ガンプラ命- Z's Gundam Model Review

Ah… the Infinite Justice Gundam… despite its rather silly name (like most of the Gundams in SEED Destiny), this is like my favorite Gundam in the series. As you all know by now, I have a special place for anything that favors melee weaponry. If you think about it, the IJ is arguably the best Gundam for a duel against who is worth reckoning with; it’ll be quite a foolish move to engage it in close-range combat for very obvious reasons *points at the boxart*… just ask Shinn ^^;. I really don’t mind its magenta/Decade pink/red/whatever color scheme because it’s not something you see too often. I really hope Athrun doesn’t self-destruct it for any reason in the future…

OUT OF THE BOX

16 runners not counting the beam saber parts. manual. The usual decals and stickers. so many beam saber parts! :D. PC runner seems to be from the MG Strike. Creamy/dull/brownish-silver for the joints D:

At first I thought I would be satisfied with the color of the joints until I saw that the nubmarks on it are BLACK and sticks out like a terrible sore thumb, so I disassembled all four limbs and go over the exposed parts with my Mekki Silver Gundam marker… after that, I can finally sleep peacefully ^^;. The color of the plastic really doesn’t do the Gundam any justice. In total, I painted the waist, the side skirt connectors, the hands, the elbows, the knees, ankles, and IJ’s rear thruster.

For the first time ever, I found a use for this red that came with my Real Touch Gundam Marker set. This marker’s paint matches the color of the Fatum-01′s plastic almost perfectly so I was able to hide a few of the nubs ^^.

BODY UNIT

Forgot to cut out the parts for the bottom hatch when I took the first photo ^^;. I painted the two tiny clear parts in clear green that goes under the breast armor. Anyway, the body is quite solid… no squeaks or cracks. What’s weird about the design is that the top outer black armor is not flush with the bottom… I thought it was a mistake but apparently that’s how it is. Props to Bandai for making separate pieces for the green strips!

WAIST UNIT

While the waist is simple, there is quite a bit going on here. The side skirts can slide up and down a bit and the the rear skirt can lift up to unlock the plates in the middle of the waist to pull out for more dynamic poses.

LEG UNITS

A load of parts here! When it assembling the legs, I got a bit of a nostalgic feeling that I was assembling the MG Impulse; I think the leg design is a bit similar. You got your usual sliding parts in the joints that allows for that wide degree of range that we all come to love nowadays. The photos are before I disassembled them and painted the knees silver.

ARM/SHOULDER UNITS

Separating the three-finger part for the hands is SOOOOOO EASY on this model! In fact, I just used my hands to separate them apart! The plastic between each finger is sooo thin! :D You just apply a little stress by squeezing the fingers together to wear out the plastic, then just slowly rotate each finger in the direction it bends toward… and it’ll just come right apart! SOOO EASY! Of course, then you have to clean up the nub afterwards. There’s really not much to say about the arm itself though… seems kinda like your basic MG model arm (frame + armor). Nubmarks are heavy on the outer armor since the parts are whole and not halves.

HEAD UNIT

More wonderful color separation here; you don’t have to paint in the vulcans because there are parts for it! Ditched the foil sticker and painted the back of the clear piece silver, and the front with clear blue for the horn thing. Only used the foil for the eyes. Only when I was assembling the head did I realize how much detail went into the IJ’s head. There is a fair bit going on ^^. On the head crest, it says “X-19A DICIANNOVE”.

WEAPONS

Beam sabers- The hilt is so long o_o. I like how there is a separate connector for the beam sabers to ensure that they stay connected unlike MG Freedom’s.

Beam rifle- hooray for no foil sticker for the pink part… unlike certain MG of the same series *coughMGStrikeFreedomcoughMGFreedomcough*

The shield is quite elaborate as it has a lot of stuff going into it. Extra beam saber/boomerang, check. Rocket anchor, check. A beam shield on top of the physical shield, check!

FATUM-01

This unit is pretty much a model kit on its own and it does have some cool mechanics built into it; the thrusters where the wings are connected slides out when you swing out the wings.

