MG Char's Gelgoog Ver. 2.0 Part 1

Lucky No. 99, or unlucky No. 99?
After a few days of break (while looking more at Lunamaria ^o^), it's time for some update on the blog again. ^^

I'll be starting on this huge fella here:


Master Grade No. 99 Char's Gelgoog Ver. 2.0.

When the great details of this MG were shown at the 46th Shizuoka Hobby Show in late May 2007, I was immediately hooked in getting this kit. ^^ From images of the completed prototype shown at the event, it was evidenced that this MG would come with improved proportion, articulation and all sort of new gimmicks - basically a complete overhaul of the first version. ^^ The element I love the most was the design of the inner frame, which looks a lot heavier, denser and stronger, not to mention a complete body frame as well, something which isn't available back in 1996.

I built the first release of the mass production type years ago, and while the size is very intimidating, its joints weren't designed with enough strength to support the size. ^^ Also, as mentioned above, as one of the "first generation" MG, only a few components on this kit get to have their armors removable. Even so, the design of those inner frame is somewhat small and fragile-looking, which makes it less convincing as the structure of the Mobile Suit. Such design worked OK for most Gundam-type MGs, since they aren't supposed to look bulky and heavily armored in the first place - GP01 and Gundam Mk. II (Ver. 1.0) for example. For Gelgoog however, it's meant to look and feel heavy, so an improved design was very much welcomed for me back then. ^^


Interestingly, when MG Char's Gelgoog Ver. 2.0 was released in July 2007, the design of the parts and assembly method were revealed to be not too different from an old pal of his - MG Zaku II Ver. 2.0. ^^ I noted this in a previous posting on my old blog. Of course, that doesn't work in the same sense of redesigns for variations like the many MG Zaku II Ver. 2.0 variations, given Gelgoog's apparent size and design difference. Still, it's very interesting to see how the engineering of a previous MG can be integrated into another release, even though they are of completely different design while still making sense of the details. ^^

I recently acquired MG G-3 Gundam Ver. 2.0 and the amazement at how some the inner frame design looks similar to that of MG Zaku II Ver. 2.0, especially the legs is still very fresh in my mind. ^^

On the other hand, as the last one in the countdown to MG No. 100, this kit didn't manage to grab a lot of attention I think. Despite its own awesome details, most people were anticipating what the next kit - MG No. 100 was going to be. After that was indeed revealed, most fans hardly remember this big guy anymore. ^^; But it's a very good design on its own, I personally rate it as one of my Top 20 MG. ^^

As a matter of fact, I fell in love with the design so much I bought the mass production type Ver. 2.0 even before starting to build this kit. ^^



Illustrated by Hidetaka Tenjin (天神英貴), the box art nicely features Sayla Mass in the Core Booster, Gundam RX-78-2 and Mobile Armor Elmeth for that significant yet tragic scene from the anime




Introduction of the kit on the box sides.


Bonus feature: information about Gelgoog's development by comparing the MS production of the three fictitious companies behind Zeon's MS army.




Usually the focus is on the MSs themselves and very little is known about the companies, so seeing such information included is quite a nice extra benefit. ^^


Content



Manual design.


CG scenes shown in the manual.
MG Gundam RX-78-2 Ver. OYW was shown instead of Ver. 2.0 since the latter came out about one year after Char's Gelgoog Ver. 2.0. ^^


All runners


Runner A - Multicolor runner containing all the black parts on this kit, maroon parts for the body armors, pinkish red figures and clear parts for the head and weapons.


(Left) Standing and pilot figures of Char. Part separation hints are obvious clues that the figures would be replaced by other characters for different variation designs.
(Right) Very nicely molded details for the thruster beneath the foot.


Runner B - Another multicolor runner containing parts for the weapons and "optional components".


The "optional components" here refer to the figure of Lalah Sune and the car she and Char ride in when they encounter Amuro in the anime.


Convoluted design shows the entire sub-runner containing Lalah and the car can be taken out entirely for a separate variation release. ^^


Runner C - Containing eight parts for the main leg armors.



Huge elevated parts! ^^


Runner D - Containing parts for the forearm armors and helmet.


One-piece part for the tail on the helmet.



Heavy separation hints on this runner.
The focus on this runner that contains the forearm armors and helmet is for the possible release of Gelgoog Cannon perhaps?


Runner E - 2 pieces. Contains repetitive armor parts for the legs, arms and shoulders.


Large single part for the shoulder armors with nice details inside it. ^^


Runner F - 2 pieces. ABS runner that contains inner frame parts for the arms and legs.


(Left) Large elevated part for the foot
(Right) One-piece parts for all the hydraulic pipe sets are no stranger after all the MG Zaku II Ver. 2.0 variations anymore. ^^


Runner G - ABS runner that contains inner frame parts for the body, forearm, hands and head.



A mixture of very large parts for the body's inner frame, tiny parts for the fingers and delicately detailed parts for the head.


Runner H - ABS runner that contains inner frame parts for the skirt armors and legs, plus a few mount rack parts for the shields.


(Left) Large elevated parts for the skirt armors with nice details
(Right) Large parts for the leg frame featuring sunken segments with MG Zaku II Ver. 2.0-like details.


Runner I - Contains gray parts for another layer of the leg's inner frame, waist's inner frame and others.


Details on the leg and waist's inner frame parts.


Pilot cockpit.


Runner J - 2 pieces. ABS runner that contains mostly parts for the thrusters, vents and a few other inner frame parts.



Nice details on the shoulder's inner frame parts and all the thrusters.


Crazy details inner and outside the thruster nozzles. ^^


Runner K - Contains parts for the weapons.


(Left) Amazing one-piece part for the targeting scope
(Right) Rather simplistic details on the rear face of the shield


Runner L - Contains maroon parts for the body and skirt armors.


Just like their inner frame parts on Runner H, all the armor parts are very big. ^^


One-piece part for the abdomen armor.


Polycap set PC-201



Dry transfer decal sheet and clear sticker.


As usual, all removed parts are organized and stored in individual paper containers.
Will be starting on some serious paint work for some of the part I think. ^^