Robot Damashii [Side MS] Gouf Custom Part 6

Legouf
As mentioned in the previous posting, it's time to have a look at Robot Damashii [Side MS] Gouf Custom's interesting Hard Point System. ^^

Since the feature is about versatile attachment of various weapons, weapon parts, and other component using a couple peg types, I think it would be useful in the understanding of the Hard Point System by locating all the connection points on Gouf Custom first. ^^


[Shoulder armor]: one round port + one round peg (either side).

[Upper arm]: one round port (either arm).


[The shoulder armor's hinge joint]: two round pegs (either side).


As their size is identical, either hinge on the shoulder armor's joint can be used to connect to the upper arm. There's a minor difference in terms of how much the shoulder armor can be bent, which doesn't affect the overall look of the figure. ^^


Comparison between the left shoulder that had its hinge joint inverted in mounting the armor, and the right shoulder with the default hinge position.
The slightly expanded look on the left shoulder from the adjusted hinge joint seems more fitting for Gouf Custom's mean look I think. ^^ I'll probably give the right shoulder the same hinge adjustment as well. ^^


[Forearm]: two round ports + two polygonal slots (either side).


[Backpack]: three round ports.
The ports on both sides are as good as useless - being in such a tight corner makes mounting any of the components into them an impossible task. ^^;


(Left) [Side skirt armor]: one round port ((either side)).
(Right) [Rear skirt armor]: two polygonal slots.


[Hip]: one round port.
As shown in Part 4, this single port is meant almost exclusively for Soul Stage display stand to be used on the figure.


[Knee]: one round port + one round peg behind the removed knee armor (either side).


[Leg]: two round ports - one on each side thruster (either leg).


The side thrusters can be detached, revealing three extra connection points on either side: two round ports, and one polygonal slot.
So, in total, the figure itself has 38 connection slots (28 round ports + 10 polygonal types), and eight connection points (all straight pegs). ^^


Each gatling shield is taken apart (again) to examine the different components' Hard Point System design.


[Shield]: one round port + one round peg.


[Machine gun barrel & magazine]: one round port + one polygonal tab.



[Machine gun body]: three round ports + two polygonal tabs + one polygonal slot.


[Gatling shield barrel, front plate & connector piece]: three round pegs + two round ports.


[Ammo drum]: four polygonal slots (two on each side).


[Handle]: three polygonal tabs.


[Ammo belt]: two polygonal tabs.


[Heat wire cap]: two round pegs - one beneath each part.
So, in total, all the weapon components have 24 connection slots (12 round ports + 12 polygonal types), and another 24 connection points (eight round pegs + 16 polygonal tabs). ^^

As you may imagine, as long as the connection points and slots are correctly matched (round to round, polygonal to polygonal), all the components can be attached to one another. While that sounds amazingly flexible, especially considering the entire figure has 62 slots, and 32 points in total - more than enough to get a really crazy-looking customized action figure of Gouf Custom, ^^ but in actuality, that flexibility is still quite limited. ^^; Due to differences in sizes, shapes, and with restrictions from tight corners where the slots and connecting points are, and limited space between connecting components, not everything can be connected to anywhere you desire. ^^;

Still, there are plenty of customization possibilities with the abundance of connection slots and points designed for Gouf Custom. ^^





A rather simple first attempt. ^^





All the parts of a dismantled gatling shield can be mounted on various parts of the figure. ^^





The shields can be posed as sheaths for the Heat Swords. ^^






Gatling shields as shoulder armors. ^^



Combined a couple of selected parts from the two sets of Gatling shields to form a makeshift double gatling guns. ^^




The crazy combo weapon is not just for show, it can indeed be wielded by Gouf Custom.



Another double gatling attempt. ^^





A much better-looking double gatling than the first one I suppose. ^^




The detached knee caps are substituted by armored shields. ^^


Closeups on the gatling gun barrel's, and machine cannon magazines' configuration in this mode. ^^
With playability as the main emphasis of the Hard Point System, there's no fixed rule on how to connect between the parts. ^^ There are probably more configurations that look better than all the attempts shown in this posting, I'll have to keep on testing out various combinations to discover them. ^^

On a related note, if one set of the figure is enough to give you this much of Lego-esque fun, what are the possibilities when you have a second, or third set, with perhaps Zaku II from the same product line, which features the same Hard Point System being among the sets? ^^

Another round of action poses with Gouf Custom back in its normal configuration coming up in the next posting. ^^