COMPLETED MODEL

Painted the joints silver, applied most of the decals and stickers, and sprayed matte topcoat to finish it off ^^. Haha… IJ looks so naked without the Fatum on its back xD.

Topcoating the Fatum-01 was rather difficult since it was so wide and I had to cover many spots that I can’t cover in one sweep. I think there are three connectors included for use with the action base- one for IJ’s crotch, one for the Fatum alone (that goes into the pegs where it plugs into IJ’s back), and one for the Fatum’s flight mode on IJ (separate pegs on the bottom of Fatum).

Now THAT looks more complete ^^;

Very solid stance, firm and planted. Surprisingly, it also doesn’t seem to be backheavy.

A closer look at the details, the silver joints, markings, and whatnot.

Tallest to shortest. Now let’s get to the action…

BEAM RIFLE

This Gundam obviously dominates in the air but it can apparently do almost just as well on the ground ^^.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the ankles were holding up and even in wide stance, there doesn’t seem to be a problem with balancing. Now let’s take it to the air…

FLYING IN THE SKY!

Looks rather awesome in flight mode :D

“You going down!”

I am sooo glade that I don’t have to use Bandai’s Action Base to keep it in flight mode! As you can see, the Fatum is perfectly capable of keeping itself propped up horizontally on IJ’s back. This is made possible thanks to IJ’s back sockets being able to slide back into the body to keep things in place.

Unlock and pull out the plates inside the waist and wide dynamic poses can be achieved.

So far the only restriction I’ve noticed is the head. The “skirt” of the of the back of its head obstructs the maximum range it can turn. The other obstruction is its own chin…

“SUPER LACERTA” BEAM SABER

Bet you never recalled Infinite Justice using just one beam saber in the anime… well, that’s because Athrun never only used one >_>.

I still can’t decide if I like the glittery stuff inside the beams. What I do like is that the beam is curved since that gives a better dynamic effect!

Dual wielding is awesome

If you look carefully, the beam sabers are actually not connected ;)

Yea… I don’t think I really care for those glitters in the beams…

Why did I put it in such a pose? Because the model can do it =)

Athrun’s favorite setup

cue stock footage

Can’t say I’m digging the glitter in the shield either. I like the blue though…

It was so hard trying to capture the full length of the combined beam saber because it’s so long!

“GRAPPLE STINGER” ROCKET ANCHOR

This weapon has more screen time in this review than it did in the anime.

This could’ve been a very badass weapon…

“GRIFFON” JUSTICE KICK

Justice is served!

So you get one beam that puts the foot at 90 degrees with the leg and two ever so slightly longer that makes about 120 degrees.

I tried my best and realized that replicating the boxart is not physically possible… >_>

This is like the sole weapon that puts it at an advantage over the others in melee combat. While everyone has their hands full, Infinite Justice still has its legs!

JUSTICE KICK!

KICK!

Better run when Justice is coming!

“SHINING EDGE” BEAM BOOMERANG

In the rare event that IJ somehow manages to lose both of his beam sabers, it still has one hidden in its shield!

A beam saber that can also function as a boomerang… oh what a weapon! I thought the white bits on its shoulders were also boomerangs but guess not ^^;.

SONIC BOOM!

FULL BEAM!

This… is why you will lose in a sword fight against this monster.

Even with everything on, nothing is obstructed and IJ can still move perfectly fine. The only thing missing are beams coming out of its horn and crotch…

Even with all the beams on, there is still a free hand to wield a beam rifle! As if the twin multi-directional beam cannons on the Fatum wasn’t enough to cover long range…

Don’t forget the Rocket Anchor! See why this Gundam is so great? It has a bunch of armaments and is fully capable of using it. ALL AT ONCE! :D

PROS AND CONS

PROS

- Near-flawless poseability and no apparent/annoying obstructions.

- Very stable and well-balanced; surprisingly not backheavy; IJ can still stand and pose on the ground with the Fatum in flight mode.

