Series: 1/100
Title: LM111E02 Gun-EZ/LM111E03 Gunblastor
Release Date: ?
Suggested Price: ?
No. of Parts: 83 + polycaps + stickers
Plastic colors: puke green, red, yellow, dark blue, dark gray
Gimmicks: conversion parts for Gun-EZ and Gunblastor

Introduction

Contributor: Gerard Mol
Date: December 6, 2006

Found in the Victory Gundam saga, the Gun-EZ and Gunblastor are almost identical in design, except for their backpacks and color schemes. Bandai has released a 1/100 HG kit of this suit, with enough parts to build either, though it comes in the Gunblastor color scheme and is listed as Gunblastor. The box art shows this suit, too.

Head

The head is simple, HG style. Two halves (front and rear), eye-plate, gundam-beard and a polycap. The 'mohawk' is very long, sticking out at the rear of the head, which, combined with the way the torso is built, limits it's movement, though not much. Nothing interesting to report here.

Torso

Also a very standard fare. Two halves, polycaps, and a small number of clip-on parts for the front to make up the suit's distinctive chest. The colors are dead on, except for the inner parts of the yellow vents, but black stickers are provided for that. The shoulders have very high protrusions which house the twin-missile rack and the beam saber, though these are not molded, and the dark gray hatches that attach to the front are molded shut, too. These high assemblies are molded with the halves of the main torso parts, and interfere with the mohawk of the head in sideways movement, though you still maintain a decent range.

The hip section is very standard as well, though the system used to connect the - independently movable - front and side skirt armor is interesting, and doesn't use polycaps. Also, the side skirt armor can come apart to reveal a hardpoint to store the beam rifle on.

Arms

The arms are a disappointment. They look double-jointed at first, but in fact aren't, which severely limits their movement - they can't bend more than 90 degrees. Also, they are symmetrical between the front and the back, so they can bend 90 degrees backwards as well. The hands are a scaled down version of the standard 1/100 gripping hands with movable fingers. Shoulder pads are two halves that connect to the upper arm instead of the torso.

Legs

Also a disappointment. The legs - like the arms - look double-jointed but aren't. To make things worse, the knee hinges at the upper side of the knee 'block' - where the thigh ends, instead of where the considerably longer calf begins. This means that the knee bends at a third down the leg, from the waist. This makes posing awkward. The construction of the legs is very standard, though the front of the feet are protected by a separate hinging armor flat. The feet themselves have a decent range of movement, and even slide sideways a little to allow for better posing, but this benefit is completely annihilated by the poor knee design. I've seen 1/144 kits with better construction, Bandai!

Weapons and Accessories

Beam rifle- The beam rifle is a very simple affair, too. Just two halves. Put together, done. The beam sabers are another disappointment - the handle is molded into the blade. Again, most 1/144 kits have better design.

Conversion parts- The Gunblastor's backpack is large and unwieldy, though it looks undeniably cool with the large, movable thrusters. These thrusters need paint to look their best, though - unlike the rest of the suit, which is basically spot on in color, except for tiny details like vents and the head-mounted MGs.

Conclusion

A reasonably rare kit - and a poor one at that. The glaring design flaws in the suit's elbows and knees tempt me to rate this kit 1/5 for very poor design and poseability. But not all is lost .. For its design flaws and small size compared to other 1/100's, it LOOKS remarkably good, a sinister almost-Gundam, for a bargain. The fact that you get parts for both the Gun-EZ and Gunblastor is good, and the detachable beam shield molded in clear plastic is a nice bonus, too, bringing this kits score up to...

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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