First Impression:
I’m a big fan of the Zeta Gundam(s) in general and the very well thought out transformations they pull off. Hajime Katoki’s take on the Zeta for the Zeta Plus is tops on my list of mobile suits, especially since it tends to back aesthetically away from the traditional designs. I bought this for a number of reasons: 1) To have the bst system and the smart beam gun, 2) for the savvy paint job, 3) because I thought it would make a nice desktop piece and 4) to use convert the zeta that I made into 3D into a zeta plus and make the bst system as well. The box is somewhat heavy which is no surprise considering the amount of material inside. The option(s) present to configure it into any one of technically 3 mobile suits (or 2 and a half) or their respective Mobile Armor modes was a driving factor in the purchase. Blue is also my favorite color. The price point at the time was also favorable (admittedly).
*note from me to those who don’t know: bst = booster. MS = mobile suit. MA = mobile armor/waverider. Sometimes I’ll use the shortened terms.
Box Contents (mostly):
assume I took the zeta apart completely to its core pieces, normally its assembled
1 head/neck piece
1 xformable torso
2 Large Leg boosters
2 Large Arm boosters
3 sets of legs! (1 set of A1/C1 Gundam legs, 1 set for the leg boosters in mobile suite mode, 1 set for the legs in waverider mode)
2 sets of arms! (1 set of A1/C1 Gundam arms, 1 set of Booster (bst) loading arms.
3 hands (manipulators) – 2 clenched (R and L) and one open right hand for gripping.
2 sets of wing binders (1 set with fuel tanks, one without)
1 stand with multiple arms to hold the figure in place in different configurations
2 shields: (1 standard A1 type shield, 1 shield with Zeta Plus C1 Smart Gun attached)
2 HUGE fuel tanks (attached at the bottom of the pelvis in bst modes)
1 beam rifle with detachable e-pack
1 dark colored S-Gundam Smart Beam Gun
2 tail binders (stabilizers) – one A1 type one C1 type.
2 front skirt flaps (one worn at a time for A1 or C1 modes)
2 skirt beam guns (actually 4, but the other two are attached to the standard legs)
1 grasping piece (attached to the shield)
Beam sabers
2 sets of bst cannons (total of 4 individual cylinders)
……
** WARNING: Your GFF Zplus Gundam MAY BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN MINE**
Head/Neck:
The head is basically like an elongated Zeta version. It is well modeled and detailed, but the lack of color keeps some detail from jumping out at you. Still, it’s well shaped and there are no visible problems with it. It’s rotational ability on the neck assembly is good. The head, neck and collar are treated as a single removable assembly that is dismounted manually when transformation from MS to MA is needed. It is placed manually on top of the stomach assembly in waverider mode. There is a small rotate-able hook under the collar section that is positioned outward so that the shield can be attached in MA mode. The head is ostensibly locked into place by the squeezing together the stomach assembly, though it’s effectiveness in that area is somewhat limited. I wasn’t surprised that this section had to be manually removed as I thought the model would be too small to facilitate the retraction of the collar area anyway. This is generally what I expected.
Torso:
Incredible. The torso is almost fully capable of mimicking the transformation done by the MG Zeta Plus, except that the head and neck sections (as mentioned). Standing still, the paint job is well done and there are no visible smears or strange anomalies. It’s very similar indeed to it’s MG brethren. The wing binders (2 sets/ one set for A1 and one for C1 type) connect on the backside, just under the arms, and the tail – or stabilizer – binder (2 of them, A1 type and C1 type) is attached via a conduit in the rear, just under the chest. This happens to be where one of the stand configurations is attached as well. To transform, the chest plate section is lifted up, and the head and neck sections removed by hand (instead of pushed downward into the chest like the MG version), the arms rotate inward via the shoulders (I’m very pleased with this), and the head and neck sections are placed manually on top of the stomach sections that you have to join together by squeezing. I was surprised as the ZZ was hard modeled and incapable of transformation. All the more surprising that this level of articulation is present at even the 1/144 version. The parts rotate easily, but not freely, meaning poses aren’t a big deal to accomplish and it doesn’t fall limp.
