Next review: Robot Damashii GM Sniper II. Too bad this guy strangely didn't make it to any of Gunpla models, but I'm happy to get it in the form of an action figure. Besides it's near 1/144 scale too!
Robot Damashii GM Sniper II comes with a beam sniper rifle, 2 beam sabres with beam parts, shield, shield connector, action base clip/connector, and 3 extra pairs of hands (i.e. 4 pairs in total).
About this guy in the Gundam universe: Appearing late in the One Year War of Universal Century, the GM Sniper II is one of the best variants of the numerous GM produced by the Earth Federation (i.e. best grunt machine for Federation back then). Very few were produced and were reserved for the aces usually. In video games it proved itself to be a formidable unit, and much worthier than its brief appearance in OVA Gundam 0080, where it was quickly destroyed by Kämpfer.
Front view
Rear view
GM Sniper II comes with 4 pairs of hands in total: open palms, closed fists, hands for holding beam sabres, and hands for holding the sniper rifle.
Cockpit has a joint in it as if it could open up, but that wasn't its intended purpose. There is a joint between the chest and the waist, so when the body is leaning forward the long cockpit won't be getting in the way hence removing the restrictions that it may make.
The GM Sniper II can hold the sniper rifle on either hands, as there is a trigger hand and open palm for both hands. So you can have your GM left-handed if you want it to be so.
Sniping in standing position. The targeting sensor has been lowered as the visors are covered.
Sniping in crouching position.
There is a connector part to link the shield with the arm (there is a rectangular hole at the back of either arms). 3 holes available for you to mount the shield, but it's not too much differences I think to be honest.
GM Sniper II with shield. Note that the 90mm bullpup machinegun does not come with the packaging as it belongs to some other Gunplas. Nevertheless the GM Sniper II can get equipped with it for close-quarter combat.
The packaging comes with a clip/connector for GM Sniper II to be posed on Tamashii Stage action bases, but it seems to be compatible with the Action Base 2 which are normally for 1/144 Gunpla as shown here.
MG firing
Simple poses
Beam sabre in action. As it comes with two beam parts you can dual-wield as well.
Compared to 1/144 HGUC GM Command. The size difference is very similar, as well as their mecha designs (as it comes from the same series: Gundam 0080).
Omake: GM Sniper II taking cover behind a few block of buildings.
Note that the sniper rifle it is holding here belongs to the 08th MS Team 1/144 GM Sniper Gunpla. Given that the White Dingo version of Robot Damashii GM Sniper II will be a web shop limited item, you can either buy it via some proxy services, or get the sniper rifle from the said Gunpla kit and get them painted to how the White Dingo version looks like.
Released sometime in September, GM Sniper II is sold for a retail price of 2800 Yen. There is not a whole lot of accessories to play with, and the GM itself has a plain finish with some odd nub marks here and there. But then the GM Sniper II has not made into any Gunpla kit at all (except for a 1/144 resin conversion kit which is quite expensive for casual fans or modellers), so it's definitely good to see one appearing for a reasonable price finally in the form of an action figure. Well it could do a bit of a touch-up which I will plan to do in the future (e.g. panel lining, decals etc).
Can I recommend it? Well 2800 Yen can be a lot for not too much stuff to play with, but if you are into Gundam and you have been longing for a GM Sniper II for a long time, then yea go for it. Otherwise I'd say leave it for the big Gundam (or GM) fans if you are not into Gundam or this GM specifically.
The GM Sniper II is available on Hobby Search, Hobby Link Japan, and AmiAmi.
A review of it can be found on はっちゃか (hacchaka).
Toysdaily forum also had a thread of pictures showing GM Sniper II in urban action. Do check those out too!
Yeah GM Sniper II was one of my fav MS in games... like you said, it can be quite a formidable unit ^^
ReplyDeleteand yeah, I wondered why there wasn't any gunpla for this GM =( There's an MG GM Sniper tho... but not GM Sniper II =(
I was wondering how sniper do their job? I mean do they really have to look thru the scope to fire the shot? As the sniper, it is one shot one kill from a distance but in Gundam series once the first shot is fire, all hell break loose. So that really happen?
ReplyDeleteHowever this is a good looking GM.
where did you get the 3 buildings behind? Look really good.
nice review. :D
ReplyDeletebut I think I'll just continue to wait for a HGUC GM Sniper II ;^^
Very good review sir. I enjoyed the info and images very much.
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of GM (as you can tell), but I do like the sniper rifle of this Robot Damashii figure very much. It's a beam rifle alright, but the design looks so much like real rifle people used for hunting. It's very unique. ^^
Same can be said about the shotgun used by Kampfer by the anime where GM Sniper came from as well. ^^
The compatibility with HGUC scale Gunplas is a huge bonus. The pictures showing the figure with the machine gun and GM Sniper's beam rifle don't seem out of place at all. I bet the bazooka used by HGUC Powered GM would fit just as great, but that won't make much sense given that GM Sniper is meant for specialized task. ^^
Awesome buddy! This is honestly the first RD I wanted to pick up. Now that I've seen your review, I'm even more determined to get him. The GM Sniper II is one of my favorite designs, and I like that he comes with a 90mm Bullpup MG too! Looks great on the stand too!
