Introduction:
This is one of the kits that came along with Vual, Kimaris Vidar and Flauros. On my side, I love the kit because of the looks and gimmicks. Unfortunately, I can’t review the Full City version and my friend already built that I think. As I recall, this model was part of my wishlist. I still have a long list to complete if I want to enter the Iron Blooded Orphans series.
Anyways, I will keep my comments short again as long as I deliver the main information about the kit. I only took short notes on my book so I can finish all the kits assigned to me. Another reminder that the other kits have already been finished but all articles will be posted every 2-3 weeks. This is to ensure I still have something to post from time to time.
Please ignore any typos as I have always been bad with that. But I don’t mind taking any extra info and comment s regarding wrong terminologies. Just give me a comment below this article.
Unboxing:
Okay, the box art theme is same with the other S1 or Season 1 IBO kits where you see the both pilot and action pose of the model. The box was quite and that is no surprise because you get a nice gimmick here in Gusion Rebake.
After opening the box, I tried looking for that pamphlet I got in Kimaris Vidar. This one doesn’t have that.
Compared to the other kits, you get 3 plastic bags here. 2 of them are large with the same width that of the box and the other one is small. This small plastic bag contains 3 runners but that not’s a big issue because they are compressed nicely by Bandai.
As for the construction manual, you get the usual information for the mobile suit and pilot. But in this kit, there’s no English translation. Bandai should have put the English translation not just on the S2 kits but in the S1 kits as well.
Flip the construction manual and you get to see the finished model (painted by Bandai to replace the foil stickers.. cheaters :v ) and the weaponry of the Gusion Rebake.
Unfold the whole construction manual and you will see that it is just a long paper folded in several pages. The front part has color and the back side is in black.
So here’s a quick look of the runners or sprues inside the kit. You get the Sprues A, B1, C, D, E, G1, and the polycaps coded as PC-002.
Please do correct me here because I’m sure you have noticed this part. I am always referring them as “sprues” and not “runners”. But I know you may have seen some of the older reviews I am using the word “runners” and not the word “sprues”. I search the internet and it seems the word “sprues” occupies or covers the whole rectangular shape. Now, in most kits, there are multiple colors in a single sprue. And what I understand back then is that these are the runners. For example, if Sprue A has 4 different colors, then that means it is considered as 1 sprue but 4 runners inside the sprue. Just enlighten me here so I can change my terminology for future articles. For the meantime, I will continue using the word “sprues” and use the word “runners” only if they have multiple colors.
Sprues:
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| Sprue A (x1) |
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| Sprue B1 (x1) |
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| Sprue B2 (x1) |
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| Sprue C (x1) |
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| Sprue D (x1) |
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| Sprue E (x1) |
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| PC-002 |
The quality of the sprues remains the same – it is great! There were no flashes, dimples or any visible scratches on the surface. I mean if there were pointy parts inside the plastic bag, I’m sure they should get at least minor scratches. But no sign of that issue here in Bandai.
You also get separate orange parts for the front skirts and legs. What I am disappointed in this case is that they didn’t add at least any separated parts for the backpack unit. That means you will need to color them manually with pens or brushes.
I don’t have any angelic orange and that sucks because I am reminded again that I lack materials. These are the colors I think is good for Gusion Rebake. Of course, I will only pick one or two of them. I got the vote for the “Elite Red” (2nd color starting from the right) so I will use that for minor detailing.
We have a lot of markings or foil stickers just to add some detail in the model. I will use the stickers for the head because that is the instruction of my client. On my case, I am trying to avoid these as much as possible. :/
Body Unit:
The amount of parts here are also average but the outer armor looks really few.
After building it, most of the inner frame is visible and you don’t have any outer armor piece on the back. But the good thing here is that there are no issues.
Head Unit:
You get two types of heads here (Normal Mode and Aiming Mode) which is a nice call from Bandai. But there’s a huge issue for me in this section.
Snap fitting is actually great and I don’t have any problems putting them together. But I’m sure you already know the issue here – tons of stickers! You will need to use a lot of them just to add detail on its face and on the sides of the head. The stickers on the top and cheeks are not much of a big deal, but the sticker for the face and the white sections are a real eyesore. I just followed the client’s instruction so I applied them.
