Well, that was easier than expected.
Honestly I can’t say I’m surprised. As a much older Master Grade, it was pretty clear that it was going to be much simpler than the Nu Ver Ka, but I wasn’t expecting this. Maybe it’s like a video game, and the Nu just caused me to go up several levels. Either way, the Guncannon was a pretty welcome change of pace after that, with its minimal white parts, enormous chunky pieces and sparse decals. It couldn’t be any further away from the Nu Gundam if it weren’t a Gundam kit!
Like the Hyaku Shiki, there is little different between the Guncannon’s Master Grade and High Grade counterparts. Back then, Bandai didn’t really make distinctions between the designs of High Grades and Master Grades, which honestly kills some of the appeal of the older kits to me. I like my kits to have some distinct style so they feel like their own independent kit, not just an upscaled/downscaled version of another. I think that’s why the SEED Master Grades appeal to me so much.
But I’m getting off topic.
The Guncannon is very blocky, and I’m not sure if I mean that in a good or bad way. When the HGUC Guncannon was released, in some ways it was the pinnacle of 1/144 engineering at the time. The Master Grade just doesn’t have that feel. I know it’s old, but it doesn’t have any special feel to it. It just feels like a kit that was made because they had to do it, and that’s kind of sad. I’m not one of the types who thinks every inferior kit needs a 2.0, but this one certainly does, especially considering that the Gundam 2.0, GM 2.0, Guntank, and G-Fighter are all based around the same Core Fighter. Poor Guncannon is just the odd man out.
Speaking of the Core Fighter, it’s pretty much what you’d expect. I’m using the standard cockpit block instead because, well, I worked on this damn thing so I want it to be seen!
For mine, I painted the area behind the visor in aluminum. Yeah, I almost always do this, but for some reason it REALLY works on this one!
The articulation is nothing special. Honestly, it can’t really do the “cow pose” properly. However, I did use the resin hands I had for the fists, and they’re fantastic. Now my Guncannon can punch stuff! I used one for the beam rifle, too, which is much more stable than the included hands.
Like always, a pair of spray missile launchers are included as replacements for the standard cannons. I was never a big fan of these, because they always look like they aren’t really on properly. The standard cannons look great, however.
The kit also includes a pair of hand grenades, but I forgot to film those (oops). All the same, since I haven’t built the hand needed to properly hold them.
For the decals on mine, I used a few leftover decals from the sheet I bought for my Hyaku Shiki, and some I won’t need on my Real Type Gundam. The color scheme looks fantastic, especially the finish over the red.
Really, I’m not sure if I recommend this kit to the casual Master Grade collector. I’d say go for it if you want all three V Project suits (but make sure to build it first), or if you’re used to Master Grades and want to make the foray into MGs. Recommended, but with reservations. If you want your own, make sure to check FPNYC for one!
hi! how’d you paint your parts? it seems like at least a matte finish at the end but for the custom paints did you just hand paint or??