PLAMO Review 10: MG GP03S

The last Gundam we see in UC0083 Stardust Memory is GP03S Stamen. Stamen itself is a pretty standard MS, most of us would remember the Gundam better of being the “pilot” of a giant MA called Dendrobium. GP03S was developed together with the previous two prototypes, GP01 and GP02A. However, it was still under development when the earlier two were sent to Australia for testing, and then we get is the opening of Stardust Memory.

While GP01 and GP02A were the idea of Nina Purpleton, an engineer from Anaheim Electronics, GP03S was conceived by another engineer, Lucette. Both of them being equally strong willed, and cute as well ^^; therefore GP03S is nothing like the earlier two units. GP03S is specialized for space combat, as we can see from the huge tail binders, and powerful rocket thrusters attached. The Core Fighter/Core Block system is absent in this unit, replaced by a panoramic/linear seat type, a concept originally from RX-78 NT-1 Gundam NT-1. The new cockpit system features 360 degrees monitor, allowing the pilot to have unlimited view of the combat environment. This new system would later become a standard for all MSs.

Front and rear view of GP03S Stamen

However, the most notable feature of GP03S is its ability to dock with a huge mobile weapon unit called “Orchis” to form GP03D Dendrobium. The tail binder mentioned earlier on is the docking mechanism used to combine with Orchis. When docked, GP03S would seemingly be the “pilot” of the MA, since it would be sitting in the middle, and uses its retractable arm to grab the weapons from the compartments of the MA. Some of these weapons are hand held, while some are launch-able missile pods. The main arnament is the mega beam cannon mounted on the right hand side of Dendrobium, with power output equals to the main battery of a battle cruiser.

Of topic again! ^o^ Anyway, talking about the weapon system just now, apart from the beam rifle which is the same as GP01 and GP01fb’s, there are new arms for this guy, including a shield and a bazooka which both can be folded. The ability to fold the weapons is to allow them to be stored in the MA, and launched when they are needed. The beam sabers are standard type, but this time, they can be stored in the recharge racks in GP03S’s backpack.

Unfortunately for GP03S and the developer Lucette, the project was shut down right after it was completed by the Federation. The MS was then under the supervision of General Nakato, who would not allow the new weapons to be used even when Gato and the Delaz Fleet were threatening Earth with a colony drop. Lucette helped Kou Uraki to board the unit at the cost of her life. The crew of Albion seized General Nakato’s troop and brought GP03S and Orchis along to try to stop Gato at the very last minute.

In terms of the model, GP03S came out some four or five years after GP01’s release, which seems to be a long wait for its fans. I wasn’t particularly interested in it at the beginning, but the retractable claws in the arms, as well as the folding arnaments changed my mind. Since the models are developed with a much better technology as compared to the earlier MG series, the model allows greater flexibility and posability, while maintaining the same standard of sophisticated details of the legs’ inner frame, and some parts that isn’t visible at first glance. For example, there are details of the mechanism behind the armor pieces of the arm, which will never be seen unless you take out the armor. I guess that must be the main attraction of the MG series, apart from the size and flexibilities, the amount of details available is just astonishing. You can magnify the model for a couple of times, and there are still layers of details to be seen.

Same with GP01 and GP01fb, there are two methods to open the cockpit htach


The original Core Block and the Conceptual Core Fighter, both can dock prefectly with the model's body


Details of the leg unit

One of the special things about the model is the transformable Core Fighter included. Hey, didn’t you say this guy doesn’t have one? True, the new Core Fighter is designed based on fans’ request! The transformable Core Fighter GP01 and GP01fb received quite a lot of positive feedback, triggering the idea of including such design for GP03S as well. Bandai experimented with the idea in the HGUC version, and many people opted to see the transformation process in the MG version. That’s how the new Core Fighter comes about. In the anime, it was explicitly mentioned that there is no Core Fighter system for this Gundam.