You might want to go for hand painting in this case or just let it look plain. If you have good tools, you may have the option of adding some panel lines. Overall, the head unit is the only part of the body with the most foil stickers needed.
Arm Unit:
So here are the parts for the arms and you can see the finished arm on the left side. If you noticed, there are no inner frame pieces for the shoulder armor when compared to the other IBO models. In my case, they should have at least designed it with the inner frame so you can have a good movement range for the upper body or shoulder armor.
There were no snap fitting issues so it was fine. I added the foil stickers and some red again to add color.
The range of movement is not that bad if you lift it sideward, but if could have been better if the same inner frame piece was used. Or they should have at least tried a different approach so that the shoulder armor is actually separated from the whole arm.
Bending the arm doesn’t have any problems and you a limited degree or angle because of the design. It’s not that much of an issue, but not that great either.
Leg Unit:
The amount of parts here is just average and there are no gimmicks here.
Even if they lack parts, the most important factor is that this was a smooth build. It was nice Bandai added a small orange piece for the lower knee instead of using foil stickers.
Another nice feat is the range of movement. If you look at the image, the thighs and feet have a good bend.
Another thing I noticed here for the feet are these white parts. I thought at first that they should be locked or fixed at some point. It turns out you can move this up or down.
Waist Unit:
And here are your parts for the waist unit. Yes, they added the extra orange pieces which are a good move.
I saw that the crotch piece have a rounded female peg that can hold the front skirts. That means I can cut the front skirt peg in half. Just be sure you don’t damage the ball joint.
And now you have an extra articulation for the waist unit. :D
The waist also needs some stickers for extra detailing. You can add those black markings for the side skirts or leave it and the extra white marking on the upper part of the crotch. It was a smooth build so I don’t have any complaints here.
The range of movement for the front and side skirts are not that bad. Besides, I doubt you will lift the side skirts this high up.
Backpack Unit:
And this is the signature backpack for the Gusion. There are a lot of parts because of the gimmicks I will show later. And do not mind the piece on the right with some red marker. I tested it first if the color is good.
It’s quite bulky at first look, but as long as the articulation is great then I don’t have any problems with it.
You can see in the image that the articulation is great. I move the two sections into different angles so I don’t need to take extra pictures. The left section gives you an idea how much degree it can cover upward and the same goes for the right section if you move it downward.
And here’s the nice gimmick or you could say signature feat of the model. The backpack unit have arms that you can pull out. The nice thing about these arms is that they work the same just like your regular arms and that means you can bend and rotate it. Of course the range isn’t good, but it’s good enough to give you some extra poses.
These black parts or vents on the side of the backpack can be moved up or down as well. Overall, it was a smooth build with no other issues. But you will need some extra patience when you try to pull the arms out.
Weapons:
120mm Long-Range Rifle:
The rifle features nice detailing even with the lack of parts.
I forgot to add some silver here during building to add some extra color. :/
Shield:
The other equipment here for the Gusion Rebake is the shield that also serves as the backskirt. So yeah, you can remove the shield from the arms, use it as a backskirt, and then find another weapon for the left arm. You can purchase other Bandai weapon sets and make use of those two arms in the back pack.
Anyways, it was a very easy build and no issues fitting the two pieces together. The detailing is really awesome and you will have some time adding the lines here. I also noticed that the back side of the shield features a lot of female pegs. With this, you can reposition the shield on any angle to your liking.
Completed Model:
Articulation Test:
If you rotate the side skirts, you can lift the legs even further. I already mentioned the factors to see regarding the range of movement for the arms and you can see in the image that you have a limited angle.
Rest of the shots:
And here are my ratings for Gusion Rebake…
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| design based from GDC card |
Plastic Quality: 9/10
Unlike my experience with the two sprues in Vual, this one doesn’t have anything like that. I get a good cut in the parts with the X-Actor knife. I was in a hurry when building all the kits, but my time limit was longer, I could have sanded them for a better finish.
