Sunday, August 29, 2021

[Kit Insight] Bandai Gundam Base Limited Gundam Seed Full Mechanics 1/100 ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam Ver. GCP - Light Build


Model Number: ZGMF-X10A
Designation: ZAFT Prototype Anti-Mobile Suit Use Mobile Suit

Not a Master Grade but not exactly a High Grade.

The first kit of the Gundam Seed Full Mechanics 1/100 line, the Freedom Gundam Ver. GCP is really a RE100 model kit, complete with polycaps that can be a little annoying to line up. As this version of the model kit is modelled after the 1/1 scale Freedom Gundam Ver. GCP on-site at Shanghai, plenty of mechanical detailing and panel lines can be found throughout, supplemented by a large sheet of colour-correcting stickers. While some of these serve their intended purposes nicely - such as the metallic bronze pieces - most do not and you're better off hand-painting the smaller details or simply leave them be.

Although the Freedom Gundam Ver. GCP comes in a wide box, it is substantially thinner than the box of the MG 1/100 ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam Ver. 2.0, owing to having significantly lesser parts due to its much simplified - but more stable - construction. The Freedom Gundam Ver. GCP feels somewhere in between both versions of the Master Grade Freedom Gundam model kits, with proportions much closer to the first version released in 2004.

While essentially a 1/100 scale High Grade with extra steps, the Freedom Gundam Ver. GCP does have some interesting build assemblies and gimmicks, and the wing unit is quite nice to fiddle around with after construction. The model kit is also able to pull off most of the usual Freedom poses, but the "fire everything" stance can take a while to execute.

The model kit doesn't come with an action base but has a plain grey base plate and a pair of standing gear which attach to the muzzle of the plasma cannons and greatly improve the Freedom's stability when the unit is put in "parking mode".

The most inevitable question about the Bandai Gundam Base Limited Gundam Seed Full Mechanics 1/100 Freedom Gundam Ver. GCP is "How does it compare to the Bandai MG 1/100 Freedom Gundam Ver. 2.0?"

The short answer is that there's simply no comparison since both model kits belong to different grades, but the 2.0's sharper, sleeker and more exaggerated proportions are more appealing to me than the Ver. GCP's more anime-accurate look and feel. The latter is definitely more stable than the 2.0 as it is of much simpler construction with lesser moving parts, giving it the sturdiness of a High Grade.

As far as the Freedom Gundam is concerned, both are great kits to be added to the collection.

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