Bandai Spirits recently unveiled the HG 1/144 Tickbalang model kit from the new anime series Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch of Mercury.
Specifically, the Tickbalang is a flight system that can carry Mobile Suits. These Mobile Suits can ride atop the Tickbalang or hang off it with grips at the bottom. And yes, this model kit can be used with other Mobile Suits for display purpsoes!
If you’re wondering if this is a Filipino reference, well yes it is! The Tickabalang is a reference to the Tikbalang, a creature from Filipino folklore. This creature is a half-human and half-horse creature that is said to scare travelers and cause them to get lost.
This isn’t the first time that Gundam featured a Filipino reference. In the Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway anime film, part of the movie was set in Davao, and it even featured iconic local fast food chain, Jollibee.
Check out more detailed images of the Gundam Tickbalang kit here:
In case you’re unfamiliar, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is the first new Gundam TV anime in 7 years since Iron-Blooded Orphans. It is also significant for featuring the franchise’s first female main protagonist.
The show’s premise is described as:
An era when a multitude of corporations have entered space and built a huge economic system.
A lone girl from the remote planet Mercury transfers to the Asticassia School of Technology,
run by the Beneritt Group which dominates the mobile suit industry.
Her name is Suletta Mercury.
With a scarlet light burning in her pure heart,
this girl walks step by step through a new world.
The first two episodes of the series are out now. In case you haven’t seen them yet, you can find out where to watch them here:
https://www.ungeek.ph/2022/09/mobile-suit-gundam-the-witch-from-mercury-where-to-watch/
Source: Gundam Kits Collection