HGBC Portent Flyer Review

I've actually debated getting this kit for quite a while. The HG Gundam Portent was my second kit and I always thought of getting it's support drone. So due to being poor at the time, the kit being cheap and my modelling fingers itching to hold nippers again...I bought it. ^3^

Box:

The box itself is the standard HGBC box size, that being the smaller size box like option sets. It's got a nice picture of the Portent Flyer and it's alternate extensions.

Parts:

The entire kit comes in 3 runners, and they're all white, this isn't because Bandai has gone back to the times of painting, the actual thing is only one color for real. Due to this, any form of detail, even panel lining would really help this kit.

Completed Product:

The completed product is a nice kit for what it is. The Portent Flyer itself is surprisingly large, with it's wingspan being that of a regular 1/144 kit already. Although, you can see that this kit looks really bland without any panel ling, you'll definitely want a GM01 with this kit. It comes with quite a lot of accessories, including 4 pairs extra wing settings, a pair of joints to make the wings more articulate on kits (for extra customisability), and an adaptor to plug the Flyer as a backpack on other kits.

In this picture, the Flyer is in it's Default Mode. This is the only mode where the kit shares parts with the actual Gundam Portent. I assume this mode is to store extra Karels to repair the Portent and it's allies in combat.

Accessories:

Using the accessories, you can change the Flyer into it's different modes. Here's the kit with it's Blade Wings. It's also cool. I assume this mode is the offensive mode where the Flyer flies into enemies and slices with it's wings.

Here's the kit with it's Bird wings. I like this one the most, it just looks beautiful. But I can't find any strategical advantage of this mode. .-.

Maybe it goes faster?

Gimmicks:

Due to being part of the HGBC line, the main feature in the Portent Flyer is that it's got a ton of potential for customisability. You can attach it's parts on other 3mm pegs and use adaptors to attach it to the backpacks of other kits. Additionally, since the Portent Flyer is an extension of the Gundam Portent, the wings are compatible...to a point. Sometimes they won't work at certain angles, mainly the Bird Wings due to the design curving inwards. Here I used the Wing Joints to extend and articulate the Wings to put them on the Gundam Portent's back. The smaller pair plugged in with no issues.

Now it's using the Blade Wings, this is probably the most logical usage as the wings can be used as actual weapons. They plug in with no issue as well.

Lastly, the adaptor can be used to plug the Flyer on other kits as a backpack to let them fly! The Portent can already fly, but this is cool as well. The adaptor works with the kits with a single peghole on the back or two.

If you are perceptive, you'll notice that I had to remove the Karel container of the Gundam Portent to fit the Flyer on. Not a loss at all since the Flyer comes with it's own Karel container.

Verdict:

It's a neat little support unit that doesn't disappoint me in any way. It is really cheap and even though you do not get much, you get what you pay for: a support plane that comes with extra wings for customs. Wings are also compatible with the HGBF Gundam Portent and finally it can be displayed as a backpack using an adaptor. In the end, what you see is what you get, you get what you pay for, and nothing else. But I do recommend this if you have the HG Gundam Portent, even if it's just to get more stuff.

Pros:

- Wings are compatible with the HG Gundam Portent. (!)

- Comes with multiple pairs of wings for possible customs.

- Comes with an adaptor to display on other HG kits for more customs.

- Cheap kit, even if it's just a support craft.

Cons:

- Looks extremely bland OOB, any form of modification or detailing would help.