ReplyDeleteOops, just realized you said the 90mm MG does NOT come with the figure...oh well, still it looks great. Also @LEon, the GM Sniper rifles were designed to fire a continuous beam for a short interval. So while they needed the lens to be able to zoom in on the target, the beam shot would last up to 30 seconds for concentrated damage.
ReplyDeleteLooks pretty good for the price, but what I really like is those buildings you got him hiding behind. With enough of those you could make some really awesome dioramas with your mecha :)
ReplyDelete@ AstrayP03 (Zhe):
ReplyDeleteGM Sniper II only managed to redeem itself from games - its appearance in Gundam 0083 OVA is... Oh well -_-
It's strange that there is no Gunpla for GM Sniper II. Oh well this Robot Damashii version is compatible with 1/144 HGUC Gunplas, so I'm happy with my purchase.
@ LEon:
I guess a sniper's role in mobile suit warfare is kinda different to modern warfare, due to their sizes and mobility (I can't imagine them to be able to undertake operations in stealth). Whether they really need to 'look through the scope' to aim and fire, I don't really know. Let's just assume that if they have targeting sensors they don't really need to.
The 3 buildings are TomyTec N Scale Showa Buildings series 061 - 063 (office, apartment, and hotel). They are released fairly recently and you can find them on online shops such as Hobby Search.
@ hiroy_raind:
Thanks~ If Bandai does decide to make HGUC GM Sniper II I'd welcome it. Kinda odd how it got left out while GM Command and GM Command Space Type are available :\
@ Ngee Khiong:
Glad you like the review~
The beam sniper rifle that GM Sniper II has does have a modern design look to it compared to most other MS weapons at the time.
And I like how you made the relationship with Kämpfer's shotguns there~
Compatability with 1/144 scale is always a big bonus in my book, since I collect various things in that scale. Being able to equip other weapons from other MS yields greater playability and flexibility. Another big plus in my book~ ^^
@ Apt-1B:
With a bit of touch-ups and decals, the Robot Damashii GM Sniper II will have the potential to look like one of the GFFs.
Yea too bad the 90mm machinegun is not included, but given that a lot of HGUC Gunplas come with one, I'm sure you can snatch one easily from one of those kits if you have one :o
@ Persocomm:
Those Tomytec buildings are indeed pretty nice. Someone on forum told me that Kato also has some nice N Scale buildings, but they're more expensive than the Tomytec ones. It's gonna require quite a bit of money to build a small town for a diorama ^^;
I lov the sniper btw how did u buy it?
ReplyDelete@ gunpla:
ReplyDeleteI got my GM Sniper II from a local store. They're nearly sold out by the time I got mine :o
Like what AstrayP03 has pointed out, it is kind of odd that Bandai didn't release a GM Sniper II gunpla kit given the different version of GM that is already in the market.
ReplyDeleteIt would weird to argue that it is not made into a kit because it wasn't feature enough. If that was truly the case, how do we explain the release of kits like GM Striker? Anyway, a GM Sniper is still possible, it is just a matter of when in this case.
That aside, does anyone else feel awkward or odd like me when you see the GM Sniper not aiming through the scope of the rifle when taking shots. I know it's doing the aiming from its visor but somehow it just doesn't feel as natural.
And thanks for providing us with a nice writeup and review, I might seriously consider making a purchase after reading your review. And the use of TomyTec buildings for diorama setting is a nice touch. More ideas for gunpla photography in future, instead of the usual plain black/white background.
@ Jacques:
ReplyDeleteWhy GM Sniper II doesn't get a gunpla kit even to this day is still very baffling. It definitely has nothing got to do with being featured enough or not, because you can easily argue about why Gelgoog Jäger made it (very little appearance in OVA, a sniper unit, and it pretty much uses a whole new mould rather than based on existing ones). GM Striker and Zaku Sniper are designs from Harmony of Gundam, which are units used in Senjou no Kizuna (Bonds of the Battlefield) arcade game, and both have previous gunpla for a base on moulds (Powered GM and Zaku I respectively).
The thing about sniper mobile suits not aiming through the scope... Perhaps it's a mecha design issue. True there can be targeting sensors on the MS itself (e.g. on the head), or on the specialised beam rifle itself, so the sniper MS can utilise either or both depending on which MS and weapon I suppose, but oh well MS are different to humans afterall - I'd just leave the settings to the guys who made them. :\
Glad you like the review. Robot Damashii GM Sniper II could do a bit of a touch-up, but at least we get to have one now finally as we mentioned before there are no Gunpla of it (strangely enough). These N Scale Tomytec buildings can be a nice touch for a quick urban diorama / settings, besides they are pretty much in the same scale too!