Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body and head

Back and backpack

Weapons

Legs

Simplified shield interior detail.
It's quite different from the typical Federation-type shield interior.

Same articulation as the GM III.
The arms fold completely, but the legs only bend just shy of 90 degrees.

Rifle firing pose

HGUC GM II - Beam saber action pose (1/4)

HGUC GM II - Beam saber action pose (2/4)

Beam saber action pose

HGUC GM II - Action poses using Action Base 2 (1/4)

HGUC GM II - Action poses using Action Base 2 (2/4)

Action poses using Action Base 2

HGUC GM I~III lineup!

HGUC GM II - The GM II should look closer to the original GM, but due to circumstances it ended up as a variation of the GM I

The GM II should look closer to the original GM, but...
Due to circumstances, it ended up released as a variation of the GM III.

The GM II from Zeta, which felt like it would never come out, has finally made it into the HGUC lineup. That said, it's not like the HGUC Zeta lineup suddenly resumed — it was released as a bonus off the back of the GM III from Unicorn getting released. If you look at the runners and parts breakdown, a good chunk of the GM III's structure and parts are being reused, and because of that, it's ended up being a rather half-hearted kit that's stirred up quite a bit of controversy among old-school fans. ;;

Since the basic construction is the same as the GM III, the articulation and quality are on the same level too — it does use the latest polycap system, giving it stable joints and decent articulation overall. That said, just like the GM III, the arm articulation is good but the leg articulation is a bit lacking, so action poses can feel a little unnatural at times.

So the kit's style and quality are above average as you'd expect from a new release, but the issue people keep pointing out is that the GM II — which should feel like a detailed-up version of the original GM — ended up looking like the GM III with its armor removed. The overall proportions and even the elbow joint structure use a newer joint design that doesn't match the original specs, making this a textbook example of spec-breaking all around.

Sure, you could say "at least it came out at all," but given that this is a unit that old-school fans have been wanting for a long time, it's hard to shake the feeling that this is a pretty half-hearted variation. If you're making a kit for old-school fans, you'd think they'd at least cater to old-school tastes. Maybe that's why it got a lot of flak even before it was released, not just after.

Anyway, it's definitely a kit that's stirred up a lot of controversy... but looking at the kit itself, the quality is clean and solid, so if you can overlook the spec-breaking to some degree, I think you can have a pretty good time with it. :-)

HGUC GM II | 2011.10 | ¥1,400

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.