RG 041 - Akatsuki Gundam Oowashi - Kit Review - [4K]

[@mj2005gundam]

Hi Joe. First of all, happy new year. Second of all, I've been looking at your vids for a while. And while I don't agree with everything you said in every video, this one I'm 100% behind. The very real issues because of the reuse of the old frame undeniably plague this kit, no matter the reasons for the reuse, or the available aftermarket fixes for it. Especially when the kit costs as much as it does, having such a fatal flaw that's patched up by an essential (instead of optional) band-aid will leave a sour taste at the very least. But on top of pointing that out, I'm glad you've mentioned the merits as well, since this kit was dolled up to the nines for the sharpest looking Akatsuki kit in the scale. Hence, if the aesthetics is all people look for in it, then it serves that purpose fully. I got a bit heated in my look of it because of what's expected of the kit with the DLC expansions, but I'm happy to see another impartial review that doesn't cater to either extreme, but instead lays out the cards for people to see, with opinions formulated on what's been presented. Good job mate, we need more impartial and informative reviews in the space instead of beef and bait.

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

Hey there! Happy new year to you as well. I appreciate you reaching out, you're one of my main inspirations behind even starting this channel, I just realized I wasn't subbed on this channel so I've fixed that. I try to be as objective as possible in all my reviews, I don't want to lead someone to spending their money poorly. We don't always have to agree on everything and that's the best part of content creation, we can gather all opinions from different viewpoints and it may even open our eyes to look at something from a different viewpoint. I try to sprinkle in how to deal with issues during my reviews so builders are well prepared for them but tightening up the Advanced MS Joint 3 is fairly difficult. The Akatsuki was definitely disappointing but it certainly has potential especially if you don't mind it being attached to that AB7 it's whole life, hopefully the flame toys inner frame will make this kit fully reliable the way it should've been out of the box. Again I really appreciate you reaching out, this was the best comment to wake up to on new years.

[@jabman025]

very well done review, was on the fence if I should get this since I already have the 1/100, your info was very helpful

[@WrackIt2]

This is the first time I see somebody has used panel liner on non-injected gold parts. You have made a magnificent job. Could you tell what paint have you used for lining? Is it usual Tamiya Black panel liner or something else?

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

I only used the tamiya accent color black! I initially used it in the MGEX SF and that really brings out a lot of details. It didn’t affect the plastic on either this Akatsuki or the MGEX, the plating should keep the plastic safe from the liner.

[@WrackIt2]

@JoesGunplaGarage Thank you very much for your reply!!! I've forgot to write one more question. How did you manage to clean all the excess/overflow of the liner and not make any harm to the coating?

[@shahrilkamarulzaman8375]

Dear Joe, thanks for the review...interesting kit (flaws aside)...depending on availability and budget constraints...might be my first kit for 2025...we will see..much appreciated! Have a good 2025 and keep it coming...God Bless!...

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

Thank you as always for the nice comment and your support! I hope your 2025 will start off fantastically!

[@RenKiiuII]

very nice review 😀😀

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

Thank you for the support! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@BoastfulCookie]

The plating on this kit makes it look both amazing and awful somehow. I imagine it’s exactly how I’d imagine the Akatsuki to look but it washes out so much detail with the plating. Thanks for the review!

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

My studio lights definitely washed it out in a few of the shots there. It’s very hard to put on film while keeping everything exposed on my camera properly. I might get a second one of these to strip and repaint in a more metallic color to see if I like that look better. I go back and forth on liking this plated look myself.

[@AnaheimElectronicsInc.]

Nice review Joe. The fact that the clear “leg splitting” plastic piece is locked behind the PB pack tells me everything I need to know. Screw you bandai.🗿

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

Yeah they definitely knew the issues it had before releasing it. It’s such a half baked release, and we had a good run of decent RG releases lately too.

[@xxraverxxonxtacy]

Thanks for the honest review Joe, I can fix her 😏 if I can find for sub $50 during sales next year. Will you be grabbing/review the Shiranui backpack for this?

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

I haven’t ordered it yet. I’ve been putting it off to be honest or trying to find it from a proxy. I know other builders have it already over seas. I like the shiranui pack better anyways. This shaping to be bandais most expensive RG if we consider the add on pack and potential metal frame coming from flame toys later on.

[@Getwright-]

I like that you panel lined it, not a lot of images ive seen are panel lined. It showed off the details. This one is still a Pass for me at that price, but great review as always.

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

Thank you for the kind words, I love the look of those vents once they’ve been panel lined. I completely agree with your sentiments, the price point is far too high especially when we consider the issues the kit has.

[@Dr.Alligator]

Wow I haven’t heard of anyone panel lining the plated gold pieces before. It does look nice on the vents

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

Thank you for the kind words! Luckily the plating keeps the plastic safe from the liner. It’s just a lil messy to clean up but well worth it imo.

[@setsunafseiei4745]

Amazing Gunpla review

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@coopers1716]

I wonder if Bandai isn't using particularly brittle plastic for their electroplating process but rather the electroplating process turns plastics brittle. Brittle plastic in their gold kits has been a complaint for years, you'd think they'd change the plastic by now- unless the process is the source of the problem. I'm probably wrong, but it's a thought!

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

I think you’re right. I remember hearing that the plating process affects the plastic but I couldn’t verify that before the review. That armor piece barely had any pressure on it when it snapped so I was honestly surprised it broke. If it was a non plated kit I don’t think it would have broke like that.

[@quizongilad]

Remember what bandai did with RG SINANJU?

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

I'll be going over that a little bit in my next video ;)

[@ninhnguyenhoai952]

i want to love this kit but i can't how bad that they use the old rg frame on a very heavy mobile suit like akatsuki

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

It’s so disappointing. I tried to ignore all the bad reviews and just focus on my build but it really is just problematic. A real shame.

[@hmmdoh7835]

they should know the frame have problem either continue using it or it was plan scraped from RG Strike Gundam was launched....

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

Builders have complained about this frame since 2011 when it was first included with the strike. I’m honestly shocked it was reused here.

[@hmmdoh7835]

@ my guess is that this supposed to be launch way back in time when seed remastered, but something stopped

[@AssaultGun-bi5fi]

Joe never apologize for saying the truth you may have saved many from spending money on a faulty product😊

[@fslogs]

I think Western fans focus too much on the out-of-the-box experience of Gunpla, which, in my opinion, misses the point of a plastic model hobby. Look at Japan-'bad' kits are seen as challenges. Instead of dwelling on flaws, builders find ways to improve them through modifications, custom painting, and detailing. It feels like Western fans have lost this side of Gunpla, focusing only on snap-builds.

[@JoesGunplaGarage]

I’m inclined to agree. I base my reviews on out of box experience just because that’s the largest demographic of builders out there. Now that my review for this is over I’ll be looking for an easy way to go about fixing this hip issue. I had some weathering done on my Gundam EX for that review and got many complaints about it.

[@wulf8889]

The infamous video of the RG Akatsuki IS FROM THE JAPANESE. A lot of the buzz of the disappointment came from the Japanese FIRST.

[@bizarrion]

Can't just generalize it as "western fans" when even a lot of eastern fans were dissapointed. And if I'm paying 90+ for a rg I'd expect it to be great out of the box with no modifications or fixes nessesary. If this was a hg (which it should've been) then it would've been different because it would have been cheaper and people would be more confident modifying it, but it's a rg, which should not need modifications out of the box with how rg gunpla tech has improved over the years

[@razrafz]

at this point people who defend this kit are either just bandai simps or just extremely lucky with the plastic lottery