The waist is a pleasant surprise as there are flaps (front and rear) that snap into place to prevent the pelvic plates (that rotate the legs for xformation into waverider mode) from moving out of place. This was sorely needed for the Master Grade version. At last someone has solved that problem. A very welcome resolution that was LONG overdue.
Arms: (both types)
I love the shoulders on the standard MS. They’re pre-painted nicely with no visible bleed. For me the bulky arms, especially forearms, are a welcome change from the lanky Zeta’s. There are 3 sets of hands, 2 clenched and one open for gripping the different armament. The arms are well articulated, however in my figure, the left forearm that connects to the elbow is warped strangely. This doesn’t affect rotation however and unless you stare at it, it’s not likely to jump out at you. The flaps under the shoulder armor rotate as well. Lots to like here. For the BST mode, the arms are replaced (shoulders and all) with another set that connects directly to the arm boosters (which are huge) and they connect to the torso. They are similarly rotate-able. So attaching the beam smart gun or any other weaponry should be easy, however, the arm boosters add a (relatively) substantial amount of weight to the figure. This is moot if you mount it on the stand. For transformation, the BST arms don’t rotate inward; they’ll stay as they are. The standard arms will rotate inward via the shoulder joints however. The hands must be attached to the new arms as well as there aren’t extra sets of these for each type of arm. No biggie. The open hand allows the beam guns to fit fairly well inside without much strain.
Legs: (all types)
There are 3 types of legs. First, the Standard Zeta Plus’ legs. They’re very sleek and stylish - contoured similarly to the Zetas but with different boosters at the ends. They’re multicolored because of the paint job, which again I totally love. There is an extra amount of rotation allowed with the legs at the pelvis, where they swing backward and around in order to transform. Normally, in MS mode though, the pelvis plates are locked into place by front and rear skirt flaps that act as clamps. Well done. Otherwise, the same legs rotate where they should at the waist (not like the pelvis rotation), and the knees. The foot irks me though as because of the design of the lower leg, the foot as plenty of pitch rotation but not much in the way of heading and banking rotation. This makes posing it in MS mode without the stand a pain (even impossible) unless one is diligent enough to file away some of the lower leg. The foot protection flaps in the front are attached cockeyed. Why both of them are this way is beyond me. Strange. For bst modes (mobile suit and mobile armor), there are 2 separate sets of bst legs, one set shorter than the other. The longer set is for MS mode. The standard legs detach at their pelvic pivot point, which is where your new legs will attach. They’re also locked in place via the skirt flaps. These bst legs don’t have any real rotational movement. The leg boosters attach at what would logically be the knee area, though there is no bending. These 2 boosters again add a relatively significant amount of weight to the mobile suit/ mobile armor. But they look really nice. The paint job is well done on the outside areas of the boosters, but the inside could have used a bit more care. Some metallic brown paint is smudged into the white giving it a muddy look. Not that it’s bad, per-se. The shorter set is for Mobile Armor mode (wave rider) and attach the same way, only they’re shorter. The leg boosters are attached similarly on this set as well. Xformation from mobile suit to mobile armor mode requires some circus work for the standard mobile suit legs in that a lot of twisting and turning is involved. I won’t go through what you have to do with it, though anyone who owns a suitable Zeta plastic model won’t have trouble understanding what I mean. They’re sturdy and have enough give to transform easily, yet tough enough to maintain their proper form once transformed. For the bst MS to MA transformation, switch the longer bst legs for the shorter ones. Contortions like the ones needed for the standard legs are not required for the bst waverider amazingly. Additionally, there is an extra set of side skirt beam guns that are meant to connect to the tops of the legs akin to the way the other set is connected to the tops of the standard MS’s legs. The bst legs with booster attached increase the girth of the model in both MS and MA mode by quite a bit, more so in real life than what the pictures show.
