HGBD:R 1/144 P-Bandai Planets System PFF-X7 "Core Gundam" [Real Type Colour] + Planets System Armour Unit PFF-X7/M4 "Marsfour Gundam" (Dive Into Dimension Clear)
This is the second of three core-system gunpla I've bought over the past few months. I was looking for a Marsfour to go along with my Earthree, and found this one pretty nicely discounted instead. While I don't usually go for clear kits, especially when the white is this sort of milky translucent clear instead of true clear, the cool sparkles within the plastic sold it for me.
The kit contains both a recolor of the Core Gundam, in the "Real Type Colour", resembling Tomino's initial RX-78-2 palette, as well as the base parts for the Marsfour. Disappointingly, despite being a P-Bandai version of the kit, the weapons were not included.
Just as with the Earthree's core gundam, this little unit is nicely articulated. It comes with a small beam spray gun and the core gundam's half-shield.
The shield nicely shows off the new weathering technique I've been trying out. This combines a heavy drybrushing of dark. gunmetal, a top pass of light silver (Citadel Necron compound works really nicely for this), and some Tamiya gunmetal pigment powder to catch the high edges (Weathering Kit C). I think I really managed to bring out the edges and portray a distressed look, as well as enhance the contrast and bring out a lot of the smaller details.
Again, like the previous kit, there are two small beam saber effects for the core gundam, this time in a really nice super clear trans-yellow.
The yellow effects work nicely with the gold foil stickers for the eyes and auxiliary sensors.
Like the Earthree Gundam, the Marsfour parts build into a support plane. A lot of the parts are nearly identical to the Earthree, with similar forearms, skirt, and leg design, but with an overall spikier design aesthetic.
Forming the full Gundam works just as I outlined in my Earthree review, and the final form looks just as impressive.
Unfortunately unlike the Earthree there's no shield upgrade or gun extension, and the backpack lacks the cool wings from the Earthree as well. Instead, the gimmick of the Marsfour armour is the two flip-out claw/shields attached to the forearms. Thankfully the core-sized beam spray gun still looks ok on the full Marsfour. Again, like Earthree, there are a pair of longer beam effects to use alongside the bigger armoured-up gundam.
As both kits utilize the "Core" system, you can mix and match pieces from Earthree and Marsfour together. I really like this concept, as it lets you customize a final form with your favorite colours and gimmicks. If cash wasn't a concern I'd definitely try and collect as many of the other kits as possible to mix and match.
The Marsfour/Earthree combo still looks really nice, however.
Overall I had fun with this kit. Cleanup is a little more difficult with a clear kit, as is panel lining. It turned out a lot messier than I would've liked, and it was hard to see where all the grooves were. I probably won't bother with any future clear kits. It was also difficult to hide or sand away the nub marks.
Overall, while I'm upset at how these kits are priced, and sold independent of their weapon upgrades, I still really enjoy the concept. I have one more core-system kit to show off for now, which should show up in the next couple of months. I really think it's worth trying at least one of this type of kit, if you enjoy HGs.
Interested to hear other modeler's experiences with clear kits.
