Gundam Gusion Rebake - Tumblr Posts
Alright, so given that I accidentally deleted the original prior to posting (call it queued posts or call it scheduled posts, not both), I might as well do this again
Given that I’ve been talking about it a lot lately, what do I think of the Gundam Gusion’s designs?
First up, the “original” Gundam Gusion, as it appears when being used by the space pirate organisation Brewers. Honestly, I love this thing. It’s one of two High Grades (the other being the Kimaris) that I bought when season 1 was coming out (a practice that I regrettably didn’t have the opportunity to repeat with G-Witch). But yeah, a big chunky, round, frog-looking Gundam, it really stands out in a lineup, but without being too flashy. Another part of it will be my preference for specialised suits over generalists - the original Gusion’s armed with a hammer, submachine gun and grenades (and an axe if you read the manga) in addition to the built-in anchor cannons. I really like how tight it’s loadout is - it can carry it all, and still retain its mobility for fighting in the debris zones. It’s a superheavy raid suit designed for very-short range anti-ms and anti-ship combat - tailor made for a space pirate outfit. All that said though, I think it’s good that it’s essentially just a brief foe to Tekkadan and doesn’t outstay it’s welcome - it’s a unit based on Kudal’s style of excess, so once he’s dead, it shouldn’t hang around long enough for it’s flaws to become apparent and it’s a memorable foe nonetheless.
Next up, the Gundam Gusion Rebake. Honestly, I didn’t like this one so much when it first appeared. Partially because there’s so little fanfare, but I thought it looked too similar to the Barbatos (especially compared to its predecessor and the Kimaris). Not helping matters is my understanding that both Gusion Rebakes were shafted from a High Grade perspective (The Axe is in an option set, and they both contain a lot of white wraparound colour correcting stickers in addition to requiring further colour correction - I try to paint instead of using wraparound stickers, but white can be a struggle). With the reveal of the Gusion Rebake Full City, I went back and reevaluated it. I came to appreciate the smoother form, the rounded lines. I like how it clearly retains some elements of the original Gusion (the shield and the backpack being made from Gusion’s back and legs, respectively), while taking some from the Barbatos (along with some spare armour). It makes a nice halfway house between the two designs, while still having its own unique elements. I do like its head very much, it’s sleek and rounded and the long-range emphasis helps it considerably. I’m quite fond of the rounded legs too, they remind me of the Gundam Ground type, another unit that was equally comfortable at range or close-quarters.
Finally, the Gundam Gusion Rebake Full City. Given that I said that this caused me to reevaluate the Gusion Rebake, I mustn’t like this one so much? Not so! The Gusion Rebake Full City has a wonderfully blocky design that lends it much more weight than the original, even though it’s overall mass doesn’t increase that much. The aforementioned unique elements of the Gusion Rebake have blossomed wonderfully, fully divorcing it from the Gusion and Barbatos. It’s new, more inhuman design plays into Tekkadan’s reputation as “the devils of Mars” and this is very apparent during its fight with Galan Mossa (the bearded gentleman). Armament-wise, it’s not too much over the Gusion Rebake. I do like it’s arm rockets, but the Variable Scissor rear armour….. okay, yes it is silly, because I alway think Akihiro should get shot in the middle of using it. However a) if any suit can multitask it’s probably the Gusion Rebake Full City b) it’s typically only used against single/armoured enemies. And c) it is essentially the last word in anti-armour weaponry, so it being unwieldy is perhaps an acceptable trade-off. I have a habit of considering a lot of IBO’s weaponry as silly until I actually consider the setting (Mobile suits have a *slightly* different origin in IBO when compared to other settings), so I’m perhaps lenient on it. The Gusion Rebake Full City also has the distinction of being in one of my favourite scenes in Iron-Blooded Orphans, which gives it brownie points (though to be fair it’s hardly unique in that regard, with Flauros and Bael also having similar honours).