Weapons/Armament/extras:
The Zplus comes with a beam rifle very similar to the zeta Gundam beam rifle, with a detachable epack. The handle rotates into the gun so that it can be mounted on the waverider’s fin stabilizer. It features a nice coat of paint with no globs or strange anomalies.
Second is the long Sentinel Gundam smart beam rifle (in a dark metallic color). It’s mountable on the shield with the smart gun attached, so that 2 guns can be mounted on a single shield. It’s painted in a dark metallic color and is handsomely designed. I can say that it’s definitely a welcome addition to the model.
Third is the Beam Smart gun used by the Zeta Plus C1. This is hard modeled into one of the shields, which also acts as a sub handle for the gun, allowing it to be mounted directly on to the left or right arm (of either bst or standard ms arms). The gun’s scanner is slightly rotate-able and features a decent amount of detail and well colored. Well done in my opinion. This gun, since it’s mounted on a shield, can be mounted where the normal shield is mounted in waverider mode for the C1/C1bst configuration. This (gun) increases the length of the figure in waverider mode considerably.
As mentioned, there are two separate side skirt cannons that are mounted on the bst legs.
A beam sword with a green clear plastic blade is also included and situates itself fairly well in the open right hand.
2 sets of bst cannons (4 total individual cannons) that are directly mounted to the arm boosters are well colored and fit snuggly on the boosters. A nice Katoki-esque touch to the kit which makes it look more menacing in any bst configuration
A separate shield suitable for the A1 configuration is also present. Personally I liked the A1 so I’m glad that this option exists.
2 GIANT fuel cylinders with a connection assembly are meant to be attached to the bottom of the pelvic area in both BST MA and MS modes. It fits fairly well after some meddling. The cylinders are decently painted in white with red lettering. When attached, they aid in increasing the overall height of the bst Zeta Plus in Mobile Suit and overall length Waverider mode.
Stand:
The stand has a wide plastic base handsomely lettered with the Zeta Plus information. No spelling mistakes. This makes it look more authentic. From the stand’s base, you can choose to have 1 of two arms specifically made for different configurations of the model. The shorter is for the waverider mode, while the longer is for the mobile suit mode. This is especially true in that the giant fuel tanks that should be connected to the bst Zplus increase the height quite a bit, meaning that these tanks will be mere millimeters from touching the base in MS mode.
A second arm is shorter and somewhat forked to hold the pelvic area in waverider mode. It’s well suited to doing both.
Final Impression:
I was really expecting an overall smaller kit once the final build was completed. I was somewhat wrong. It’s fairly large in size once everything that needs to be attached is rightly done. Impressive look….
In the END:
Again, I got what I wanted. I wanted the Zplus and I wanted it blue and the booster systems. Here are my final comments:
I am completely impressed at the basic suits’ ability to transform, and do it well! The fact that the head/neck need to be physically removed and placed in a different area isn’t a big deal… but the result is that since it’s not connected to the back-plate of the torso, it remains somewhat jiggly. The transformation is stupendous and most of the flaws that were in the original Master Grade versions of the MS are virtually solved. However, it’s greatest strength to me turns out to be it’s biggest weakness as well. The transformation ability means that almost every piece is movable. The problem is that because of the material, it takes a bit of force for other parts to either move or be replaced. This means that if one is holding a part of the body that moves, it’s prone to collapsing into different directions based on the force you put upon it trying to install/remove/rotate a completely different part of the body. This is best solved by holding only the torso’s back plate assembly as it acts basically as the spine for the rest of the MS. It’s not as troublesome knowing that it will basically always stay in one mode on my desk with little movement. But those who want to play with this should beware of pieces doing unwanted movements during xformation.
