| HGUC 1/144 RGM-79D GM Cold Climate Type
Series: High Grade Universal Century (HGUC) 1/144 Title: RGM-79D GM Cold Climate Type Release Date: 07/2003 Suggested Price: ¥ 800 No. of Parts: 65 parts + polycaps + stickers Plastic colors: white, gray, dark gray, maroon, clear green-blue Gimmicks: 90mm machine gun, beam saber, shield
Contributor: Shiroi 0079 Date: February 5, 2005 I have always been a fan of the cannon fodder mecha. Since the HGUC GM was already sold out by the time I got enough money to buy one, I ended up getting this one instead.
The head is pretty well articulated, as well as being very detailed. The clear camera visor distorts the inner plastic of the head, giving the illusion of cameras and mechanics within the head itself. It also has 60mm vulcans, which need painting.
Pretty slick. Thanks to Katoki's redesign, the torso is more angled and the sharp. The vents are very detailed and have a good sunken feel. The collar, however restricts the left to right head movement by a bit. There are two pegs to attach the arms to. The randsel (or backpack) has an attachment point for the beam saber hilt. The four verniers are pretty simple, and tend to fall out of the backpack if not glued on. Also, unlike the GM, there is no attachment point for the shield. The waist is pretty standard. It attaches to the torso by means of a big peg that slides into a polycap at the base of the torso. The front skirt armor is reasonably articulated, but is also somewhat stiff. Some sanding will loosen it up. The side armors are also pretty decent, with good articulation. The back armor doesn't move, but it doesn't affect the leg poseability much.
The arms are pretty well-designed, using plastic instead of polycaps to articulate the arms. The shoulders are pretty well detailed, especially the thruster vents which can move a little. However, the polycap in the shoulders seems to be tight that it can pop off the entire arm assembly from the torso if too much force is applied when posing the arms. The forearms have pegs to attach the shield on it via a U-brace. There are 4 hands supplied: a right hand for the rifle, a right hand integrated with a beam saber, a closed left fist to grasp the shield and a open left hand. The hands seem to be made of a weaker type of plastic since the trigger finger of my GM's hand just broke off when I tried to attach the rifle. Also the integrated saber hand is an annoyance since the angle of which the beam saber is molded in is annoying to pose
Pretty standard. Basically a redesign of the original 0080 design, with sleeker lines and softer curves. The legs have thruster detail at the back of the calves, while the knee joint is somewhat double-jointed with a outer covering that simulates external tubing. Nice. The feet are pretty well made, with a foot guard and heavy detailing on the
90mm machine gun- Well designed with lots of detail. It can be held two handed, and the ammo cartridge pops out so you can simulate a reloading pose. The stock is annoying though as interferes with the forearm. Some experimentation should get it position right though. Beam saber- Molded in white and integrated with the right hand, the beam saber is pretty ugly. Some painting will do it some good, but the difficulty of painting the hand while avoiding the saber hilt isn't worth it in my opinion. Shield- Similar to the GM's shield, but with no cross. Pretty sturdy when attached.
Pretty decent kit. However, the flaws mentioned above mar its otherwise well-engineered design. Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars <<back to Gundam |
