Greetings! Ren here again for another Gunpla review and today we have one of my favorite grunt units the HGUC RGM-79[G] GM Ground Type. I remember the first time seeing this mobile suit in the video game that I love so much, "Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs Zeon DX" (DX meaning the deluxe edition). In the DX version, you can play the the Ground Type GM and the Ground Type Gundam.
A little backstory, back in the day during the glory days of the PlayStation 2, my Dad would just randomly buy games that he thinks are cool and he'll just let us play. One Saturday evening, he comes home buying I think it was like four games, and the Gundam game was one of them. At first we had no idea what was happening with the whole series since the only Gundam series that we know is the Wing series and the funny thing is that it had This image of Gundam Wing as the cover. (It was a bootleg copy) so we were expecting to use the Wing Zero, Deathscythe, etc. but all we had were Zaku's. We had no idea that it was the very first series. But it was still a good thing because we were familiar with the characters and story of the series that started it all. And after so many versus, arcades, and campaign modes, I was able to use the GM Ground Type and it has been one of my favorite mobile suits. But enough backstory about my childhood, let's talk about the mobile suit.
The GM Ground Type first appeared in the anime (I think, correct me if I'm wrong) "Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team" (and the box art also states that it was shown in that series). The mobile suit's head height is 18.0 meters, weighs 66.0 tons, has 1150 kW, and the armor material is made of Luna Titanium Alloy.
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| (photo from: The Gundam Wiki) |
So let's take a look at it now.
Color wise, I love the color separation of this kit. The off-white, the light desert-like orange color and the grey parts blend in very well. I just hope it looks better when you give it a top coat. And the amount of parts that you need to panel line are a lot and I had a great time lining them.
This kit includes decals for the right shoulder and for the shield. The Feddie decal on the left shoulder, the "EFGF" decal, and the additional "08" on the front skirt are from some free stickers that I got a year ago. So if you have extra decals, feel free to add them. It gives more life and a realistic approach to your Gunpla.
Here we have a close look on the upper body. Let's start first with the head. The head is a (slightly cooler) version of the typical GM head. It has green foil stickers for the main camera, and for the rear camera. And for the main visor? Or whatever you call that, is made up of a clear green piece just like previous GM high grades. The chest part is mostly made up of the this light orange kind of color. I really like the color because it really give me a "Ground Type" feel. Sadly we need to put three foil stickers there to complete the look but unfortunately, I ruined one of the stickers for the chest vents. But the other two looks great so I'm satisfied. But if you're already a veteran when it comes to painting kits, you can always grab your paintbrush, air brush, or whatever you're using to paint and add more details to the vents
Looking at the back, there's nothing much here. Just your simple looking backpack with the thrusters and your plain-
The front skirts are your usual one piece that the crotch armor holds. And with that, you'll have the option to cut the front skirt parts separately so that when you raise one leg, only one front skirt would move. (Some manuals suggest this kind of methods but others don't. I guess)
And on the sides, we can (obviously) see the side skirts, where you can store additional ammo for the NF·GMG-Type.37/100mm machine gun.
Downstairs to the legs, Bandai made a really great part/color separation. I'm talking about the knee parts. Thank God they thought of that, not just some additional sticker mumbo jumbo. Speaking of stickers, you need to apply some at the front bottom part of the leg and on the side but it's easy to apply.
Speaking of the sides of the legs, the legs are used for storage of the beam saber handles.
It's kinda hard to open and if you open it too much, it'll fall off.
Speaking of accessories,
Here it is with every accessory that it has. This kit includes, a pair of beam saber effect parts, a NF·GMG-Type.37/100mm machine gun, a bazooka gun, a net gun, an open left hand, a part where you can store the bazooka gun on the back skirt, and the iconic shield.
When I first heard about the kit, I was excited about it because I know that the GM Ground Type is not like it's GM siblings that only has minimum amount of accessories. I'm really happy about the weapons that it has but I'm not that satisfied with one. The net gun. I don't know if it's as famous at the 6-tube missile launcher, and the NFHI·GMCa-type.09/180mm cannon that I use at the game or it was used in the anime, but I really want those weapons so bad. I guess I have to buy the Ground Type Gundam or for me to acquire it. So yeah, there goes a negative point.
But putting that gripe aside, we have this sticker decals. So basically you have the freedom to choose any number to put on the shield, shoulders, or wherever you want.
So the first accessory that we'll look at is the shield. It is made up of 7 parts that is very well color separated. But I was wrong. You need to paint that top bar with grey just like the anime. But it still looks good even though it has an off-white color. I put the numbers "08" to represent the 08th MS Team so shout out to them. And also, panel lining on the orange claw-like part is needed to add more detail.
Looking at the other side, we see that (very weak) connector for the forearm.
You can also move them and open that small thing at the bottom to make it stand.
