MSiA MSN-00100 Hyaku Shiki with Mega Bazooka Launcher

Height: 11cm to top of head, 12.5cm to top of binders.

Articulation: 18 total points of articulation: ball-jointed neck; 5 points in each arm- hinged shoulder armor, ball-jointed shoulder, pre-elbow swivel, hinged elbow, swivel wrist; swivel waist; ball-jointed Binders on backpack; 3 points in each leg- ball jointed hip, hinged knee, ball-jointed ankle.

Accessories: Beam Rifle, Beam Sabers x2, Mega Bazooka Launcher, Extra Hands x3.

Colors: Molded red, black, dark blue, blue, gray, and transparent yellow plastic. Painted gold, silver, black, green, yellow, red, and black ink(panel lines).

Release Data: Released in Japan on August 4th, 2004 at a price of ¥1500. This item is no longer in production as of this review (August 17th, 2005).

Gallery: 11 images.

Author: RAC

The Figure

Once upon a time, Zeta Gundam was going to air on Cartoon Network, as part of Toonami and Adult Swim. Like the other major series that aired here- Gundam Wing, the original Gundam, and G Gundam- there was going to be a line of action figures to support the show. Of course, none of this ever happened, and the majority of the new material shown for the US line- the 7.5-inch figures and the Gundam Mk.II's Flying Armor- vanished, never to be seen again.

However, in late 2004 Bandai Japan re-released the Hyaku Shiki figure with a new accessory: the Mega Bazooka Launcher that had been announced to accompany the US Deluxe figure. Now, Hyaku Shiki is a relatively early MSiA, one of the few early figures that has not been graced with a Second Version or an Extended remake. It's also one of the ones that needs it most.

The Head

The head looks fairly good, though there is a fairly obvious seamline just above the eyes- not the first MSiA I've seen that on. The antenna on the right side of the head is nice and straight, and not overly thick. The head has some tilt and 360 degrees of swivel, though the high collar means some tilting (and possibly force) are required to get the full swivel out of it. It's also tough to get a grip on without fear of bending the antenna.

The Arms

The arms are fairly basic, but decent. Unlike most later MSiAs, the shoulder armor attaches to a couple of small pegs on the shoulder- it works fairly well, but I wouldn't pull it off too often. The shoulder gets slightly less range than most most modern figures, but the shape and design of the shoulder armor is the culprit there. The pre-elbow swivel works fine, and the single-hinge elbow gets a solid 90 degree range, which is about all they ever got. The hands are the biggest culprit- they're the ancient peg hands, the first and worst of all MSiA hand types. The hands tend to pull out of the wrist a bit too easily, which can prove a problem when trying to use the Mega Bazooka Launcher.

The Torso

The majority of Shiki's upper torso is a blue so dark it looks black in most lights. It has what I'd want to call an hourglass figure on a human being- I'm tempted to call it a theme of Mamoru Nagano's designs, seeing how many of his MS seem to narrow at the waist so drastically. The upshot, besides looking fairly streamlined and elegant in most cases, is that Hyaku Shiki's waist turns 360 degrees with no problems at all. A pair of red cables run from the torso to the backpack, and in this case it seems like the cables might be helping the backpack to stay on, as the pegs don't fit into the back very securely. The main thrusters aren't adjustible, but I doubt they were meant to be- makes me wish they were better aligned, though. A pair of ball-joints lead to the Hyaku Shiki's binders, which adjust pretty freely and can get out of arms' way when needed. The binders themselves are soft plastic, but have stayed straight so far.

The skirt is practically immobile- it's made of very rigid plastic. However, the shape still allows for a fair range of leg movement. On the rear skirt you have two Beam Saber grips molded into their mounting rack. The Sabers are removeable, but of course you take part of the rack with them and I'd rather see Shiki with an incongruous number of Sabers than a random socket showing on its back.