The ability to change between A1, C1 and C1bst is a blast!! The bst parts really make the suit look incredibly menacing and stylize it very well indeed. The downside here is that the weight increases quite a bit once it’s fully loaded and at this point the stand is NEEDED. The Gundam on it’s own needs a bit of work to make it stand upright correctly, so some modification may be needed near the cuffs of the feet to allow this. Why it doesn’t stand well/at all out of the box is a bit of a puzzlement. The pieces in general fit will and don’t fall off easily, even the heavy bst parts. This is a major plus. Everything in general is well colored, so I have no real gripes about it. All-in-all, I’m very impressed with what was done except for one final point: all of the spare parts! Of course, the parts make it more complicated to build and increase the chance of other parts falling off. Once the Gundam has been fully built in BST mode, all you’d need is another head and torso to make another fully functional zeta plus A1 (almost)! At best, at any one time, you’ll use only 60 – 85% of the total parts. At worst, your little zeta will stand naked in behind a bevy of booster armor pieces having used less than 30% of what the box had. The opportunity cost for either suit is noticeable as one will soon see once it’s built. In reality, the could have supplied another head/torso combo and allowed the customer to make BOTH A1 and the C1 bst if they chose to instead of having parts just thrown to the wind. To me that would really have made this purchase 100% worthwhile and would allow me to give a much higher score, even at a higher monetary cost. This is one thing that is making me think twice about purchasing the DEEP STRIKER at the moment.
STILL, I feel that this is a solid buy for anyone. I knew that the extra parts were going to be there and I even thought that it was kind of cool to switch them at my whim. The final product is truly impressive and massive if the full booster config is what you want. Barring that, the simple zeta plus is still beautifully crafted and looks very handsome in any mode, even more so with the Smart Gun. Application is not limited only to those hardcore fans. I fully suggest getting this kit as long as you remember the feet problem, and if you can get it at a good price wink.gif
Ivan
(sandrum)
Biggest Pros: Full Transform Ability. BST configurations. Multiple weapons. Changeable parts.
Biggest Cons: Difficult to transform/modify because of movable parts (intrinsic weakness). Not stable enough to stand on its own. Wing binders aren’t very stable/fall off.
September 11th, 2007 at 5:53 am
First Impression:
I’m a big fan of the Zeta Gundam(s) in general and the very well thought out transformations they pull off. Hajime Katoki’s take on the Zeta for the Zeta Plus is tops on my list of mobile suits, especially since it tends to back aesthetically away from the traditional designs. I bought this for a number of reasons: 1) To have the bst system and the smart beam gun, 2) for the savvy paint job, 3) because I thought it would make a nice desktop piece and 4) to use convert the zeta that I made into 3D into a zeta plus and make the bst system as well. The box is somewhat heavy which is no surprise considering the amount of material inside. The option(s) present to configure it into any one of technically 3 mobile suits (or 2 and a half) or their respective Mobile Armor modes was a driving factor in the purchase. Blue is also my favorite color. The price point at the time was also favorable (admittedly).
*note from me to those who don’t know: bst = booster. MS = mobile suit. MA = mobile armor/waverider. Sometimes I’ll use the shortened terms.
Box Contents (mostly):
assume I took the zeta apart completely to its core pieces, normally its assembled
1 head/neck piece
1 xformable torso
2 Large Leg boosters
2 Large Arm boosters
3 sets of legs! (1 set of A1/C1 Gundam legs, 1 set for the leg boosters in mobile suite mode, 1 set for the legs in waverider mode)
2 sets of arms! (1 set of A1/C1 Gundam arms, 1 set of Booster (bst) loading arms.
3 hands (manipulators) – 2 clenched (R and L) and one open right hand for gripping.
2 sets of wing binders (1 set with fuel tanks, one without)
1 stand with multiple arms to hold the figure in place in different configurations
2 shields: (1 standard A1 type shield, 1 shield with Zeta Plus C1 Smart Gun attached)
2 HUGE fuel tanks (attached at the bottom of the pelvis in bst modes)
1 beam rifle with detachable e-pack
1 dark colored S-Gundam Smart Beam Gun
2 tail binders (stabilizers) – one A1 type one C1 type.
