Geekology: HGUC 1/144 V2 Assault Buster Gundam review | Technobubble

Technobubble covers games, gadgets, technology and all things geek. Follow Technobubble poobah Jason Hidalgo’s shenanigans on Twitter @jasonhidalgo

About two decades ago, I was walking through San Francisco's Japantown toward Kinokuniya when I spied something on display from the corner of my eye.

It was a 1/100-scale High Grade V2 Assault Gundam — the first time I ever laid eyes on this particular model kit. Maybe it was the cool-looking V-shaped thrusters on its back. Perhaps it was the awesome mega beam rifle and mega beam shield it held in both hands. Regardless, it struck a chord with the robot fan in me and I found myself walking out of the store later that day, my wallet a bit lighter and my bag of Japanese goodies a wee bit heavier. It was the first "Gunpla" or Gundam plastic kit model I ever built.

Granted, I was a total novice who only had a pair of nail clippers so the final product was filled with nub marks and had a few spaces that didn't quite meld snugly. It also relied on a laughable amount of stickers for color, eventually leading to lots of peeling a year or two later. Still, I adored my imperfect model, which even earned a visit from my Japanese friends at the university when they heard I had it. You really never forget your first.

To this day, the V2 remains one of my favorite Gundams, wedged in second place between the God Gundam (crazy super robot qualities for the win!) and the Nu Gundam. In fact, I was quite bummed when I lost the kit during one of my many moves to a new place. So when I heard that Bandai was releasing a new High Grade version with the Assault Buster configuration, well I just had to get it. Plus, I thought it would only be fitting to kick off my inaugural Geekology Plamo review with a variant of the first ever Gundam I ever built. First, let's go through some trivia straight from the manual.

MECH LORE

The LM314V23/24 Victory Two Assault Buster Gundam is an upgraded version of the League Militaire's flagship mech, the V2 Gundam. Powered-up for the sake of increased adaptability with all battle conditions, the V2 Assault Buster is designed to leverage the advantages of both the V2 Assault and V2 Buster for dominance in both medium- and long-range skirmishes. At first, it was considered theoretically impractical to combine both loadouts at the same time on the V2. By taking advantage of redundancies in the system, however, it became possible to equip the Assault and Buster parts together, though it required great effort among the V2's specialists to finish the mobile suit upgrade in expedited fashion. The completed V2 Assault Buster excels in a wide range of combat situations, including long-range ship fights, mid-range base protection and skirmishes around the Angel Halo fortress. It is undoubtedly a worthy successor to the "White Mobile Suit" name and Gundam legend.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Model Grade: High Grade

Model Scale: 1/144

Model cost: 2,000 yen (about $20)

Original Release Date: May 2015

Mobile Suit Model No.: LM314V23/24

Pilot: Uso Ewin

Anime Height (up to head): 15.5 meters or 51 feet

Anime Weight: 14.6 tons

Anime Generator output: 7,510kw

Anime Thruster propulsion: 66,790 kilograms above Minovsky Drive Unit

Anime Material: Gundarium alloy and super ceramic composite

EQUIPMENT

Mega Beam Cannon: A long-range beam cannon, the weapon's design is based on the mega bazooka launcher and hyper mega launcher used during the Gryps Conflict.

Mega Beam Rifle: A high output particle beam cannon. A weapon upgraded by the League Militaire to provide overwhelming power in the field of battle.

Spray Beam Pod: A mid-range beam weapon, the Spray Beam Pod also acts as a counterweight to the Mega Beam Cannon.

Mega Beam Shield: A highly effective armament for defense, the Mega Beam Shield boasts complete coverage as well as incredible utility and flexibility based on the positioning of its shield bits.

Minovsky Drive Unit: A lift-generating system that works in tandem with high-output thrusters for flight.

I-Field Generator: A defensive unit that generates a barrier by using accelerated mega particles. Highly effective against ranged beam weapons.

VSBR: Based on technology used by the F91 Gundam, the Variable Speed Beam Rifle or Vespa produces a high-speed piercing beam with great destructive power.

Beam Rifle: A beam rifle equipped with a grenade launcher.

Micro-missile Pods: Six missile pods located at the front, side and rear skirts of the V2AB. Originally designed as a short-range countermeasure when the V2 is using long-range beam weapons, the missiles also can shoot down mobile suits depending on a pilot's skill.

