Series: Mobile Suit in Action!! (MSiA)
Title: RX-78GP01-Fb Gundam "Zephyranthes" Full Vernian
Release Date: 07/2001
Suggested Price: $7.50
No. of Parts: 1 Gundam "Zephyranthes" figure + 8 parts
Plastic colors: white, red, blue, yellow, green, pink, black, gray
Gimmicks: Core Fighter II, Core Fighter II-Fb, beam saber w/detachable
blade (2), beam rifle, folding shield

Introduction

Contributor: Ezero8
Date: June 1, 2006

The Gundam GP01 Full Vernian is a repaired and space refitted version of Kou Uraki’s originally wrecked Gundam GP01 "Zephyranthes." After some intense fighting during Operation Stardust, it was destroyed along with Anavel Gato’s Gundam GP02A. This is one of my favorite mecha designs in Gundam. Aside from its great maneuverability, it also has a nice looking beam rifle and shield. Now let's see if the MSiA version matches the coolness of the one in the OVA.

Head

Pretty simple design. The traditional V-fin in molded in soft plastic and
looks goofy if bent out of shape. The vulcan guns look basic and are poorly colored on my figure. The head can turn 360 degrees and can tilt slightly up and down. One unique thing I noticed is that there’s an extra antenna on the left side of the head. If the V- fin on the Gundam is already the communications antenna, why have another antenna there? One has to wonder…

Torso

Nicely done here. The cockpit hatch is painted red and the exhaust vents
are nicely detailed. However, they don’t open up to reveal the chest
verniers that Uraki always uses. Too bad since Bandai detailed it so much. The backpack fits snugly into the back, but it may take a little patience and tug to remove it. The backpack has four nicely detailed thrusters; two on the large verniers and two on the backpack itself. The large verniers can rotate 360 degrees and are nicely detailed. The backpack also holds two beam saber hilts, but the hilts are not made for the blades included. Sadly the torso can’t detach from the legs to recreate the modular features. That would make the suit much more exciting. But being just a simple MSiA and not a Fix Figuration, I guess this is all I get.

Arms

The shoulder armor is very nice with vulcan and vernier details. The right
armor has EFSF and the Federation symbol printed on it. The left has an AE on it. One problem I noticed on the left armor is that it fell off too
easily from intense motion. Both forearms have pegs to hold the shield, and both hands can hold the beam rifle! This is a strange thing in this MSiA, since they usually have only one gun hand. This thing has two hands with trigger fingers. The beam rifle fits snuggly, along with the beam sabers.

Legs

Very detailed. There are many vernier details all over it. They are large
like the Zeta’s, maybe as a lead in to the design of Zeta’s legs in 0087.
The feet are large and has the usual thruster at the bottom. The feet are
also made larger like in the show. These are good to compensate for the
added weight from the backpack, allowing it to stand balanced without
falling. The legs move well, but the skirt armor ALWAYS gets in the way.
That limits the poseability a lot.

Weapons and Accessories

Beam rifle- Nicely detailed, and has a detachable e-pac. Three e-pacs are included, all can fit on the beam rifle. The scope is painted red. Sadly, the second handle on the rifle can’t fold up like in the OVA.

Beam sabers- Four hilts, two blades. Two hilts for the backpack, two
handheld for the blades. The handheld sabers fit snugly into the hands.

Core Fighter II-Fb- Attaching the nosepiece that comes with the set with
the backpack can form the Core Fighter II-Fb. They fit on together well,
but they hard tough to separate. The nosepiece is detailed well, with the
chest verniers visible.

Core Fighter II- This hunk of plastic is the most useless piece in the
set. I thought this thing would more likely come out with the standard
GP01, but it doesn’t. Nicely detailed, but has no attachments. This thing
may be good only if you have a standard GP01 and you want to have Uraki recreate the scene when Amuro ditches the Gundam in the Core Fighter, only this time Kou does it. Great for play and show, but really out of place.

Conclusion

Not bad, not bad at all. This closely resembles the unit from the show and
the movie. Everything included are somewhat useful except for that solid
Core Fight II. Overall, this is one of the best MSiA’s I’ve ever bought. I’m still pretty bummed about the lack of minor details like the missing chest verniers, but that’s only a small loss. I can’t wait until Bandai releases a GP03 along with the Dendrobium Orchis or a version 2 of this figure. Those would probably be nice to have someday. But until then, this is solid enough for me.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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