HGUC 058 RX-110 Gabthley

The Gabthley is probably remembered for its ability to transform and for being part of Jerid’s long list of MS repair bills. That said, it has a unique design, and is one of the few mobile suits painted brown…

Head
The head is very simple, consisting of a main piece, the top, and the whiskers (for lack of a better word). A decal is provided for the yellow bit at the top. There's not much to paint, except for the front of the snout, and there are two decals for the eye; one looking straight, the other off to the side. The head can look up and down just fine, but has trouble looking to the sides. This is mostly due to the whiskers, the \”head\” in MA mode, and the fact that there's no polycap in the head.

Torso
The torso is a good testament to the Gabthley's unusual design, with all sorts of curves packed into it. It is also the most colorful part of this model, for about four colors are used in this model. The skirt is interesting, as it is two halves instead of the usual five. The halves have a movable rear skirt, but the front skirt does not move like the more standard one seen on Gundams and GMs. Thankfully, this does not interfere with the leg movement too much. Decals are used to color in the pink parts on the MA head and skirt armor. The vents and thrusters need paint, and the yellow parts need panel lining.

Arms
The arms are also unique. There is the shoulder, the \”sleeve\” with two beam saber handles each and the elbow joint, and then the forearm. The sleeve can rotate 360 degrees, but the elbow joint is fairly so-so, with only 90 degrees of movement. The beam cannons don't move as much as I would like them to. There is only one left hand, and two right hands; one for the beam saber and one for firing the rifle. Unfortunately, the hands are of the same design as the Hazels. Factor in the size and weight of the rifle and the sleeve's bulky size, and it becomes nearly impossible to hold the rifle without some glue. Of course, by gluing the rifle to the hand, you lose the chance to use the rifle as a spear. Some few details need to be painted, most notably the thrusters in the sleeve.

Legs
The legs are quite interesting. The knee joint can bend a good ways back, and the joint can extend out, presumably for the transformation. The feet can't move much at the ankle, but they can move up and down a lot where the heel should be. You can even transform the legs into the claws. Again, the thrusters really need to be painted.

Weapons
The Feyadeen rifle is one reason I bought this kit. It’s big and menacing; reminds me of a sniper rifle. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, it can’t hold this weapon too well. It can hold it while using the beam saber in the butt of the rifle though, so at least it can spear something. I guess the gun hands really weak. The kit comes with four beam saber handles, but you are only given two, which are also used in the rifle as well. This isn’t really a complaint, considering the Gabthley only has two hands, and thus couldn’t possibly use 4 beam sabers, but I wished the rifle had a different blade to plug into.

Transformation
The transformation is quite simple, and except for the leg armor, requires no parts to be taken off (the leg armor is removed and then placed elsewhere on the leg). A special piece is required for the MA to carry the rifle.

Stand
I am thoroughly pleased by the stand, as it has the best design I have ever come across. On the arm is the joint (held together by two screws, and requires an additional part to hold the MA mode) which connects to the Gabthley, and this wonder has three points of articulation; it can swivel on the arm, a part can lean to the right and left, and the connector can also move about. You can put the Gabthley in just about any direction of flight, which really simulates the fact that it’s in space. The underside of the stand includes various notches to hold the extra hands, beam saber blades, and stand parts that are not in use.

Rating
Overall, I am happy with this kit. The rifle problem is really glaring in my eyes though, as I have yet to solve the problem. Still, the stand makes up for this defect.