HGUC 1/144 Penelope

Penelope, from Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash, is a large mobile suit defined by its imposing Fixed Flight Unit. The kit I built this time is the HGUC 1/144 Penelope.

To be honest, the moment I opened the box I was a little intimidated by the sheer number of runners. It’s a volume you simply don’t expect from an HG, and I checked the box’s scale marking more than once, wondering whether this was really 1/144. Once assembled and placed on the shelf, the size surprised me all over again. Next to the nu Gundam and Sazabi, it sits a full size larger and completely dominates the display.

What follows are my honest impressions, good and not-so-good, based on actually building the kit.

Name

HGUC 1/144 Penelope

Series source

Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash

Maker

BANDAI SPIRITS

Line

HGUC (High Grade Universal Century)

Scale

1/144

Release date

October 26, 2019

Price

7,700 yen (incl. 10% tax)

Distribution

General retail release

Feature

A large kit whose silhouette changes by removing the Flight Unit

Where to buy

Bandai Hobby Site (official product page), plus hobby shops and online retailers

The box is large for an HG, and opening it the first thing you notice is the runner count. Contents are as follows:

The color split is built around white and navy, accented with yellow and clear-green sensors. The molded colors alone cover the color separation well, so even a snap build looks good.

Difficulty is 3 out of 5 stars and the build takes roughly 4 hours. No single part is hard to handle, but the count and the sheer size mean it pays to set aside a solid block of time so you can work calmly.

Here are the spots that tripped me up, based on the actual build:

1. There are many large parts, so following the manual’s order and orientation for the armor keeps things stable. Don’t jump ahead; stick to the steps.
2. The finished kit’s weight makes joints prone to sagging, so I made sure every joint was fully seated to secure retention. Leaving things loosely test-fit tends to cause slack later.
3. The wing sections of the Flight Unit are thin, and pushing too hard felt like it could break them, so I was careful. Take your time when cutting them from the runner or seating them, easing off the force.

The scale is overwhelming, but building each unit in sequence kept me engaged all the way to the final combination.

My honest snap-build impression is closest to “they really did this in 1/144?” With the Flight Unit attached on the shelf, the HGUC Sazabi I had next to it actually looked small. The color separation works even unpainted and without panel lining, so it looks good straight off the runners.

**Proportions**

With the Flight Unit equipped, from the side the unit looks larger than the body itself. Next to the Xi Gundam, the Xi feels sleeker, while Penelope reads purely as a “mass of heavy armament.”

**Articulation**

For its size, the joints move well. With an action base, flight poses come together. That said, the arms gradually droop under their own weight, so I had to mind the angles when displaying it.

**Color separation**

The white-and-navy contrast is clear, and it pulls together nicely even as a snap build. The clear-green sensors, combined with the sticker, tighten up the eyes and noticeably change the face. Small yellow accents scattered around add good rhythm to a frame that could otherwise feel monotonous.

**Gimmick**

Removing the Flight Unit lets you display it as the Xi Gundam form, giving you the fun of changing how it’s shown.

Next to the HGUC nu Gundam and Sazabi, Penelope stands a full size larger and completely dominates the shelf. If the nu Gundam and Sazabi are the standard “large MS” kits, Penelope sits one step above them again in both size and price.

The ability to change the silhouette by removing the Flight Unit is also a unique appeal not found in the many fixed-silhouette HGUC kits. Compared with the Xi Gundam, the design direction is the opposite: the sleek Xi versus Penelope, which wins on sheer heavy-armament presence.

As general recommendations, here are a few finishing ideas to push the looks further.

None of these are required, but precisely because the kit already looks great out of the box, a little extra effort changes the impression considerably.

**Good**

1. The overall size with the Flight Unit looks a clear notch different when lined up with same-scale kits.
2. You can change how you show it, such as removing the Flight Unit for the Xi Gundam form.
3. With abundant surface detail, just flowing in panel lines greatly raises the information density.
4. Building each unit in sequence stays enjoyable right through to the final combination.

**More (points of concern)**

1. The finished footprint needs more width and depth than expected; I cleared a whole shelf section.
2. Many armor parts look alike, and I once had to take it apart after swapping left and right.
3. Freestanding, it leans forward easily, so the ankle angles need careful adjustment.
4. The price is high for an HG, so if you’re not used to large MS, it may be easier to get a feel from other HG kits first rather than starting here.

In a word“Presence beyond the HG bracket. Highly satisfying if you can spare the space and time.”

That wraps up the HGUC 1/144 Penelope review. What I felt most was a presence that, despite being an HG, makes you rethink how you use your shelf. Its size, part count, and price all clearly stand apart from a typical HG, so I’d recommend securing both display space and time before you start.

At the same time, even compared with the nu Gundam and Sazabi, the fun of swapping the silhouette by removing the Flight Unit is this kit’s own appeal, and the display variety feels wide. It suits anyone who wants to put a truly large MS on the shelf, or who wants to keep the machine from Hathaway’s Flash in physical form. Conversely, if you’re short on space or new to HG, it may be a slightly higher hurdle.