One thing I seem to like more than most other people I know are mobile armors. I definitely wouldn't love Gundam as much if everything were these things, but as another type of weapon in a show where most weapons were MS, I loved them. Sadly though, they never seemed to get a lot of kits due to their lack in popularity, especially in 1/144 scale, so when IBO had revealed they were bringing back their own Mobile Armor, I was heavily intrigued. When Hashmal was revealed, it's abilities were shown, the lore behind Mobile Armors in IBO, and that final battle was witnessed, I fell in love. So once the HG hit the shelves, I knew I wanted it, and had to get my hands on one, but decided to save the purchase for a later time.
Eventually, HLJ hosted their Playing with Plamo 2017, and I decided to enter, and over time, I decided that the Hashmal would be my choice of entering. I didn't win, but I still got a cool Hashmal on my shelf, and i'm happy with that alone.
Box:
The boxart is awesome, a very flat but very wide box contains this mobile armor, and the boxart depicts the Hashmal facing off with the Barbatos Lupus, with a swarm Plumas behind it. With the explosions and cloudy sky, this is definitely a cool looking box.
Parts:
For parts, you get 2 white runners, a mostly white runners with a bit of clear pink...
...a dark grey runner, a light brown runner, and a pinkish orange runner. You'll notice this kit doesn't have a lot of plastic in it, so that might be disappointing to people.
You also get one purple runner for the included Pluma.
As well as super strong wire and a giant stand.
Not only is plastic content seemingly lacking, but despite this, there is a huge sticker sheet with wraparounds and stuff, not super great.
Manual:
Like a few modern kits, you get a piece of paper in a few languages that teaches newcomers how to build Gunpla.
The manual itself is your average IBO manual, you get information about the Mobile Armor Hashmal, and due to having no pilot, you get information on the Pluma instead. You get your standard instructions, parts count...
...kit info and color guide.
Completed Product:
Finished and all, and the Hashmal looks pretty good. It's definitely big and screams for presence, this kit will not go unnoticed on any 1/144 Gunpla shelf. The kit itself does have seamlines that aren't great, however some bits are used to remedy it. Parts separation is alright, but as expected from an IBO kit, could also be done better. Stickers as expected are not very pleasant, lots of them could've been parts, however there are a few exceptions that I find okay. Still, this kit also has some of the worst stickers i've ever had the displeasure of dealing with in Gunpla, which I will get to later. You have to display this thing on it's stand though, it's got a specific adaptor for this specific stand, and it will not fit with any other asides from the same stand type. The kit also does include a stand to display the wire in more trying poses, however the wire itself is very stiff and holds up alone very nicely. Instead, it's actually the connection of the wire and head that gets loose over time, and is what ultimately makes this kit resort to using the wire stand.
Articulation:
Articulation is going to be difficult to describe considering what this thing is, so i'll do my best. First off, the head can look down and around on a ball joint as well as a minor hinge.
The neck and ball joint can also tilt sideways.
The back of the head can also move up, which is also where the wire blade attaches.
Outer wings can move up on a hinge.
The legs have a swivel on the top, and can move up and bend outwards.
You can also kick back the legs quite far, and bend them inwards as well.
The claws are on a hinge at the end and a small ball joint that connects to the actual feet. Now remember how I said this kit has some of the worst sticker use i've ever hand to deal with, this is it. The individual claws on this kit were geniusly decided to be given stickers, which means they have to be horrible looking wraparounds. This on it's own is not awful however, what is awful is the fact that the way the claws are assembled. You're meant to slot the red piece containing the claws as well through the white piece with the stickers on, but that pushes back on the sticker and could possibly flatten them, meaning you have to begrudgingly pull the parts back out, and somehow put it in place again. Not only this, but it possibly damages the sticker and even assembling it correctly could lead to scratching the sticker. This is awful designing on Bandai's part, as the claws could've easily just been extra brown parts. I don't usually say should have to paint a kit for accuracy like this, but this time I'm making an exception. Paint the claws, do not use those fucking stickers, they are awful and impossible to do perfectly.
Moving past that rant, the leg can kick out quite far to the side on a hinge.
Pluma:
Included with the Hashmal is one of it's many support drones. It's definitely not completely color accurate as asides from a few stickers, is entirely purple, paint is required for accuracy. It can kinda stand on it's own, or more accurately crawl, but you can use the kit's tail stand with it. However if you do choose to use the stand, you won't be able to use the stand to support the tail, so you have to either find a pose for the tail on it's own, or have this guy on the ground.
If you want more, you have to buy the P-Bandai Pluma set which comes with 6, but before you complain that it should've been an option set, at least we get one OOB.
