So, we have finally reached the goal set the other week once I heard that Bandai are reissuing the Premium Hazel Custom box set this autumn. This meant finally cracking my still sealed box open and getting around to building this beast. Since the figure features so many alternative builds I kind of dreaded it a bit but I decided to do a concerted effort together with the myriad of Hazel Custom figures that preceded it (in the retail Ensemble sets Part 03 and 3.5 respectively). So if you just skimmed through those reviews you will find a lot of repetition here. I guess this review acts as that dreaded mid-season clip-show that Sunrise likes to throw into the middle of a long-running Gundam TV-series.
The Hazel Custom was one of the early Ensemble P-Bandai exclusives and began shipping in September 2017. With a price tag of ¥4480 (which seemed completely wild at the time... little did we know what would follow) it marked a significant investment yet at the same time this very figure seemed too good to pass up on and kind of turned me into an Ensemble collector. So yeah, it has a lot to answer for...
The components in the box are separated into four smaller cardboard boxes, each neatly marking its contents. Box one has the Hazel Custom figure itself, box two contains the large boosters, box three a pair of Hrududu support fighters and part four the optional components from the retail weapon set. There is also a decent instruction leaflet describing the various official figures you can build. However, the same instructions online are not only easier to read but also contain some additional information such as which pieces to remove when changing one figure into another. Check the build instructions
here (at least as long as Bandai keeps the series and its website alive).
Let's quickly go through the contents of each box; the first one holds your typical Hazel Custom mobile suit with its basic accessories.
...box two features the large support booster unit and bases, it also includes a separate booster unit for the white Hazel figure from the retail series...
...box three comes with two identical sets of Hrududu support craft which can act both as its own thing or combine with the Gundam...
...box four finally has the extra bits and bobs needed to build the variety of designs that the Bandai engineers have come up with. They really had to spend a lot of effort here and it shows, the engineering is overall great with perhaps only a few quirks.
For this review series I dragged out all my Hazel figures from the two retail sets as well as this box. You will see through the review that some of the builds on display are actually from the blue retail set figure since I didn't feel like picking apart each figure six times over, but the differences are very small and will be pointed out where appropriate.
Let's begin with a component analysis. Shown here is the Hazel Custom figure components from box one compared to a retail Hazel Custom figure. As you can quickly see, the contents of the two is identical, the only difference being that you have to cut some of the components off of miniature sprues when dealing with the retail figure.
Can I just point out that the components in the first box barely manage to fill the bottom layer of the box? Talk about a bad case of oversized packaging...
No comparison is relevant for box two because this box holds all the components exclusive to the premium figure, nothing you see here is available through the retail sets.
The comparison of box three versus a retail Hrududu quickly shows that the component set-up count is identical (you get two complete sets here in the premium box). Notice that there is a colouring difference on the lower wing component; there is a section painted black on the premium figure that is blue on the retail figure. It should be pointed out that the blue retail figure is a later release so not sure which Bandai considers the most correct here.
The equipment set also contains a couple of notable differences. The most apparent is that while the sets are overall strikingly similar you do get a pair of extra Shield Boosters with the premium figure which is crucial (and these really should have been included with the retail set as well in my opinion). The retail figure ships with the standard Ensemble beam saber accessory - which isn't really intended for the Hazel - so it has been skipped in the premium set. Lastly, the colouring of the feet also differs between the two editions and I'm not sure which is to be considered the most accurate either.
RX-121-1 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel Custom]
Rather than pontificating on the various Hazel combinations am I just going to power through the various types here since it just amounts to repetition form the previous reviews. Fair warning also that I went straight for the Hazel-Rah Second Form when building the Premium figure, the other versions you will see here are actually the 3.5 retail figures which I happen to have multiples of. As always I don't recommend messing with the figures more than necessary since the joints always run the risk of becoming loose.
First up we have the basic Hazel Custom figure that you get to build from a single retail box, available in both white and blue. Here the figure shown is the Official Titans Colour figure from Part 3.5.
Here you can see the slightly different blue colours used on the retail figure from part 3.5 (left) and the premium figure from the EX 03 set (right).
FF-X29A G-Parts [Hrududu]
Next up is the Hrududu Support Fighter Craft which is as basic as figures go. It comes with a special adapter which is needed f you wish to put it on an Ensemble base.
