Review: HGUC Acguy

The amphibious mobile suits from the original Mobile Suit Gundam series tend to be very hit-and-miss with modern audiences. Their round shapes, retro-looking limbs and melee claw weapons tend to alienate some and while appealing to others. Though I can’t honestly say that I’ve asked for a Gogg or Zock from my parents when I was little, I have warmed up to these rather oddball designs since.

Don’t underestimate the Acguy just because it looks funny – it can really mess you up.

The Acguy, along with Char’s Z’gok, are by far the most iconic of the amphibious mobile suit designs. Today, the Acguy holds a meme status amongst Gundam fans as the “moe” mech. This is due to its stubby limbs, its large hamburger-like head, and its signature fetal rest position. Dubbed as “love” by fans, the HGUC model has a good amount of expectations behind it. Does it live up to these expectations? For the most part, yes.

First Impressions

To judge the proportions of the Acguy is a tricky task, since the original lineart, like most others from the original series, were draw in a distinctive style that does not serve as a good reference for models. However, going by my impressions of the Acguy from anime depictions and by my objective judgment of the model, I would say the HGUC Acguy looks quite good. Everything is moulded in the right colours (save for the mono-eye, for which a pink sticker is included), even the small vulcan guns on the top of its head. Despite its “cute and cuddly” aesthetics, the Acguy is deceptively large, being both wider and taller than the Gundam. Overall, if you have no problem with the Acguy’s design, you won’t find any problems from this model from afar.

Closer Look

Being a HGUC model of a simple design, the Acguy does not exactly come off as intricate. This really isn’t much of a problem, as the simplicity of its aesthetics is arguably its greatest charm.

The mono-eye can move along the vertical and horizontal tracks manually by removing the two brown pieces on the exterior of the head, removing the two pieces which make up the four vulcans, and removing the clear visor that extends across the entirety of the interior. This is certainly a great feature to have in a HGUC kit, as must other mono-eye suits such as Zakus, Geloogs and Z’Goks rely on stickers or stationary pieces. The ability to shift the Acguy’s eyes back and forth makes a considerable difference since the suit has a dramatically different feel when the mono-eye is not in its central position.

The other noteworthy feature of the suit lies on the bottom of its feet, where the propellers and mechanics are all molded with considerable detail. Though chances are you don’t have many opportunities to display these details, they are still definitely nice to have.

Accessories

He loves you thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much.

For a mobile suit without hands, The Acguy boasts an impressive array of accessories. Two pairs of arm attachments are included to reproduce the Acguy’s extendable arm feature. These links can be packed firmly together or stretched out with a slight gap in-between. Though the individual links do not contain polycaps, they nevertheless possess joint strength bordering on excessive.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

When swapping parts, oftentimes the plastic ball joint refuses to let go, resulting in the separation between the gray and the brown components of the arm link. The subsequent removal of the gray part is pretty frustrating. Personally, I sometimes resort to my teeth in order to pull the damn thing off. Better than loose joints, to be certain, but not exactly perfect either.

Two additional variations on the right claw are also included. In addition to the retracted claw from, you will also find the extended claw form and the missile pod form, which looks the same as the left “claw” except for the addition of the cannon in the center of the missiles. The extended claws are articulate, but will become a little loose after some play. If you want to play with it, be prepared to do some touch-up of your own afterward.

Finally, the kit also includes a plate to fit onto the base of the arm. This is to replicate the makeshift Acguy that made its appearance in the 08^th MS Team OVA. The piece is a snug fit and a thoughtful inclusion on the part of Bandai.

Articulation

Now based on your exceptions, you might bump into some hitches here. The arms bend as you would expect from an Acguy – that is, not very far. Even with the extra arm links attached, each joint adds only precious few angles of movement. This is not so much a complaint as a warning – do not expect the elbow movements of more humanoid models.

This, unfortunately, is about as close as you can get to the standby pose.

The greatest disappointment to me in terms of articulation comes from the legs. However, I am not referring to the knees, which are double-jointed and offer a very wide angle of movement. Nor am I referring to the ankles, which are surprisingly accommodating. I refer to the hips, which unlike the MG and HCM-Pro versions, the HGUC Acguy’s hips do not pop out. This may seem trivial on first consideration, but the lack of this hip feature makes it impossible for the model to reproduce the signature standby pose, otherwise known as the “ronrey pose”. If you don’t care much for this pose, the hips won’t cause you much trouble. If you do, take note.

Aside from the limbs, there isn’t much to talk about. The neck is a fat slanted disk that allows the head to be tiled up and down, while the joint connecting the head and neck allows for swivelling to the side. Finally, the backpack thrusters move up and down. Spiffy~

Final Say

Retailing at 1400 yen, the HGUC is a decent deal. While not very complex, the model is almost exactly what you would expect. While the hip problem is an issue, the movable mono-eye compensates for it. If you want to take a break from the usual Zaku and Gundam derivations, the HGUC Acguy will definitely keep you entertained for a quick afternoon project and take a distinctive spot in your collection. Thus concludes my first review. Comments, corrections, and tips are always appreciated. Here’s hoping I will have another review ready for next week.

Pros:

• Molded in the correct colours
• Articulate mono-eye
• Surprisingly numerous accessories
• Oddball retro design

Cons:

• Lack of the hip gimmick (trademark standby pose cannot be reproduced)
• Arm links often fall apart during part-swapping
• Oddball retro design