#Gundam Katana

[gundamfight]

[gremoria411]

So, the MS-19 Dolmel.

First appearing in the videogame Mobile Suit Gundam: EX Revue, it is a prototype space assault mobile suit developed at the space fortress A Baoa Qu. It was supposedly deployed at the Battle of Solomon and the Battle of A Baoa Qu, whereupon one unit (piloted by Ramuiko Stein) was shot down by Amuro Ray in the Rx-78-2 Gundam. It is notably the first mobile suit made specifically for a videogame, making it the out-of-universe ancestor of a great many things.

The Dolmel was armed with multi-launchers built into its arms (essentially a precursor to the combination beam gun/beam sabers seen on many later Neo Zeon units, like the Qubeley), four missile pods (two on the shoulders, two smaller models built into the chest), toe beams (short beam sabers mounted on the feet) and Heat Piles (the shoulder spikes were able to be heated to increase damage during shoulder bashes).

The Dolmel would later be reproduced (along with several other old war materials) by the organisation True Federal in 0083, where it would be modified into the Dolmel Douhet (/Doue), and piloted by the Organisation’s Leader, Richard Grayson. This modified Dolmel was fitted with a more Gundam-style head, which contained a Demon Blade System (yet another derivative of the EXAM System). It also slimmed down the original’s multi-launchers considerably. Out-of-universe, it’s presence as the main suit of the organisation is due to True Federal’s (and Gundam Katana in general’s) theme of using mobile suits that originated in videogames (like the GM Juggler, Gundam NT-X “Netix” and Mass-Production Big Zam). Since it was the first created, it’s the suit used by the head.

(Also, I am aware that the Dolmel Douhet/Doue has several other subtle design differences to the regular Dolmel, but the artstyle lends itself to list of rounded features compared to the norm, so I couldn’t say with confidence what’s a change and what’s artistic interpretation)

Design-wise….. I honestly struggle with the Dolmel’s design. I keep going back-and-forth on disliking it and being fairly ambivalent towards it. It can’t escape the fact that it was made for a fighting game, it’s weapons, style and even its colour schemes scream it’s origin loud and clear.

It’s obviously designed to have a distinct, imposing silhouette, it armaments designed to leave its hands free and expressive, an eye-catching colour scene to pop with the scenery, and leave little doubt as to where it is at any given time. The design influences of Zeon are clear, since it looks like an up-built Zaku with some additional parts- fitting for a Zeonic Prototype unit. I like the missile launchers and the multi-launchers in the arms, but I honestly find the toe beams and heat piles a little silly (heat weaponry typically degrades with use, so you’d have to swap out the shoulder spikes periodically. It’s part of the reason everything started using beam weapons around the time of ZZ). I think the later artwork (i.e. the one at the top) does a wonderful job of making it look like something Zeon would actually build though.

So why am I talking about it? (Especially pointed since it shows up in Gundam Katana)

Well, I had a dream the other night, and while it wasn’t the focus, apparently the best my subconscious could pull up was the Dolmel, so I figured I’d do a post on it to get it off my mind.

[breaknoon]

She draws her katana....I need a tiny fedora to match.

[boanerges20]

Suzuki GSX-S1000S Katana by Icon 1000

[wounded-edge]

[we-crossin-the-rubicon]

I really like the sword

[cheap-toys-gunpla]

Gundam Astray Red Frame ⚔️⚔️⚔️🔥🔥🔥

[obakaybe]

[gatormeister]

Real Grade Gundam Astray Red Frame!

My first real grade kit! And an early real grade at that.

This was a shockingly easy build. The armor just smoothly slid into place nice and tightly, paneling lining was mostly fine save for a few cluttered details that ended up being covered up by other pieces anyways, and most surprising the advanced ms joint didn’t give me any issues whatsoever save for a single stubborn piece that needed a little extra force to click together. There was one loose armor piece on the belly, but it was simple enough to glue in once I noticed it could easily fall off.

