BB Senshi Sangokuden Gotaitei Sonken Gundam Korinpaku Part 7

Sonken and Sonken
More images of the just completed BB Senshi Sangokuden Sonken Gundam: ^^










Closeups on the details:





[Head]





[Body]




[Shoulders and arms]




[Legs]
In Sonken Zephyranthes configuration:




I suppose it was a good call to bundle Sonken Gundam with Korinpaku in the first place given the limited gimmicks designed on Sonken Gundam/Zephyranthes. Apart from the face part-swapping to get between father and son configuration, the large V-fin can be lowered to form a visor over his eyes (to be shown later), and that's pretty it for this BB Senshi Sangokuden character. ^^; It's not interesting enough for an individual release I guess. ^^; I do like the color scheme used for this kit. Black and white as the main colors, coupled with red and gold is not very common for a main Gundam character even in the world of BB Senshi Sangokuden with a very diverse array of characters and armor designs. I think the color scheme works well on the character overall. ^^

On the other hand, I wish more foil stickers were given for Sonken Gundam/Zephyranthes's parts. Most of the sticker pieces go to Korinpaku instead for some reason. ^^; Those white sunken areas on the shoulder and skirt armors could seriously use some foil stickers instead of requiring paint work. I guess the main emphasis of this kit is Sonken Gundam in emperor form with Korinpaku parts attached, in which the original Armor of Byako would have to be detached at that point. For that, the Tiger armor would get all the colors and details it's missing on its parts through foil stickers, but that treatment is not available for Armor of Byako. ^^; If that's the case, it would be too bad for folks who like Sonken Zephyranthes then. ^^; He was in the TV anime series for quite a few episodes, but for this kit, unless some serious paint work is applied, you won't be able to realize his full color scheme. ^^;

Personally, I like the design of Sonken Gundam/Zephyranthes in Armor of Byako. It's a great representation of its Gundam "actor" - Gundam GP01Fb. ^^ The V-fin, shoulder and side skirt armors, legs, capes and even his sword Gaouken 01 (牙王剣・零壱) bear tons of references to Gundam GP01Fb's design features. Even more interestingly, some of those design points are inherited by his two sons Sonken Gundam (the earliest incarnation) and Sonsaku Physalis, especially the latter. ^^ Both sons have the visor gimmick, Sonken Gundam has large shoulder plates, Sonsaku Physalis's helmet, shoulder and front skirt armors are almost identical to his father's, just in different colors. ^^ It's very interesting to me because in "MS Gundam UC0083: Stardust Memory", I always feel that the designer tried to separate Gundam GP02A from Gundam GP01/Fb in terms of mechanical design to distinguish their roles and eventual affiliation according to the story, but in the world of BB Senshi Sangokuden, they are made to very close instead, rightfully so I should add. ^^

That similarity in design features is not shared by the daughter Sonshoko Gerbera though, but I always believe that it was due special design treatment given to that character to separate her from the rest of the all-male cast. ^^

Some action poses of Sonken Gundam/Zephyranthes:








With support using Soul Stage Act 3 Action Support Clear Type.




The visor gimmick: there are two sets of connector behind the V-fin. Attaching the part to the forehead using the upper set allows the V-fin to be shown covering the character's eyes.


Like the face part-swapping feature, the visor gimmick is not that interesting to me either. The lowered visor makes the character looks like he can't see anything at all instead of having any upgrade in attack or defense abilities. ^^;













Assembling Korinpaku next. ^^