Gunpla - #10 - HGUC GM Sniper II Review

My first GM kit (if Jesta's not put into account, that is), as well as one of my favorite GM designs. As the name implies, this GM unit was designed solely for one main objective, long range sniping and killing, one shot one kill. According to the box art, this guy came from the anime "Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 : War in The Pocket". Honestly, I've never watched the series, hence I don't know what was GM Sniper II roles in the show. I just hope it's not just a cannon fodder as ordinary GMs of other series : the first one to get destroyed in battles LOL. I mean, look at the sleek design, the color scheme and weapons. It's not just an ordinary GM, is it ?

One of the coolest box arts in HGUC line ;-)

OK, I'll start from the box. It showed two GM Snipers and a DRAKEN-E mobile suits commencing in a battle, in the downtown, at night.  IMHO it's one of the coolest box arst in HGUC line. There were 10 runners inside. Wait, did I say the box art also showed a DRAKEN-E unit ? Yes, the kit also included one DRAKEN-E unit as bonus, as shown on the first picture of this review. Some people said that Bandai should gave another accessories instead of this little guy, but for myself, DRAKEN-E was not bad as a bonus. 

The scope looks bad ass and illuminates in the dark!

So, what differentiates the sniper GM with ordinary GMs (other than sniping purpose) ? Firstly, I would like to highlight the scope device on the head. It's totally cool, and could be used for sniping poses. If you pose the GM sniper under the right light setting, you could achieve cool effect where the scope looks glowing :-). Second, the hands. Usually, you got only one trigger hand, but GM sniper has two, and one of them was designed specially for handling the sniper rifle. The other trigger hand was used for the ordinary beam rifle. But the most special thing about this kit was the articulation. It was designed to hold sniper rifle on the kneeling position. IMHO, not so many HG kits have this feature.

This pose was one of the reason why I bought this kit :-D

As I mentioned above, this kit include a sniper rifle and a beam rifle. As for the close range weapons, It had 2 beam sabers which mounted on the rear skirt armor. There are 5 sets of hand: 2 close hands, 1 open hand (left only), and 2 trigger hands (right only). And now, the stickers. What irritated me the most was the sticker for the scope. It's so small and difficult to put inside the scope. Finally, I just took off the sticker from the scope because it looks ugly. I also dislike the original number "3" sticker on the left shoulder, and put the number sticker from Jesta on the shoulder and shield. IMHO it looks better than the original one :-)

From the beginning, I was imagining what it would be looked like if I provide this guy with bigger sniper rifle. Then I found this kit while wondering on a gunpla forum :

Hohoho .. I was so excited that I immediately went to the shop just after my office works finished. The assembling process took several hours, but finally, the rifle's finished. And this was what I got after combining GM Sniper II and the strong rifle (yes, it's the rifle's name) :

Lock on !!

Overall, GM sniper II a great kit and one of my favorites. The design, color scheme, articulation, and accessories were quite amazing, especially for a HG kit. In addition you'll get a DRAKEN-E, that IMHO is a nice bonus :-)

Beam saber and shield action

With beam rifle

GM Sniper II, Jesta and Jesta Cannon

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RGM - 79SP GM Sniper II

Pros :

• Specialized articulation for sniping poses
• Head scope FTW
• Nice accessories, and a DRAKEN-E unit as a bonus

Cons :

• Troublesome stickers, especially on the head and scope
• Plain detail, as expected from a HGUC GM design