1/100 Kagekiyo Forest Type by Hasegawa (Available From HobbyLink Japan – HLJ.com)
The Kagekiyo Forest Type from Virtua-On looks like a samurai, so let’s open the box and see what’s inside!
The box is definitely on the tall side.
And longer than a regular HGUC kit, though with the same depth.
Bright green and cool cover art, and don’t forget the “Limited Edition” aspect.
Different color variations on the side of the box, where you can also see the price under the barcode of 4800 JPY. But it’s 20% off at HLJ!
Different poses, but somewhat unusually, there’s no straight on front and back shots.
Box open, and the colors will pop right out at you.
Nice colored manual for the splash pages, with a color guide included, where you can see the different shades of green.
Normal manual insides, with the plates and direction in black and white. The build looks clean and clear.
Here’s the plates, starting with 2 identical As.
The green continues to dazzle.
There are some 1.5 plates as I like to call them.
The good detailing continues on to the hands.
2 identical G plates.
2 identical J plates, both with nice clear colors.
2 identical K and RD plates.
The blade looks cool with the cut out section in the middle, and the last green plate makes me wish it was St. Patrick’s Day.
For me, it’s cool to see Hasegawa making sci-fi kits, as I know them primarily as a military kit maker. Virtua-On has always had a place in the modelers pantheon, with Kotobukiya, Wave and Hasegawa being the makers that spring to mind. The parts on the plates will come across as being a bit different from Kotobukiya and Bandai quality, but still quite acceptable. It was also neat seeing the way they designed the plates as they seem to have been designed neatly in unison, as you may be able to make out in some of the pictures above. And this is always a surprise for me, but there are zero seals in the box. Will markers or paint be needed to make it match the original design? Looking forward to seeing it all together! Thanks for reading.
“I thought I was tall.”
