HGUC 1/144 GP03 Dendrobium Review - Part 2

Picking up right where I left off, part 2 will focus on the core of this beast, the Gundam itself.
Don't worry. The longest part is over. ^_^; *phew*

Part 2:
RX-78GP03S Gundam GP03S Dendrobium Stamen

Sold separately as the 25th entry into the HGUC line, the GP03S is a decent kit in its own right.
Its posability is on-par with most HGUC's at the time, and it had enough gimmicks to give away the fact that they had this package planned. The Dendrobium version, however, does not include the Core Fighter that came with the individual release. So, if you want the whole sha-bang, you'll have to buy both kits. Although, after $300 -/+, whats $25 more?

I: Main Body

Front view

Back view

To make this kit look near as good as it's design or prototype images do, a lot of work in painting is necessary. For all of the vents and thick panel lines, I used flat black. Scraping off any excess with my hobby knife. Had I had this technique with my first GP03S (I got it when it was released here in the states), I probably could have kept it around.

The head had to be modded just a bit, as the face kept wanting to lift upwards, hiding the eyes under the visor of the helmet. I used glue to hold the face downward so the eyes can actually be seen!
Red was applied to the small area below the eyes, then flat black for the field where the eyes sit. The eyes and cameras were the usual silver + clear coat. However, the green camera at the top of the chest was one of the few times I gave in and used the foil sticker, only because of how small the recess is.

Oddly, I didn't use them for the leg cameras, so unfortunately, the seam between the parts is still visible.

All of the thrusters were primed and painted red on the interiors, given gunmetal nozzles and flat black hollows. The excess red was chipped away using my knife again.
The backpack hinge was painted gray in the exposed mechanical part, as well as some of the little details around the legs and those false cameras on the rear skirts.

II: Armaments

Beam Rifle

Standard issue beam rifle of the GP series. The only difference is the scope is for some reason positioned as if it were to be used left-handed... The scope is a camera anyway, so I guess it doesn't really matter.
The entire weapon was painted in Testor's gunmetal, and the scope done in silver base with clear hot pink top coat. Gives a good effect, if I do say so myself.

Folding Bazooka

The folding bazooka makes one (technically two) appearances when the GP03S dual-wields them while still docked with the Orchis, assuming the large mega beam cannon was too overpowering.

It has the ability to fold up to fit into one of the Orchis's weapon containers.
Same as with the beam rifle, painted gunmetal with a silver+hot pink scope. The hinge was left gray, as its ABS plastic wouldn't have held paint well anyway. Filled the inner barrel that's visible when folded flat black.

Mk-II Bazooka

This is exclusive to the Dendrobium package, and only seen in the anime in the 2nd opening! It resembles the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II's hyper bazooka almost exactly, thus the name.
This one was painted a very light gray for the barrel and the rest of it in gunmetal to match the rest of the armaments (The manual had it a much more neutral color). The scope was too narrow to really need painting, so I left it black.
Now, because of the handle being positioned the way it is, the GP03S has a very difficult time holding it... And it's far from natural looking when it does. So no photos will be taken with it, since this is a better way for it to hold it (i.e., not at all).

Folding Shield

The shield is very simple in construction, as with the rest of the weapons. I can't be sure if it was seen in the anime at all, but was part of the original concept.
The side ends were painted blue.

On the inside, 4 E-Caps are visible on either end of the shield, two angled handles and the single hardpoint. The E-Caps were painted gunmetal to match the beam rifle that they go to. I considered painting the handles, but opted not to. The same blu as above was used for the same panels on the backside.
The shield folds up to fit into the weapon containers on the Orchis, as well.

Beam Saber
One piece solid white beam saber. Not much to note. The blade was painted mixing hot pink and white. The flash really drowns out the colors, though.
There are false saber hilts stored in the GP03S's backpack. However, they're small and difficult to see, so I didn't bother photographing them.

III: Final Assembly

The fully armed Gundam GP03S. It's standard fare, but it dose have a different feel than the other models of the GP-series. I always liked the tail binders, as it gives purpose to both the side and rear skirts instead of just being there for armor.

IV: Action Poses

Floating in space, shooting at nothing. Seriously, Kou's breakdowns were some of the most face-palming in Gundam history. I liked Kamille MUCH better, ad he bitched non-stop!

The folding bazooka has a very strange grip to it that prevents the GP03S from holding it over-the-shoulder. this is the best I can get out of it, unfortunately.

On the other hand, the beam saber works really well with this kit! Also, now you can see it's color a bit better!

And the only photo I took of the folding claws (everything folds on this kit, it seems) on its own.

Well, that's it for the Gundam GP03S. Next will be the finale of the HGUC Dendrobium review, going into detail about the docking and final weapons.

OZ 改 PLA
NEXT EPISODE:
"BOTH OF YOU! COMBINE LIKE YOU WANT TO WIN!"

And don't worry there'll be pl~enty of fan-service! ♥


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