Series: High Grade Gundam SEED (HGGS) 1/144
Title: GAT-X103 Buster Gundam
Release Date: 01/2003
Suggested Price: ¥ 1050
No. of Parts: 92 + polycaps
Plastic colors: dark gray, dark green, orange, beige
Gimmicks: interchangeable weapons

Introduction

Contributor: Aloysius
Date: February 5, 2005

Compared to the other 4 initial Gundam mobile suits from SEED, this one seems to be a budget model.

Head

The head is, as always, the usual HG design. This time the only difference
is a dark green cover over the eyes and a pair of orange stickers for the
cheeks. There is a minor problem in that the hole for the neck peg to
connect has an elongated shape and if slight force is used the Buster
Gundam's head slides forward. However there is no collar to impede movement so the head can tilt in most directions. There is a orange grating which is faithfully done, and on close observation the green sensor can be seen behind it. Once again the V-fin is rounded at the tip and this can be easily snipped off.

Torso

The torso is just like any other mobile suit. The parts are molded in the
right colors reducing the need for painting. This one has a backpack with a small hole on each side for the 2 guns to hang on to when the Buster Gundam is not using it. Right under the torso there is a flat piece with a pair of arms linked to the 2 guns so that it can hold them properly. They have a few joints and allow for a variety of posing. The two sensors in the middle of the flat piece are uncolored so some bright green paint is needed, and this is quite an eyesore. Also, the guns lack colors and a great deal of painting is required. The entire gun is gray and some dark green paint is needed to paint the parts other than the barrel. Due to the flat piece under the torso which holds the 2 guns, the torso cannot twist much before affecting the gun positions and the pose.

Arms

The arms are simple. They do not have notches for shields because the Buster Gundam does not have a shield. The shoulder contains missile pods which can be shown when the orange hatches are lifted. A serious problem here is due to the scale of the model the hatches hang on by 2 stumps and they keep falling off. Also the missile pods do not have any colors so they need to be painted orange. However the arms are still poseable and it is possible to recreate the poses in the anime where a huge amount of arm-bending is involved.

Legs

The legs lack much detail. At the hip, they do not use ball joints. Instead
a pivot is used and the thighs are twisted midway for horizontal rotation of
the entire leg, which makes the legs seem odd. Like the 1/144 HG Aile Strike Gundam the lower legs are assembled from the middle outwards, like a skeleton. Poseability is quite okay as the knees are double-jointed and the feet have ball joints.

Weapons and Accessories

Gun launcher and high-energy rifle- As mentioned before the guns lack
colors They can be arranged one behind the other or the other way around. Each individual gun has two handles with one being foldable, so the Buster Gundam can grab on to the appropriate one in each pose and fold up the unneeded one. Unfortunately on each gun only one of the two handles can be folded so there will always be a protruding handle off one gun. The guns can also be positioned under the arms for the Buster Gundam to hold. They can be left on the backpack when not in use. All this is restricted by the sticks connected to the flat piece under the torso, and require some getting used to before putting them into poses.

Conclusion

This might really be a budget model. It is simple compared to the other
mobile suits. However the gun launcher and high-energy rifle are slightly
different from previous models and prove to be quite interesting.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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