Weapons and action poses for GP03S

The folding arnaments are extremely cool. I like the bazooka the most, solid and looks very practical for combat use. The folding/unfolding function is extremely simple, unlike the assembly process of the bazooka used for MG Gundam Ez8. The folding shield is a little bit disappointing, and the joints were a bit weak, so the shield would keep on “folding” even when it’s mounted on the arm. I wish that Bandai would develop the locking mechanism used in the folding bazooka for the shield as well, but too bad they didn’t think about the flaw in the first place. The beam rifle, although same design with the previous model, features new assembly method, which is pretty cool as well.

The mechanical arm of GP03S, built for the purpose of operating the weapon compartments of Dendrobium

With the review on GP03S done, I’ve finish all the parts on the Gundams appear in Stardust Memory, as well as all the MG models for the series. There are many more MG kits, such as GM Custom, GM Kai (Ground Type), GM Kai (Space Type), Zaku 2 F2 (Zeon color), Zaku 2 F2 (EFSF color), and GM Quel. Some kits are pretty old now, while some are released just about a year or so ago.

Another two kit I’m going to introduce soon are HGUC Gelgoog Marine (or Gelgoog F) and Domtropen. But I guess I won’t be doing that until the end of the World Cup season :-)

By the way, some of you might come across GP04G, which looks quite similar to all the four Gundams mentioned before. There are some resin kits released based on GP04G as well, and you might be wondering where this guy comes from. Officially, there is no such design mentioned in the anime, the backstage story tells us that GP04G is a conceptual design which is the conclusion of all the Gundams before him in the Gundam Development Project. When the project was shut down in the end, GP04G is still on the drawing board. When the Zeon offers to buy some new MS developed by Anaheim Electronics, the company which always aims to make a profit out of any chance they can, modify the design of GP04G into Gerbera Tetra, the customized MS for Cima Garahau. We can still see the same huge thruster design, identical leg design, and the backpack binder, but gone were the Gundam head, and white-blue-red Earth Federation color scheme. Personally, I like Gerbera Tetra very much; the flaming red color scheme suits the pilot, Cima very well. I do hope that this MS will one day be given the MG treatment, although the possibility is quite low, given the hype over Stardust Memory is pretty much over.

HG Verde Buster Gundam Pics

The Gundam Base Side 1 posted several juicy photos of the upcoming HG Verde Buster Gundam from SEED Stargazer. The waist rifle can be combined, with assault knifes attached, missle pods, and the head veil can be lifted! SUPER COOL MAN!!! This model is on top of my list at the moment, that's for sure!

Also available for preview is HGUC Black Tri-Star Zaku I, which is merely a color change of the previously released Zaku I. Buy this if you're a fan of the original Jet Stream Attack.

PLAMO Review 9: MG GP01fb

GP01fb is the upgraded version of GP01. The later is more adapted to land battle, as the pilot discovered later in one of the episodes in UC0083 Stardust Memory, GP01 doesn’t have the mobility needed for space combat. The unit is heavily damaged by Zeon’s Cima Garahau in her Gelgoog FS, but the pilot, Kou Uraki survived the blow. Fortunately for him, the Gundam’s armor was strong enough to withstand some heavy beam gatling while his teammates rushed to his rescue.

GP01fb front and a closer view

GP01fb was then taken to the developer, Anaheim Electronics’ base on the moon for the required upgrade, supervised under the original designer, Nina Purpleton, who has a crush on the pilot Kou. The upgraded version, Full Vernien, is given a far more powerful thruster output than the predecessor although the design is pretty much original. The head, arms, and the inner frame of the legs are the same, but heavily mounted with rocket thrusters. A new Core Fighter was designed, although the docking sequence is the same as well.

The new Core Fighter and the transformed Core Block

In terms of arnaments, the unit uses the same weapons as the previous GP01. Head Vulcan, beam rifle, shield and two beam sabers are all inherited from GP01.

