After a quick and easy build, let’s see whether the GM Command fares better than I expect once we put it all together:
Ehhhhhh …. no. I’m still not feeling it.
For one thing, the cream color of the armor is not quite as unique as I first thought. It’s actually a pretty standard shade of tan. I think this model would be better off with a darker color, maybe something closer to mocha. Meanwhile, the chest might work better in full on black (or a much lighter grey). Anything to provide some better contrast.
For another, the lower torso is covered in red highlights, but they don’t draw the eye as much as I thought they would. They are easily missed when looking at the finished model.
That Shoulder Antenna
Last time I told you to “put a pin” in the matter of the shoulder antenna. Let’s take it out now.
The antenna is horribly placed. Imagine piloting this mobile suit and having the antenna obstruct your vision if you turn the head too far to the right. Who thought this was a good idea?
The bigger, real-life problem is that the antenna is small and fragile, and it gets in the way when you are trying to pose the model. Unless you are very mindful of how you hold it, and where you move your hands, you are almost certainly going to touch it. At that point, it may very easily break off (or break off again if it happened once already). I can tell you that I’ve super glued the antenna back on at least three times, and I’m just waiting for the day when the model falls off a shelf, the antenna breaks off again, and lands somewhere where I can’t find it. It is just a bad design all around.
Then, of course, there are the weapons.
Beam Saber
Here we have a mobile suit with two beam sabers, and only one beam saber blade.
This bothers me more than I care to admit. Thankfully I can do something about it. The beam saber handles that attach to the body are just like any others, meaning I can attach any modern, clear beam saber blades I have lying around:
It just feels better this way.
Gun
The GM Command simply cannot make this bullpup machine gun work:
The gun is its primary weapon, and it just feels too puny for that purpose.
It is barely large enough for two handed poses:
And in action poses like this, it looks like an oversized service pistol:
I find it fascinating that the GM Command looks so much like the GM Sniper II, yet the Sniper can make this very same gun look cool:
So what gives?
For one, the bullpup machine gun is the GM Sniper II’s secondary weapon. That has a certain psychological effect. You know it is using this because it wants to, not because it has to.
Furthermore, the gun looks compact and efficient, just like the body of the GM Sniper II itself. They look like they were designed for one another. On the other hand, when given to the GM Command, the gun looks like a hand me down passed on to a younger sibling.
But what would happen if we gave it a different gun? Something with a little more oomph to it?
As luck would have it, I have just such a gun handy. You see, back in March I started the build of my High Grade Gundam Alex. However, I decided to pause it when I got to a particularly nasty painting challenge (I’ll get back to it eventually, when I’m in the right mood). One of the parts I did manage to complete is the Alex’s beam rifle:
It’s a big, nasty looking gun, and I have a feeling it just might work for the GM Command. Let’s give it a whirl.
First, here it is with its standard bullpup gun:
Now here is the same pose with the Alex’s gun:
I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I think that looks leagues better.
When you combine that pointy, knife-like shield with a big bruiser of a gun, the GM Command suddenly looks like it is ready to wreck some sh*t:
I still find it fascinating how something as simple as an accessory swap can completely change the demeanor of a model kit. Dareisay that with this gun, the GM Command truly resembles a proto-GM Sniper II. These two photos below particularly sold me:
Comparison
I’ve compared this model kit to its GM siblings, but here now are some side-by-side-by-side comparisons of all three:
These three shots give you the best view of all the major and minor changes between all three models. Looking at them like this, I still stand by everything I’ve said up until this point. I think the GM Cold Districts does a great job of refreshing and refining the “classic” GM design, while the GM Sniper II does a great job of taking that design to the next level.
As for the GM Command, the new gun certainly helps, but it still feels like it is stuck in a sort of “middle ground purgatory”. It doesn’t know exactly what it wants to be, so it fails to stand out as much as its brethren.
Conclusion
In the end, I don’t actually regret buying the GM Command. When placed up on the shelf with its pals, it actually kind of looks okay. Not great mind you, but okay. That’s probably worth ten bucks:
However, I think I would be singing a different tune if I didn’t have some spare guns and beam sabers to lend to it. Out of the box, this kit doesn’t have what it takes. But if you can augment it with leftover gear, you might have something to work with. If you have other, better GMs in your collection, the GM Command might then worth getting to bolster your GM army. But don’t get it as your first GM. You can do better than this.