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Victory 2 Gundam (NG)
General and Technical Data:
Series: Victory Gundam
Title: Victory 2 Gundam (NG)
Release Date: May 2000
Suggested Price: ¥ 3000
No. of Parts: 250 + Polycaps + Film Stickers
Plastic Colors: Yellow, White, Blue, Red, Grey, Transparent Green and Transparent Pink.
Gimmicks: Core Booster (Torso/Legs attachable), Beam Rifle, Beam Shield, Beamsabers.
Introduction:
The 1/60 version of the classic Victory II Gundam is a no-grade model, and as such is very simple and easy to assemble; despite a handful of flaws, it's low cost and sheer size make it an attractive display piece for any collection.
Head:
The head is a very simple design, and has roughly the same complexity--and level of detail--as found on the 1/100 model. Its shape is a bit more rounded (spheroid) than what we see in the anime, but other than that it looks spot-on. The head cannot rotate upward more than 15 degrees, and can only turn 30 degrees to either wide without hitting the shoulder-binders. To accommodate the core-fighter transformation, the V2's head is mounted on a thing plastic plate that slides down into the hollow cavity of the torso; this makes the head's placement (while in mobile-suit arrangement) a little less-sturdy than in should be as the plate is prone to sliding down a little bit on the side, tilting the head to the side.
Torso:
The torso's shape is slightly wider and more-squarish than what we see in the anime (it ~is~ a no-grade model, after all) and is surprisingly delicate. The torso attaches directly to the legs, so there is zero waist-rotation, and the plastic pieces that the legs attach to are movable themselves, making the design even less sturdy. The V-shaped wings start at the point of the torso and sweep back over the shoulders in a majestic fashion, but the lower halves of the wing are both too small and too rigid--they cannot move down enough to emulate the V2's "Wings of Light" gimmick. The nose of the core-fighter is bent below the cockpit and goes out the back of the mobile suit through a "ring" in the torso; this is actually the strongest bond between the top half and bottom half of the mobile suit. The top of the torso can be removed from the bottom half (to which the arms are attached) and, by folding out the core-fighter's nose and locking it into place in front of the cockpit, transform into the sleek V2 Core Fighter. The head slides down into the center of the torso and is covered by a rounded panel with a large stabilizing-fin to it. The cockpit if molded in clear plastic, with a tiny model of the pilot (Uso Evin) inside.
Arms:
The shoulder bindings on the arms are far too small compared to the torso and their location is far too low on the torso. they are attached to the torso via folding panels of plastic that rise of from the lower torso (near the wais) and are kept in the upright position by way of a small clip on the sides of the upper torso. Quite often gravity will pull the arms out of the clip and make them droop on either side. Other than that, the arms are nothing spectacular.
Legs:
The legs are mounted on thin plates of plastic that swivel ~and~ rotate, connected directly to the bottom half of the torso. They are extremely simple in design, but capture the original shape of the V2 completely. They are mounted on ball joints that ought to allow for some decent posability--unfortunately those ball joints are mounted on movable plastic pieces that will unhook and fall out of place if there's too much pressure on them, so the posability of the legs is severely limited.
Weapons and Accessories:
The Gundam comes with two transparent beam-saber blades and two beam saber hilts, one very-cool looking beam rifle as well as one large and surprisingly well-detailed beam shield, of equivocal quality with the 1/100 F91 model.
Conclusion:
This was a No-Grade model, so my expectations getting into it were pretty low. I didn't spend much on it, and I wasn't disappointed; nor was I surprised. It's not very flexible or detailed; and sure, the proportions aren't quite right, but it's big. It's impressive. And, most importantly, it's very cheap. It would have been a much better model if they had simply removed the core-fighter aspect; if they had to include it, making it a separate piece would definitely keep the V2 from being as fragile as it is. It's nearly twice the size of the 1/100 Victory kits and makes a great centerpiece in any display. It's relatively small number of pieces, cheap price and easy-assembly make it an excellent choice for a beginning of amateur modeller. If you're the kind of person that likes to play with your models, or set them into cool poses, this is most-definitely NOT for you.
Rating: 3/5
