Kit Review: HG Eighty-Six – Reginleif
It’s been a while, Handler One.
I am Captain Shinei Nouzen of the Spearhead Squadron.
I am Captain Shinei Nouzen of the Spearhead Squadron.
The fate of the Eighty-Six is to struggle endlessly on the battlefield. It is especially true for the Headless Reaper – Shinei Nouzen. His unit has always been the most efficient in destroying the Legion – mindless genocidal machines that aim to eradicate humanity. After surviving in the “moving coffin” Juggernaut, Shin and the remaining member of his squadron was updated to the newer, more powerful Reginleif.
The Reginleif is the Giad Federacy’s new experimental combat mecha that specializes in mobility and speed. The general idea behind it is if you’re caught by the Legion, you’re dead. So moving away from danger and breaking through their ranks is better and safer, and so the Reginleif was built with that in mind. However, to utilize one to its fullest potential, one must be a very skilled pilot with loads of experience.
The Reginleif is the Giad Federacy’s new experimental combat mecha that specializes in mobility and speed. The general idea behind it is if you’re caught by the Legion, you’re dead. So moving away from danger and breaking through their ranks is better and safer, and so the Reginleif was built with that in mind. However, to utilize one to its fullest potential, one must be a very skilled pilot with loads of experience.
– Info:
HG Reginleif
Series: Eighty Six
Price: 3,740 yen
Release date: Oct 2021
HG Reginleif
Series: Eighty Six
Price: 3,740 yen
Release date: Oct 2021
– Design: Keeping the quadruple style of the Juggernaut, the Reginleif general outline is pretty similar to the Republic’s coffin. With four legs and various type of armaments mounted on the top of the body segment, the Reginlief looks like a refined Tachikoma armed for war. The general contour of the machine consist of elegant curves, with an ivory white color, which we all know is what Bandai’s very good at. They’ve been modelling white plastic for decades after all. Along the armor plates are rivets pattern to give it a bit more realistic feel. The two blades on the front is very similar to insect’s fangs which is pretty in-line with the design. The huge gun on the back is essentially a call-back to the “walking tank” concept that many Western media uses.
– Build quality: The white plastic is quite durable and flexible. The kit has many curved pieces and they all fit snuggly with some adjustments. The dark gray under-frame is softer but still very sturdy. There are minimal stickers required for the unit – in fact the only one you need to use is the “Headless Reaper” emblem. You can basically ditch the rest. Some notable nubs you need to fix carefully are the joints of the legs, otherwise, just aggressive sand them all down. The kit is quite simple and enjoyable to build. There are some repetitive parts where you literally build 4 of the legs, but that isn’t anything too boring.
– Articulation: Well, this is where the kit is quite 50/50 for me. On the one hand, it can perform some great poses just like the anime, and the legs are easy to move around. A downside is that the limbs aren’t able to do a full bend due to some parts getting in the way. I understand that anime-accuracy is important, but surely Bandai can find a way to at least make the legs go a bit further than 90-degree, they have engineered much harder and much more articulated kits before. Aside from that, the kit is basically the same as the anime, able to do very organic looking poses. And the kit is light enough that a simple stand can propel it for aerial poses. The main “body” can do some swivelling to simulate changing aim or direction, since the cannon on the back is static, you have to swing the entire body if you want to change the angle of the cannon.
– Gimmick: The accuracy skyrockets here. The Reginleif might look simple but there are surprisingly a lot of things you can do with it. Each of the four legs have a pile driver that you can pull up and down and it can be pretttttyyyyyy long. Imagine 4 mini Pile Bunkers like the Alteisen – completed with some amazing hydraulics on the legs. On the sides of the Reginleif is two grappling hooks, the kit come with an extra pair of hooks with a different angle than the default setting, as well as the usual plastic wires to shape as you want. The long-barrelled cannon on the back has the same “reloading” mechanism as the Juggernaut, which is cool, but it’s not like you can pull the hammer and a bullet come jumping out (I’m sure someone can mod that).
The kit also have a functioning cockpit that can be flipped up. The interior is fairly accurate, only lacking details on the control board (duh). It’s a very nice gimmick to have, able to replicate scenes from the anime. It’s basically a Tachikoma on steroid.
The kit also have a functioning cockpit that can be flipped up. The interior is fairly accurate, only lacking details on the control board (duh). It’s a very nice gimmick to have, able to replicate scenes from the anime. It’s basically a Tachikoma on steroid.
– Accessories: The HG Reginleif came with three pieces of equipment :
+ X2 angled hooks
+ X2 plastic wires
+ X1 Pilot Figure (Shin)
The pilot figure is all white, so you need some really small brushes if you want Shin looking like he does in the show, or else he’ll just stay a “white pig” (if you know what I mean 😉 )
+ X2 angled hooks
+ X2 plastic wires
+ X1 Pilot Figure (Shin)
The pilot figure is all white, so you need some really small brushes if you want Shin looking like he does in the show, or else he’ll just stay a “white pig” (if you know what I mean 😉 )
Overall: The Reginleif kit is an accurate representation of the unit in the anime. The look is sleek, utilitarian and downright menacing. Looking at it from the front will definitely give you that “Reaper” vibe like you’re staring at the eye of death itself. The gimmick is fun to play with especially the pile bunkers on the leg. Accessories is just enough but at least the kit is very easy to modify if you want to strap some more “firepower” on it. Although I wish Bandai didn’t split all the variations into 3 different product, but Bandai will do Bandai things I guess. Anyway, the HG Reginleif is a great kit if you’re into quadruple killing machines!
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