After the success of the testing, GP01fb saw action for the first time in dealing with ex-Zeon pilot Kelly, who is determined to return to the army although he lost his left arm in the last war. His determination was ignored by Cima Garahau, and Kelly went to prove his worthiness by challenging GP01fb with his customized Mobile Armor Val Varo. Kou was able to win the duel by ejecting the upper part of GP01fb and buried his beam saber into the heart of Val Varo. Later GP01fb was involved in the major battle to stop Gato from targeting the nuclear warhead at the Earth Federation’s fleet. However, while Kou and his gang battle the diversion created by the Zeon, Gato was able to break through the defenses of the fleet, and checkmated the Feddie. Kou rushed to the scene with maximum speed, only to witness the worst defeat of the Federation since the beginning of One Year War UC0079. An enraged Kou then battles Gato in his GP02A in an epic sword duel, only to have both units trashed in the end. The story of Stardust Memory however, merely reached another dreadful turn of event after this.

The MG model of GP01fb was released shortly after GP01 came out, which was much to everyone’s expectations. There are designs of parts in GP01’s kit hinting that GP01fb will use them together with some new parts, and that’s exactly what we get. Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t any tone of disappointment here, because both models has their own specialties and not merely a swap of color and some facial differences as we see in some GM and Zaku’s kits.

The inner frame of GP01fb's leg unit, which is identical to GP01's

I’m quite amazed with how well Bandai engineered the new kit to fit so well with GP01’s kit. Changes made include the shoulder armor, chest armor, waist, leg armor, and additional “shoes” :-) the “shoes” mentioned here are thrusters-incorporated feet that slide right into the original parts of GP01, given it a bigger feet. Very funny to describe this part, really :-) The changes were so simple but effective, they make me feel that the old parts were just chucked out and new parts can be mounted onto them just like that. The Core Fighter is new of course, although the transformation process seems much simpler than GP01’s. Frankly speaking, I like GP01’s Core Fighter better, I think GP01fb’s design of sticking two fat barrels onto a small fighter jet is a bit hilarious.

Opening and closing of the shoulder vernier. Looks cool, but be wary of tiny parts

Some parts are extremely small, be wary of that. For example the rocket nozzles for the shoulder armor need some extra attention. Drop it on the floor and you won’t get it back :-) MG kits are well known for their glue-less assembly, but you might consider using glue for these tiny-biny parts. By the way, the model also has chest verniers, for him to pull back easily when the speed forward is a bit too much. Unfortunately for the MG kit, the mechanism of opening and closing verniers can only be done by swapping the particular parts. Bandai was able to design the full mechanism without the hassle of swapping parts in the Perfect Grade version, which of course is way bigger and more expensive than the MG version.

The arnaments are exactly the same with what you can get in the GP01 kit, so please refer to that post for the details :-)

MG Aile Strike Gundam: Inking

The model I’m working on at the moment is MG Aile Strike Gundam. Currently I’ve finished inking the details of the parts, and the progress is around 95 percent. Parts left are the 1-100 pilot figures of Kira Yamato. There are two actually – one standing and another one in sitting position in the cockpit. Also, the blades of the Armor Shneider need to be painted in silver as well.

I’ll be assembling the model soon, and you can expect a full review about it as well. Meanwhile you can have a look at some of the parts inked, although I’m pretty aware that if you never assembled a model before, you would probably have no idea where these parts fit in for the completed model. On the other hand, for you who would like to see the completed Aile Strike Gundam, please refer to Ken’s Blog.

PLAMO Review 8: GP02A

Finally, the big guy.

I must admit that when I bought this kit, Master Grade GP02A back in 2000, I had no idea who he is, and which Gundam series he is in. The sole reason why I picked him off the shelves is the sheer size of the parts and equipments he has. The shield, shoulder thruster, legs, and the nuclear launcher are really cool. It was after I assembled the model that I went to research on this MS a bit.

