#Gundam 00 Raiser

[gremoria411]

A question I've been half-pondering since you posted some of your thoughts of G-Witch -- are there any series that you think do particularly neat things with design lineages (either aesthetically or otherwise)?

Obviously in G-Witch, you've got this lovely variety in mobile suit design, with each corporation having a different, easily-identifiable style. But there's also things like how both styles of 'suit in Gundam Wing (Gundams and Leos et al) trace back to Tallgeese, so you have a 'progenitor' mecha running around.

Oooh, that is a fun one. Off the top of my head I can think of around two series that do really interesting things with Mobile Suit Design Lineages, Mobile Suit Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans and Mobile Suit Gundam 00, but Gundam Wing, Witch From Mercury, SEED and the Universal Century in General all have examples worth discussing.

Note: I hit the character limit here, so this post’ll just be part one, and contains my thoughts on 3/4 of the main units in 00. I’ll talk about the fourth and other series in a subsequent post.

Admittedly, most of these are the titular Gundam’s design lineage, but there’s enough grunts that are worth discussing too.

First of all, Gundam 00

I’ll fully admit the above graphic is overkill for what I’m going to actually be discussing, but I think the design lineages of the four main Gundam’s is very very good, because each unit is clearly delineated into a speciality. (I’m gonna define them by their Third Generation Entry, since that’s the ones in the first season of the show).

Exia - Blue, with a focus on close quarters combat (I.E. Swords, to the point its original developmental code was “Seven Swords”).

Dynames - Green, with a focus on long range and sniping.

Kyrios - Orange, a transforming mobile suit that has high mobility.

Virtue - Black and White (sometimes with purple), Initially seems to be the Heavy Weapon Gundam, then later you realise it’s just full of absolute bullshit. It’s great I love it.

The second season, movie and side manga all add to this development line, so you can see how each concept develops over time. It also provides alternate equipment options for the main units, variants on a theme if you will. (I’m going to ramble a lot here, so I’ll identify which unit I’m talking about in bold).

Exia, for example, is the melee Gundam, one of two Gundam’s designed to primarily deal with any traitors to Celestial Being (I should do an analysis post on 00 sometime……, anyway). It accomplishes this by incorporating weaponry specifically designed to get around GN defences which, at the time of its inception, is unique to celestial being (this is why it’s got solid swords in addition to beam weapons). Its immediate predecessor, the Astraea, is probably the most stable of the original second-generation gundams - it’s designed for melee combat and doesn’t incorporate much experimental systems into the mobile suit itself. Because of this stability, it’s typically used for testing weaponry slated for other Gundam’s, such as the proto GN Launcher. This is further evidenced when it’s modified into the Astraea F by the Celestial Being support organisation Fereshte, since it’s the mobile suit of choice for that organisation when circumstances don’t demand a different unit, again because of that versatility. The Exia’s successor is the 00 Gundam (which I habitually just roll into the 00 Raiser, since it’s only around for about three episodes). The 00 Gundam is fitted with two GN Drives instead of the standard one, which should give in a far greater output. In practice, it needs to be fitted with the 0 Raiser, a little stabilisation plane thing, in order to run stably. This becomes the standard loadout for the Gundam, and it becomes the 00 Raiser. The 00 Raiser has slightly less swords than its predecessor the Exia, but makes up for this by incorporating the Raiser Sword, which essentially turns the entire Gundam into a sword hilt. The 00 Gundam’s Variants, the 00 Seven Swords and XN Raiser are essentially the 00 Gundam with even more swords and bladed weapons bolted to the frame (I’d like to specifically call out the Seven Swords for having GN Katars, which is just neat, honestly). As Setsuna’s penultimate suit, we have the 00 Quanta, which dares to ask the question “laser-shooting psychic swords?”, and can also freely teleport, just in case you thought distance was going to make this easier. The 00 Quanta Full Saber is probably what you’d expect by this point - the 00 Quanta with a bunch of extra swords strapped to it. (The ELS Quanta’s not, strictly speaking, a combat Gundam, so I tend to look at it as its own thing). The Exia line starts off basic, but eventually takes the concept of “sword” to greater and more ridiculous levels.

