Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

HGBF Powered GM Cardigan - Detail shots (1/4)

HGBF Powered GM Cardigan - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

Leftover parts

Articulation is the same as the original HGUC Powered GM.

You can remove and reattach the forearm cover to expose the gatling gun.

The beam saber mount on top of the shoulder can also rotate.

The shield and large rifle can be freely positioned using the multi-jointed sub-arms.

HGBF Powered GM Cardigan - Rifle shooting pose (1/3)

HGBF Powered GM Cardigan - Rifle shooting pose (2/3)

HGBF Powered GM Cardigan - Rifle shooting pose (3/3)

Rifle firing pose

Shield sub-arm deployed and large rifle firing pose

Gatling firing pose

Beam saber action pose

Together with the original HGUC Powered GM.

The 19th Build Fighters kit is here — the Powered GM Cardigan, based on the HGUC Powered GM. About 60% of the parts are carried over straight from the original Powered GM, with new armor added to the shoulders and legs, and it also includes some of the weapons from the Build Custom Powered Arms Powereder, which was also sold separately.

Since it's built on the solid foundation of the HGUC Powered GM, this kit delivers decent articulation and joint strength as you'd expect. That said, all the extra weapons do make it a bit less stable — the backpack in particular gets pretty heavy, so it tends to topple backwards when you try to stand it up. T_T You can just barely get it to stand upright by splaying the legs back as far as possible, but honestly, action poses are much easier to pull off on a stand.

The Powered Arms Powereder parts added to the back are somehow reminiscent of Gundam Thunderbolt. Thanks to the multi-jointed sub-arms, you can position the shield at all kinds of angles, and the big large rifle can be placed just as freely. The good news is that the sub-arm joints are pretty sturdy, so whatever angle or position you put the weapons in, they hold their place nicely. On top of that, there's a new gimmick where a gatling gun — similar to the one on the Gundam NT-1 — is stored in the forearm, and you can recreate the open mode by swapping the cover on and off.

All in all, this kit feels like a MSV-ified version of the Powered GM, and if you're a fan of the GM or Powered GM, it seems like a fun build — think of it as an armed-up expansion of the original. :-)

HGBF Powered GM Cardigan | 2014.10 | ¥1,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.