| HGGS 1/144 GSX-401FW Stargazer
Series: High Grade Gundam SEED (HGGS) 1/144 Title: GSX-401FW Stargazer Release Date: 11/2006 Suggested Price: ¥ 1500 No. of Parts: 6 runners, 130+ parts Plastic colors: white, gray, red, yellow, black, translucent green Gimmicks: metallic stickers, beam rings, display stand, free PV of Stargazer
Contributor: Jason "sushicake" Kwong Date: August 14, 2007 Ok, it's the Stargazer. After a long line of STARGAZER-based models
being released by Bandai it was finally time for them to churn out the Stargazer itself. Let's see how the gunpla version of this holds out with some of the newer models.
The head is basic HG construction with the front and the back plugging into each other. The whole head is molded in white including the red "thing" in the middle of its head. I say "thing" because I have no idea what it's called, I guess it's used to hold the "V" in place. The V is molded in yellow but it fits snugly onto the front part of the head. There are four places to put stickers on the head, the eyes, the two lines running the back of the head and the two tiny black lines on the side of the cheek. I really like this head design, probably one of the best in a Gundam.
A very nice, simple design here, not much detailing except for the inner
parts, but most is covered up by armor. The torso is nicely molded in mostly white except for the upper shoulder/collar area which is light gray. A new addition to mainly the STARGAZER line of suits is that the ball joints for the legs can swivel left or right, which adds even more poseability. There are quite a few stickers on this part, two being on the lower abdomen while two more are on the front skirts. The only problem I'm having with these is they sometimes keep coming off, but no worries the area is large enough for even the worst painter to paint. A very easy and simple build and all the colors are right too.
Simple arm designs with stickers going every which way for the lines. This kit introduces Bandai's new "no-polycap" design, meaning that most of the arms excluding the elbow are all on plastic ball joints and sockets. This adds more rigidity and more stiffness to the joints but can easily go loose over time of excessive moving and toying around. It's the standard HG design with a twist, instead of plugging into protrusions sticking out of the shoulders they now plug into a double ended ball joint. With one end going into the shoulder, while the other goes into the arm. The other twist is that the polycap that connects the hand to the forearm is no longer a polycap but a plastic piece that can move up and down with a hole in it; this gives the hand a much needed poseability and flexibility. The forearms also have a light gray type gauntlet with a red diamond piece in the middle. These are supposedly where the beam shields go but I guess Bandai forgot to throw those in.
Just like the rest of the suits there are stickers running everywhere on the legs. The design is quite straightforward, with a main gray part with white armor bits going on top of it. I guess the main gimmick on the legs is that the back has a section that can be lifted up and reveals a thruster, which can be positioned up or down. A very nice design but I just cannot get past those stickers being everywhere on the suit.
Ring- This thing is huge, being mounted on a backpack half the size of
KSM71/J beam rifle- Ok, not much of beam rifle more of a pistol, it is that same one used by the DSSD Astray's simple design with the two gray pieces snapping on top of the two white pieces. A nice beam rifle design very similar to of the Rick Dias's beam pistols. At least now Stargazer has a weapon instead of coming with nothing.
Beam rings- Don't know what they're really called but I'll just call them the hula hoops of death. The Stargazer comes with three rings, all positioned on a special piece with a metal rod, with each ring being a different size. They are also capable of turning left or right making some pretty neat poses with the Stargazer. The special piece is mounted in the hole at the bottom on the Stargazer's abdomen which is originally intended for the stand, while the special piece can be mounted onto the stand itself.
A nice kit for the series though the over use of stickers really bogs it down. I'm really enjoying the hula hoops of death and the massive ring on its back is a really neat attachment. All-in-all a very nice kit for the price; you won't go wrong buying it, but the only problem is for the indecisive people out there choosing which colored Stargazer you want. Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars <<back to Gundam |