Dynames, is a sniper, but it develops very differently to the other Gundams. The original Dynames and its successor Cherudim were developed for Neil Dylandy, an excellent sniper. However, the Cherudim and its successors were piloted by Neil’s brother Lyle instead. Lyle was not as good a sniper as his brother, and so his Gundam’s were subsequently reconfigured in order to be more effective in large-scale combat - rapid fire rifles and submachine guns as opposed to “true sniping”. So, though the line shares several visual elements and retains a focus on ranged combat, it changes with its pilot.The Dynames was armed rather simply - a sniper rifle and two pistols, with supplemental armour being added. This is likely a direct response to its predecessor, the Sadalsuud. The Sadalsuud is notable for two reasons - it was configured more as an information-gathering unit than a combat machine, and it was notably lacking in armour. The Sadalsuud F incorporated a pinpoint GN Field in order to get around this issue, but the Dynames simply incorporated more armour as a result (likely due to practicality). The Gundam Cherudim, Dynames successor, incorporated missile pods and GN shield bits in addition to its pistols and sniper rifle, with its GWHW/R pack adding GN Rifle bits to the mix, giving the Cherudim far more guns to use. Another equipment pack, the Cherudim SAGA, even went so far as to be a “Seven Guns” counterpart to the Exia’s “Seven Swords” philosophy. Lastly, there is the Gundam Zabanya, which incorporated GN Rifle Bits and GN Holster bits, casting off its original sniping specialisation for a mass battle focus. “You don’t need to be a better shot, you need to shoot more bullets”, indeed. The Dynames line shows the progression from scout, to sniper, to more sniper, to Gundam with a billion guns. This is directly due to the influence of its pilot and the difference between the brothers - Neil’s a Sniper, Lyle’s a Gunslinger and so the line is adjusted accordingly.

The Kyrios is probably the simplest to talk about, since it was piloted by Allelujah/Hallelujah Haptism and was designed to maximise its aerial profile. The Kyrios itself was armed with beam sabers, a beam submachine gun and claw shield, with various optional missile packs, typically used in quick strikes. Its immediate predecessor, the Aubulhool, was barely a mobile suit at all, being essentially a proof-of-concept for the transformation mechanism. Nonetheless, it would also be used as a quick strike craft by celestial being when required. The Arios is essentially the Kyrios but more so - it has a new rifle, and the original beam submachine guns and claw shield have now been integrated into the mobile suit itself. The GWHW/M pack gives it a missile pod and swaps the rifle out for a GN Cannon. The Arios is also unique in that it incorporates a support mech - the GN Archer, which is essentially a smaller, simpler Arios for all intents and purposes (it’s not on the chart, but it was adapted from the Gundam Artemie, the bee-looking Gundam at the top-right). The Arios Ascalon is essentially the Arios fitted with various pieces of equipment originally slated for other units - a GN sword from the Exia, missiles from the Dynames and a GN Launcher from the Virtue. This makes it far more versatile, while still retaining its excellent mobility. It’s another one I’m quite fond of, simply because I find the versatility appealing. That and I think the Arios looks good in red. The last unit in the line is the Gundam Harute - designed from the ground-up as a two-man space superiority fighter. It’s also designed to leverage the abilities of its two/three super-soldier pilots, incorporating the Marute Mode which allows its pilots to fight in-sync (it’s…. Not quite clear how it does this, but 00 runs with the “quantum innovators understanding” stuff quite a bit, so I’m not too concerned). The Harute also incorporates GN Sword Rifles, which are scissor gun-swords (fun), as well as GN Scissor bits and a nice lovely missile container on the rear. Kyrios and its derivatives are largely concerned with doing the same thing - a fast attack plane that’s also a Gundam. It’s a very good, very achievable concept, so it’s neat seeing how the line develops over time. I’d like to note that the Harute is basically a culmination of everything that came before it, but considering I’m quite fond of it, perhaps I’m a little biased there.

I’ll talk about Virtue and other series in a follow up to this post, since I managed to hit the character limit for the first time.

But in essence, I think 00 does interesting things with its Gundam Design Lineages because each unit has a specific role, so it’s interesting seeing how they develop within that role, and seeing how their pilots influence them. The vast amount of other units added in supplemental material further sheds light on the in-universe development patterns and general “goals” of each unit. Exia retains the sword focus, but takes it in more esoteric directions as Setsuna himself moves toward his awakening as an innovator, Dynames undergoes a shift from sniping to gunslinging when its original pilot dies and celestial being replaced him with his brother (which is a very weird process, now that I think about it). Kyrios basically hits the nail on the head first time with its mobility and fast attack focus, with Arios basically just adding armaments, however his eventual understanding with Marie enables the addition of the GN Archer and eventual development of the Zabanya, which raises its mobility to even greater heights. On the other side of the coin, the units seen during 00P and 00F provide context for their successors - what worked and what didn’t, and how they developed.

[the-turts]

Gundam 00 Raider SD

Didn’t want to use stickers on those shoulders so I used a marker, but white pigments have a lot of bleed. Also painted the fists

[purseownervolatile]

At long fucking last

He's mine

Him and his billion runners

[gundamfight]

[carlosthehedgehog]

After a lot of work, I finally got my 00 Raiser video completed! Check it out!

[gerogerigaogaigar]

MG 00 Raiser

I love 00's gn drive shoulder pads. He looks like he's wearing football gear. This bitch only comes with one free led though so you're gonna have to splurge if you want to light him all the way up. Big plus to this kit is that it is basically two entire kits! You get Gundam 00 and Raiser and sure they can combine but you can also display them separately like I did.

[bringmygunplatolife]

[absolute-matter]

00 raiser

[hattiestgal]

Finally free from model kit hell, you know what that means!!!

