TT Hongli HG 1/144 Virtue Review

Price: RM1X

Yay! Another bootleg review! However, this time, I'll be doing something a little different though it is similar to the one I did for the TT Exia a while ago. Please scroll to the bottom of the post if you wanna read the action part which I hope will entertain you... ^^

For further information on the HG 1/144 Gundam Virtue, you can read my previous review on the original here. It is a bit short and not so detailed as my more recent reviews though. ^^;

Note: The images in the action part are all edited so don't take the sudden change in texture as me painting the Virtue or something. XP

Part 1: Box

Shiny box is shiny box. Can you see my reflection? Care to guess the color of my clothes on that day? =P

Part 2: Box Open!
Had to take the photos above in the hotel while I was still in Kl as I had to flatten the box if I wanna bring em' home. ^^;

All the runners are packed tightly together in one big plastic bag. Good for me for carrying it back home but bad for the runners...

Part 3: Runners

Virtue has a good amount of parts and bulk PLUS beam saber parts. What's not to love? If you want to accumulate many flat beam saber parts, as I said before, buy Virtue or Nadleeh especially the bootleg ones if you can get them darn cheap.

Part 4: Manual Scans

The scans are larger in size this time unlike the previous scans. Enjoy~ =^_^=

Part 5: Building Process

Before I begin, as usual, I painted the clear pieces underside. However, this time, I painted them red with the meta red Gundam marker from the Sangokuden set. Actually, it looks more like orange than red... I guess that's how it comes out if you don't shake it for a translucent color.
I also painted the condenser stickers with a quick cincai silver topping to make the clear parts more reflective (used a silver marker that works).

Part 5.1: Torso

Sharpened the GN clavicles that goes next to the neck.

Doesn't it look nice? >.>

The "inner frame" of the GN Drive...

Part 5.2: Head

Sharpened the V-Fin. Painted the sensors and eyes red (eye sticker torn...) and fixed them up some more later (not shown until the finished product).

Eyes are not see-able though but it can be seen if you try hard enough. Wonder how you guys make it shine though. I practically made sure the red marker was shiny enough already. Orz.

Part 5.3: Arms

Note the circled part. It can't be seen easily through the photo but there was some bumps on this part on both the arms. I shaved it with a simple stationery knife. You can use a file or something if you are afraid you will cut too much... I might have did because the elbow was a bit loose after that. Ahaha. @_@

Standard HG arm articulation. Virtue ain't no 0.

Part 5.4: Legs

Fat feet for...

...fat legs.

Limited articulation at the knees due to the design of the legs. Note that the beam saber hilts can be stored in the knees. Also, the "cover" of the "black boxes" can be pulled out a bit for a GN Field effect (shiny particles comes separately) though it doesn't seem to work easily with this bootleg...

Part 5.5: Waist

Part 5.6: GN Cannon
Note that the cannons can be;

• Removed from the backpack and be used by Nadleeh as hand-cannons.
• The "mouth" can be pulled out. This is for when it is shooting.
• Can be used to distribute GN Particles to form a GN Field by pulling the "cover" a bit but can't be done on the bootleg though... well I tried. @_@
  

Part 5.7: GN Bazooka

Oops, missed a part. ^^;

The handles can be moved around the three slots shown for different holding positions. The yellow part can be pulled out and lower "jaw" pushed down. Furthermore, the handles at the side can be adjusted to front or back.

Part 5.8: Beam Sabers

The beams are actually a bit more pink than the original ones and thinner. They are a bit hard to put in though.

Random note: I almost lost Kyrios's knife in the claw. Before I found it, I snipped one of the beam parts a bit and made it connect to the Kyrios's claw instead. Random, huh?

Part 6: This Is Not Original, Not Original, Boy!
Part 6.1: Height Comparison

Compare height to a bottle of chewing gum (its empty BTW).

Part 6.2: Up, Left, Down, Right!

Part 6.3: Comparison w/ Original
It should be easy to distinguish between the two as the original gets green condensers (painted using a highlighter but doesn't seem to come out right...) and the bootleg has reddish-orange condensers.