GP02A front view and a closer look

I made a bit of intro about GP02A in my previous review on MG GP01. As mentioned, GP02A was developed together with GP01. While the later is a more conventional Gundam, one may say, with similar design and equipments with any other Gundams, GP02A was built for tactical purpose in which tactical means special mission; while GP01 is suitable for most sortie and combat mission, GP02A would only be initiated in exceptional cases. If not for the Operation Stardust orchestrated by the ZEON, and the hijacking of this MS by Anavel Gato, we would have never know that the ‘tactical purpose’ is actually referring to a nuclear strike.

GP02A armed with the nuclear launcher and shield

To protect the MS and the pilot from the nuclear explosion, the armor on GP02A is exceptionally thick, as compared to normal MS. Huge thrusters were packed into the shoulder armor to allow the unit to reach to designated target with haste and to escape quickly afterward. In addition to that, a huge shield was produced for extra protection. The shield is also used to mount the second half of the nuclear launcher (the first half is located at the back of its right shoulder). Cooling system is built into the shield itself, again for the protection towards the aftermath of the nuclear explosion. In terms of arnaments, other than the nuclear launcher, GP02A is only equipped with two beam sabers, most probably for defensive close combat.

Beam saber action

Gato did manage to fire the nuclear warhead. The target destroyed is the space naval review of the Earth Federation at Konpei Island, formerly known as the Solomon Island, the last stronghold of the Zeon before its defeat in the One Year War UC0080. The Earth Federation foolishly believes that showing its massive fleets in such naval review would scare off the Zeon, thus providing a golden opportunity for Gato. Perhaps it’s fate that Gato, who retreated at the last minute during the OYW to come back again three years later and destroyed his enemies and avenged the lost soldiers of Zeon. Later, Kou Uraki in his GP01fb would fight GP02A in an epic Gundam fight in space. Both units were finally destroyed, but the pilots unharmed.

About the model, I think I have run out of words to describe this kit. The armor and the size of this MS are just so damn cool. The design of the face demonstrated the menace behind this unit, and Gundam fans would probably guess right from the beginning that he will not stay with the Feddie, since there is this ‘evil expression’ on his face. In terms of playability, the kit is not as flexible as the MG kits you can find today. Plus, all the bulky equipments deter the model from moving freely.

Details of the leg mechanism, huge amount of details and lines consistent with the Master Grade line

The shoulder armor/thrusters are quite amazing. The joints not only allows you to pose them in flight mode, i.e. thrusters lifted up and the rocket nozzles retracted from the armor, but they are strong enough to hold them in that position as well. When you pose the big guy holding the beam saber, the shoulder thrusters can be adjusted backward so that the arms can move with more ease in front.

Arnaments of GP02A. The circled item is the notorious MK-82 nuclear warhead - doesn't really seem scary in its 1-100 scale model


The details of GP02A's shield

The arnaments, as explained earlier only consist of the shield, the nuclear launcher and two beam sabers. While the shield looks awesome (the biggest shield in my MG collection so far), the weight is a problem: there is no way that the fella can lift up the shield like the other models. So in the photo you see here, the shield is basically leaning on the left shoulder instead of him lifting it (secret review! :-) The beam sabers are pretty standard; the notable difference is the storage rack in its waist armor instead of the standard on-the-back type as in most other Gundams (big deals, Freedom and Justice are also the same :-) The sabers’ light is green, which is also quite special. So if you’re tired of pinkish beam saber, get this one for a change. The other MSs which has green light saber which I can recall are Rick Dias from Z Gundam and Sazabi of Char’s Counter Attack (Hey, Master Yoda also uses green light saber right? :-) The nuclear launcher is great; the assembled launcher is the same length with FAZZ’s Hyper Mega Launcher, just a bit smaller in the size.

What to do with your blog I have anyway? :-)

Overall, GP02A is a really awesome model, but there is this unexpected problem arose: the shoulder armor/thrusters made the model to have significant width, so much that it’s the most space-taking model in my closet! :-)

A EURO-turned World Cup

World Cup 2006 finished its Quarters this morning, as two favorite teams, England and Brazil bid farewell to their World Cup campaign.

