In case you needed to see just how tiny some of the parts are for this kit, here’s a look at the runners:
Take a close look at things like the leg armor, or the red toe armor, and you’ll see that they’re that much smaller than normal. Or you can try and zoom in on some of the excruciatingly tiny orange parts on the A runner.
Even the decal sheet is smaller than usual, on account of all the decals themselves being scaled down.
Difficulty
And now we answer the million dollar question - did the size of this kit and its parts actually make for a more difficulty build?
Overall, no. By and large it builds like any other (newer) Real Grade. There are a few noteworthy exceptions however, particularly when building the Core Fighter and the head. These two sections have some particularly tiny parts that are difficult to assemble, and it is all too easy to lose them, or drop them, or cause them to pop off and fly away. In my case, I did indeed drop multiple parts at different times, and by sheer grit and determination luck I was able to recover them.
As for stickers, they too can be tricky due to their small size. The good news is that the kit comes with extras for the smallest of the stickers, so if you mess up, you have more than one chance to try again.
Perhaps the best way to put it is that the difficulty is roughly the same, but the risk for catastrophic failure is higher. My advice is to be extra careful when needed; try not to work near the edge of your workspace (or by carpeted floors).
With that all out of the way, let’s move on to the build.
Beam Effect Parts
Like the F91 before it, the Crossbone Gundam has beam shield generators build into its wrists. Here is what the Gundam Wiki has to say:
Unlike an I-field generator, which is effective only against beam attacks, the beam shield blocks both beam and projectile weapons. The beam shield generates a plane of energy similar to the blade of a beam saber. This plane is divided into multiple sections, which can be turned on or off as needed to conserve energy. Individual sections are also automatically deactivated whenever they're in danger of coming into contact with the mobile suit itself.The beam shield generators of the Crossbone Gundams are mounted on the forearm, and can take advantage of beam energy malleability, forming four short beam blades at the corners of the beam shield generator that meet at the center, which gives the brand marker as a whole a pyramidal shape. The brand marker slides over the fist of the mobile suit and is used as a punching weapon. When used, the the brand marker leaves an X-shaped hole, if the target area isn't completely destroyed.
Basically, these beam generators can generate beams of different shapes and sizes, ranging from a wide shield, to the beam-equivalent of brass knuckles. And thankfully, the kit comes with effect parts for both:
Longtime readers of this blog will know that I’m a sucker for accessories. The fact that we have so many already, without even looking at the primary weapons, means we’re off to a good start.
Heat Knives
Here is what the Wiki has to say about these babies:
The Crossbone Gundams are also equipped with two heat daggers as alternative close combat weapons. Unlike most heat weapons, the blade of the heat dagger is heated using leftover heat from the leg's thrusters. The heated blade can melt the enemies armor on contact. The heat daggers are stored in the legs, one in each calf. Normally, it is handheld when in use, but it can also slide out of the sole as a surprise attack.
I love everything about these:
- The fact that they’re stored in the back of the leg. You just don’t see that very often, if ever
- The fact that they’re not only heated up, but that they’re heated up by excess heat. That’s just eco-friendly
- The fact that they can pop out of the leg to work as handheld weapons, or they pop out of the foot to become literal boot knives. What’s more pirate that that?
Beam Sabers
Hey, it’s a beam saber:
Never seen one of those before 😉
But seriously, I’m a little surprised at just how large the handles are considering the size of the mobile suit. I can’t think of a place they could go on the mobile suit where they’d be inconspicuous. Which makes me wonder - where are they stored when not in use?
According to the wiki, they’re stored in the shoulder. Put a pin in that for now.
Buster Gun
It’s a flintlock pistol. Extremely on-brand for sure.
Here’s what the Wiki has to say:
The Buster Gun is the primary ranged weapon of the Crossbone Gundam. This beam pistol is modeled after a flintlock pistol and is typically used with only one of the mobile suit's hands, leaving the second hand free to use a melee weapon. Stored on the right side armor when not in use the buster gun can combine with the Beam Zanber to form the Zanbuster.
I added a bit of grey to it to add some extra color separation. It’s not strictly necessary, though I do think it looks good.
The kit also comes with a small grey accessory that attaches to the barrel of the gun:
According to the wiki, this could be one of two things, but I’m not sure which it is. It’s either the Rifle Grenade, which is exactly what it sounds like, or it’s the Atomic Shell, which is the exact same shape and size, and is fired exactly the same way, but is literally a nuclear warhead.
