A few months back, you might remember the Real Type G-Armor kit I was going to build. Well, don’t worry, because I certainly haven’t forgotten it. I just got bogged down by Katoki-itis. I actually have plans on building a good chunk of the mobile suits from Mobile Suit Gundam, but in Real Type colors. As such, I made sure to secure myself a Master Grade Guncannon thanks to a very generous Twitter follower. My original plan was to use the color scheme of the American action figure from the early 2000’s, but I felt those colors looks a bit too Zeonic, so I looked up the old Real Type model kit from the 80’s, and I think these colors will work a bit better!
First thing’s first: this is a much older Master Grade, having been released exactly eleven years before the Nu Gundam ver ka. Of the Master Grades I’ve built in recent memory, this is pretty much the oldest in terms of initial release date, even though the Hyaku Shiki was originally engineered earlier. You can certainly tell this kit’s age by the inclusion of the box cover with a picture of the completed kit. I don’t know when they stopped making those, but it was CERTAINLY a long time ago.
While it was released after the Master Grade God Gundam, the Guncannon still has only minimal interiors, much like the Ground Gundam and Dom. However, the version of the kit I have here is actually the Gunpla 30th Anniversary version from 2010, with the special runner of clear parts. While the Guncannon doesn’t have many interiors, this kit can actually pull off the look better than some of the other older kits. I’m not entirely sure if I’ll actually display the kit with the clear parts on, but I’ll certainly take a few pictures with them. Keep in mind that I don’t think these versions of the kits are still being produced, so if you find any chances are, you’ve just found some older stock from 2010.
Much like the HY2M unit I purchased (and still haven’t used…) for my Hyaku Shiki, I went the extra mile for this kit by securing a set of B-Club’s resin hands. I’ve never worked with resin before, so this will be good practice. Typically, I have no real reason to go for extra hands, but I actually feel the Guncannon needs them. The suit spent a good chunk of the original series without a beam rifle, and Bandai never gives its kits fists! Now I can finally fix that!
The polycaps on this kit certainly show its age. The crystal visor is also quite cool.
I didn’t feel the need to purchase any decals for this kit, since I’m going to just use some from the Real Type Gundam and G-Armor, plus some spares from my Federation decal sheet. The Guncannon’s decals are thankfully rather nondescript, and all it really needs are the 108 labels and some for the Federation and White Base.
With the Nu Gundam nearly done, expect work on the Guncannon to commence soon. After doing two Ver Kas in a row, I need a serious break. There’s something magical about older kits with big, silly, chunky parts. Anyway, if you want your own Guncannon MG, make sure to check FPNYC for one!
