Bandai Hobby - Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - #07 Gundam Pharact, Bandai Spirits HG 1/144 Model Kit, 8 x 30 x 19 cm

All of the WfM Gundam kits have a pretty high standard of quality, and this kit is no exception. One of the main gimmicks in this line is using stickers under clear plastic parts. It looks especially good on this kit because of the slightly dark clear plastic and way the clear parts are shaped like a lens. Reminds me of the RG 00 Setsuna kits with a great effect. The large shoulder binders also remind me of the 00 Gundam’s shoulder binders. Is this the evil 00 Gundam? LOL.Anyway, the build is also very solid like other kits as part of this line since there are no Polycaps. The overall aesthetic is dark and menacing. I particularly like the design of the torso. I also like the design of the head. If you want the lens on the head to look like the image on the box, do not use the sticker. The red part will show through naturally. The feet on this kit are huge and remind me of the Lupus Rex’s feet. The feet have some other cool features like folding up into a claw and the beam saber part can be attached into the sole. I have heard complaints from reviewers that the parts of the feet attached on clips can become too weak to let the kit stand on its own after time. I personally have not had this issue yet, but I do believe it as my Entry Grade RX Gundam has become completely floppy over time. The clips to attach the shoulder binders on are weak though. I do not feel like this is a good design. It uses clips, but I don’t understand why it couldn’t use a couple of joined pegs or a ball joint. If you pick up this kit and shake it around, it will stay still like a statue but the shoulder binders will flop around. Despite that downside, there are a lot of great points of articulation and gimmicks packed into those shoulder units.In terms of accessories and bonuses, you really just get the cool giant sniper rifle. It’s simple but it looks great in the hand of the Gundam. You also get a couple beam sabers. The forearms can split open and the beam saber handles can be stored away in there. Cool feature. You also get GUND-Bits that store away in the shoulder units, but you will need a sold-separately stand set to display them in flight. Finally, you get a bonus open left hand. There aren’t many opportunities for panel lining so even if you’re new to Gunpla it will look good straight-built.All in all this is another good release. If you like dark Gundams and snipers, this will appeal to you especially. Even if you’re new to Gunpla building, you can build this as your first kit - it’s not too complex. The only difficult part might be applying the stickers if you’ve never done something like that before. My only big complaint is in the design of the arms attaching the shoulder units, besides that the kit was fun to build and looks great even just standing there.

I regrettably have not had a chance to watch most of The Witch from Mercury yet, but I've been very interested in the model kits that have come out of it. The Pharact was fun and simple to build, though I will warn that the dark plastic will not be very forgiving when it comes to showing nub marks. If you have the time to sand them off, I absolutely recommend doing so.Otherwise, this is a pretty straightforward kit with a small sticker sheet, which is really what I want out of a high grade. The stickers that are included are mainly for the reflective sections on the chest and legs, though an optional sticker is included if you'd prefer to have the clear section on the head be gray rather than red (why would you prefer gray?). The light gray sections are probably fine to panel line, though with most of this kit being in the dark grayish-blue color, you don't have many sections that benefit from being lined.The arms don't have the most impressive elbow bend that I've seen, but it's not really a big deal with this kit. The legs are a bit easier to articulate than the Aerial, for example, but the feet are *weird*. They're stable, but they're just soooooo long. I do enjoy that you can fold the feet into a point for more of a flying/space configuration, though. It reminds me ever so slightly of the Woundwort when they're folded like that.The only reason this gets bumped down to 4 stars in the "for beginners" category is because the flight pack is surprisingly complex compared to the rest of the build, and I had one piece that was strangely loose that required superglue. I confirmed there were no issues with how I cut it, and its twin fit snugly, so it seems like it was just a fluke.

The Peil mobile suit designs in Witch from Mercury were great and you could feel the Armored Core aesthetic from the designer. It's too bad the show did the Pharact dirty and barely gave it any screentime. Overall the build was fun and frustration-free. Looks great. Only really comes with the rifle and the beam saber effect parts. It technically does have the gundbits, but without any effect parts you can't really do anything with those but store them in the binders.

Built it with my GF, it's a pretty decent kit and easy for beginners but feels very special to me cause I spent time with my GF while building it

Just what I was expecting. Love the design and slight "Armored Core" look of it.

This is probably my favorite build I've done. It's better than Aerial by a longshot

The Gundam Pharact is such a weird design. All gangly limbs going everywhere. It looks downright alien. I love it.This plastic model kit is, like most gunpla, push-fit. This means that you shouldn't need to use any glue to assemble it. Just a decent pair of nippers is all you really need. Although a little extra effort like some panel-lining goes a long way.Like everything I've built in the Witch from Mercury line - this is a fantastic model kit. Very fun build. Fantastic articulation and poseability. Looks great right out of the box.

Not sure why this is different from every other gundam kit I’ve ever done, but the plastic parts shoot 20 feet when you clip them out. I’ve done over 50 models and never had a single one do this to me. Please buy Gunpla models, just not this one until they tune the molding to not behave this way. Sucks to throw away a kit because you lost some small part to the ethos.