I used Gundam markers for the first time, the metallic set to color in the eyes and sensors. They were great for those, but I also used the silver marker on the katana since I wanted to clean up the nubs on the back of the blade, and the silver looked nice, but up close it’s very easy to see that the markers just weren’t meant for something that big.

I did also use a single bladed nipper for the first time as well, which made the clean up so much easier than just the double bladed nipper and sanding sticks from my first beginner modeling tools, though I still did use those to get through the thicker plastic on the runners.

Action Base 6 is really nice and simple, I like these a lot, bouncy as they can be. They feel very sturdy and hold together beautifully.

Building this has definitely given me more confidence in the older real grade lines considering how many complaints I’ve seen about the rg red frame. I had an absolute blast with it.

[wordsandrobots]

Huh. Actually -- since I'm stuff home sick and my brain refuses to shut up and let me sleep -- apropos of reblogging @superhelltubedotsys' post citing Barbatos Lupus Rex's status as a werewolf Gundam, I'm now thinking about the significance that has within Iron-Blooded Orphans (some spoilers follow).

Because Barbatos the demon has no association with wolves in the Ars Goetia. The nearest applicable part is "He giveth understanding of the singing of Birds, and of the Voices of other creatures, such as the barking of Dogs", which is fitting for Mikazuki and plays into the comparison between mobile armour Hashmal and a bird, but pointedly does not imply 'appears as a giant fuck-off wolf monster with a knife-tail'. That description would seem more appropriately applied to Amon, the immediately prior demon, number seven: "He appeareth like a Wolf with a Serpent’s tail, vomiting out of his mouth flames of fire . . ."

But of course, Gundam Barbatos' steady revision towards the Lupus Rex form is a drift away from its initial design. Exactly how much influence the Ars Goetia descriptions had on the Gundam project and how much they were just used as a naming convention is a little up in the air. Some do seem to be applicable (Zagan being a 'bull with gryphon wings', Flauros switching between the forms of a leopard and a man, etc.). Others . . . well, Bael is supposed to appear as either a toad, a cat, or a man, or all three at once, and while that has some applicability to McGillis' whole deal, it's not really a match for Gundam Bael's angelic form. Nor do the Gundam's abilities evoke demon!Bael's power to render someone invisible. However, I think we can safely conclude that, in-universe at least, the goetic demons are only pertinent to the Gundams' initial appearances and capabilities.

Barbatos' revisions throughout Season 1 are instead a gradual cannibalisation of various different sources of technology and weapons to get it back into fighting shape (Teiwaz technically restores it to its original appearance, but that doesn't last past the Dort arc; thereafter, we're back to bolting on any spare armour going). Barbatos Lupus then represents a significant step towards redefining it in line with the Chief's goal of creating an 'ultimate' version based on Mika's battle data, with Barbatos Lupus Rex being the end-point for that progression.

Put simply, Barbatos gradually becomes more and more tailored to Mikazuki, specifically. To digress for a moment, this forms a big part of my reasoning that Mika being able to use the katana properly at the climax of Season 1 represents the influence of Barbatos' original pilot; after this, he ditches that kind of weapon entirely. Even while fighting Hashmal, he reaches for the biggest club available (technically, a broad-sword, but so ridiculously huge nobody could call it a precision weapon). It's another interesting detail that Mika can't beat Ein in their final face-off by fighting like himself, which comes back around again as the back half of Season 2 kicks into gear.

Anyway, my point is this: being a werewolf is not inherently part of Barbatos' deal. Rather it represents Mikazuki's growing influence -- as you might thematically expect for a union with a character named after the moon (crescent moon, specifically, though I can't imagine the association wasn't intended given Tekkadan are wolf-coded in the text). And that's fascinating because as I've written about before, Barbatos and Mikazuki are the most blatant example of a devil's bargain in the show. The kid literally sells and arm and a leg (and an eye) for the power Barbatos can give him. And yet, the bestial aspects Barbatos takes on are rooted in Mika.

