By Loran
As I said before, I’m obsessed with MSVs. I love all those silly little variations that don’t serve much of a purpose in the long run (It’s a Guncannon! With… different cannons!) and stuff that just looks funny (pretty much any Acguy variant). I also have a tendency to buy all of these and well, forget to actually get base kits for them. Oops. But to be fair, I did try to make a Full Armor Gundam… it just went very, very badly. Oh, and I haven’t actually touched that High Mobility Zaku I started last year… heh.
These four are kits I still need base kits for or whatever, so I haven’t really tried to put any of them together. So this will be yet another “in box” review.
First I have the Prototype Gundam. I actually had one of these a few years ago, but I gave it to my friend back in 2008. Now I’ll be able to make my own, probably with the 30th Gundam as a base. As far as kitbashes go, there isn’t too much to do here, just affixing the new forearms, some messing with the skirt, and messing with the ankle armor. According to my friend, though, I’m better off modifying the base kit’s instead of transferring. This suit also has a unique beam rifle. I might use this in lieu of the one included with the RX-78-2.
The High Mobility Psycommu Zaku is… one of MSV’s funnier designs. It’s basically a completely ridiculous Zaku/Zeong variant. It’s kind of adorable though. The good thing is, however, this will be a very easy kitbash project, since it doesn’t need a new body/legs/arms/whatever. All it needs are new hands and maybe some new verniers. Perhaps a slightly modified head. The only problem is supplying the hands, since well, Zeongs aren’t cheap. Thankfully, I have a pair of hands from the old MSiA I can use… somewhere.
Speaking of silly Psycommu Zakus, here’s the Psycommu Zaku Zeong Test Base, also known as the Z-Type Zaku. If the last one were the goofy love child of the Zaku and the Zeong, this is what happens when the Zaku, Zeong, and Rick Dom try to have a kid. This one will be a bit tougher of a project, since it’s going to need the legs of a Dom, and perhaps a newly sculpted head as well. This needs Zeong hands as well, so it’ll definitely be done after the other Zaku. Gotta use your resources well.
I actually tried to see if this could’ve been done using the legs of the old 0080 Rick Dom II kit, but I didn’t like the look, which explains why they waist is cut off here.
Lastly we have the Guncannon II… this is gonna be a doozy. I’m definitely going to have to take some liberties for the design on this one, maybe using the Mass Production type Guncannon as a base. It’s a great design, though, as Guncannon variants tend to be. This kit also includes a second set of cannons for the Guncannon II, which I may just set aside for a future project.
Oddly, the two Zakus and the Guncannon have some peculiar instructions, being printed in black and white on regular paper, with the painting instructions on a little card.
Old kits make for fun projects, especially when kitbashing. Just make sure to go in with a plan of action, otherwise, you’ll end up ruining everything. Remember, FPNYC carries old kits like these from time to time! I still need a High Mobility Gelgoog…
