The most recent Pokemon plamo I’ve had the pleasure of fiddling with is the Charizard Evolution set! Despite being (arguably) the most popular starter, this kit only came out in 2013 (fairly recent for the line), as the 29th installment of the Pokepla series. This kit builds one each of Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard!
The Box
Bandai details the gimmicks on the side of the box. Like a character action figure, this guy will have flappable wings, pivoting arms and neck, and opening mouth when he’s all completed.
Here we see an overview of the kit contents. Unlike most Gunpla, these kits have few parts, so it’s easy to show it all right on the side of the box. The instructions are also in full color, it points out, though this is the standard for this product line.
You may recall that I did another Pokemon set of kits not that long ago that included a Charizard kit. That was a 2017 kit including Charizard, Ash’s Pikachu, and Ho-Oh, and it’s without a doubt that parts have been reused from this 2013 kit. If you compare the runners, you can see that almost all of the runners are exactly the same. The only difference is that the 2017 kit has a slightly bigger A1 runner, and here those extra parts are instead on the A2 runner that includes Charmander and Charmeleon’s parts.
Aside from the configuration, it also goes without saying that this Charizard is molded in different colors than the 2017 version — this one is more true to the original design of Charizard.
Let’s take a closer look at the parts.
The Runners
The A1 runner molded in white, orange, and clear red contains parts for Charizard.
The 2017 kit has almost metallic-looking parts, but this one is a flat, simple orange. We can also see that the flame parts here don’t have the sparkly bits that the 2017 kit does — but these parts are still made of a softer plastic than the rest of the kit.
The A2 runner, in white, red, clear red, and orange, has all the Charmander and Charmeleon parts, with a couple Charizard parts added.
B1 is all orange, and all Charizard.
And B2, in light yellow, has the belly and tail parts for Charizard.
As usual, this kit is sticker-heavy, especially for Charmander and Charmeleon. More care is paid to get Charizard more color parts, and the rest is made up for in stickers. Many of these details could easily be painted on, but if you don’t feel like bothering, the stickers… well, they’ll do the trick.
Be sure to join us later for to see how this kit builds up, and grab your own evolution set here!:
– Pokemon Plamo Charizard Evolution Set
