It shouldn’t surprise me that given the popularity of The
Witch from Mercury that its Gunpla are some of the most easy to find and
readily available of the entire Gunpla catalogue. It’s funny because back in early 2023, I remember
being determined to find the Aerial at Katsucon and it was gone from every
vendor in less than a day. I guess
Bandai got the message cause it was pretty easy to spot G Witch models on the
shelf and I nabbed two for my birthday last year. The one I’m focusing on today is the Aerial’s
retrofitted form, the Aerial Rebuild. Does it surpass it’s predecessor’s Gunpla
build that we looked at last year?
The Gundam Aerial Rebuild was the result of a much needed
overhaul following the original Aerial’s battle with Shaddiqu Zenelli and his
Grassley House Mobile Suit team.
When Planet
Quetta was attacked by a terrorist group from Earth, Suletta Mercury, who had arrived
to retrieve the Gundam, deployed in the Aeriel Rebuild and successfully
repulsed the attack.
The newly updated
Aerial was equipped with improved thrusters for space combat as well as
additional firepower in the form of a Mega Particle Cannon and deadlier Funnels
that could still be controlled by Suletta’s mental abilities.
Suletta would bring the Gundam back to Asticassia, where
she would continue to win duels with other houses thanks to the Aeriel’s overwhelming
power.
However, she loses a duel due to
sabotage from Miorinne Rembran and her mother, Prosepera Mercury, resulting in
the Aerial being taken from her.
With
the Gundam now in her hands, Prospera uses it to begin enacting her revenge
against the people who destroyed her family a decade prior, with the Aeriel’s
full potential allowing it to be piloted by the spirit of Prospera’s true
daughter, Erict Samaya.
The Aeriel
Rebuild becomes a weapon of mass destruction with it now being able to disrupt
the combat systems of several assault fleets, leaving them vulnerable to
attack.
The Gundam Aeriel Rebuild would meet its end following a
duel with Suletta, now piloting the Gundam Calabarn.
Determined to protect her sister and her
mother from the power of the Interplanetary Laser Transmission System, Erict
places the Aerial Rebuild and its defensive systems right in the path of the
blast, taking it on directly.
Suletta is
then able to use the remains of the Gundam to shut down the Laser System before
the Aerial Rebuild, along with the Calabarn, are both disintegrated.
Build Experience
While it doesn’t look like much as been added to the
Aerial in it’s Rebuild state, there is and that was a little cause for concern
initially while building it.
With the
larger shoulders and overextended Particle Beam Cannon you could convert,
balance became my primary worry.
I was
reminded of the Master Grade 00 Raiser that turned out poorly due to the O
Raiser throwing the already unsteady Gunpla into shaky disarray, so much so I
just kept the O Raiser removed (it feels less like the 00 Raiser without it but
hey the fighter is still bad ass to look at and is the best part of that
build). Anyway, getting off track, giving more armor and weight to the upper
half had me fearing the rather skinny legs of the Aerial’s bottom half couldn’t
take it.
Thankfully my concerns lessened over time as the build
went on.
As luck would have it, I had a
second OG Aeriel from a while back and built that before the Rebuild.
So I the base model before the new
attachments didn’t trip me up at all.
The easy to connect parts give off a very newbie friendly vibe, which
works for a show that even non Gundam fans are being drawn too and might want
to give the Gunpla hobby a shot.
But as
the title implies, this is a bigger and better Aerial.
Even the original armamements like the Beam
Rifle and Sheild that can also detach into Sheild Bits feels slightly
larger.
As for the rifle, it can be
converted into a Mega Particle Beam Cannon and man was I relieved to see that
not only was it easy to swap parts in and out and get it posed, the extra
length never made it feel like it was in danger of tipping over.
Cudos to the material that makes up the legs,
this is a very sturdy Gunpla.
One more
note: the Aerial Rebuild’s design kind of reminds me of the GPO1 Full Vernian
from Gundam 0083.
Idk, maybe it’s the
added armor and back pack thrusters and energy collectors.
I love the Full Vernian a lot and its nice to
see its inspiration further down the line, it’s an underrated classic imho.
Conclusion/Rating
The Aerial Rebuild has two big things going for it:
familiarity and accessibility.
The
Gunpla feels newbie friendly and if you go into building it after building the
original Aerial, the familiar set up before the customization begins will make
you feel right at home.
Parts and
weapons are easy to swap out and I never had an issue converting the Gunpla’s
main weapon from standard to super mega Particle Cannon, nor did it length ever
threaten to keep the Gunpla from standing on its own.
This is a solid build for both vets and
newcomers, much like the series it comes from.
8.5/10
And that wraps up the Second Season of Gunpla Builder
Thursday. I hope everyones enjoyed these
new mini reports on my Gunpla building experiences and rest assured I’ll have
enough Gunpla to work with in 2024 to plan out a Third Season for 2025. Til then, see ya tomorrow for the conclusion
of the Beyond the Boundary Saga with a Double Feature Review of Beyond the
Boundary: I’ll Be Here (Past & Future) right here at the Gundam Anime
Corner.
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