Fighting the Core

Fresh from the danbooru and you can see the Gunpla package is neatly packed in bubble wraps! Kudos to Amiami for the superb merchandise handling... ^^

A look at the box of the Master Grade itself... Standard white base box image on all of version KAs... Nothing much to see here... The yellow strip at the bottom bears the information of this G30th Clear Parts campaign which I'll cover later...

The print on the rear side of the box indicates various other MGs that participate in this Clear Parts campaign as well...

Do note that the yellow strip is an extra piece of cardboard wrap so you can remove it at ease...

The information printed on the strip tells you of an online ranking system which will be implemented soon, allowing you to key in numbers you got from a slip in each MG Gunpla you got henceforth, raising your officer rank...? I wonder what will the ranking does...

A peek at the runners! MGs have always contained such high volume of Gunpla parts, neatly separated into various colour-correct runners...

Runner B is the blue one originally intended to be used on Victory... As part of the G30th Clear Parts campaign, a duplicate of Runner B in clear colour has been given to us as an alternative... Unlike what we've seen from previous promo shots indicating only half of the V's body covered in clear parts, one can actually replaces all the blue parts on Victory with this clear extra!

As such, I've decided to totally ditch the blues and goes all the way with the clears... ^^

Managed to complete both Core Fighters in just two nights, with decaling taking up most of the process as Katoki Hajime, the man behind these version KAs are quite infamous for his mass decaling... ^^; Here's the vanilla type...

And the HEXA type... The HEXA type is also known as the Rabbit amongst its fans... ^^; Between the two, I actually prefer the HEXA more than the vanilla... Perhaps V-fins are getting too old for me... ^^;

My first attempt at panel lining the pilot inside the cockpit... Not too shabby I think? ^_~

Note that there's no sliding canopy gimmick on this Fighter.

The only weapon on this Fighter is a pair of Gundam Vulcans situated on the Gundam's head...

The kit comes with an optional V fin... The one I used is made from soft PE material so I can rest easy when doing transformation as I'm quite rough when handling m Gunpla... ^^;

Nice butt-I-mean-verniers for a Core Fighter... ^_^

There's a slight disappointment on the design of the wings tho... Each of them is only secured onto the body of the Fighter with a single hinge via a lock.

While it does fortify the wings' position during Fighter mode, you'll have to loosen the wings by pushing it out a bit from the hinge before it will allow you to fold them during transformation... ^^;

Perhaps due to this fragile design, the wing pieces are too loose and sometimes falls off by themselves during transformation, especially the left wings... >,<

I actually much prefer the Core Fighter without its wings and tail fins, making it look more space faring and futuristic IMHO, as seen here with its wings and tail fins retracted... ^_^

Transformation into MS mode is actually very sleek and simple... The red chest piece is revealed from the bowels of the Fighters nose...

Pop / slide out the MS's head from its hiding place... ^_^ There'll be clicking sound so don't worry, there's nothing broken there... XD

The next step is to rotate the Fighter's nose towards the lower part of the body...

Rear verniers will be lowered from their upright position...

And finally the tail lowered into position... The whole head x upper chest piece will be docked later with the Top Rim which will be reviewed next once I finish its construction... ^_^

A comparison with all the Core Fighters in my possession...

From left to right: Core Fighter of RX-78-2 Version 2.0, Core Splendour of Impulse, Core Fighter of ZZ, Core Fighter of Crossbone X-1, Core Fighter of Victory, Core Fighter of HEXA Victory and finally Core Fighter of Turn A...

全艦, TRANSFORMATION!!!

With the exception of Turn A, all of the transformed Core Fighters are usually docked within the abdomen or behind the chest part of their respective MS... Turn A's instead docked onto its crotch area... ^^;

More piccies can be accessed here...

The next review will focus upon the upper body of Victory, which includes the Top Rim docked with Core Fighter... :D

BTW, it's the holy night tonite... Merry Christmas! ^_~