2 front skirt flaps (one worn at a time for A1 or C1 modes)
2 skirt beam guns (actually 4, but the other two are attached to the standard legs)
1 grasping piece (attached to the shield)
Beam sabers
2 sets of bst cannons (total of 4 individual cylinders)
……
** WARNING: Your GFF Zplus Gundam MAY BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN MINE**
Head/Neck:
The head is basically like an elongated Zeta version. It is well modeled and detailed, but the lack of color keeps some detail from jumping out at you. Still, it’s well shaped and there are no visible problems with it. It’s rotational ability on the neck assembly is good. The head, neck and collar are treated as a single removable assembly that is dismounted manually when transformation from MS to MA is needed. It is placed manually on top of the stomach assembly in waverider mode. There is a small rotate-able hook under the collar section that is positioned outward so that the shield can be attached in MA mode. The head is ostensibly locked into place by the squeezing together the stomach assembly, though it’s effectiveness in that area is somewhat limited. I wasn’t surprised that this section had to be manually removed as I thought the model would be too small to facilitate the retraction of the collar area anyway. This is generally what I expected.
Torso:
Incredible. The torso is almost fully capable of mimicking the transformation done by the MG Zeta Plus, except that the head and neck sections (as mentioned). Standing still, the paint job is well done and there are no visible smears or strange anomalies. It’s very similar indeed to it’s MG brethren. The wing binders (2 sets/ one set for A1 and one for C1 type) connect on the backside, just under the arms, and the tail – or stabilizer – binder (2 of them, A1 type and C1 type) is attached via a conduit in the rear, just under the chest. This happens to be where one of the stand configurations is attached as well. To transform, the chest plate section is lifted up, and the head and neck sections removed by hand (instead of pushed downward into the chest like the MG version), the arms rotate inward via the shoulders (I’m very pleased with this), and the head and neck sections are placed manually on top of the stomach sections that you have to join together by squeezing. I was surprised as the ZZ was hard modeled and incapable of transformation. All the more surprising that this level of articulation is present at even the 1/144 version. The parts rotate easily, but not freely, meaning poses aren’t a big deal to accomplish and it doesn’t fall limp.
The waist is a pleasant surprise as there are flaps (front and rear) that snap into place to prevent the pelvic plates (that rotate the legs for xformation into waverider mode) from moving out of place. This was sorely needed for the Master Grade version. At last someone has solved that problem. A very welcome resolution that was LONG overdue.
Arms: (both types)
I love the shoulders on the standard MS. They’re pre-painted nicely with no visible bleed. For me the bulky arms, especially forearms, are a welcome change from the lanky Zeta’s. There are 3 sets of hands, 2 clenched and one open for gripping the different armament. The arms are well articulated, however in my figure, the left forearm that connects to the elbow is warped strangely. This doesn’t affect rotation however and unless you stare at it, it’s not likely to jump out at you. The flaps under the shoulder armor rotate as well. Lots to like here. For the BST mode, the arms are replaced (shoulders and all) with another set that connects directly to the arm boosters (which are huge) and they connect to the torso. They are similarly rotate-able. So attaching the beam smart gun or any other weaponry should be easy, however, the arm boosters add a (relatively) substantial amount of weight to the figure. This is moot if you mount it on the stand. For transformation, the BST arms don’t rotate inward; they’ll stay as they are. The standard arms will rotate inward via the shoulder joints however. The hands must be attached to the new arms as well as there aren’t extra sets of these for each type of arm. No biggie. The open hand allows the beam guns to fit fairly well inside without much strain.