Again the images here are from the Part 3.5 review. You get enough parts in the premium box to build two of these but they are really intended to be used as additional bodyparts on the most advanced Hazel-Rah types that we will see below.
RX-121-1 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel Custom] (Shield Booster Unit)
The simplest conversion is the Tri-booster Hazel which basically removes the figure's nice looking shield and adds on three of the Hazel Shield Booster units instead.
It was annoying that you didn't get enough Shield Booster parts in the retail Ensemble Weapon Sets so that you would have had to purchase two boxes for the luxury of having three Shield Boosters, three boxes if you wanted to use the black and white ones seen here. Then we see the equipment set that comes with this premium figure containing the exact number of Shield Boosters needed. The whole thing looks very suspicious to me.
RX-121-2A Gundam TR-1 [Advanced Hazel]
The Advanced Hazel is the first major parts conversion type that you can do with this set. It involves not just equipment changes but the replacing of bodyparts including sub-components like the front section of the skirt armor. The end result is a rather strange and bulky design.
Again the figure shown here is the Part 3.5 version. As mentioned in the parts review, the feet on this retail figure has white trim whereas the feet from the premium box are blue. You will see the actual feet from this box on the Hazel-Rah Second Form figure below.
RX-121-1+FF-X29A Gundam TR-1 [Hazel-Rah]
Here comes a figure that was actually made using the parts from the premium boxset, yes shocking I know. :) The Hazel-Rah is an alternate evolution from the Advanced Hazel. It begins with the regular Hazel Custom and adds components from the Hrududu fighter craft and again switches the regular shield for one of the Shield Booster units.
As you can see the figure is quite back heavy but it can remain standing unaided as long as you don't make any weird poses and use the long blade rifle as counter balance. Otherwise you'll want to make use of an Ensemble stand, preferably reinforced with four feet rather than the usual two.
RX-121-1+FF-X29A Gundam TR-1 [Hazel-Rah] Second Form
The Second Form Hazel-Rah is the final evolution of the figure in this box set, save for the optional large booster unit that is. It tacks on everything and the kitchen sink, requiring you to remove several components and loosen the arms to allow for the second Hrududu to be carried as an extra waist mounted section.
While this figure might work from an engineering point of view (and only just barely) it really doesn't look very appealing to me. The design is so busy that it is hard to even figure out what you are looking at unless you were involved in assembling it.
The Hazel-Rah (here from Ensemble Part 3.5) poses next to the Hazel-Rah Second Form. Again you can see the colour difference between the retail and the premium figures. Notice also that this Second Form figure has the proper blue feet that were not present on the Advanced Hazel that I showed you earlier.
RX-121-1+FF-X29A Gundam TR-1 [Hazel-Rah] Second Form with Booster Unit
Up until this far in the review, everything we have seen has been buildable using the retail figures, provided you managed to gather enough components for them. Here in this final section we add the large Booster Unit and the special action base unique to this premium figure only.
There is a really nicely constructed locking mechanism in place here, which attaches both the Hazel mobile suit, the large booster and the action base to each other. While not super-sturdy or anything it still does a pretty good job of supporting the pose properly, as the booster is locked in place both by attaching it to the clear base and the backpack. I find it a bit odd that Bandai didn't think it necessary to include build instructions for the booster unit itself, since there could be some initial confusion until you figure it out.
I really like that we get a completely separate white booster unit for use with the white retail Hazel family from Ensemble Part 03. If this set had been designed in 2020 I have a feeling we would not have gotten such a luxury and instead had had to buy a special white version of the entire set. Actually that may not have been such a bad idea, considering how scarce and pricey the original retail figures have now become.
While the blue version of the Hazel is quite attractive I still think the white figure with its sharp contrasts between white, yellow and black looks much better. Especially the large booster unit has a very smart looking colour scheme.
Conclusion
I guess we have now reached the end of the road for the Hazels in Ensemble, at least for the time being. There is a large Gigantic Arm Unit premium figure scheduled for release later this autumn and beyond these we still have to mess around with the Hazel's other cousin; the Woundwort. And that box is much larger... hoh boy. I hope these reviews have been helpful for those who have not yet decided if they would like to hop on to the Ensemble Hazel train, now that this rare opportunity to grab the reissue has surfaced. At around ¥4500 I think it is reasonably priced (I can't believe I just typed that...) when you consider how hard it has become to find the original retail figures already.