Excessive weaponry? In my Crossbone Vanguard? It’s more likely than you think.
Beam Zamber
The Crossbone Gundam is too fancy to rely on simple beam sabers alone. Which is why it has a Beam Cutlass Beam Zamber. Here’s the Wiki with the full commentary:
The Beam zanber is a high power beam saber and is the primary weapon of the Crossbone Gundam. The hilt of the Beam Zanber is modeled after that of a traditional pirate cutlass, as is the beam blade when it is formed, and is stored on the left side armor when not in use.The power of the Beam Zanber is significantly higher than that of ordinary beam sabers, such that it is easy for the Crossbone Gundam to overpower an enemy in melee combat or even "cut" through the beam of an ordinary beam saber. Behind the guard of the Beam Zanber is a gun handle that is used in the Zanbuster configuration.
So like the Nu Gundam, this isn’t just for show. It’s so strong it can cut through other beams. That’s pretty cool.
Once more, I added a bit of grey, though it’s so little that you might hardly notice it.
Zanbuster
But wait, there’s more! The Buster Gun and the Beam Zamber can combine into a rifle mode called the Zanbuster (or is pronounced “Zanbustaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah”?):
Once more, here’s what the Wiki says:
A beam rifle formed from the combination of the Beam Zanber and the Buster Gun, the beam it fires is stronger than that of the Buster Gun. In this configuration, the butt of the Buster Gun is connected to the beam emitter of the Beam Zanber. When a grenade is attached to the Zanbuster's emitter, it can also function as a single shot grenade launcher.
This requires a tiny bit of transformation, namely in the form of folding down the grip of the Buster Gun, and repositioning the blade guard on the sword (which happens to be on this really cool swivel/hinge combo)
Scissor Anchor
Here is what the Wiki says about the Scissor Anchor:
Each Crossbone Gundam is equipped with a pair of scissor anchors stored on the front skirt armor. These anchors are attached to the Gundam by long chains and use scissor claws to grip objects. While these are not offense weapons per-say, they provide several uses in combat. They can be used to grip the limb of an enemy machine to ensnare it, or to reel it closer to the Crossbone Gundam for melee combat.They can also be used to turn ensnared mobile suits into bludgeoning weapons by pulling on the chain. The scissor anchors can also be used to stabilize the Gundam's footing in case of emergencies, such as when fighting the wind force of an explosion.
I’m not going to say for a fact that this is ripped straight from Captain Harlock (whose ship uses Space Harpoons to latch on to enemies), but I’d shocked if it wasn’t. It’s exactly the kind of homage you love to see.
Anyway, as the Wiki states, the claw at the end of the anchor is actually made from the front skirt armor, so there’s your sneak peak at part of the mobile suit itself. Then there’s the chain, which I painted gunmetal grey, after which I applied some weathering compound to make it look a bit worn and, well, nautical.
Anti Beam Coating Cloak
Let’s be honest - someone decided that the pirate Gundam would look even cooler if it wore a long, tattered cloak, so they came up with “anti beam cloak” as an excuse to make it happen. That’s not a complaint: I’d do the same thing if it was my choice.
Anyway, here’s the Wiki entry for those interested:
As with other Crossbone Vanguard mobile suits used in UC 0133, the X-1 could be equipped with a cloth cloak that had been treated with an anti-beam coating. Functioning similar to the old physical shields that had received the same treatment, the cloak was used to protect the mobile suit from beam shots.With its size it could completely cover the mobile suit, with the exception of the head, providing full body protection. However, despite its advantages, one of which is conserving power, the cloak has two disadvantages. First, unlike a beam shield the cloak can only handle about 5 shots before the coating wears off, rendering the cloak to simple cloth. The second disadvantage is that the cloak offers no protection from physical weapons.
That … doesn’t sound super impressive. Again, it’s mainly there to look cool.
As for the model itself, the cloak is made of several different parts that all fit together:
That’s it for Now
I can’t remember the last time I spent so much time going over the accessories for a Gunpla, but this is one of those special mobile suits with lots of cool stuff.
That being said, I’ve been going long enough, so let’s take a break here, and we’ll come back next time to look at the mobile suit.