Gunpla Review: 1/144 HG 00 Brave Commander Test Type

With the recent release of the RG 00 Qan-T and the announcement of the new Build Fighters variation of it, Let's dive back into the 00 movie suits for some of the more interesting designs. Also the kit was on sale in bulk for some reason here locally, so let's take a look at Graham Aker's suit, the Brave Commander Test type.

He's too broke to buy the RG Qan-T, so he's delving into his pile of shame

I love the Flag design. It's very refreshing coming off from the rehash suits from Seed Destiny at the time. It's slim and lither, and makes a lot of sense given it's suppose to be an flight capable suit (less mass, less air resistance = easier to fly). Then came the Masurao/Susanowo, which is the a samurai themed flag. Mixing both the Flag and Masurao and you get the Brave.

Aesthetics

The suit design itself has gone from the practical (Flag) to downright impractical. The skirt bits, the feet design, the binders/GN Drives hanging just to the side all makes for a very unusual design.

It retains the thin, anorexic aesthetic of the Flag family, with subtle curves to make it look sleek. I just wish the binders were better integrated instead of just hanging off to the side to make it look even sleeker.

body goals?

Colors are on the colder part of the palette, with swathes of blue and black, with some white for the trim. Stickers are used for the tiny rectangles on the skirt and the orange sensors/black strip on the leg.

Despite looking like a thin, floppy mess, it's surprisingly tight and solid. Hefty even, mainly due to the lack of polycaps.

tighter than his arm flab

Details are pretty good, with excellent part separation. The clear orange faceplate even has that scar molded into it. If there's one sticker I wished they provided, it's for the eyes. I painted mine, but comes completely clear orange.

Overall, the aesthetics are a love-it/hate-it affair. Fans of the slim, sleek aesthetics will like it. Those that prefer the bulkier designs will probably won't like it. It's overall modernist, minimalist approach is a win in my book.

Articulation

For something so lithe, you'd expect it to be super posable right? Nope because it's made up of deeply socketed ball-joints.


Head is on a simple balljoint. Minimal obstructions gives it good range. The shoulders are connected via ball-joint with limited range. The torso is also on that same ball joint. Not sure if there is a way around the design though... look at the shoulders.

The lower body is also a bit limited, since the hips are connected by the same ball joints. White theoretical range is there, the side skirts clashes with the front skirt... so it's best to swivel them to the side. The front skirt can be pulled up a little to reveal a small ball joint.

 The backpack binders are poseable but clashes a bit with with the tiny fins on the upper section of the backpack. They do move a bit though, the tiny fins.

Legs are pretty decent, with a double jointed knee.

The feet, or hoof, is wide enough to support the suit standing. It's connected via a plastic-on-plastic balljoint to make it solid, but again range is not really impressive.

It's below averange overall. I can understand some of the design, as the 00 movie suits are horrifyingly impractical as they are made to be space only suits. It can stand to a certain extent for sure, but don't expect it to be dynamic.

Weapons and Extras

The suit comes with pretty much standard weapons. A beam rifle, a toothpick beam sabre, and some weird booster extension. The toothpick beam sabre was still thing back then... with a general shortage for clear beam sabers spread across the line.

The booster plugs into the back... and looks weird since it does not look substantial enough to look like an actual booster.

The weapon also has 2 modes, the closed mode which is useless, and the open mode, where it can actually fire beams. There are 2 handles for some reason, and you can collapse them by plugging into different positions.

He painted the grey bits FYI. White parts are stickers

It also comes with a clip so you can mount it on a stand, and an actual stand, which I cannot find.

He's left handed btw

It's pretty OK, but would have loved a clear orange beam sabre.

One of the main reason why articulation is a bit limited is because it can transform. It transforms onto a sleek-ish jet thing with reverse wings. It's a bit fiddly lining up the tabs on the feet to the wings. I could not even manage to do it so it's left hanging here in he pics.

Overall, it's pretty decent. The rifle is annoying since the blue bits are a bit loose and the toothpick sabre. It's a C+.

Size Comparison

It's a super-tall suit, given how lanky the design is.

great! show how tall it is by comparing it to a stumpy suit

Compared to the 00, you'll see how tall the suit is compared to the rest of the 00 gundams.

And a massive design difference between UC stuff and the modernist aesthetics of the 00.

Summary

It's a pretty old kit (6 years old). It's as old as my work experience (>.<) so It's a bit expected to lack a bit in terms of features. But given how the line gave us the excellently articulated 00 raiser, it's a bit disappointing how lacking the articulation is. Dashing poses is the best I can do. The design is sleek, but the binders could have been designed integrated. But if you love the character and the design (which I do), then you're stuck with this kit. There is a Robot Damashii though, which is better articulated and features more gimmicks (and a clear beam sabre) at a higher price. I mildly recommend it for the design, but skippable if you're after modern HG articulation and features.

Good:
- It's a Flag design (:D)
- good parts separation
- comes with a stand
- surprisingly solid and hefty

Bad:
- articulation... rather lack there of
- toothpick sabre
- fiddly rifle connection.