This absolute beast (built in 1/100 scale instead of 1/144 scale due to being a master grade) is the 00 Gundam! The second mobile suit of the main protagonist of Gundam 00 (that isn't just like a rebuild of the Exia lol)! It rocks the twin drive system - as seen mounted on the shoulders - which made it the most powerful suit by a long shot when first introduced!

Up next, the aircraft companion machine, the 0 Raiser! This is basically a fighter jet that can be piloted separately from the 00, or dock with it to make-

The 00 Raiser!! Which as the name suggests, is the two machines combined to make basically the ultimate gundam. When fully powered up, this thing has some absolutely absurd practically reality warping properties that make it pretty much completely unmatched.

And finally, the two pilots of their appropriate machines, Saji Crossroad in the 0 Raiser (on the left), and Setsuna F. Seiei in 00 Gundam (on the right) to scale with the mobile suit in question!

Gosh, all in all, a real good kit! Master grade is definitely not something I can do all the time, but MAN, is it fun to build and see all the cool little intricate details! Especially when you build the whole inner frame of these beasts, it's certainly an up in how much time it consumes to build 'em. Really good stuff, though!

I'll be returning to drawing tomorrow, and I have a really fun idea since we're getting closer to a certain holiday... >:3c

But yeah! Hiatus over!

[qan-t]

bottom image source

[valkyricarts]

His ass is NOT helping

I have now built 3 Gundam.

Still ain't seen a single episode, I just like building:)

[gn001-re]

Gundam 00 "Trust You" Diorama

A little diorama I have idealized for a long time and I finally finished recently.

The base kit is MG 00 Raiser.

"Trust You", the 4th ending theme of Gundam 00, means a lot to me for many reasons - be it the lyrics that make me think of my relationship with Setsuna or the beautiful imagery. So I poured all my heart into this project.

Diorama progress stages and explanation under the cut

After sanding all pieces, I applied Mr. Surfacer primer. Gray for the light pieces (white and yellow) and black for everything else.

I built the whole kit in order to apply the highlight with the White Mr. Surfacer. This way I wouldn't accidentally mess up the shading position.

Then I unbuilt everything once again and painted with the normal 00 Gundam colors. Mostly Tamiya acrylics on airbrush. I applied a gloss varnish to seal the paint and start working on the weathering.

After everything was done, I applied Mr. Hobby Super Smooth flat top coat.

The diorama base was made out of styrofoam and painted with Tamiya acrylics using a brush.

I got some diorama flowers from WJDG Model and carefully placed it on the base and on top of the gunpla using PVA glue.

Then I added the diorama water texture effect by Ammo Mig.

Painting the water with Tamiya Clear Blue, German Gray, and some white for the highlights.

I know the whole diorama isn't really accurate for the original image, but I really wanted it to be Soran there. I find it especially meaningful that the ending has Soran all content appreciating the accomplishments of his adult self. If 00 Gundam is destroyed then it isn't needed anymore and peace is achieved. He gets to see for himself that flowers can indeed bloom in weapons. Good things came after his life of destruction.

But ok, I'd have to heavily modify one of the 1/100 Setsuna pilot figures.

I stole the pilot figure from MG Exia because I had a spare one. I didn't want to sacrifice the cozy and precious Setsuna in casual outfit that comes with MG 00 Raiser.

Sanded off some details. I made his jacket with Tamiya Putty. Glued the figure back together. Applied gray primer and wash.

The Soran figure.

As a bonus, the painted casual outfit Setsuna.

The finished diorama.

Thanks for reading.

[anhilliator1]

I present: The Gundam Blue Flash.

It went through SEVERAL iterations before finally landing on this one (and I can't promise that it won't change later.)

The original was actually pretty much a wholesale Red Dragon with blue paint. I later switched to a mostly Strike Freedom base with a Double X backpack, before finally landing on this one. (please note, the Strike Freedom backpack is not worth using if you're not using SF parts.)

As for what it is right now, it's a mix of Strike Freedom, Aegis and 00 Raiser parts with a Red Dragon head, with UC Ranged weapons (Save for the shield.)

[purseownervolatile]

Done building! So glad I spent 5 hours finishing him up today because I definitely don't have midterms over the weekend :3

A tip for anyone interested in this kit; don't use the parts E1 15 and E2 15. They sit very tightly with the shoulder armor and will make them pop off if you lift the arm too high

[gundamfight]

[gunpla-fumo-brainrot]

the silver lining of the shitty gundam metaverse project

I gotta say despite all the criticism I have against the shitty build metaverse show the designs and kits that came out of that for the legacy build characters are great. The 00 diver arc actually makes me appreciate the twin gn drive that I never really vibed with on the original 00(raiser makes it work tho) and the return of the exia style wrist sword makes me very happy too. Also that clear plastic is really good at catching the light to make it look extra fancy. Definitely the flashiest of the 4 legacy protagonist kits and my top recommendation despite my love for the core gundam.

wait I just noticed the right leg ankle armor fell off in the last pic whoops guess that’s a warning for loose parts as well as the clear parts and the gn drive binder things