Gunpla: The RX-77D Guncannon Mass Production Type (HGUC)

You know, it seems having a red background when photographing a red model isn't too clever. Who'd have thought it?

Anyways. The original Gundam series threw at lot at the wall, and not everything stuck. Some concepts returned for its immediate sequels, or for the assorted new continuities, but some did not. While a hero unit, the Guncannon was one that kinda did not. I mean, there's always a need for a robot with big shoulder guns, but the Guncannon does not get the same degree of homage as some things, and probably falls into the same category of unremarked-upon obsolescence as Zeon's mobile armour menagerie. Its family tree did however bear some fruit, before being assimilated into the GM line, like today's subject. Hailing from the same anime as the rather nice Zaku 2 FZ, with all that implies, this Guncannon has the unusual distinction of being measurably better than its prototype. As I've previously noted, that's not how it tends to go in Gundam. Official stats point to better mobility through increased thruster output, with the costly and questionable core block system removed. Mind you, they did take out the luna titanium and the beam rifle, but do you need those on a walking artillery piece? Having a machine gun makes some sense as a back up too. What? You're being flanked? Leg it while spraying bullets! 

 

But what's it like to build? Well, I found it oddly similar to the GM I ruined a while back, having largely identical red plastic, but none of that ghastly green. It's a middle of the range, mid-2000s, kit. Nothing is especially good or bad, by the standards of its day, although a modern revamp would likely include better sprue design and translucent plastic. Nothing especially complex in the build, although I still managed to mark one of the feet, and there's some nasty seamlines. Colour separation and sticker use is similarly standard, with recessed areas and the inside of thrusters left to paint. A lot of this is at the“dab of black/grey paint” level, which means it doesn't take much to make it look decent, but this another one of those designs where they thought the inside of a thruster should be a bright colour. In this case yellow. On the subject of annoyances, there's a sticker for the head symbol. I left off the squad markings, applied two colour correcting stickers, and then applied paint and marker.

The end result is a bright but robust thing, meaner and more practical looking than the original Guncannon, with a few quality posing options. The shoulder guns are separated and articulated, while storing vertically, so you can get some good looks. The bullpup machine gun is beautiful companion to this, making a lot of sense for close range defence and asymmetric poses. Mind you, while no-one would expect an artillery unit to be a ninja, its true to say "dynamic" is hard to do with this kit. It is however possible to separate the front skirt armour for a bit more freedom.

All-in-all? Perfectly fine, maybe a decade out of date, not my best work, but I'm pleased with it regardless.