Although the teams that are going to the Semis, Germany, Italy, Portugal and France are indeed strong teams, I sort of feel that this World Cup has started to show the imbalance of the worlds football standard. All the teams which made it to the Semis are from Europe, West Europe to be exact. Gone were the shock elements from the Scandinavian reps like Sweden, and Balkan teams like Croatia or Ukraine. Technically speaking, these teams are still from Europe, but their technique and strategy are so different from the conventional teams, it would be interesting to see them again in the last few matches of the tournament.

But the biggest surprise is that we don’t get to see any South American reps this time. Argentina lost to Germany in the penalty shootout and Brazil failed to avenge their humiliation in France 98 with a one-nil defeat to France. So this will be the first World Cup with the definite absence of a South American team since 1982. Quite a disappointment to the continent’s fans. Brazil being the all-time favorite, fail to make it past the Quarters since 1990, their defeat could well be the biggest upset in the whole tournament.

Two Quarters were decided on penalty shoot-out, and like what Pele said, “Penalty shoot-out is a coward’s way to win.” But the two teams which went down in the penalty shoot-out should ask themselves about how they ended up in such dreadful situation in the first place. I think the most important lesson is: defensive play is NOT the way to go. Argentina tried to defend their one nil lead against Germany and sunk in the last minute. Offensive players like Saviola and Messi were sitting on the bench and playmaker Riquelme was substituted after Ayala scored. I wondered what Pekerman was thinking back then. Holding off the German tanks with stronger defense? Probably, but defensive play is never Argentina’s strength. The victory was pretty much handed to the German actually, with all due respect to the German players and fans.

Pekerman went for defensive play after Ayala's goal, and down went Argentina


Eriksson went for defensive play right from the start, and down went England as well

England ironically shared the same mistake as their archrival Argentina. Eriksson’s formation of 4-5-1 tells everyone that he is just looking for the same kind of victory against Ecuador in the last 16. Although Owen is out because of injury, Crouch and Walcott are still available, even Gerrard can play upfront, but Eriksson decided that Rooney can do it all on his own. When Rooney was sent off in the second half, luck is clearly not on their side anymore.

Similar scene with World Cup 98?


At least he will be relief that the culprit is not him this time

The score lines are becoming alarming thin as we moved closer to the end of the tournament. While the opening game between Germany and Costa Rica gave us so much anticipation, seems like we are getting more disappointment now. A total of 6 goals in all the four Quarters, an average of 1.50 per match is unforgivable. If you take out Italy-Ukraine crash, the score lines of the rest of the matches are just combination of binary numbers. What happens to Soga Bonita? As teams get more and more defensive, there will be more and more miserable moments like what happened to Argentina and England. I most sincerely hope that the trend of over-emphasizing defense will end soon, or we will be can sleep through the first 80 minutes of a match, and start watching after that (which of course is the worst case scenario of a World Cup)

Plamo Review 7: MG GP01

I’ve being doing quite some non-Gundam models posts recently, and talked very little about my own Gundam model collection. I finally got my lazy butts off the sofa watching World Cup to write some reviews about the models.

I watched UC0083 Stardust Memory recently and enjoyed it very much, although the story isn’t pretty at all: treachery, betrayal, political plots, and obsession of power, all the evil stuff you can name, the anime has got it all. I would do a review on the anime itself soon, but right now, let’s shift the limelight to one the Gundams appear in the anime: GP01.

GP01 with folded shield and beam saber

A bit background on the Gundam itself: you would probably know Gundam RX-78-2 from the UC0079, the Earth Federation MS which whacks havoc for the Zeon, and lead the Feddie to victory. After the war, the Earth Federation continues to develop new Gundams based on the original winning formula under a secret project, GP, which definitely doesn’t stand for Grand Prix :-) Two Gundams were produced, GP01 and GP02A. The later is capable of using a nuclear missile launcher. Both Gundams were sent to the Australian base for testing.

