First Impressions

After my last build ended in disappointment, I didn’t have high hopes for this kit. Another P-Bandai GM variant from The Origin line… this could only end in more heartbreak.

Or could it?

My biggest first takeaway right out of the box, is that I’m getting strong Halo vibes off of this kit. My second takeaway is that I really should’ve saved this until after Halo Infinite released.

As is usual with these P-Bandai kits, there are plenty of stickers and decals… none of which I’ll actually use.

Master Chief, mind telling me what you’re doing in that kit?

Sir. Finishing this Gunpla.

Body Building

Unlike the last one I built, this one was an absolute joy to put together. I really appreciate the color separation and the gimmick on the head visor. The split coloring on the legs is an odd choice, but I guess it looks okay.

The range of motion on all the joints is outstanding, especially the waist/torso.

Get Equipped

The backpack-style Missile Launcher is intended to be the showpiece accessory of this kit, but it actually falls relatively flat. Somehow, I think it actually looks better folded up on the back rather than deployed for firing.

Besides the Missile Launcher, the kit comes with a Beam Spray Gun, a Beam Rifle, and a Beam Saber that can be attached at the right wrist. The wrist-attached Beam Saber is a particularly neat gimmick! I also really like that the Beam Spray Gun can attach to the leg and the Beam Rifle can attach on the back.

There’s just something really nice about being able to mount all the weapons that come with a kit on the kit itself, rather than having to pick and choose which ones you pose with at any given time.

Mission Complete

Looking back on these photos, I wish I had done a few more interesting things with the pose. For example, I wish I would’ve played around with the wrist-mounted Beam Saber gimmick more in posing. However, I managed to get it in a near-perfect sniper pose early on and didn’t really want to move it around. And it looks great with my other GMs!

Of the three, the GM Guard Custom is still my favorite, but this one comes in a close second. Thankfully it was a much more enjoyable experience after the disappointing GM Cannon!