There's an echo of Gundam Wing's 'Gundams are a curse' refrain in IBO. These machines bring bad luck to everyone who pilots them, as a function of representing humanity subsumed by war. The inherent gamble of the Alaya-Vijnana, the overwhelming nature of the conflict they were built to end, the fact Gundams are never sufficient on their own to change the world -- it forms an unspoken counter-argument to McGillis' zealous faith in their status as symbols of transformation that is actually very in keeping with the demonological tradition from which they take their names. What they offer is costly and potentially damning, while also largely illusory when it comes to anything other than utter destruction. Indeed, Mikazuki is a living testament to how 'cursed' their pilots are.

It just happens that he was able to curse Barbatos back.

Because that's what Barbatos Lupus Rex is, isn't it? Put side by side with its original form, this is a clear degradation of a proud warrior into a savage beast. The same design elements persist, of course, yet by the end, it's near impossible to picture Barbatos as an elegant fighter making precision strikes with a honed sword. It has become a true berserker, tearing into its opponents with teeth and claws (well, claws and knife tail). As Tekkadan in general tend to, Mikazuki strips away the affectations of nobility and 'honourable' warfare in favour of brutal reality.

The detail of the Lupus Rex form merging parts of a mobile armour into a Gundam only heightens this. Weapons are weapons, whoever they serve and whatever guise they wear. Mikazuki is always honest about that. His awed response to Hashmal is of a piece with how easily he fits within Barbatos. He sees himself as equivalent to them -- has, in fact, constructed his entire identity around being so.

Thus, the lycanthropy he inflicts on Barbatos is of a kind that merely reveals the truth lurking under the skin. It was always an instrument of devastation. Now it looks the part.

[kotelok16]

Hello, hello! Today I brought some more content on my crossover au! Let's take it in order:

Fuyuhiko and Peko. Kuzuryu is a family that has an ancient Dragon breathing technique in its heritage, which both use. Fuyuhiko had to kill his own sister when she became a demon, after which he joined the hunters with Peko. Fuyuhiko also uses firearms in addition to the katana.

Sonya. A foreigner who ended up in Japan as a teenager, wanting to study their legends about demons. During the search, she came across an ancient forgotten technique of Blood breathing, which she independently learned from notes. She is still a demonic fanatic who is just interested in everything about them, including cutting the insides and studying how they will heal.

Akane. Hunters are paid a lot, this is the first reason. Akane likes to fight with strong opponents, this is the second reason. Akane, having just passed the final selection, encountered Upper Moon on the first task. This demon also loved strong opponents, and therefore allowed her to survive and gain strength for a real fight. (and Akane also tried demonic meat, she didn't like it)

Gundam. A hunter who trains Kasugai Crows. At the same time, he claims that he is actually a demon, and his talent is connected with blood magic. Therefore, he usually hides during the day, and is active at night. But no one has ever noticed any demonic powers in him.

Kazuichi. Not a hunter, but a blacksmith from the village of blacksmiths. Their craft is a family business, so he does his job well. He dreams of meeting a cute hunter girl to marry her, but so far without success.

[gundamfight]

[gremoria411]

There is a problem with looking at so many mobile suit designs in that you can wander quite far sometimes. Sometimes to odd places. For instance, I’ve been wanting to watch Gundam Narrative recently, but ended up watching Gundam Twilight Axis instead (they have a similar plot to me). Twilight Axis has the Tristan, a derivative of the Alex. Another derivative of the Alex would be the Full Armour Alex, which appears along with the Striker Custom in Mobile Suit Gundam Katana.

I’m gonna get two things out of the way first: I haven’t finished reading Gundam Katana, because I don’t like Gundam Katana.

Oh, the arts wonderful and I like a lot of the original mechanics, but I absolutely despise the protagonist (the plot’s not great but it’s essentially a blip compared to how much the main character bothers me).

