I forgot to take a photo of this kit’s runners. The main thing to know is that it has three more runners than the Uraven Gundam, which means it comes in an extra tall box.
As for what’s on those extra runners, two of them are just for the Breakflow Feather accessories, while the third one contains new versions of old parts. Though I have to say that in some cases, I’m not actually sure what’s new about them. Can you see anything different in these two heads?
As for the build process, it feels the same as the Uraven and Saturnix Gundams, which is about what I expected. But it’s still a shame considering how different and fun the Nepteight was. I would have liked to see something like that again.
On the bright side, I was able to get the entire build done in a single night!
Weapons
We’ll start with the scythe:
It’s a simple little thing, though it certainly looks nasty.
Let’s compare it to that other famous Gundam Scythe:
Okay, yeah, I was not expecting Deathscythe’s weapon to be so much bigger, but the proof is in the pudding:
This doesn’t take away from how cool the Infortune Scythe looks, but I think this is proof that it could have stood to be a bit longer.
Now here’s the Breakflow Feathers:
These are extremely articulated. You can fold them out like this:
And pinch the claws in like this:
Or make them into spinny blades:
Support Mecha
I’m torn on this one. It still looks like a flying weapons rack from most angles, but all the sharp blades and claws also make it look a bit like a giant flying insect , which is at least a different vibe:
(Side note - I really thought it would look goofy with the scythe being mounted on the top, but it manages to look okay in practice)
Core Gundam II
Other than the V-Fin (which is slightly longer and pointier), this is the same as the OG Core Gundam II:
I think it looks a lot better in this color scheme. It hides some of the flaws of the Core II design, while also just being visually striking.
Plutine Gundam
Alright, time for a Core Change. Pluto Armor, docking …. go!
Throughout these Planet Armor builds, I’ve refrained from making any sort of comparisons to Sailor Moon, despite the fact that some of the armors are extremely similar in coloring and theming to their magical girl counterparts. But I can’t keep my mouth shut with this one. Between its main weapon and its color scheme, this is basically the Gundam equivalent of Sailor Saturn:
True, it’d be even better if this was the Saturnix Gundam, but at least everything else is on point.
As for the visual design, the Plutine cuts quite a striking figure. In my experience it’s rare for a model to use a true, neutral white plastic, and ever rarer still for one to use true neutral black. And yet this kit uses both of them. When you combine that with the almost-but-not-quite-neon colors, and you get a unique color palette that feels both highly contrasting yet highly cohesive.
And then theres’ the fact that the Breakflow Feathers not only make it look extra spiky, but also give it a much wider silhouette than the other Planet Armors.
I also prefer those wings on the Core Defenser being flipped. They’re now much more visible on the final model.
Loosey Goosey?
In his Youtube review of this kit, Mecha Gaikotsu ran into a lot of trouble with his Plutine falling apart, to the point where limbs were popping off live on camera. He wondered aloud whether his kit simply came from a bad batch or something, but I can confirm that mine is just as bad.
It’s weird. Structurally speaking there’s nothing different about this model compared to any of the other Core Gundam II builds. But for some reason all the joints are so much looser. The ball joint in the waist is by far the worst offender. Even after adding two coats of super glue to tighten up the joint, it was still popping out constantly.
But that’s not all. I encountered loose joints in the hands, as well as the feet, with the latter getting so bad that I had trouble getting the model to stand up without tipping over.
And that’s all on top of the usual issues you get where some of the armor parts (shoulders, front skirts, Core Defenser, etc) like to slide off from time to time.
It got to the point where I decided to go easy on myself, so I took the bare minimum amount of photos, just enough to show off all the gimmicks. Any attempt at action poses with this thing would be more trouble than it was worth.
So here you go. Here’s the Plutine equipping its Feathers on its wrists:
Here it is deploying them like buzzsaws:
And lastly, here it is next to its scythe pal:
Conclusion
Look what you did Plutine Gundam. You made Sailor Saturn cry. All you had to do was look cool and pretty, but because of how fragile you are, you could only pull off one of the two.
I think this is a clear sign that it’s time to put the Core Gundam concept to bed. I still think it’s a great idea in theory, but in execution it’s had more misses than hits. At this point I think I’ve been fooled one too many times, and I (hopefully) won’t get fooled again.