Continuing my little gunpla review series, I wanna say thank you so much to everyone that liked and reblogged my Demi Trainer post! It means so much to me and every like I get on it makes me incredibly happy <3
This review is gonna be all about...
I wasn't expecting to build this kit so soon but I saw it in my local nerd store and I just had to pick it up, I really love the design on this one and I can't wait to tell yous all about it! Building this felt like an appropriate step-up from the Demi Trainer.
(Spoilers for Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury episode 12 and beyond ahead)
EDM-GA-02 Gundam Lfrith Thorn is a Gundam-type mobile suit developed by Ochs Earth Corporation for Dawn of Fold, the anti-spacian organisation. It's a heavily modified version of the XGF-01 Gundam Lfrith Pre-Production Model, which can be seen in the prologue episode of the show.
This Gundam is piloted by Norea Du Noc, a member of Dawn of Fold. She was trained from a young age to be a mobile suit pilot, and has strong ideals and a deep hatred of all spacians. She's a hot-headed earthian terrorist who believes in attaining the organisation's goals through violence. A perfect pilot for this offensive-oriented Gundam!
As I mentioned previously, Lfrith Thorn is a heavily modified version of the Lfrith Pre-Production Model, which allows the Lfrith Thorn to utilise GUND technology. It was created alongside the Lfrith Ur, and the two can be seen as sort of sisters, as one compensates for the other's weaknesses. It's a very cool dynamic that I really enjoyed seeing in the show!
Lfrith Thorn is seen multiple times throughout the show, but main appearances include episode 12, when it attacks Plant Quetta alongside the Lfrith Ur. It also appears in episode 14, fighting in the Rumble Ring and causing mayhem, once again alongside the Lfrith Ur. We see it once more in episode 20, when Norea goes on a rampage in Asticassia, before she is calmed down by Elan Ceres and her Gundam is subsequently destroyed by the security forces. Seeing this Gundam in action was always a pleasure to see in the show, and Norea's hot-headed yet focused personality really made it stand out as an effective combat mech, especially when paired with Lfrith Ur! I wish we got to see more of it but what we did see was an absolute treat.
The Design of Lfrith Thorn
I. LOVE. THIS. DESIGN. SO MUCH! It's so cool and it all makes sense for what this Gundam is supposed to achieve! It can look quite goofy, especially with those long arms and chunkier legs, but there's purpose to that design choice! Lfrith Thorn excels at offensive skirmishes and intense combat scenarios, providing heavy fire support to her sister, Lfrith Ur.
Lfrith Thorn comes equipped with a variety of weapons that allow it to adapt to any combat situation. It's primary weapon is the beam diffuse gun, a large firearm that fires energy scatter beams. It can be wielded with one hand or with both, allowing for more accurate and focused fire. Beam saber units are stored within the Lfrith Thorn's forearms, allowing for quick deployment when engaging in melee combat. It can also equip beam sabers on its hand if needed, though this Gundam is better suited for longer-range combat. A long and narrow shield can be seen on it's right arm, which can be used to deflect incoming fire, though it is not particularly effective due to how small it is. The huge cannon mounted on Lfrith Thorn's back is the phased array cannon. It fires a powerful beam which allows for wider-ranged attacks. This cannon is only operable when the Gundam's permet score reaches 3 or higher, making it a very risk-reward oriented weapon!
Considering how heavy all of these weapons are on this Gundam, it's very important for it to keep stable when fighting on the ground. This is where those goofy design choices I mentioned earlier come in! The heavy legs and longer arms result in a lower center of gravity, making the Lfrith Thorn more stable when providing fire support! The thrusters on it's rear waist also offer extra stability, being able to counter the recoil and pushback from sustained fire if needed. Even the feet are used for stability, being able to dig into any softer ground material the Lfrith Thorn may be standing on, and providing even more stability! Everything about this design is so coherent, despite it's inherent goofiness, and I absolutely am in love with it!
Naturally, one would compare the Lfrith Thorn and Lfrith Ur, as they are often seen in combat together. You can see the more support-oriented design philosophy of the Lfrith Thorn when looking at both Gundams side by side. Despite the heavy weaponry, the frame of the mech is visibly more lightweight, allowing the Lfrith Thorn to reposition more easily. The Lfrith Ur is meant to be on the frontline, while the Lfrith Thorn supports it from afar. It's an awesome dynamic and I think both Gundams are designed really well around this cooperation!
In the first section of this review I mentioned that the Lfrith Thorn is a modified version of the Gundam Lfrith Pre-Production Model, and you can definitely see some aspects of that design incorporated into this one! You can see this mainly in the body of the Gundam, as it retains that flatter, more extruded chest to house the pilot and shell unit. The back-mounted cannons are still present in both designs, though the cannons themselves are quite different between the Lfrith Thorn and the Pre-Production Model. You can also see a more refined version of the shoulder pads, as they are more exaggerated and armoured on the Lfrith Thorn.
Honestly, researching Lfrith Thorn led me down a very deep rabbit hole when it comes to design inspirations and origins and I feel like I could make a family tree that connects MANY of the Gundam designs in this show!
Much like the Demi Trainer, this was super fun to build! I was so excited to finally build a Gundam, and this did not disappoint, for the most part!
A lot of the same satisfying aspects of building the kit itself that I mentioned in my Demi Trainer review can be said here too. Fitting all the pieces together, hearing the clicks and seeing it come together is extremely satisfying and enhances the experience a lot! The stickers on this kit are more complex, and you have more choice with them, namely being able to either put stickers on it that show the Lfrith Thorn with no permet score, or a high permet score. I decided to use the high permet score stickers of course, because that looks a lot cooler to me! I found these stickers really tough to put on, as some of them are really small and need a lot of precision to place properly, and this was only my second kit. I hadn't developed a strategy for placing stickers yet and it shows in some parts of my build.
The Lfrith Thorn kit comes with a few extra pieces that allow for some really neat customisability! For example, you have the option of using a closed hand, which allows the Lfrith Thorn to hold weapons, or an open hand, which can look dramatic and badass when posing it. Even that small amount of choice with the kit makes for a lot of different things you can do with it and I think that's awesome!
As much as I love Lfrith Thorn and as much as I enjoyed building this kit, I do have a few complaints with it. To start, I personally find that the head movement on this kit is very limited, and the head has fallen off of my kit many times when I was trying to pose it and make it look in certain directions. I understand there being limitations in the range of movement, but I find it to be a little bit too limited here. I also think that the beam sword pieces are a little too easy to bend, and I recommend taking extra good care to not put too much force on them when handling them. Mine are very slightly misshapen now, and while it's not too exaggerated, it still sucks to see.
Other than that though, the kit was super fun to build, and it's by far the easiest to pose when comparing all of the kits I've built so far! The stable design philosophy of the Lfrith Thorn actually translates really well to this kit, and it's noticeably more stable to pose than other kits! It was really cool to see honestly and noticing that inspired me to start this series in the first place, so thank you Lfrith Thorn!
Once again, thank you to everyone who liked and reblogged my previous post, seeing the attention my Demi Trainer review got inspired me to continue with this, and I want to make even more reviews and design studies now! As always, constructive criticism is welcome, as well as likes and reblogs!
I'm hoping to get those action base kits at some point so I can have more freedom in posing my kits, so look forward to that!
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