I don’t want this to be just a rant post so I’ll be brief; The Protagonist of Gundam Katana, Ittou Tsurugi, is a prick. In that way that only a brat with a silver spoon in their mouth (on in this case, at their side) can be. He’s handed a super custom ms and a force of followers that follow him absolutely, despite the fact that he has no experience with command (and more to the point, no experience with failure). In addition, he’s also got those bad reader self-insert characteristics (always in the right, excels at everything he strives to do, knows things that he probably shouldn’t at that point in time). Two examples I just want to call out, the first being when he gets mugged at the docks by a group of five. The muggers attempt to justify their behaviour because of the ongoing economic depression and the claim that the Earth Federation spends more on its military than on other things. Ittou defeats them easily (fair enough), but then has the gall to turn around to them and say that they should work harder because of the recession. Ittou, a military brat, heir to his household and with a legion of followers to cater to his every need. The second example is that after fighting Zeon Remnants on the Moon (which is a whole other thing), Ittou has a chance encounter at the flight terminal with none other than Quattro Bajeena, who’s on the moon on business. Now, Quattro’s real identity in Zeta eventually became an open secret within the AEUG until Char’s Dakar Address. However, many members of the AEUG suspect Char’s real identity (Blex), fought against him in the OYW (Bright) or eventually hear enough rumours that they suspect anyway (everyone else). Ittou has never met Char, never seen Char so there is no reason as to why he should be able to recognise someone who fought with a mask throughout the entire One Year War. But he does, because he’s apparently just that good. (As an aside, the whole deification of Char post-OYW as this ace of aces bothers me a little, since he’s only really relevant to the White Base crew and there were plenty of other aces running around. It makes sense post-Dakar and post-Gryps, but prior he should be just another ace).

Anywho, the reason I wanted to talk about Katana is because I like quite a lot of it’s original mechanics. I say original, because it uses a lot of units that were originally from videogames, so I’m only going to be talking about the Striker Custom, Full Armour Striker Custom, Full Armour Alex and GM Striker Custom.

The Striker Custom is the main mobile suit of the series (and yes, I did choose that second picture to show off its weaponry). It’s probably my weakness for close-quarters suits talking, but I really like it. It is essentially a GM Striker with a Gundam Head and new backpack, but as custom units go I find that honestly quite charming. Despite the two pictures shown here it’s actually quite well-armed, starting with the standard Vulcan guns and twin beam sabers. Following this it has a further two beam sabres, snazzier ones with a longer blade, that can be combined into a beam naginata. It is also armed with a set of Knuckle Daggers, mounted on the backpack when not in use, which are essentially a sort of axe-shaped beam blade mounted in the hands (they can be seen in the second picture). It can also be armed with the Spark Knuckle (essentially an electrified, handheld brass knuckle, based on the electrical weaponry Zeon used) and the Burst Knuckle (punch to attach mine, punch again to detonate, because there’s totally no way for that to go wrong). It can also be armed with a 100mm machine gun (or as GBO2 is wont to, a GM II Beam Rifle), but typically isn’t, because Ittou’s a lousy shot. I really like the knuckle daggers - I don’t really think that they’d be more practical than a beam saber (longer reach and all), but they are cool as heck, giving the suit a boxing vibe that I quite enjoy. The Spark and Burst knuckles are typically used sparingly, which helps my opinion of them - the spark knuckle’s lovely, but there isn’t much defence against electric weaponry other than range, so it’s good it doesn’t get overused. The Burst Knuckle…. I don’t dislike it, it just seems horribly impractical. That said, I can only really recall it being used once, so it’s not like I typically remember it. The Striker Custom is also fitted with a “Demon Blade” AI System, a derivative of the EXAM system (*shot*), whiiiiich…… is fine? It’s probably the fact that I stopped reading before it became a major factor (I remember it being introduced, but little else) but I don’t really have a big opinion on it. It makes sense for a close-quarters suit to have it, especially as a trump card to pull out in dire situations. It’s more of the “can be mastered” system than the “WILL mess you up” one though (the original EXAM system was pretty harrowing, as I understand it and the HADES aren’t exactly a nice walk in the park either).