Overall, the plastic is great and there were no flashes. Color is good and it’s not as dull as Daban. I have no complaints here and this model deserves a nice rating.
Assembly: 9/10
No problems with snap fitting in all body units (arms, legs, head, etc.) so I don’t have to waste time cleaning or fixing the pegs. I’m not saying all Bandai are like this, but the model is a newer one so we should expect Bandai has improved their qualities over the time. Of course, there are also new kits that have several tight parts like the Kimaris Vidar but that was only in the body unit. I’m just putting everything into consideration when I make my ratings. O_O
Anyways, yeah it was fun to build and this is a good practice model for beginners.
Detailing: 8/10
I’m supposed to give this another nine because of the sharp detailing Bandai applied here. Plus you get separated parts to add color and copy the original design in the fastest way possible. The foil stickers pulled the rating down. I could have given it a 7 but I think 8 is just fine. Only the head unit put me in dismay after placing all those foil stickers. Bandai should have at least added a few more parts on the face, leaving the cheeks and the fins on the head with stickers instead. The smaller foil stickers or markings placed on the crotch and knee were fine and it was just fine. I have mixed opinions about the stickers placed on the shoulder armor. I think it was best if they added a whole white part instead. I mean it just going to take two extra pieces in the sprues.
Then again, the panel lines, raised parts, and notched edges gave Gusion Rebake a nice detailing if the stickers are not applied. So that is still a good factor to consider. For other builders, they can apply some masking and paint the parts on the shoulder. Hand painting may be the only option for the head if I were to give my suggestion. :v
Articulation: 9/10
I was thinking between 8 and 9 here because the articulation in the arms seems limited. But the articulation applied in the extra arms in the back pack and legs were great. So I think giving it a 9 seems to be right. You can highlight the articulation of the model if you have an action base to use. If you recall what I said regarding the backpack, the arms have feats similar to a regular arm. Plus the fixed manipulators can hold certain weapons.
Gimmicks: 6/10
Yeah I raised some points here because of the signature backpack unit. You can do a lot of stuff with the arms even though they seem to be simple. Other than the backpack, there were no other gimmicks featured in the model.
Weapons: 5/10
You get the rifle and shield as armaments but the extra can be put into consideration here. If you can hold the enemy mobile suit with your main arms, what would you do with the FREE extra arms? See the point? Maybe Gusion Rebake will have some hard time in long range battles but the mobile suit will surely be a formidable foe in close quarters.
Like I said, if you can play with your imagination a bit. You can add extra weapons and let the extra arms hold them. Two extra shields would be nice while the regular arms will the rifles. :D
Extras: 3/10
You don’t get any extra items here and that’s quite a bummer. :/
Patience: 3/10
If you are aiming for a straight build, I’m sure you can finish this within hours. Even if you will sand the parts to get a better finish, I don’t think the model will take more than 2 days to be completed.
Overall Rating: 9/10
Putting the negative factors as challenges and covering them with the positive features of the kit, Gusion Rebake indeed deserves a rating of 9. It’s a cool model to collect along with the other kits from first season of IBO. The articulation is nice and you can do a lot of poses. Detailing is nice with or without the stickers. Gimmicks-wise, you can pretend it’s the Goro of Mortal Kombat. xD
I’d definitely recommend this kit for beginners who want to try Gunpla. Of course, this is only if they want the model or if they are familiar with the series. I’d recommend beginners to go for the kits they have watched because this adds enjoyment. But if you are not familiar with any Gundam series, then you can simply pick any HG kit as a stepping stone. Brave enough? Then go for the 1/100 scale.
For painting, well I am not the right person to give suggestions about that matter. I am just straight builder. Usually I only share information I got from colleagues and friends who are more experienced in painting. But if I were to add my comments, masking some of the parts seems the best option to avoid the foil stickers. If you want to add some modification, that is fine but Gusion Rebake IS Gusion Rebake if he retains the backpack unit. I mean he looks cool as it is. Maybe some weathering would do to if you want to re-enact the scenes from IBO.
That’s all I can say about this kit and I hope that it helped you get a good insight if you are planning to buy it. I will follow up another HG 1/144 kit from the IBO series after a week or two.
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