We going to plus up the Build Strike Exceed Galaxy with some Booster Packs. First stop - the Universe Booster from Gundam Build Fighters:
About the Universe Booster
When Sei upgrades the Build Strike to the Star Build Strike, part of the process involved replacing the original Build Booster with the Universe Booster:
It has the same basic purpose as the Build Booster; it’s a small fighter craft that can operate on its own, and it can dock with the mobile suit to give it extra speed, strength, and firepower.
But it also helps in another important way. The Star Build Strike has the ability to absorb energy from enemy attacks, and then discharge that energy in the form of what are called “Plavsky Power Gates” that enhance its performance:
As well as generate a set of “Plavsky Wings”:
According to the lore, it is the Universe Booster itself that is responsible for generating these energy constructs. Without it, presumably the Star Build Strike would be far less capable.
Fun fact - when deploying the large-form Plavsky Power Gate, it takes the shape of a star, which of course is fitting given the mobile suit’s name:
About this Accessory
I’ve seen Bandai use accessory packs to do some seriously questionable nickel and diming, but this particular pack is something else. Look real closely at what’s inside the box:
You get the Universe Booster, the Plavsky Power Gate, and all of the weapons and armor parts needed to convert the High Grade Build Strike into the Star Build Strike.
On the surface, that seems like a good idea. You can buy the HG Build Strike, and later if you want to convert it, you can buy this accessory pack. Easy peasy.
Not so fast! It’s not actually all that simple, because of the existence of this kit:
This kit contains the Star Build Strike - including all of its weapons and the Universe Booster - as well as a pair of Plavsky Wings.
What it doesn’t come with is the Plavksy Power Gate. So if, like me, you have this kit, and you want the Power Gate, you then have to buy an accessory pack that has a whole bunch of other stuff that you already have.
Or conversely, if you have the Build Strike and you bought this accessory pack to convert it, but you wanted the Plavsky wings, then you’ll have to buy a whole other High Grade model kit, just for a pair of wings.
I think this all could have been avoided if they just included the Power Gate with the HG Star Build Strike. Instead, it feels like they wanted to sell it separately, but had to come up with a whole bunch of other stuff to toss in the box in order to justify the price. In the end, everyone loses.
Having said all that, when I first bought this accessory, the only thing I needed out of it was the Plavsky Power Gate. But now I need the Power Gate and some of the parts off the Universe Booster, so that I can attach them to the Exceed Galaxy. At least now I’ll be using more of the stuff in the box.
Why Haven't I Built the Star Build Strike Yet?
I didn't know this when I got it, but it turns out that the Star Build Strike is a nightmare of color correction. It's multicolored shield is molded entirely in white, and its two-toned rifle is molded in grey. And those are just two examples I know of - there might be other parts that need additional painting.I need to be in the right mood and the right mindset to do that kind of color correction, especially considering that the shield features red _and_ yellow _and_ white, three of the most dangerous colors to work with.
The Build
Despite the fact that I only need the guns off of the Universe Booster to attach to the Exceed Galaxy, I figured I’ll build the whole thing while I’m at it.
This has a decent amount of parts for an accessory pack, though keep in mind that some of these are for use on the Star Build Strike. Only a fraction of the parts are for use to build the Universe Booster.
We’ll start with the cockpit:
The orange hatch is made out of a series of three stickers, while all the other grey details needed to be painted (after taking this photo, I realized some of the paint was chipping off, so I went back and added another coat).
The rear half of the body is made of two constructs that look like this:
The red, yellow, and grey areas are all stickers, and I don’t think they look too bad.
In the front, you can see the part of the Booster which drapes over the Star Build Strike’s shoulder and attaches to its chest vents. When the Booster is detached and flying around, this part folds underneath and out of the way.
Next we have the guns:
The grey barrel was actually white, so I had to spray paint it. Between this, and the cockpit, and all the stickers, I’d say that the color correction on this thing is as bad as it is on the Star Build Strike itself.
The last step is to put it all together, and then attach all the clear pink parts that decorate the body.
Finished
Here it is, the Universe Booster:
In terms of coloring and level of detail, this isn’t half bad (even if most of the color comes courtesy of stickers).
But in terms of its overall size, it’s “cool factor”, etc, I think it’s a downgrade from the original Build Booster:
The Build Booster is just so big and majestic in comparison, at least in plane mode. And when attached to its mobile suit, it gives it such an added sense of speed and heft, whereas the Universe Booster … doesn’t.
Gimmicks
Aside from its ability to attach to the Star Build Strike (which I haven’t built yet), the only real gimmick to speak of is the Plavsky Gate. We can attach it to the sides like so:
I’ll admit that this gives it a bit of extra oomph, though of course posing it like this means you can’t use the Plavsky Gate on the Star Build Strike itself, so is it really worth it?
Conclusion
Not really in love with this one. One day, when I eventually get around to the Star Build Strike, we’ll re-assess it within its proper context. For now, it’s just salvage to scrap parts for to use with the Exceed Galaxy.