Form and armour wise, it’s pretty good. A large part of that is going to be inherited from the GM striker, yes, but the Striker Custom feels very agile, and light on its feet. It probably is the boxer influence (even the head looks like it’s got a head guard on), but I like it because it feels like a very straightforward design - get close and hit things. Specifically, I like how it feels like a “gundam-ified” version of the GM Striker in the same vein that the Gundam Marine Type “Gundiver” is to the Aqua GM. It really sets your mind going as to what other “upgraded GM’s” there could be (like a Gundam Night Seeker, or Gundam Guard Type). I’m fine with the colours - I typically dislike it if a protagonist suit is “just” white and blue, but in this case it’s actually got a purpose because the main rival suit, the Full Armour Alex, is Red, so it shows the contrasting personalities of their pilots (and it works pretty well with its pink beam weapons). I will admit that I’ve repainted it to Titans Colours in GBO2 though - it’s about the right time period for them to be around (some even show up in the early chapters) and honestly I like imagining the AEUG stealing one (plus, I think it looks really nice).

Now if only it had a better pilot.

It’s upgraded form is the Full Armour Striker Custom, build with spare parts from the Full Armour Alex. Cards on the table, I haven’t read up to the part in the manga where this shows up, so this is purely on the design and it’s weaponry (as seen in GB02). I do like the bulkier look (the original has a nice agility to the design, but I don’t mind the additional weight), however I do think that it’s overarmed. This is a common problem I have with Full Armour upgrades - they just cram a bunch of additional weaponry on for the sake of it. I like heavily armed suits, but just adding bulk to an existing design doesn’t work for me because the end result just ends up looking sluggish. Speaking of those armaments, let’s run down the list, shall we? The Vulcan Guns remain, as per usual. As do the twin beam sabers, though one of them has been moved to the front of the right shoulder. The Knuckle Daggers are now mounted in the…. What is a apparently supposed to be a shield, but looks to me more like a weapons rack on the left arm. There’s an EXAM unit 3-style double beam cannon as it’s primary ranged armament on the right arm - that’s essentially standard armament for FA (Full Armour) Units, so absolutely no issues there. It’s also got a back rocket cannon and chest missile bays, likely modelled after the regular FA Gundam, and rounding out the loadout is a set of missile pods on the legs. In addition to all this, it’s armed with a brand new sword weapon called Fukusaku - a long sword roughly three-fifths the size of the mobile suit itself. I find it to be a textbook case of a mobile suit being overarmed. I can see how - the striker custom brings its close quarters weaponry and the FA Gundam Brings its long-range weaponry, but it just seems to be fighting for space on the suit - the Beam Saber on the front armour (a very dangerous position, given what happens to beam sabers when they’re shot) and the “shield” that’s essentially mounting two especially large beam sabers on the left arm are just the most obvious examples. Fukusaku is odd, because it looks completely unique, and all the sources I can find state that it’s a cold saber - essentially an electric saber, typically used when stealth is required, such as on the Efreet Nacht. Thing is, it looks to be an mobile suit sized Katana, meaning it was forged, but it still has beam effects over the…… Hamon? Of the sword (that wavy bit on katanas that’s formed as the sword cools). Oddities aside, it makes sense that the main suit in “Mobile Suit Gundam Katana” would recieve a fancy katana, but it doesn’t exactly help with the suit having two other paired melee weapons already. I do like the bulk added by the additional armour to the Full Armour Striker Custom, it creates the sense of a slower, more methodical fighting style (“one strong cut” to the striker custom’s barrage of punches), but I think the weapons weigh it down too much, especially since I know it’s going to be used in space. Honestly, I feel like if you took off the Knuckle Daggers and Chest Missile Bays, maybe moved the saber mountings around, it’d look much better. I like the splash of purple added in the paint scheme, but I don’t notice it’s absence much in GBO2. The Full Armour Striker Custom’s design is busier (especially around the chest), so it doesn’t look quite as good in Titan’s colours, but there’s some lovely details on the back (like the leg thrusters) that really pop.