Legs: (all types)
There are 3 types of legs. First, the Standard Zeta Plus’ legs. They’re very sleek and stylish - contoured similarly to the Zetas but with different boosters at the ends. They’re multicolored because of the paint job, which again I totally love. There is an extra amount of rotation allowed with the legs at the pelvis, where they swing backward and around in order to transform. Normally, in MS mode though, the pelvis plates are locked into place by front and rear skirt flaps that act as clamps. Well done. Otherwise, the same legs rotate where they should at the waist (not like the pelvis rotation), and the knees. The foot irks me though as because of the design of the lower leg, the foot as plenty of pitch rotation but not much in the way of heading and banking rotation. This makes posing it in MS mode without the stand a pain (even impossible) unless one is diligent enough to file away some of the lower leg. The foot protection flaps in the front are attached cockeyed. Why both of them are this way is beyond me. Strange. For bst modes (mobile suit and mobile armor), there are 2 separate sets of bst legs, one set shorter than the other. The longer set is for MS mode. The standard legs detach at their pelvic pivot point, which is where your new legs will attach. They’re also locked in place via the skirt flaps. These bst legs don’t have any real rotational movement. The leg boosters attach at what would logically be the knee area, though there is no bending. These 2 boosters again add a relatively significant amount of weight to the mobile suit/ mobile armor. But they look really nice. The paint job is well done on the outside areas of the boosters, but the inside could have used a bit more care. Some metallic brown paint is smudged into the white giving it a muddy look. Not that it’s bad, per-se. The shorter set is for Mobile Armor mode (wave rider) and attach the same way, only they’re shorter. The leg boosters are attached similarly on this set as well. Xformation from mobile suit to mobile armor mode requires some circus work for the standard mobile suit legs in that a lot of twisting and turning is involved. I won’t go through what you have to do with it, though anyone who owns a suitable Zeta plastic model won’t have trouble understanding what I mean. They’re sturdy and have enough give to transform easily, yet tough enough to maintain their proper form once transformed. For the bst MS to MA transformation, switch the longer bst legs for the shorter ones. Contortions like the ones needed for the standard legs are not required for the bst waverider amazingly. Additionally, there is an extra set of side skirt beam guns that are meant to connect to the tops of the legs akin to the way the other set is connected to the tops of the standard MS’s legs. The bst legs with booster attached increase the girth of the model in both MS and MA mode by quite a bit, more so in real life than what the pictures show.
Weapons/Armament/extras:
The Zplus comes with a beam rifle very similar to the zeta Gundam beam rifle, with a detachable epack. The handle rotates into the gun so that it can be mounted on the waverider’s fin stabilizer. It features a nice coat of paint with no globs or strange anomalies.
Second is the long Sentinel Gundam smart beam rifle (in a dark metallic color). It’s mountable on the shield with the smart gun attached, so that 2 guns can be mounted on a single shield. It’s painted in a dark metallic color and is handsomely designed. I can say that it’s definitely a welcome addition to the model.
Third is the Beam Smart gun used by the Zeta Plus C1. This is hard modeled into one of the shields, which also acts as a sub handle for the gun, allowing it to be mounted directly on to the left or right arm (of either bst or standard ms arms). The gun’s scanner is slightly rotate-able and features a decent amount of detail and well colored. Well done in my opinion. This gun, since it’s mounted on a shield, can be mounted where the normal shield is mounted in waverider mode for the C1/C1bst configuration. This (gun) increases the length of the figure in waverider mode considerably.
As mentioned, there are two separate side skirt cannons that are mounted on the bst legs.
A beam sword with a green clear plastic blade is also included and situates itself fairly well in the open right hand.
2 sets of bst cannons (4 total individual cannons) that are directly mounted to the arm boosters are well colored and fit snuggly on the boosters. A nice Katoki-esque touch to the kit which makes it look more menacing in any bst configuration
A separate shield suitable for the A1 configuration is also present. Personally I liked the A1 so I’m glad that this option exists.
2 GIANT fuel cylinders with a connection assembly are meant to be attached to the bottom of the pelvic area in both BST MA and MS modes. It fits fairly well after some meddling. The cylinders are decently painted in white with red lettering. When attached, they aid in increasing the overall height of the bst Zeta Plus in Mobile Suit and overall length Waverider mode.