REVIEW

Folks who built the High Grade LM314V21 Victory Two Gundam that was released in January 2014 will be quite familiar with the V2 Assault Buster as its main body uses a lot of the same parts from last year's model. In fact, only three of the 10 runners in the V2AB kit are new and sport a "2015" date while the rest are dated "2013." What's basically new in this model are add-ons such as the Mega Beam Rifle, Mega Beam Cannon, gold accents and the lower thrusters — basically the stuff you need to build either the V2 Assault, V2 Buster or V2 Assault Buster Gundam.

Then again, this isn't necessarily a bad thing as the HG V2 Gundam is a great kit with few niggles. For starters, I just absolutely love the proportions on the base V2 body. One reason I'm a fan of the V2 is because of its clean curves, which gives it a unique look when compared to the sharper edges seen in most other Gundam models. I'm also a big fan of the covered arm joints, which are usually exposed in other Gundams. For its part, the HG V2 does a great job in replicating the V2's smooth curves. When it comes to the hand-drawn versions featured in the anime, for example, I much prefer the look of the tricked-out V2 Assault Buster over the more plain-looking normal V2. In Gunpla form, however, I actually like the proportions better on the regular V2, which looks longer, sleeker, and not as scrunched as the V2AB once the latter's larger shoulder and knee pads are added. Don't get me wrong, the V2AB still looks great, especially when fully tricked out but Bandai really nailed it with the proportions of the regular V2.

Building the kit itself is pretty easy as High Grades are wont to be. You don't have to worry about an inner frame or a lot of intricate parts like the Real Grades, for example. Keep in mind, though, that this is a small kit, even when compared to 1/144-scale mechs from the early Universal Century timeline, for example. I was actually a bit surprised at first and it made me realize that the old HG kit I built back in the 1990s was actually 1/100 scale. I don't think I've built an HG with a body this small since I helped my little cousin build his Crossbone Gundam Maoh from the Build Fighters series. This makes handling a challenge at times, especially when you're sanding out nub marks. Speaking of nubs, a few of the gates are positioned in a way that they hit two sides of a piece, making them a bit of a pain to trim neatly. Other than those minor issues, it's an easy and straightforward build overall.

Colors are also excellent on this model. Admittedly, I painted certain parts of my build — exposed joints, gold and yellow parts, and the black shield bits. If you're the type who likes to just do some panel lining, spray topcoat and call it a day, however, the V2AB will still look quite nice. One of the biggest improvements from the old HG kit I built is that you no longer have to use stickers for the gold parts. Instead, they already come in color, reminding me a bit of the gold inner frame plastic used in the RG Strike Freedom. Sticker use is also minimal overall compared to the old model and aren't bad for the most part. Personally, I'm actually one of those folks who usually doesn't mind using stickers (though I admittedly hedged between putting one or not on the golden piece on the V2AB front skirt) since they actually look good to me when sprayed with topcoat. This is especially true for the green part of Gundam eyes, which look like they're lighting up once topcoated and hit by a light source. That being said, I'm not a big fan of stickers that must be folded to cover a three-dimensional surface at the same time. This was true with my first ever build and remains true for me to this day because they rarely look good and are usually the first to start peeling off. This HG kit has three such stickers, which are used for the black parts of the three shield bits. As someone who has limited time, I normally avoid masking work but you bet your bottom dollar that I used masking and spray painted the black parts of those shields bits because that's just how much I dislike folding stickers.

The Assault Buster expansion parts, meanwhile, fill out the V2 nicely. Before the backpack craziness of Build Fighters, the V2AB was one of the original backpack kings, sporting an impressive list of add ons. Whether you opt to build the V2 Assault, V2 Buster or the V2 Assault Buster, extra parts such as the Mega Beam Rifle and the Mega Beam Cannon add some size to the small main body. The only downside is that they make the final kit top heavy which makes it hard to pose while standing. This is definitely one kit that benefits from using a stand. Another plus is that it comes with separate parts for the core fighter, which means you can build it without having to disassemble the V2AB. The only thing I don't like about the add ons is the rear T-bar that holds the Mega Beam Cannon, Spray Beam Pod and thrusters. Given the nice design of the V2 overall, the inelegant T-bar just looks out of place and sticks out like a sore thumb.