The GM Striker and GM Striker Kai are largely identical, save for the backpack. Indeed, the Striker Custom is essentially a modified GM Striker Kai (with perhaps a little of the blue destiny units sprinkled in). They are armed differently however, with the GM Striker Kai being armed with beam sabers like the ones the Striker Custom has, and the regular GM Striker being armed with a twin beam spear that can convert into a scythe. I like the regular GM Striker, I think it’s an excellent up-armoured version of the GM, with the twin beam spear being an appropriately imposing melee weapon for it. I very much like the colours as well, with a lovely green, yellow and blue-grey scheme. The blue visor also draws attention nicely to the head. The GM Striker Kai is the space-use version, having the backpack of the Striker Custom in addition to its weaponry. Overall, I think it’s a nice GM unit with the additional armour doing a lot to distinguish it from the pack.

Lastly, the Full Armour Alex. I found it quite difficult to find a decent picture of the Version seen in Gundam Katana. The Full Armour Alex is…. a little of an odd one for me, because though I know it’s just differing artist interpretations, I tend to consider the original (Green and White, right) and the version seen in Gundam Katana (Red, Left) as separate designs (for the most part). I’ll go over the one seen in Gundam Katana first. It’s piloted by Kotetsu, a cyber-Newtype of True Federal in the series (True Federal have a vested interest in having as many newtypes on their side as possible, but they don’t seem to be going for the inhuman experimentation that the Titans did.) who functions as an early, personal foe for Ittou, here to drop subtle hints about the organisation and provide an actual challenge. The Full Armour Alex is essentially a brute - it’s got the strength and power to easily match most anything else in one-on-one combat, and functions as True Federal’s one-man clean-up crew. I think it’s used well in the series - it’s a FA unit, with lots of weaponry that’s geared towards ranged combat - a natural counter to the Striker Custom, which focuses on close-quarters. It spends much of its initial appearance holding Ittou back by sheer volume of fire alone - he’s forced to do little else but dodge. But it’s meaty firepower never allows it to feel unthreatening.

Design-wise….. it’s just fine. I like the red colour scheme in the context of their pilots - Kotetsu’s far more emotion-driven than Ittou, so it makes sense for their contrasting personalities. But in the context of red mobile suits in Gundam….. it doesn’t work. Red is a signifier of Char, or something related to Char (or a char clone), but the Full Armour Alex is neither. I have been seeing some “regular” rivals using it as of late (see the Pixy (LA), but in those cases it just comes off as forced. It’s just red because it’s a rival and rivals are red. The form and body’s fine - it’s a good example of the artist’s style and the muted colours really mean your attention’s drawn to the knees, skirt, head and gun. As a full armour unit, it doesn’t get many dynamic melee shots, so it’s imposing and weighty stature helps it look imposing, particularly the back rocket cannon and it’s targeting camera.