Stand:
The stand has a wide plastic base handsomely lettered with the Zeta Plus information. No spelling mistakes. This makes it look more authentic. From the stand’s base, you can choose to have 1 of two arms specifically made for different configurations of the model. The shorter is for the waverider mode, while the longer is for the mobile suit mode. This is especially true in that the giant fuel tanks that should be connected to the bst Zplus increase the height quite a bit, meaning that these tanks will be mere millimeters from touching the base in MS mode.
A second arm is shorter and somewhat forked to hold the pelvic area in waverider mode. It’s well suited to doing both.
Final Impression:
I was really expecting an overall smaller kit once the final build was completed. I was somewhat wrong. It’s fairly large in size once everything that needs to be attached is rightly done. Impressive look….
In the END:
Again, I got what I wanted. I wanted the Zplus and I wanted it blue and the booster systems. Here are my final comments:
I am completely impressed at the basic suits’ ability to transform, and do it well! The fact that the head/neck need to be physically removed and placed in a different area isn’t a big deal… but the result is that since it’s not connected to the back-plate of the torso, it remains somewhat jiggly. The transformation is stupendous and most of the flaws that were in the original Master Grade versions of the MS are virtually solved. However, it’s greatest strength to me turns out to be it’s biggest weakness as well. The transformation ability means that almost every piece is movable. The problem is that because of the material, it takes a bit of force for other parts to either move or be replaced. This means that if one is holding a part of the body that moves, it’s prone to collapsing into different directions based on the force you put upon it trying to install/remove/rotate a completely different part of the body. This is best solved by holding only the torso’s back plate assembly as it acts basically as the spine for the rest of the MS. It’s not as troublesome knowing that it will basically always stay in one mode on my desk with little movement. But those who want to play with this should beware of pieces doing unwanted movements during xformation.
The ability to change between A1, C1 and C1bst is a blast!! The bst parts really make the suit look incredibly menacing and stylize it very well indeed. The downside here is that the weight increases quite a bit once it’s fully loaded and at this point the stand is NEEDED. The Gundam on it’s own needs a bit of work to make it stand upright correctly, so some modification may be needed near the cuffs of the feet to allow this. Why it doesn’t stand well/at all out of the box is a bit of a puzzlement. The pieces in general fit will and don’t fall off easily, even the heavy bst parts. This is a major plus. Everything in general is well colored, so I have no real gripes about it. All-in-all, I’m very impressed with what was done except for one final point: all of the spare parts! Of course, the parts make it more complicated to build and increase the chance of other parts falling off. Once the Gundam has been fully built in BST mode, all you’d need is another head and torso to make another fully functional zeta plus A1 (almost)! At best, at any one time, you’ll use only 60 – 85% of the total parts. At worst, your little zeta will stand naked in behind a bevy of booster armor pieces having used less than 30% of what the box had. The opportunity cost for either suit is noticeable as one will soon see once it’s built. In reality, the could have supplied another head/torso combo and allowed the customer to make BOTH A1 and the C1 bst if they chose to instead of having parts just thrown to the wind. To me that would really have made this purchase 100% worthwhile and would allow me to give a much higher score, even at a higher monetary cost. This is one thing that is making me think twice about purchasing the DEEP STRIKER at the moment.
STILL, I feel that this is a solid buy for anyone. I knew that the extra parts were going to be there and I even thought that it was kind of cool to switch them at my whim. The final product is truly impressive and massive if the full booster config is what you want. Barring that, the simple zeta plus is still beautifully crafted and looks very handsome in any mode, even more so with the Smart Gun. Application is not limited only to those hardcore fans. I fully suggest getting this kit as long as you remember the feet problem, and if you can get it at a good price wink.gif
Ivan
(sandrum)
Biggest Pros: Full Transform Ability. BST configurations. Multiple weapons. Changeable parts.
Biggest Cons: Difficult to transform/modify because of movable parts (intrinsic weakness). Not stable enough to stand on its own. Wing binders aren’t very stable/fall off.