Just in case I haven’t made it clear enough over time, the Leo is one of my least favorite mobile suits of all time, grunt suit or otherwise. It’s just … not good.
The only way I knew to make it look better was to turn it into the Tallgeese. But now there’s a second solution - give it a genderswap.
I present to you the Leo-R:
About the Mobile Suit
The Leo-R comes from a Gundam Wing spinoff manga named New Mobile Report Gundam Wing Dual Story: G-Unit:
(Sadly, the G-Unit in question appears to be these two guys):
(Rather than these guys):
Also, despite it’s appearance, it is not piloted by a woman, but rather by this fancy pants dude:
Here is some additional info from the instruction manual:
The OZ-06MS-SR2 Leo-R is a unit developed by OZ Prize based on the OZ-06MS Leo. The notable characteristics of this unit are its slender silhouette and twin eye face parts. It was piloted by Kratz Silvy, one of the "Stardust Knights".Compared to the OZ-06MS-SS1 Leo-S and OZ-06MS-SN3 Leo-N, which are also based on the Leo, this unit was designed with an emphasis on mobility and maneuverability. This is evident from the fact that the Wing Stabilizers and thighs are equipped with boosters and thrusters.
The legs of the OZ-07AMS Aries and the Wing Stabilizers of the OZ-12MS Taurus were modified and attached to the unit. With these improvements, it has achieved performance far superior to that of its predecessors, not only overwhelming the MD units defending MO-V, but also hunting down the OZX-GUO2A Gundam Geminass 02, and even destroying the Leo-S.
And since it’s here in front me, here’s some more details on the faction that the Leo-S is part of:
The Stardust Knights are the independent combat unit belonging to OZ Prize, an organization under the direct control of Dermail Catalonia, the head of the Romefeller Foundation.They are a combat unit with special privileges that even OZ can't interfere with, and they use the Peacemillion-class space battleship Grand Chariot as their mothership. They faced the G-UNIT during the incident at an industrial colony MO-V.
Weapons and Stuff
The Leo-R’s only actual weapon is its Beam Dual Lancer. It’s just an extra long lance, with a handle as tall as the Leo-R itself.
But while that may be it’s only weapon, it’s got all sorts of extra thrusters to give it speed. Indeed, according to the manual, even it’s golden hair can generate propulsion.
About the Visual Design
I know that the Leo-R borrows elements from both the Taurus and the Ares, but at the end of the day it still reminds me the most of the Tallgeese. Their heads are vaguely similar, their skirt armors are extremely similar, and even the Leo-R’s back-mounted thrusters look like slimmer versions of the Tallgeese’s own massive verniers. That may be the reason why I like the design so much.
Well that, and I feel like this mobile suit is clearly designed to look like some sort of valkyrie or something, and that aesthetic choice is usually pretty cool.
Another Lady Gunpla
Of all the female coded Gunpla I own, this one may be the most so. It’s got the hair, the hips, the heels; it even has what I can describe as Leo boobs.
There are other mobile suits that are somewhat feminine, without being aggressively so. This is not one of them.
About the Build
I’m not really sure what to expect from this one. I know it will share some parts with the High Grade Leo, but beyond that I’m stumped. We’ll figure it out soon enough though.
Other Thoughts
As you can see, the box art for this model is the normal, colorful boxart you’d expect from a regular commercial release. And the instruction manual is in your standard HGUC format:
And yet … this was a Premium Bandai exclusive …
Between this and the not-quite-but-almost-commercial packaging of the P-Bandai Witch From Mercury kits, I officially have no idea what the rhyme or reason is regarding any of Bandai’s packaging decisions.