The Legs and Feet

Hyaku Shiki's hips have about the same range as any modern MSiA, and the knees have just about as much range as any single-joint knee can, 90 degrees. The lower legs are where we start to encounter some problems. The Movable Frame concept was probably never better shown than in Hyaku Shiki's legs, where hollow armor shows the inner workings of the leg. Unfortunately, this is a bit beyond the MSiA technology of the time. The outer gold parts are thin and prone to warping, and the internal parts seem uncomfortably loose. The looseness gives the fairly well-articulated ankles a bit of a boost, but it just feels poorly made.

Paint and Decoration

Decoration is one of the Shiki's other weak spots- silver highlights have been added to the gold finish, which I thought at first were uneven paint. However, every instance of this Hyaku Shiki release that I've found pictures of has these silver patches to some degree, and all in the same locations. Also, since the base plastic is red and not silver, this has to be a deliberate- and not very good- design decision. In addition, the few panel lines that have been inked were inked very sloppily and thickly- again, the left leg is the major culprit here. The figure could've looked far better.

Articulation gets 7/10

Sculpt and Deco get 5/10

Accessories

-Beam Rifle

A slim rifle that fits in the hand easily and securely. It's a simple design, smaller and slimmer than most MSiA weapons you see.

-Beam Sabers

Another spot where the Shiki shows its age pretty badly. The blades aren't detachable, hence the fixed grips on the rear skirt, and they're small, thin, soft plastic. They warp very, very easily and they're hard to get back in the proper shape. The grips fit in the appropriate hands pretty well, at least.

-Mega Bazooka Launcher

Now we're getting to the good part- the reason for this rerelase, and the accessory that would've made the US Hyaku Shiki worth your $10. The MBL is a cannon so large that it has its own thrusters. It's longer than Shiki is tall in transport mode. Shiki can grab the bottom bar, which is how it rode the transport mode in the series. To convert to firing mode, the barrel extends in two places, the thruster pod splits in half and swings down to reveal handgrips, and the handrail becomes a stirrup. Once opened up, it's as tall as Hyaku Shiki and about six inches long. It's a very impressive piece, and more impressively, stands on its own.

The trick is getting Hyaku Shiki attached to it correctly. There are a pair of braces that are supposed to touch the torso, or at least come close, and it's difficult for my Shiki to keep its hands connected to both wrists and handgrips successfully, all while keeping a foot on the stirrup. It's a fun and impressive accessory and looks great, but it shows up the flaws in its companion figure pretty sharply, making for a fidgety whole.

-Extra Hands

Five in all- fists, two open hands for Beam Sabers, and a right hand for the Beam Rifle. The Rifle hand is probably the best for the MBL's handrail, though it tends to slip off the firing mode handgrip too easily. And on mine, at least, they all pop out of the wrist socket too easily. This is probably the worst part of the figure, and where it shows its age the most.

Accessories get 6/10

Closing Remarks:

Hyaku Shiki is, as MSiA go, old. I hate to stress this, because there are still some fine early MSiA, but the various flaws it presents me with leave me no other choice. There are things about early MSiA that have changed drastically since the inception of the line and Hyaku Shiki will easily show you why. As a disclaimer, I'll say that ExVee has said that his Shiki's wrists are just fine, and that would be a large improvement for me. Also, I really like the Mega Bazooka Launcher, and eagerly await an EMiA Hyaku Shiki to use it with.

I paid $18 for my Shiki, and I think I'd have been a good bit happier paying the $10 the US version likely would've cost. But as it is, I'm still pretty pleased with the MBL, and this is the only way to get it.

Alone, Hyaku Shiki Could Have Been Better, but the MBL is Good. I don't really know what single rating I'd give them as a set. Put it this way: if you're interested in the Mega Bazooka Launcher, this is probably a set worth getting, but if you're more interested in Hyaku Shiki, you'd do better to wait and hope that something better comes along.

-RAC, Zeta Project