I've always liked Lunamaria since I first saw her in the few episodes I saw of SEED Destiny, dunno clearly why but I just did, and because of this i've always wanted a kit to represent her. The P-Bandai Blast Impulse could've worked, but I thought her Zaku Warrior was what really represented her the best, so i've put the 1/100 NG on my wishlist for the day it would be restocked after I watched Kakarot197's review on it. I was not prepared however, when a friend gave this to me for my birthday present as a "prank". I may have acted a bit "are you kidding me" in real life, but inside I was in glee. So, now that i've built all my previous kits, lets get to it!
Box:
For boxart, you have faded images of Lunamaria and her Zaku Warrior in action at the top, with a gradient of pink and white for the background. You can see her Zaku Warrior with it's cannon deployed and Lunamaria striking a pose.
Parts:
We get 3 lightish red (pink) runners...
...2 grey runners...
...a lighter grey runner, a white runner...
...and a multicolored runner.
The polycap sheet is here and it's one of the largest i've ever seen so far, do any of you guys know what could break the record?
You also get a clear piece that shows information on the pilot, and a wire with some mesh tubing.
The kit also comes with a few stickers, no real problem honestly.
Manual:
The manual is quite average, it has information on the pilot like the clear piece, and inside you have your average instructions, part count, and color guide.
You also get a little section teaching newbies the bare basics of Gunpla building in Japanese. Who are these people and what are they saying, I don't know, maybe you readers can tell me in the comments section?
Completed Product:
(Camera doesn't pick up the magenta very well, image quality and faithfulness may vary.)
So this is the completed kit, and I must say that it's quite decent! It's got all the needed color apps and proportions seem fine. Only real issue with it are the seam lines on the feet and arms, but besides that, it's a really good looking NG, especially considering the time! The hand grenades on her sideskirts, while removable, cannot be held, which is a bit of a shame sadly.
Articulation:
The head is on a ball joint, although because of the neck collar with the large helmet, they get in the way of each other which really limits sideways head movement. Luckily, there is another way to get sideways glancing poses.
If you pop up the helmet, you'll see that the monoeye can move, which allows the kit to look sideways without needing to turn the head, hooray!
You can turn it up to that much on both sides. I personally love monoeyes, and it feels really satisfying when they turn in the anime for some reason.
Her arms don't go up that much, especially the left arm since it's limited by her huge shield.
Her arms swivel at the bicep and go outwards a bit, although not very much.
90˚ elbow joint, so a decent bend.
Shield can rotate and swing out a little bit. It does limit arm poseability when used statically though. The shield also has extra battery packs for her beam rifle under it, although they don't actually work with the beam rifle. A bit of a shame but it doesn't really hinder anything.
It could also be used as a ramming weapon due to the spikes.
The body swivels at the waist but can't go 360˚ due to some design choices. Her legs only split a that far, it's good enough.
Legs don't swivel, but can go up that far and bend 180˚, really nice, and the tube part doesn't hinder movement whatsoever.
Her foot can go out quite far as well, neato!
Accessories:
The kit doesn't come with a lot but it doesn't really need to. I especially like the Gunner Wizard Pack.
Like I said before, the Gunner Wizard Pack is easily the best accessory the kit comes with. As you know, it connects to the back of the Zaku Warrior to turn it into the Gunner Zaku Warrior. Lets do that.
There are 3 pegs on the Gunner Wizard Pack, the obvious one in the middle, and the two larger ones on the side.
You simply plug them into the 3 holes, and you're golden!
The Gunner Zaku Warrior looks great. It doesn't add too much to the overall aesthetic of regular Zaku Warrior, but what it adds looks quite decent. The Gunner Wizard Pack is equipped with an M1500 "Orthros" high-energy long-range beam cannon, which I will just refer to as the beam cannon in this review.
There is also some mesh tubing with a red wire underneath for stability. In the show, that tube goes through the backpack and connects to the battery to power the beam cannon. This kit doesn't actually do this, although it still looks convincing enough, and i'll be damned if this doesn't look good.
The beam cannon is on a little arm, although it really doesn't move a lot.
The beam cannon folds up so it can be stored on the Wizard Pack when not in use, when deployed, it unfolds into one hell of a long gun.
It may be a bit hard to get her to hold her cannon, but once you do, it looks impressive.
She also has her beam assault rifle, it may look like a Zaku's machine gun, but it's a beam rifle.
It tabs into the hand quite well, and the handle flips out to the left and to the left only.
The poses are possible but getting the arms to move forward is what's hard.
Single handed poses are much easier.
She also has her beam tomahawk.
When in use, the handle at the back flips out.
The battery on the rifle can also move left to right.
You can also store the rifle on the MS using the peg on the right. To do that, you first flip the battery to the left.
Then slide down the middle area of her back skirt.
Finally you plug it in.
Finally, you get a clear part that has information on the pilot, a nice little bonus.
Verdict:
It's certainly a good kit that holds up quite well now. It's 1/100, but it's no MG, it's a NG, and should be graded as such. Even though it's a NG, it's honestly not very bad. Articulation is great, could've been amazing, but the only real gripes are with the arms, it's honestly quite good considering the time. It's also got looks on it's side, the Gunner Wizard Pack has that mesh tubing, and combined with that giant beam bazooka the kit can look like a beast. The monoeye gimmick is fun, and you also get a little plastic info sheet on Lunamaria. If you're a fan of SEED, Lunamaria, Zaku Warriors, or just want a quick 1/100 kit to build. The 1/100 NG Gunner Zaku Warrior is a great choice, be it the Lunamaria custom or not.
Pros:
-Has mesh tubing for the Gunner Wizard Pack.
-Moving monoeye gimmick.
Good articulation, especially for the time.
-Little clear plastic info sheet bonus.
-Beam Bazooka has great shelf presence.
Cons:
-Arm articulation is hindered a bit by armor parts.
-Seamlines are quite bad on the legs and forearms.
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