Pluma Articulation:
Despite being a simple drone thing, it does have a bit of poseability. The tail can move down, which is also where the stand connects, so the Pluma will look down as well.
The Pluma also can rock a bit in all directions on his stand. The arms also are on a ball joint on a the shoulders, stretch outwards at the elbow, and a little bit inwards. You'll also notice that the entirety of the inner arm is hollow, so you'll either have to putty it up, or deal with it.
Accessories:
The accessories are completely what you expect, not a lot asides from a few tidbits for the MA.
First off is the stand, comes in two parts, with multiple ridges on the side that lock in.
Basically you can disassemble and put back together the stand in different positions to have it at different heights.
The way the stand attaches to the tail is simple, remove the tail blade, thread the stand through it, and reattach.
You also get the new long sword, which the Hashmal itself cannot use. This is an accessory meant for the HG Barbatos Lupus, and was included in this kit, which is strange because it was never used in the show, not even for the Hashmal fight. Still, a neat inclusion just in case you didn't care about the sword mace.
You also get two kinetic energy shots, this time the Hashmal can use them.
The shots just plug into the hole in the middle of the claws.
Finally you get this massive beam effect part to replicate the devastating Hashmal beam in the show that's also useless in a way.
To use it, you need to open the head, which requires partsforming sadly. First you take off the top of the head.
After that, take off the bottom.
Then, flip a piece in the middle to a different resting position that will give a wider gap.
Then you take the "cheeks" of the head, and put them on a higher notch.
...like so. I must say the connection on the higher notch is as as secure as the one on the lower one, so that is slightly annoying..
After that just reattach the head pieces.
Now hooray, he has an open mouth.
You now can plug the beam for one hfll of an awesome display pose, at least IMO.
Gimmicks:
You actually can reveal the Hashmal's energy supply system in the shoulders. These are used to not only power the Hashmal, but power the Plumas using microwaves.
You simply display them by pulling the red panel out, which is a little hard, and reattaching it in a different place. The entire section is meant to be grey, but OOB they come white like the wing and completely unpainted. Since this was my entry for the HLJ contest, I took some artistic liberties, and painted the inside silver, and the power supply itself gold.
I'm happy for what it is, and it looks pretty neat.
Transformation:
Hashmal actually has a proper long distance flight mode. This is barely an actual transformation but it exists so i'm including it anyways. First, posititon the claws exactly like this, with the two top claws back and the bottom claw swung forward, similar to an underbite.
You then have to collapse the leg as shown on the Hashmal's right leg, the left leg is how it looks like when not collapsed.
Then you use the swivel to put the legs to the side...
...before tucking them into the wings.
Now you have the flight mode, which looks cool. I don't think it's worthy of being a mode on it's own, but it's still neat.
Size Comparison:
The Hashmal is quite large in the image, especially when compared to a standard MS. Heck the Pluma alone is actually the size of the RX-78-2 length wise, but it somehow feels bigger in person. Definitely a lot of presence and a huge thing for any display.
Verdict:
I'm going to say right now, out of the 3 1/144 Mobile Armor HG's, Hashmal is probably the worst one in terms of presentation. It has the least gimmicks, the least plastic value, easily the worst sticker use, and the least presence due to other MA's just being bigger. However, this is also the most affordable Mobile Armor kit, and don't be fooled, while the Hashmal isn't very big compared to the other 1/144 Mobile Armors, it's very big on it's own as it's competition is against beasts. The Hashmal is a decent kit for what it is, but at the same time I do think it could've been improved with more gimmicks, more parts separation, and maybe more stability. The Hashmal is really just a big, simple display pice that looks cool, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Sticker use definitely could've been better, and while some are alright, the majority, especially including the claws should really have been parts. The Pluma is a nice inclusion to display with it, even though it needs puttywork and paint for a better display. Overall, this is just a cheaper mobile armor kit that screams with it's presence. It's a big beast of a kit that will tower over standard 1/144 kits and screams presence with it's unique concept. Definitely pick one up if you're a fan of what you see, because while it does have issues, i'd still say it's a satisfactory kit for what it is.
Pros:
- Very big, this thing demands presence on the shelf and looks even bigger in person. (!)
- Comes with a free Pluma.
- Unique build and overall concept for being a 1/144 Mobile Armor model kit.
Cons:
- Awful sticker usage, especially those bloody claws which were just a really bad design decision on Bandai's part, unironically some of the worst stickers i've had to deal with. (!)
- Parts separation could've been a lot better on both the Hashman and Pluma, the Pluma itself is entirely one color asides from the stickers.
Neutral:
- Very simple build, not a lot of special engineering, it's just a big mostly-hollow HG.
- For 3800 yen, the plastic content is not a lot, but the product itself is still enormous.
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