That was a looong hiatus. Been trying to save money but ended up with a Figuarts Batman, and 2 titans return Transformers that just went on sale. And now Christmas is upon us so more money needs to be burned for gifts to important people. This Barzam however, I bought for me :) So here's a review of the HGUC Barzam. Just in time for the release of the P-Bandai Barzam Weiss eh
If you've read a few reviews here, I've referenced the Barzam quite a few times... praising it for excellent parts separation so we get to finally see it here. Does it live up to the hype? Read on then.
To say the Barzam is unusual is an understatement. Most Titans suit design were really out there. It has an odd head design. It's all chest and legs. The bicep armor has bell bottoms and the hands are huge. The overall design is unique and different. A Nissan Juke if you will.
What you see here is an unpainted, unstickered kit. So when I mentioned before that it has good parts separation, I meant it. The only missing details are the red interior of the thrusters. All the yellow trim is a plastic piece. The tiny blue crotch thruster is a separate piece. Even J.Ridden's RG Zaku didn't separate the large red piece on the backpack. Overall parts separation is very impressive.
What's not impressive are the nub marks. The ones on the hips and legs, along with the hand guards and backpack are atrocious. They're 1mm thick!!! Hence all the sand marks on this kit here. Cutting them cleanly is a huge undertaking. You might want to use your God Hands here.
Jumping on to details, it has a nice amount of sculpting in it.
The details on the backpack thrusters are a nice touch. Normally it'd be a plain cylinder but they moulded turbines in it.
The monoeye and the internals of the head also has nice detail. Too bad it doesn't move.
The design overall is a "YMMV" type of design as mentioned. If you like unusual UC suits, then you'd be very happy on this kit as the execution, the build, the parts separation and the detail are top notch. Especially if you can figure out how to hide the nubs.
Something this unorthodox is bound to have some quirky articulation points yes? Well it seems it has the same mind blowing torso gimmick that the Efreet Schneid had. But first..
... the head. The base of the neck is on a swivel while the head is connected to the neck via a ball joint. Range is pretty good, but does not have the same range as using the good old double ball polycap. Also the monoeye is static... sad.
Here's the kicker: the shoulders can pull out to give it more range! Granted the chest shape limits it a bit but it's a whole lot better given the design. I would love to have this standard on gundam types as well in the future.
You can see the limitation on the pic below on how far you can pull the shoulder forward.
The shoulder is mounted via a rather tight ball joint. The shoulder armor can move independently as well.
The upward movement is completely unhindered.
The forearm can bend inward to reveal beam sabre storage. While not useful (since the actual sabers that can hold beams don't fit), it does give the arms a bit more movement for cross arm poses.
All other arm joints are present but the elbow does not have a 180 degree range. What you get though is still pretty good.
While building this, I was prepared to be disappointed with the lack of a waist... until you build it and realise it's mostly all chest. They give you a ball joint and a swivel for the chest connection to compensate the non-moving hydraulics for the waist.
The range therefore, with all the joints, is excellent. Just be careful as the ball joint likes popping out of the chest socket when you vigorously pose it.
The legs as well have unique joints. Normally you'd get a ball joint for this style of legs, but instead, you get a unique universal joint tucked away inside the hips.
The base of the hip connection is on a t-joint that can swivel forwards and back a little.
It can do the splits.
Knees can go almost 180 degrees and the feet can point down.
The leg thruster pods can swivel up and down. Seriously, the amount of parts that go into the leg is astounding for a High Grade.
The ankles have average range despite having a 2 way hinged at the top of the ankle and a ball at the base of the feet.
It has all the articulation you'll ever need and then some. The only problem is getting it into a pose where it doesn't look awkward due to its proportions.
UC suits are not exactly known for flashy weapons. And for this suit, it doesn't get more basic that this: A beam rifle, 2 beam sabers and a vulcan pod. No shield for this suit. As for the kit, you also get a pair of holding things hands on top of the open palm. More hand options is a win in my book.
The vulcan pod has tiny tabs that slot into tiny slots on the side of the head ala MK.II.
The beam sabers, as mentioned does not fit into the space inside the forearms. The activated sabers have no slots in them as well, so store them in a secure place.
The rifle is unique in that it has an energy that pegs into the shoulder. You also get a piece that has no cable but I misplaced that...
The cable isn't made of soft plastic. It's molded after the same plastic as the joints, so while it can flex a little, it's not meant to bend and contour around the arm articulation so be careful when posing so as not to snap this piece.
And that's pretty much it. the actual suit didn't carry that much as well so I can't complain about the lack of accessories. The kit itself is enough of a showcase with the engineering and the parts separation. It's also cheap compared to the build fighter kits out there and this is way beefier.
And while the Grimgerde is a tall suit, you start wondering why it costs almost the same as the Barzam.
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| He finally stopped using Gimp... makes no difference whatsoever though |
If you've read a few reviews here, I've referenced the Barzam quite a few times... praising it for excellent parts separation so we get to finally see it here. Does it live up to the hype? Read on then.
