Kit Review: LM-HG Eva Kits (Part 1): Similarities between Eva kits.

Today I'm reviewing some very old kits I acquired in the past few weeks. After first getting the LM-HG Bardiel, I decided to search for the other kits in the series to try and complete them.

What I was able to get were the Eva-00 Prototype (Yellow Version), Eva-01 Test Type, Eva-02 Production Type, Eva-04 Production Type and Eva-05 Mass Production Type.

The blue version of the Eva-00 Prototype is a bit difficult to find these days so I don't have that. I didn't purchase the Eva-03 Production Type since I already have Bardiel and I prefer Bardiel over the Eva-03. The Eva-01 Test Type I purchased is the regular one that doesn't include the launch pad. And The Eva-05 Mass Production Type I have is the first version. Later I'll explain what difference it has with the final version. Lastly, there is one more kit I was, by great luck, able to get and is waiting to arrive this week. That would be the 3rd Angel Sachiel. It's one of two very rare kits in the LM-HG Eva Series, the other one being the final version of the Eva-05 Mass Production Type.

Since the body design of the Evas are exactly the same with only slight variations in each model, I will review the body, arms and legs first then later highlight the difference each has.

I've had two Eva kits years ago and somehow lost them when I moved. One of the things I love about the LM-HG Evas is the amount of articulation they have. Starting with the body, it is capable of bending to the either side, twist to either side and bend forward.

There is a pivot on the neck allowing the head to look down and there is a ball joint that lets the head turn 360 degrees.

The upper part of the back is where the entry for the plugs are located and they can be opened. They all look the same when closed but they open in two ways. The Eva-00 and the Eva-01 plug cover opens as a single piece, opening towards the back of the head while the Eva-02, Eva-03 and Eva-04 plug cover splits open to the sides.

And inside the plug entry is the plug, obviously.

Also located on the back is the socket where the power cable for the Eva is plugged in.

The arms are connected via ball joints on the shoulder. The ball joint allows the arms to rotate 360 degrees. The shoulder also has a pivot joint in the body that can move the shoulder side to side. But despite the two joints, the arms can't really stretch out a lot.

Aside from the shoulder's pivot joint that goes side to side, the shoulder also has another pivot joint that goes forward and back. Again, The outward direction is not a lot but the forward direction allows the arms to cross.

Evas also have armor on the shoulder, called pylons, and pivot with good range to keep the arms free to move around.

The arms of LH-HG Evas are not the same as other Bandai model kits I know. Since Evas are technically "organic", they don't have visible joint like robots and mechas. So to make the arms look like human arms, the arms are made of a vinyl "skin" (I'm assuming its vinyl.) molded around plastic "bones" with a ball joint at the elbow. The elbow allows the arms to be straight or bend at just over 90 degrees.

The elbow also allows some side to side twisting, though twisting the forearms outward looks more like an injury.

For hands, LM-HG Evas can only hold weapons with their right hand. The right hands come in 4 variant; closed, open, one for holding melee weapons and one for holding guns. The left hand only comes with closed and open hands. The open hand can also be bent by dipping in hot water for a few minutes then bending them.

The legs on the LM-HG Evas have a decent range of motion, capable of 90 degrees forward and 90 degrees back at the hip and nearly 180 degrees at the knee. They can also spread their legs wider than their shoulders.

But the regular Evas are not capable of doing the hip articulation that the LM-HG Bardiel has because Bardiel has a special thigh part that is designed differently from the normal Evas.

The feet have a good degree of motion to keep the Eva stable on his feet when posed.The ankles are on ball joint that lets the feet move up, down and side to side. They are also capable of twisting but the armor limits this capability. The toes also bend up and down.

That's it for all the parts that the 5 Evas have in common. In Part 2 I will highlight the parts that make each Eva different from one another.