Stickers are horrible looking for both of them (TT ones were annoying to put on). Too lazy to paint them however. XP

Somehow, the bootleg bazooka is a bit more articulated. o.O
Gao~

They look almost indistinguishable don't they? o.o

Part 6.4: Articulation

The arms are pretty good though. =)

Oh ****! Forgot to take a shot of the shoulder articulation! Well, just like Exia, Dynames and Kyrios, it can sway it shoulders to the front and back by the chest vents. Really like it as it seem more human like unlike most Gundams. ^^

Note: The legs at the ball joint got a little problem. But this one seems to affect only the right leg for some odd reason. If I move the right leg too much, it will loosen up and the leg will just come off. Doesn't seem to affect the left leg though. The left leg however has a slightly cracked polycap at the ball joint. Again, it doesn't seem to affect it. o.O

Part 7: Action!
Note: All images below has been edited. Simple edits only though as it is my first time using PhotoScape. Thanks to chubbybots for the tutorial as I used it a bit. XP

Obligatory boxart pose.

GAAAAOOOO~!!!
Doesn't it look like a dinosaur's mouth? XD

Kinda rip this off from Turn A...

Okay, time for a simple comic strip! I can't say if its funny or not though as its mostly action oriented. Not all the scenes are in the picture as I don't do this all the time. =^

Warning, story can be too random for normal humans to swallow and references made requires you to have watched certain shows.

A sudden meeting between two "same" Gundams occurred...
Starring Tieria in Gundam Virtue (original) and Virtue as Virtue (TT Hongli).

Note: Extra explanations below each photo.

Tieria wasn't happy that his precious Gundam was impersonated...
Without second thought, he attacked the "enemy"...

...with HAX beam saber skills you would have only seen in the Gundam 00 PS2 game.

Even though he swiped at the bazooka, he cuts of the arm instead!
(the arm kinda fell apart when I was taking off the bazooka actually)
Before Virtue can even react, he was already down one critical weapon (and one arm)!

Luckily for him, he still has... a GN Field!

...though the GN Drive can't hold it for long... "!@#$%^&* 10 seconds?!"

Somehow, instead of shooting with the cannons, he went in full force with a beam saber?!

*ORE NO HISSATSU WAZA!!!*

Before getting hit by the hissatsu waza, Tieria quickly goes Innovator and... CAST OFF?!

Before even landing his supposed-to-be-final-attack, Virtue was pushed away by the armor pieces (just imagine they are there)! Worst, he...
(WTF?! Clock up too Tieria?!)

...has become victim to something that can move beyond "human" speeds!
(read up on Kamen Rider Kabuto if you don't know about Clock Up)

*insert all the painful beam effects you can here*

(...)

(you were pwned by the original)

Hope you all enjoyed my comic strip!

Note: Nadleeh is an original Bandai product. ^^

Part 8: Conclusion
Pros

• Darn cheap at less than RM20.
• Darn close to the original.
• Stickers can stick.
• Arms are quite strong in holding the bazooka up, somewhat better than the original. O.O
  
• GAO~ Bazooka!
• Pretty fun to play with for some odd reason...
  

Cons

• Extra work needed for some parts such as at the arms during construction.
  
• Can't seem to open the GN Field Emitters. Hurt one of my fingers since the plastic was quite sharp trying. @_@
• Right leg likes to come off if you move it too much.
• Face mask is a bit loose. It won't come off unless you it the face or something though.
• Some stickers need to be cut out to be used...

Overall, I like the TT Hongli HG Virtue. It is quite close to the original and you could barely notice the differences under normal circumstances. Sure it has some bad points but they are not problematic enough to prevent me from playing around with it (had much fun with it for the comic strip). XD

EDIT: About the legs... Well, I just found out something. I think the reason why the right leg didn't like to stay in nicely was because of either the ball joint being too big or the polycap was too small. Either way, after the polycap cracked on the right leg, it doesn't come off as easily anymore! Yay! Then again, the polycap cracked. Orz. Fret not, it doesn't give any side-effects for Virtue. This might be bad for the other HGs though. So.. beware of cracking polycaps!

Gotta love the condensers. *_* Red... Oh wait, that was my doing... XP

Okay, that's all for this review.

SPONSOR: www.popbuying.com CONTACT: jason@popbuying.com