the whole experience even more enjoyable for me is the fact that the material used here is quite easy to handle. I never find myself having much trouble handling the nubs/sprues, even if they are located in hard to reach locations. With the correct techniques applied to them, you will find the result to be quite satisfying. 

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That is something that I feel is good if one wants to use this as a teaching tool to teach the beginner builder the fundamentals of building. Not to mention it is as well a good practice kit for those intermediate and advanced builders to sharpen their building skills. 

Not to mention that I’m as well quite impressed by how good some of the individual parts looked still, even when compared to the newer kits. The molding of some of the NG Vayeate parts looked so detailed that there were quite a few occasions that I thought that I was staring at a modern HGAC kit. 

However, not all is perfect here. Because if there is one thing that I’m a bit disappointed by, that would most probably be its articulation. 

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Granted, coming in, I knew of this issue for quite some time. But even with that knowledge, I was still managed to find myself baffled with some of the articulation related issues that I faced here.

I should first mention here that I have no issues with the articulation of the NG Vayeate when you don’t have the equipment on it. It is a kit with outdated joint design, so I understand why the NG Vayeate has limitations in its articulation. Honestly, though, I do admit that when you compare the NG Vayeate to the other older 1/144 scaled NG kits out there, it does have a decent articulation system.

However, it is when you have the NG Vayeate’s big bulky Beam Cannon attached is where most of the problems lie. Because it drastically hampers with the articulation quite significantly, to the point you can only pose it with the weapon in one particular pose. Yes, there is still a way for me to articulate the NG Vayeate using its Beam Cannon, but the issue was that you have to take out a chunk of the Beam Cannon equipment to enable it to do so. I do feel that by doing that, kind of defeats the purpose of having the Beam Cannon on the NG Vayeate in the first place. 

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But even with that said, the issue that I faced with the NG Vayeate’s articulation didn’t take away the experience that I gain building this. Because the whole time that I was working on it, it felt like I was reliving some parts of my childhood. It took me back to the time when life was much simpler and more fun. But best of all, it gave me another shot to give the much-beloved NG Vayeate a proper treatment that would make my younger self proud. 

Yes, even though there is still much to do here, but the work that I put here was enough to make my younger self proud of seeing regardless, and that is enough for me. 

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With that marks the end of this long review of the NG 1/144 OZ-13MSX1 Vayeate (WF-07 W Gundam Series Figure Version)(No-Grade). What do you think of both the kit and the review for this NG Vayeate kit? Do you share the same thoughts with us or do you think that this kit or the review could’ve been better? I would love to hear more about your thoughts on both of them so do feel free to write about your thoughts on the comments section below.

Admittedly, I was struggling to write and finish this particular review. The reason being for that is that I was quite reluctant to finish it. 

Why? 

Because I was afraid of losing that nostalgic feeling I got from building it. 

But I know that all good things must come to an end, eventually and like it or not, I still have alot more kits that are still on the list which I should start working on.

Yes, I’m looking at you, MG GN-X.

Anyways, we will be back again with more new gunpla related posts this coming Monday! So do look forward to that!

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We hope by sharing our love and passion for gunplas here, it’ll inspire you to pick up the hobby or reignite your love for gunpla!

Anyways, we shall see all of you again next week, and we hope that you all have an awesome week and weekend ahead! Have an awesome Gunpla building time there as well and until next time!

Ciao!