However, I must confess I completely prefer the Original (Green and White) design, as featured in Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 MSV. It just feels so much sleeker and faster, selling that the NT-1 is an improvement over the original Gundam. The green and white colour scheme is still eye catching, clearly drawing a distinction between the original and its additional parts, while helping to sell just how protective the armour would be, since the parts of the original Alex peeking through help emphasise just how beefed-up it is. Furthermore, you can easily believe that there’s space in the armour for the chest missile bays, without significantly compromising its protection. It’s only got two other integrated weapons - the back rocket cannon and the twin beam cannon, but it feels like an appropriate amount of additional firepower. It feels significant, since they’re both clearly visible on the design and the grey plays off the rest of the colour scheme - there’s only a few other small details, like the collar and “ribs”. The Full Armour Alex does retain its built-in arm gatlings, but they cannot be used since the armour covers them. I think the fact that the armour doesn’t cover the leg thrusters, and has dedicated gaps for the AMBAC system are why it feels so much sleeker to me - the Full Armour Alex was intended to be a backup plan for the Chobham Armour, and looking at it it might have even been more agile. I also very much like the head - I assume it was just artist interpretation, or perhaps the NT-1’s design hadn’t been finalised when it was made, but the yellow eyes, red forehead jewel and sleeker face really appeal to me, while helping it have its own identity other than “just the Alex, but bigger”. It’s just really rather neat.

[bagea]

i kinda really like this guy, hes like the combination of all the previous gundam antagonists and like. every gundam antagonist in the series. hes war mongering, hes like the personification of a blood thirsty war obsessed gundam fan, hes cool as hell with his katana and nonchalant battling tactics, he knows about the dark history and all the "sappy lines" that gundam protagonists have said, he knows about how "good triumphs evil in humanities darkest hour" and his motive is to upturn that belief. AND hes weird about little girls just like Glemy Toto

[athena-gunpla]

HGCE 1/144 COMPASS Mobile Suit ZGMF/A-262PD-P "Mighty Strike Freedom Gundam"

My first HGCE kit!! I'm not really that into SEED, as I felt the first season was a somewhat confused remake of the original 1979 series, but looking at the pre-release information for this kit I just had to have it!

This is one of the newest HG gunpla, and thus incorporates a lot of cool new building techniques. The SEED action system reverses the ball and joint on the shoulder sockets, as well as adding extra articulation to the pelvis and abs, giving it a significantly increased range of articulation and helping it to achieve impressive poses. Also, like the HGWFM series, this kit does away with PC parts for joints, making them a lot stiffer and more durable.

The kit does an excellent job of colour separation, with the only colour correcting stickers being the blue details on the two high-energy beam rifles (although to be honest they are quite annoying). The pink glow effects on the wings are also stickers, and the 32 thin stickers are a little tedious to apply, but are absolutely worth it to bring out the best aspects of the kit. The best part overall was the gold moulded parts, which were a lot shinier and better looking than the usual injection moulded metalic gold we've seen in older kits. I matte coated the gold runner and added drybrushing in gold and gunmetal to give it a little extra shine. The nub marks are unfortunately super prominent but easily covered with my gold paint marker.

The kit includes a reworked mould of the HGCE Strike Freedom, as well as the Proud Defender backpack attachment, which has a 3mm hole for separate display.

The Proud Defender comes with a katana, the AVS Futsunomitama, which has an impressive dual moulded black blade, with a gloss injection edge and matte spine. The gold tsuba (guard) and red tsuka (grip) are also separately moulded, which is much better separation than other HG katanas I've built. I only had to paint the habaki (ferrule) gold.

Also included are the dual beam rifles mentioned above, which can be combined into a high output rifle. They slot together easily but securely, without any parts needing to be added or removed. They can also be stowed on the side skirts.

The side skirts also hold the beam saber handles and the railgun. The saber attachment is a little loose and the sabers tend to fall off quite easily. Also, unlike previous SEED kits, the beam sabers do not clip together to create the double-sided saber. Instead, a separately moulded piece is included, which makes the dual-saber a lot less likely to fall apart when placing in the kit's hand.

The kit also comes with a pretty neat polarized translucent plastic beam shield. I'm a little upset it's not UV reactive, but it still really pops.

Overall I had a ton of fun building this kit, and I really recommend any SEED fans pick it up. It really feels like building a RG at some points due to the color separation and minimal correction stickers. Definitely give it a try!

[kunosoura]

iron blooded orphans episode 25 is the shadow of the erdtree of gundam. because mikazuki can't hit the punish windows with his str build and is force to pull out the katana