Speaking of posing, articulation is excellent in some places and not so good in others. The thighs and knees, for example, move pretty well but the ankles are a bit on the stiff side. The cover for the arms, while nice-looking, also limits movement a bit while articulation for the shoulders is among the best you'll see in an HG kit. The only caveat is that great flexibility comes courtesy of a skinny shoulder joint piece that can look unnatural when completely extended. The V2AB kit also does not come with swords and only features two closed fists, which limits the kinds of poses you can do. I also wish the Mega Beam Cannon tip can extend in and out instead of being fixed and that the kit came with a Wings of Light add-on.

Overall, though, I'm a big fan of the new HG V2 Assault Buster. From its excellent proportions and colors to the ability to make one of three model suits depending on the build you go for, the kit is a great blast from the past and a welcome addition to Bandai's HG line. Here's hoping that a Master Grade version joins that lineup in the future as well.

BUILD NOTES

Although I don't consider myself an expert hardcore builder by any means, I like to do some relatively minor detail work on each plamo kit that I do. At a minimum, I panel line and top coat my builds, though I also like spray painting parts like exposed joints, for example. For this build, I used pens and spray cans to improve the look a bit, as well as some sanding to get rid of nubs as much as possible. Here's a list of spray cans that I employed for my HG Victory Two Assault Buster Gundam so to speak. Admittedly, not all of them are perfect but they can be easily acquired at a cheap price from WalMart and/or Home Depot. I list the two pens I used for panel lining as well.

Coptic Multiliner Gray 0.05: Used for panel lining white parts.

ZIG Millennium Black .005: Used for panel lining non-white parts.

Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X Ultra Cover Matte Clear: Normally, I use a Krylon Colormaster Clear Flat topcoat, which provides a nice flat look that simulates a painted appearance. On rare occasions, though, it can cause white blotch spots, which can be a pain to deal with if you don't immediately catch them. It also can be a tad sticky. So I tried this Rust-Oleum clear spray for the first time. On the plus side, it isn't sticky like the Krylon. On the negative side, it also isn't as flat as I'd like so the parts I sprayed still looked a smidgen plasticky. Overall, I like the look better from the Krylon so I'll be returning to that one. (Used on blue, white and red parts, and stickers)

Rust-Oleum Specialty Fluorescent Neon Yellow: My favorite custom paint scheme for Gundams almost have a Ver.Ka look to them, where you have reds that look more like a salmon pink, blues that have a hint of purple and soft yellows that pop. The best versions of these have a vibrancy to them that is achieved by mixing in just a smidgen of say, neon orange to the reds and neon yellow to the yellows and blues. Given that I currently don't have the space or time to use my new and still unused Tamiya compressor, I've opted to gamble on this fluorescent spray can. Admittedly, I was worried at first, especially as I saw my metal gator clips turn green and blotches form on the plastic model part as I sprayed. Once it dried, though, the blotches smoothed out and I got the exact vibrant yellow I wanted. Honestly, I'm surprised how nice the results look. Just make sure you don't overspray so you don't get cakey build-up. (Used on V-fins, chest plate and V-thruster parts)

Krylon Super Maxx Metallic Gold: Another can I'm trying out for the first time, this one sprays a light metallic gold. In fact, I think it's a bit too light for my tastes, looking more like a silver gold depending on the lighting. Otherwise, it's an easy spray paint to work with. (Used on shoulder, front skirt and knee highlight parts)

Rust-Oleum Metallic Black: Prior to this, I was using a Rust-Oleum gunmetal spray that had gun-style triggers that would just drip paint all over my fingers so I opted for a spray can with a more traditional top trigger. Metallic black paints are usually thick so try not to go overboard when spraying. If the shiny flecks are too much for you, spraying flat top coat once dry makes it a more subdued metallic black. (Used on rifle and shield bits)

Krylon Colormaster Brushed Metallic Nickel Satin: I normally use this for silver parts like guns and, occasionally, hands or joints. I love this spray can because it's so easy to use. I don't think I've had any dripping or running issues with the paint from it. (Used on rifle attachment)

Rust-Oleum Bright Coat Metallic Finish Silver: Unlike the dull metallic look of the aforementioned brushed silver, this one sprays a chrome-style, shiny metallic silver that I prefer for hands and exposed joints. It's a bit more temperamental, though, and you can occasionally get dull and dark silver splotches depending on the situation. This also pools easily so you want to use a light touch, especially if you don't want to kill joint mobility too much. (Used on hands and exposed joints)