And of course, that claw-like design can also be used as a weapon. I just hope that this GM's pilot won't throw away it's shield in battle.
Too bad we don't have the 180mm cannon for this feature.
Now for our first weapon, we have the "NF·GMG-Type.37/100mm Machine Gun". It's made up of 5 grey parts and one off-white part for the magazine.
It also has a stock-like thing that you can pull up so that the GM can absorb recoil from the machine gun. Nice detailing on the machine gun, make them pop up more with some dry brushing.
Our next weapon is what we simply call the "Net Gun". I haven't seen the 08th MS Team anime nor haven't seen this weapon in use in the video game that I mentioned earlier so I guess the main purpose of this is to fire a net.
It's made up of 6 grey parts and two foil stickers for the scope. (?)
Somehow I wasn't pleased with the addition of this weapon. It should've been the 180mm canon, but I guess Bandai thought of making a new weapon instead of the usual ones. (I guess I have to buy a Gundam Ground Type).
Next we have the "Bazooka Gun" (yes, that's what The Gundam Wiki said)
I really dig the design of it even though it doesn't have the supporting handle at the side and sort of differentiates itself from Zeon's bazookas.
It also features some great detailing at the back side. Just give 'em a paint job.
And lastly, we have this small part right here.
It serves as a bazooka holder...
...when you want to attach it on his butt.
Now here he is fully armed with all of the weapons. One of the things that I like about this kit is that it doesn't need any of those pegs (or whatever they call it) on the holding/trigger finger hands for it to hold the weapons/accessory. I really hate that part because after a few months, weeks or days, that part will just tire of and it'll not be a firm as it was. That kind of feature is so common with HGs and I'm happy that this one is an exemption. So for this kit, all you have to do is slide in the weapons and you're good to go! You don't need to waste seconds of your time detaching the hands and putting them back again, and one of the best things is that you're not prone of losing another part that suddenly went to another portal to the 5th dimension. (If you haven't experienced that, you're one lucky bastard)
So here's a front-left-right-back view of the mobile suit fully armed (-ish).
Now let's move on with the articulation.
The head can move up this much. The head and neck are attached differently compared to the usual HG, that's why it has this exceptional neck articulation.
Looking down. (On Zeonic scum)
Right...
...and left.
The arms have the usual articulation. You can rotate it of course.
The elbow can articulation is fantastic.
And you also get extra articulation on the wrist.
Bicep swivel...
...and the arm articulation is not complete without this.
And this.
The torso articulation has some weird shit going on. Just like what gunpla reviewer ZakuAurelius said, while you're building it you'll expect some great shit is about to go down but in reality, there isn't that much.
That ball thingy is connected to this circle thingy right here on the orange part of the torso.
Yeah it is something, but not that much. But at least it's something!
And if you bend it too much, you'll expose some hollowed parts.
If you're wondering about this weird pose, I moved the torso backwards and it didn't feature anything extraordinary. So yeah, it's quite of a bummer.
Moving on, here's the waist swivel and thank God it's not hindered by any part. One of the reasons why grunt units are sometimes the best kits to buy.
The legs also shows a great of articulation. I guess it can bend the knee.
So here's another angle of the knee features some great inner details.
The leg can kick up this far and can maintain a great balance...
...but only has a little bit when moving backwards.
For the splits, it can do a lot but you need to remove the side skirts. But as you can see in this image, that it's doing fine. And the typical ball joint on the ankles is a solid feature.
That part on the side skirts are actually magazines for the machine gun.
Here it is together with my other GM Gunplas. The RGM-79 GM from Gundam Thunderbolt and Fumina's RGM-237C Powered GM Cardigan.
CONS
- Chest stickers.
- The 180mm canon is nowhere to be found.
- Net gun
- Loose shield connector.
- That promising but"fail" torso articulation.
- Great color/part separation.
- Tons of accessories.
- Sticker decals.
- No hand connector pegs.
- Awesome looking shield with some features.
- Great articulation.
- Simple yet beautiful.
So there you go, my review of the HGUC RGM-79[G] GM Ground Type. If you're a fan of the 08th MS Team series or just a fan of GMs and grunt units you need to get your hands on this kit. It has lots of accessories, great articulation and it's just simple and beautiful looking, so I guess buying another kit is not a problem. If you're a guy with lots of money you can hoard lots of this and build your very own GM army.
I hope you enjoyed reading my review! Do you like this kit? Any comments, questions, and suggestions? Hit me up on the comments below share your thoughts. Anyways, there'll be another review next week so stay tuned. And speaking of that, I said on my previous post that I'll have another review for that week (which was supposed to be this one) but I wasn't able to make one because of work, so I deeply apologize. So anyway, stay tuned because there might be another review next week. I'll try my best to make at least 1-2 reviews every week because I like doing reviews and reviews of not so popular and old kits/toys.
See you in my next post!
またね
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