- Beam spammage

- Capable of using every armament in its arsenal… all at the same time!

- Well designed and proportion

- Color separation for parts

- Decals and stickers are very easy to apply onto the model because of the many flat surfaces.

- Makes a great display piece, be it standing or in action.

- After all is done, joints only felt slightly worn with no detrimental effect (feels less snug, but nowhere near loose).

- JUSTICE KICK!

CONS

- Joints are not really silver

- Shield is a bit loose… can easily be knocked off the arm.

- While nubmarks are subtle overall, but where it is bad… it is REALLY bad. Most of the baddest nubmarks on the model are out in the open like on the elbows and the back of the knee (mainly the black-on-silver nubs). This is remedied by painting the joints.

- Purely nitpicking here just for the sake of adding one more con: the connector to combine the beam saber is ever so slighly flexible, making the combined hilt look crooked at times. ^^;

- More nitpicking here… no beam effect/sabers for the Fatum-01′s cannons and tips ^^;.

VERDICT

A great model for a great Gundam. Besides the not-silver joints, there is very little I can nitpick on this model. Any other issues are negligible or can be remedied one way or another with little to no effort. Color separation is one of the best I’ve seen on an MG and poseability is top notch. This all comes at a not-quite-cheap price though as this MG is on the pricier side of the line-up at +$50. If you can get pass that, then all is well. This model does the Gundam justice!

“ASSRAM! ASSRAM SARADA!!!” “SHINN! YOU IDIOT!”

“How many times do I have to call you that?!”

“SHUT UP!”

“HAAA!!!” “SHINN!!!”

“AHHH!!! :O” “YOU IDIOT!!!”

“Don’t turn your back on me!”

1..2…3 “Justice Kick…” JUSTICE KICK!

“HA!” O_O!

“Justice… has been served”

“Better make sure someone like him doesn’t reproduce…”

“TAKE ONE FOR HUMANITY, SHINN!!!” *beep beep beep*

“Wait! Someone is coming!”

“ALEX DINO! NO… ASSRAM SARADA!

“Who do you think you’re fooling with a stupid pair of sunglasses?!” “Du… Durandal?! Why are you in an Akatsuki knock-off MS?! ” “YOU FOOL! This is the original bling MS! I’ll tell you one thing…”

“I STARTED KICKING GUNDAMS BEFORE YOU WERE EVEN BORN!!!”

“Not bad… he must’ve been sniffing too much of that PLANT stuff…”

“Youth these days doesn’t understand anything! Their souls (along with their brains) are held down by gravity!”

“What nonsense are you talking about?! And why do you have two different sabers?!”

“Because I’m more badass than you! *grunts* You’re from the Cosmic Era right? Then why don’t you zap me with your COSMIC RAYS?! HAHA!”

“What?! I’m short on power?!”

“You’re not getting away!” “I’m not planning to!”

“HA!” “What?! Kids these days have beams in their legs?!”

“I’m being overpowered?!”

“TENSION FORTISSIMO!!!”

“JUSTICE FEVER!!!”

“UWAHHH!”

“bastard…ugh… you scratched the paintjob! This will cost me $103,025,095 to be repaired by Anaheim Electronics!”

*snorts*

“I’ll show you my secret weapon then… THIS HAND OF MINE IS GLOWING GOLD! ITS ROARING BLING IS TELLING ME TO SMASH YOU INTO SMITHEREENS!!

“… Your hands are the only thing that is NOT gold about you…” “SHUT UP!”

HYAKU!

HAMMAAAAAAA!!!

“Well then…”

GRAPPLE STINGAAAA!!!

*CLASH!*

*slips by*

*Gets hammered* “Gets…grapple stung?*

“Good thing I have VPS… Now up you go!” “NANI?!”

“FATUM-01!!!”

*SWOOSH*

“HYAKU SHIKI! UGOKE! HYAKU SHIKI! NAZE UGOKAN?!”

“KOKO KARA INAKU NAREEEE!!!”

“UAAAAAAGHHHH!!!”

…