Kotobukiya KP173R Hitekkai Ikaruga Nuribotoke 1/144 Scale Plastic Model Kit

A Beautiful Nightmare, Expert Modelers Only

Wow, what a mixed bag. The design and sculpt of this kit are incredible. The intricacy and detail are off the charts, and it certainly does justice to Yasushi Suzuki's design. But it's simply the most fragile, difficult kit I have ever built. Not "advanced" just in the sens of a lot of of tiny parts that are hard to place (though there certainly are plenty of those), but really delicate and easy to mess up. Some of this is understandable given the nature of the design, but there are also some seriously questionable design decisions here. The most eggregious is the fact that the two "sides" (the wings, thrusters, and engines) attach to the main unit by simply being glued down. They don't peg in or even snap in place, you're literally depending on cement to hold 75% of the weight of this kit (and attaches to some very stiff joints that are also liable to loosen it. It's the worst engineering decision I've ever seen, and it's not the only bad engineering in this kit. That joint you have to glue down is not the only one. This is not a snap-fit kit. It requires glue in many places, including some that really don't feel like they have adequate surface contact to hold that way. Color accuracy is non-existent. This special "Nuribotoke" edition contains extra redundant runners molded in gloss black, as well as a pre-painted red "sword" in the front, but it's really kind of pointless because you'll need to paint almost everything else to get anything that looks even remotely decent. They really might as well have just molded it all in one color for as much as they didn't really bother. Be good at masking and airbrushing. Also DO NOT paint the pegs or the holes in the joints. Gundam kits have enough give in their joints for a layer of paint, but these do not, they will seize up. Even if without paint they're a bit too tight. This Nuribotoke Edition also contains some metallic waterslide decals. These look awesome, but again a bit challenging compared to the usual small, square-ish decals on most kits. The gold foil also has a slightly raised texture so they never look completely flat, but the metallic effect is worth it. If you put the elbow grease in, this kit really looks amazing, but even then, it breaks if you look at it funny. I have actually bought this kit twice; my first kit had to be glued after some joints broke, and eventually fell to pieces irreparably after I tried to transport it. Got my revenge on a second kit, careful not to repeat my mistakes, and it looks fantastic, but the whole build was really stressful. TLDR; This kit is fragile, finnicky, requires ton of work to build, and even more to look good, but the detailed sculpt might make it all worthwhile. Keep it safely in a display case and never touch it if you want it to survive.