Things didn’t turn out as planned for the Feddie, as the news about the two Gundams reached Delaz Fleet, a remnant group of Zeon. Anavel Gato, an ace pilot of Zeon, nicknamed ‘the Nightmare of Solomon’ came to Earth and hijacked GP02A, along with its nuclear missile. Kou Uraki, one of the test pilots at the base boarded GP01 and started the pursuit over the stolen Gundam. In some earlier sorties, Kou managed to push GP01’s performance to the maximum, and hence being allowed to be the official pilot of the MS.

After Gato managed to reach space, the battle cruiser Albion continued the pursuit, but GP01 seriously requirs an upgrade. Its performance in space is worse than GMs. As Kou found out later, the hard way, GP01 can’t even move properly in space, and the unit was trashed by the cute ^_^ but absolutely bitchy Zeon commander Cima Gadahau in her Gelgoog FS. Fortunately for Kou, the armor of GP01 was powerful enough to withstand the attack, and he managed to survive the blow. The damaged GP01 was then sent to Anaheim Electronics’ base on the Moon, and received an upgrade to GP01 Full Vernien.

On the model: this model was produced some 7 years ago, so don’t expect it to be as good as the new ones. However, one of the main attractions is the details of the mechanical design. The MS is not designed to be elegant like Freedom Gundam or Wing Gundam Zero Custom. The beauty of this model is the practicality and realism. This can be seen from the design of the Core Fighter system.

GP01 uses the Core Fighter system similar to RX-78-2, but the design is far more superior to its predecessor. RX-78-2’s Core Fighter is like a cockpit forced to be a fighter jet, where it looks like a cockpit block more than a fighter jet. GP01’s Core Fighter however, is an excellent design, which looks similar to the F-16 fighter jets we see today. This makes the transformation process of the Core Fighter to be lot more complex as well, which doubles the fun.

Cockpit hatch


Core Fighter docking


Core Fighter system for GP01

The model also features one the best inner frame design for the legs among the MG models released during that time. There are plenty of details you can see when you remove the armors. There are also details of mechanical design in the docking component of the body when you remove the Core Fighter. All these stuff will look great if you spent some time inking all the lines of the parts.

GP01 Leg Unit

About the weapons, what you’ll get is a beam rifle, a shield which can be folded, similar to Gundam Mk II’s design, and two beam saber. Except for the folding shield, the arnament design follows that of RX-78-2 as well. The rifle features the E-pack system, where the magazine can be attached/detached. Extra magazines are located in the shield, another similar design to Gundam Mk II. However, I’m a bit disappointed than the Bull pulp Machinegun it uses in the anime was not included. You can find the machinegun in other MG kit, like GM Kai.

Folding shield

Here’s a bit extra information for you. Wondering why GP01 shares so many similarities with Gundam Mk II? Well, that’s because GP01 is the predecessor of Gundam Mk II. After the end of the Delaz Fleet incident, the Earth Federation decided than it can’t afford another nuclear crisis, and vow to cleanse both Earth and space of any Zeon remnants, thus forming the Titans, an elite group which works independently from the central government, with its own resources to build MS troops too. RX-178 Gundam Mk II is the first Gundam design from the Titans, which references to the strengths of the Gundams from GP. The similarities include the arnament design mentioned earlier on, as well as the 360 degree panoramic cockpit design found in GP03S.

The Titans were lead by a cruel dictator, Jamitov Hymen who made his cameo appearance in UC0083. The oppression done by the Titans give rise to the Anti-Earth United Government (AEUG) which fights against them in the Z timeline, some four years after UC0083. That’s another huge event, which I would not touch here.

This is the longest review so far, and half of it is about the story and not the model. Haha -_-++ I really hope that you enjoy this as much as I writing it. I will be doing some other reviews on the models from UC0083 soon, including MG GP02A, GP01Fb, GP03S, and HGUC Gelgoog Marine.