Let’s keep things chugging along and build Saturnix Gundam:
About the Mobile Suit
Here’s is what the instruction manual says about the Saturn Armor:
The Saturnix Gundam is the heavily equipped melee combat form where the Saturn Armor and Core Gundam II dock together through the PLANETS System.
It is clad in equipment using the motif of tools and heavy machinery and was built under a concept of crushing opponents with overwhelming power.
The Saturn Armor has a built-in power enhancement device that can deliver a heavy blow to its enemies from any location. The armor was originally designed for combat against Mobile Suits that used Gundam Frames, but it was deployed under unexpected circumstances on the planet Eldora.
Although it was not named after a devil, the Gundam has an appearance of one.
I think the Saturnix armor is a cool idea, but as a thought exercise, I’m going to play devil’s advocate and make a case against it.
If you’ve seen Iron Blooded Orphans, then you know that the mobile suits in that show are built in such a way that beam weaponry is largely ineffective. The only way to damage them is to get in close and smash them apart with big melee weapons.
With its giant claw and drill, the Saturnix is indeed perfectly suited for that purpose - but couldn’t you say the same thing about the Marsfour?
It’s got large claws on its arms, and multiple swords, one of which is so large that it looks better suited to smashing than slicing. Seems like it could do the job pretty well.
So why does the Saturnix even exist? The Doylist explanation is easy - if you’re going to do a “Planets System”, you need eight armors for eight planets. Furthermore, in a show filled with references to existing Gundam shows, it’d be unfair if there were no references Iron Blooded Orphans.
If you’re looking instead for a Watsonian explanation, I guess you could make the argument that while the Marsfour could be used against IBO mecha, the Saturnix’s specialized weapons are that much better for the job. That’s not a great explanation, but it is the best I can come up with.
Order of Operations
When I built the Uraven Gundam, I had this to say:
... Hiroto may have built the [Beam Shoot Rifle U7] before building the rest of the Uranus Armor. We’ll see something similar when we get to the Saturnix Armor, so put a pin in it for now.
It’s time to take that pin out. During a flashback episode, we see this scene in which Hiroto is carving an ice sculpture using the Saturnix weapons, while wearing the Venus armor:
This is all speculation on my part, but this either means one of two possible scenarios:
- Hiroto built his armors piecemeal. In this case, the Saturn weapons were finished before the rest of the armor
- The Saturn Armor already existed, but of some reason Hiroto wanted to mix and match on this particular day
The second explanation seems more reasonable, as we see plenty of examples of Hiroto doing a “Limited Core Change” and mixing his gear. But I find the first explanation tantalizing. I love the idea that the Planet System was a work in progress that evolved over time.
Appearances in Media
Like the Jupiter Armor, the Saturn Armor only shows up for one signature episode (which also happens to be one of the best in the show). I’m not going to get too spoilery here, but suffice to say that Hiroto and crew go up against a foe clad in heavy armor and monster tentacles, and the Saturn Armor’s weapons prove to be highly effective in cutting through those monster guts.
Also, he once again pairs it up with the Venus Armor, first doing a Limited Change:
And then switching to the full Saturnix:
And that’s the only time we see it in its full glory.
Weapons and Stuff
The Saturnix’s two main weapons are a giant drill and a giant claw. If you look at some of the screenshots in this post, you might notice that it can mount these weapons in different ways. For example, the claw and drill can be wielded separately, or they can be combined together. They can also be handheld, or they can be mounted on the shoulders.
Honestly, I’m not sure how the shoulder mount option is useful beyond carving ice sculptures, but it’s an option nonetheless.
The Saturn Armor has one additional gimmick - it’s got wheels on its feet. I suppose the idea is that it allows it to move faster on land in order to close in on its target. Or maybe it’s just an example of Rule of Cool.
Other Thoughts
I’ve already made it known that I don’t like the shape of the new Support Mecha frame, having called it a “flying weapons rack”. But I realized something while trying to find pictures of the Saturn Armor. Based on the image below, I’m now convinced that it is supposed to look like a bird:
That’s totally a bird, right?
The only problem is that it doesn’t really look like this in real life. On the actual model, the head isn’t angled downward like that, and the “eye” sensors aren’t that segmented and, well, _eye_like. In addition, its “wings” - which of course are made out of its leg armor - aren’t angled that high or that far back, and the leg armor itself is not that small.
Basically, the only way they could make it look they way wanted to is to take extreme artistic license, which is something I mentioned before. But it’s a bit comforting to find some concrete evidence that I my hunch was right.
The Build
Let’s just jump into the build right here and now. The parts layout for the Saturn Armor itself looks familiar:
And then we have the runners that make up the Saturnix weapons:
That’s … not a lot of plastic. In comparison, the weapons pack for the Mercury Armor came with weapons and a backpack. Both are cases of nickel and diming, but at least that one felt like a decent value. But the fact that Bandai deemed this tiny bit of plastic unfit to put in the box with the rest of the armor feels sketchy.
The Drill
The drill has a ton of little panel lines, all of which are pretty hard to get at due to its shape. But I highly recommend that you at least try, as the panel lines give it a lot of much needed texture.
You might notice some notches on the inside of the drill’s body. This is to allow you to attach the grip anywhere along its length. I’m not sure why this is necessary, but I guess it’s an option.
Claw
This is a bit of a pain. If you don’t line up the two tongs, then the claw won’t look straight when you close it up. It’s also easy to accidentally make one overlap the other, as you can see here when I plugged the two weapons together:
And just for funsies, here is how they look attached to the special backpack adapter:
Saturn Armor
This isn’t identical to the Uranus Armor, but they feel more alike than any of the previous armors felt to each other.
The only other thing I have to say about this part of the build is that the wheels are held rather loosely onto the feet, so be careful with that.
Finished
I’ll wait for another post to show off the finished model. See you then.