RX-121-2 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel Owsla] Gigantic Arm Unit

If there is one mobile suit that I associate with the Ensemble series more than anything else I would have to say it is the TR-1 Hazel. Ever since it first appeared in the third volume (sucking me into the series after a bit of fence-sitting) it has soldiered on in various size and form during these three years, most recently seen with this Gigantic Arm Unit (as well as a reissue of the booster unit equipped variety that was even reissued as late as December last year.


The Owsla Gigantic Arm Unit figure began delivery in November 2020 and has been seen quite sparingly on the secondary market since then. I managed to pick up a unit in March for ¥7000 which is up slightly from the original ¥6600. When you consider that what you are getting here is pretty much the umpteenth re-release of the base regular size figure with a newly designed arm and backpack unit I feel this is a bit steep. The Booster Unit equipped figure went for about ¥4600 as a comparison.


The box the figure comes in might be small but it is loaded with several bags full of Hazel-esque gear, both new and familiar.


Here are all the parts laid out in full. Most of the new stuff is of course the multi-jointed arms themselves, as well as parts bearing strong resemblance to the Hrududu II components from Ensemble Part 08. It should be pointed out I guess, that this figure is at its base the TR-1 Hazel figure with some minor variation, so it is compatible with all the other Ensemble Hazel gear such as the Tri-Booster Unit for example, although you don't get such optional gear with this box. Look into the history of Ensemble to learn more about the different Hazel configurations that are already released.


Here is the one-sided build instruction which is big enough not to fit inside the box without bending. There are basically two suggested modes for the figure but one is pretty much part of the second so I don't see any reason for purchasing two figures unless you absolutely have to have one figure without the arm unit. Mind you, I wouldn't see it past Bandai to return to this figure with a spiffy Titans blue variant sometime next year, which is what they have been doing with most of the other Titans Test Team machines, lore-accurate or not.

RX-121-2 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel Owsla]


Here we have the main Hazel Owsla figure. It is basically the Gundam TR-1 [Hazel] with the frontal skirt from the TR-1 [Hazel Custom], the legs from the RX-121-2A Gundam TR-1 [Advanced Hazel] and a completely new torso which incorporates the Primrose emergency escape pod. I thought I had converted one of my TR-1s back into regular mode but seems I hadn't so for this review there is currently no easy comparison with the base TR-1 Hazel so apologies for that. The mobile suit is armed with its profile Long Blade Rifle and a single Shield Booster unit. The latter can be scavenged and used if you are building other Hazel variants and are short of Shield Boosters since it is not really needed for the Gigantic Arm Unit machine.


The Hazel Owsla figure comes with three different forehead components that are easily replaceable. I am not up to the lore on these but I guess that the latter two are used for sniping with the Long Blade Rifle and I decided to stick with one of them anyway for a bit of variation in the Hazel team.


The figure comes with a sturdy base that plugs into both the groin and backpack making the figure very stable, but of course also static in its display. At least this stand is quite discrete and not generally stays out of the way which I appreciate. It even has a couple of further supports that plug into the Hrududu parts but I was too dumb to figure out just exactly how that is supposed to work so I didn't bother with them. I am sure a designer had a really brilliant idea there but the instruction wasn't clear enough for yours truly, so once again, apologies. :)

Gigantic Arm Unit


Ok, here is the main course from the box: A pair of enormous extra arms that are designed for the massive MRX-009 Psyco Gundam. I don't know the exact lore here; are these a spare set of arms or the very arms that later went into the actual MRX-009? Besides being used as enormous manipulators the arms retain the beam cannons from the Psyco Gundam, one for each finger, but I am really curious if the TR-1 Hazel would have enough power output to actually use them for very long?


Each finger has a small ball-joint which allows for some limited positioning but the fingers themselves are of course rigid. A hinge (seen in white) at the wrist allows the hands additional movement beyond the standard swivel movement and there are also a pair of joints in the arms themselves. Extended movement will of course be limited by all the other stuff that is going on around the arms but you can get a fair bit of action out of them. I really like that Bandai included a set of expressive hands for the mobile suit itself, since this can be used to mimic the movement of the larger hands (although I have no idea if that is how the arms are supposed to be used). This reminds me of the arm movements on the mechs they used in the Avatar movie.


Here the Hazel Owsla teams up with the TR-6 Woundwort, an Advanced Hazel and yet another TR-1 with the big Booster Unit. Notice the torso on the Advanced Hazel which is the traditional piece without Primrose system used on all the previous Ensemble Hazel figures. Consider also that the Owsla figure is more than five times as expensive as that Advanced Hazel (which uses option parts from the related equipment set) or more than ten times as expensive as your normal TR-1 Hazel (well, at least until that one became rare on the secondary market). I think the interest in this figure will primarily be decided by a combination of your fascination for the Hazel system versus spending that much money on something more novel.