From the last post one would have probably known that I am a bit big into grunt machines for the Gundam franchise. Looking back at the first half of 2011 so far, it appears that there are a lot of GMs released for the HGUC 1/144 line. It's definitely one thing that keeps me happy at least!
HGUC 1/144 GM Custom, released in January.
HGUC 1/144 Jegan ECOAS Type, released in April.
HGUC 1/144 GM Cannon II, released in June.
HGUC 1/144 GM III, which I have foolhardly bought 9 of them, was released in early July.
And new Gunpla have been announced not too long ago.
HGUC 1/144 Jesta, September release.
I am sure that a lot of people are looking forward to this guy, and it's coming out sooner than I've expected ^^
HGUC 1/144 GM II, October release. I am not sure what colour variation we will get though. It may very likely be the desert colours as seen in the Gundam UC artwork like here.
Maybe we will get a Nemo as well in the future? :o
On the other hand, there is also some kind of derivative of the GM from a different universe: The HG 1/144 Genoace from the upcoming Gundam AGE series. It seems to have some wide waist articulations there. The enemy dragon look-alike transformable unit Gafran actually looks ok, despite the way it does not seem to be like something from the Gundam franchise.
With Gundam 00 over, a lot of grunt units from Universal Centiry are getting materialised into Gunpla kits. While I do dig into a lot of grunt machines more than Gundams these days, I don't intend on buying multiple numbers of all units ^^; For example I got the GM Kais while leaving the GM Customs or GM Cannon II behind; I don't have that much space to make up a whole arm force unfortunately ^^;;
But I must say that being a fan of grunt units, it's just great to see that some of the dreams do come true eventually~ It has been a "Year of the GM" so far! ^^
Pictures are from Hobby Search and Cybergundam Blog
The HGUC Jesta is MUST for me, it'll make my Jegan and it's variants complete. =D
ReplyDeleteI love GMs as well, or really most "grunt" suits for the Feds (seems they're not all designated "GM").
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I picked up a bunch of the MG kits earlier this year. I'm going to do a 0081 display with some of them, and an AOZ GM Kai HiMo custom as well!
Jesta is a must get. I have a GM Type C that I want to convert into the wagtail but I haven't found the conversion set yet. :(
ReplyDeleteI might get the Gafran if newer pictures looks a little better.
@ bd77:
ReplyDeleteI will most likely get a team of 3 Jestas - definitely one high-end grunt unit that I (and many others) have been waiting for!
I really like your Jegan collection! Just the Jesta left and it's done (unless Bandai decides to release more variants)!
@ korewagundam:
It's true that the Jegans are not exactly GMs, but some kind of successor after them.
I remember that you've made a few posts on plans to do some kit conversions. Would like to see what 0081 MS you'll do!
@ Tom:
The Wagtail from AOZ? The magazine exclusive conversion kits must be a little hard to find by now :\ But do keep looking for it!
The Gafran does look promising for its design. I too will like to see more pictures of it before I will make any decisions on it.
The Good:
ReplyDelete- More Grunts MS (as I'm also a grunt lover, yay!)
- I find it interesting that I just realized that EF grunts are usually composed of a light unit and a heavy unit (GM Custom-GM Cannon II, GM II-GM III, Jegan - Stark Jegan, Jesta-Jesta Cannon)
The Bad:
- Exploitation on the GM's old parts. I wished they actually design new parts that doesn't shows as many seamlines :(.
- Why are there still no HGUC GM Sniper II!?
@ hiroy_raind:
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late reply; I have admittedly overlooked your comment >_<
Yay for grunt lover! You have an interesting point on the variations of EF's grunt units. It would make sense for them to be economical and remain effective on warfare I'd say. Having too much of varied designs would only cause a great strain on funds. It's also a design trait of the EF I'd say :o
It seems that Neo Zeon MS tend to have better model designs than the EF ones. It's a bit of a bummer; sometimes I do wish that the EF side of models will get a bit better treatment, but I guess it's really up to Bandai there. As for GM Sniper II, I really have no idea whether they will actually go back on that one or not. As you may know already I've already stuck with the Robot Damashii to satisfy myself on this.