Motivation strikes once again!
I’ve noticed my favorite “II” mobile suits keep ending up as webshop exclusives, and I, in my infinite wisdom, have purchased all of them. The White Dingo GM Sniper II, the Tallgeese II, and I’ve already put the money down on the Crossbone Gundam X-2. Hopefully, spending lots of money on this stuff won’t be a problem soon *hint hint*. Anyway, I’m glad this came out when it did, otherwise I was going to restore my old 1/100 kit and well, that hasn’t stood the test of time. The new Master Grade Tallgeese may not be perfect, but it’s awesome nonetheless.
The new Tallgeese Master Grade, be it the I or the II, is beautiful in its Katoki-designed glory. Sure, the suit was always a Katoki design, but never before were we able to get a more faithful recreation of the lineart. Really, until the Master Grades became a thing, Katoki’s designs never really translated well into kit form.
First, let’s talk about the verniers. The two massive boosters are mounted onto the back of the torso, as opposed to the backs of the shoulders. Now, there are still some mobility issues however, and there has been some paint scraping, but overall, it’s not very noticeable. It does affect articulation, however.
The boosters are basically all linked together and open to reveal four smaller boosters. The same can even be done for the ones on the rear skirt.
I like how the shield and gun both connect to the shoulders via a connecting mechanism like on the old kit, but with a door to close when not in use this time. There are enough joints here to actually allow for the shield and rifle to be held.
Speaking of the rifle, it has this weird spring loaded gimmick that I’m not sure I understand. I think it’s to simulate what the rifle looks like while firing, but I can’t find any use for it outside of a diorama, so I’ll keep it in the extended position.
The Shield looks awesome, especially with the decals. It can easily be held in the left hand, and contains two beam sabers. Both of which use the slanted blade some of the other Wing suits come with.
Unfortunately, the very design of the Tallgeese results in some limited poseability in the legs. That’s overcome thanks to some creative use of joints, namely in the hip armor. The hip armor is attached to the hips at the skirt and the thighs to keep it stationary while the rest of it moves.
Oh, and if you’re doing the TGII, be prepared to paint the feet black. For whatever reason, these were left gray. I don’t quite understand it…
Also included is a piece for mounting it on an action base, but hey, everything uses those these days!
Oh, and another thing! Getting it into the trademark “hands on the gun” pose is not easy, and I have no clue how to properly do it…
Really, the Tallgeese kit is a lot of fun, regardless of whether or not you have the I or II. It comes highly recommended by me, and if you want one, you should make sure to look for the Tallgeese I at FPNYC!