Aesthetics
To say the Barzam is unusual is an understatement. Most Titans suit design were really out there. It has an odd head design. It's all chest and legs. The bicep armor has bell bottoms and the hands are huge. The overall design is unique and different. A Nissan Juke if you will.
 |
| All chest and legs is his ideal lady |
What you see here is an unpainted, unstickered kit. So when I mentioned before that it has good parts separation, I meant it. The only missing details are the red interior of the thrusters. All the yellow trim is a plastic piece. The tiny blue crotch thruster is a separate piece. Even J.Ridden's RG Zaku didn't separate the large red piece on the backpack. Overall parts separation is very impressive.
 |
| he talks as if people read these reviews |
 |
| Well it sure is thicker than his... |
The details on the backpack thrusters are a nice touch. Normally it'd be a plain cylinder but they moulded turbines in it.
The monoeye and the internals of the head also has nice detail. Too bad it doesn't move.
The design overall is a "YMMV" type of design as mentioned. If you like unusual UC suits, then you'd be very happy on this kit as the execution, the build, the parts separation and the detail are top notch. Especially if you can figure out how to hide the nubs.
Articulation
Something this unorthodox is bound to have some quirky articulation points yes? Well it seems it has the same mind blowing torso gimmick that the Efreet Schneid had. But first..
... the head. The base of the neck is on a swivel while the head is connected to the neck via a ball joint. Range is pretty good, but does not have the same range as using the good old double ball polycap. Also the monoeye is static... sad.
 |
| He's happy he doesn't have to modify the neck this time |
Here's the kicker: the shoulders can pull out to give it more range! Granted the chest shape limits it a bit but it's a whole lot better given the design. I would love to have this standard on gundam types as well in the future.
 |
| he's obsessed with the shoulders |
The shoulder is mounted via a rather tight ball joint. The shoulder armor can move independently as well.
The upward movement is completely unhindered.
The forearm can bend inward to reveal beam sabre storage. While not useful (since the actual sabers that can hold beams don't fit), it does give the arms a bit more movement for cross arm poses.
All other arm joints are present but the elbow does not have a 180 degree range. What you get though is still pretty good.
 |
| pretty good is the drinking game |
While building this, I was prepared to be disappointed with the lack of a waist... until you build it and realise it's mostly all chest. They give you a ball joint and a swivel for the chest connection to compensate the non-moving hydraulics for the waist.
The range therefore, with all the joints, is excellent. Just be careful as the ball joint likes popping out of the chest socket when you vigorously pose it.
 |
| He has no chill when playing with his toys |
 |
| daft punk |
 |
| careful moving it as this one has stress marks already |
It can do the splits.
Knees can go almost 180 degrees and the feet can point down.
The leg thruster pods can swivel up and down. Seriously, the amount of parts that go into the leg is astounding for a High Grade.
 |
| All the hyperbole courtesy of Chef Ramsay after he marathon-ed his cooking videos |
It has all the articulation you'll ever need and then some. The only problem is getting it into a pose where it doesn't look awkward due to its proportions.
 |
| He can so cool surfing poses though |
Weapons and Extras
UC suits are not exactly known for flashy weapons. And for this suit, it doesn't get more basic that this: A beam rifle, 2 beam sabers and a vulcan pod. No shield for this suit. As for the kit, you also get a pair of holding things hands on top of the open palm. More hand options is a win in my book.
The vulcan pod has tiny tabs that slot into tiny slots on the side of the head ala MK.II.
The beam sabers, as mentioned does not fit into the space inside the forearms. The activated sabers have no slots in them as well, so store them in a secure place.
The rifle is unique in that it has an energy that pegs into the shoulder. You also get a piece that has no cable but I misplaced that...
 |
| losing pieces even before reviewing it... nice |
The cable isn't made of soft plastic. It's molded after the same plastic as the joints, so while it can flex a little, it's not meant to bend and contour around the arm articulation so be careful when posing so as not to snap this piece.
And that's pretty much it. the actual suit didn't carry that much as well so I can't complain about the lack of accessories. The kit itself is enough of a showcase with the engineering and the parts separation. It's also cheap compared to the build fighter kits out there and this is way beefier.
Size Comparison
As mentioned, this suit design, and the kit itself is a chunky munky. It's a head taller than zeta-verse Hyaku-Shiki and a whole lot beefier.
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| not as delicate as the Hyaku Shiki |
Summary
The Barzam is an excellent kit wrapped in a polarizing design. While I actually like it, I bet most people don't. The parts separation is excellent, but offset with the horrible nubs. I would recommend it only if you like the design and are willing to put in the effort to clean up the horrible nub marks. If not, and if you're looking to get your mono-eye fix, you can go for the Efreet. It's a good year to be a UC fan with all these obscure designs that are finally getting kits.
Good:
- parts separation is excellent
- has nice mechanical detail
- articulation is excellent despite the clunky design
Bad:
- it looks awkward in more dynamic poses
- them horrible nub marks
- I wish it came with a bazooka? not really a valid complaint
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