Kit Review

Straight build

The kit includes two HGUC GMs + an escape launch.

HGUC GM Gundam The Ride ~ A Baoa Qu - The highlight of this kit is definitely the escape launch. It's an all-new mold made ex

The highlight of this kit is definitely the escape launch.
It's an all-new mold made exclusively for this limited edition,
and the molding and details are decent — but as you can see, straight out of the box it's just plain white.

Pretty bland.. so I ended up deciding to do a full paint job on the escape launch.

The escape launch after a full paint job. Looks pretty nice once you paint it up ^^

I wasn't sure about the exact color scheme, so I just went with whatever felt right.. -_-;

Side view.

Underside

HGUC GM Gundam The Ride ~ A Baoa Qu - For the green window section, I adjusted the thinner-to-enamel mixing ratio and the dry

For the green window section, I adjusted the thinner-to-enamel mixing ratio and
the drying angle(?) to bring out a bit of depth.
The special stickers included are nice and thick with a good texture..
Since I was going for a full paint job, I cut away all the clear backing around the printed areas
with a knife before applying them — no excess border left, so it looks really clean ^_^

There aren't many masking points to deal with, so it's a pretty easy thing to paint..

The GM included in this kit is 100% identical to the existing HGUC GM.

HGUC GM Gundam The Ride ~ A Baoa Qu - The only difference is that stickers have been added to both shoulders, the chest duct,

The only difference is that stickers have been added to both shoulders, the chest duct, and the shield.
And the stickers for each of the two GMs have different designs.

Shoulder and shield stickers for pilot Adam Stingray

Shoulder and shield stickers for pilot Jack Baird

HGUC GM Gundam The Ride ~ A Baoa Qu - Wait — if you take a look at the box art for this kit, you can see that the backpacks o

Wait — if you take a look at the box art for this kit..
you can see that the backpacks on the two GMs are different from the normal version.
One has the dual beam saber backpack like the First, and the other is a bazooka-mount type backpack like the MG GM.

HGUC GM Gundam The Ride ~ A Baoa Qu - But the actual kit just repackages the existing HGUC GM runners as-is.. so both of them

But the actual kit just repackages the existing HGUC GM runners as-is..
so both of them come with the plain single beam saber backpack. -_- If they were going to do it, they should've done it properly..

Still, let's try an action pose..

HGUC GM Gundam The Ride ~ A Baoa Qu (1/2)

HGUC GM Gundam The Ride ~ A Baoa Qu (2/2)

HGUC GM Gundam The Ride ~ A Baoa Qu - Recreating the box art. Doesn't look anything like it -_-;;; It'd look better if I coul

Recreating the box art. Doesn't look anything like it -_-;;;
It'd look better if I could suspend them in mid-air, but that's not really an option..
Just tell yourself they're "floating in space" and go with it ^^;

Recreating the box art pose with a slightly different angle

Looks more like a GM hauling cargo ^^;

Straight-built state

This is the "Gundam The Ride" limited edition GM + escape launch set — one of the most unique releases in the entire Bandai limited edition lineup.
Why is it so unique? Well, unlike most other limited editions that focus on color variants, clear molding, or plated parts, this kit actually includes brand-new runners made exclusively for it.

The kit contents consist of two sets of the existing HGUC GM runners packed in as-is, plus the newly tooled escape launch runners added on top. You might be wondering what on earth this set is even based on — "Gundam The Ride" is the name of an attraction where two GMs fly around in space with an escape launch, and your seat moves along with them. It's a theater-style theme park ride, the kind you'd find at places like Lotte World. This kit is a limited edition commemorating that attraction. For more details, check out ZAKURER's post in the café.

The newly tooled escape launch is pretty well made with a nice sense of depth, and there's no sign of it being slapped together just because it's a limited edition. The details, molding, and parts breakdown are all clean — but the molded color is just plain white. So straight-built it really doesn't look great, and after a long while I went ahead and did a full paint job on the escape launch. ^^; The parts breakdown is so clear-cut that the painting difficulty is pretty low — you basically just spray each part according to how it's divided, with only a little masking needed at the front section.

The concept behind the paint job above is a factory-fresh look — no weathering or anything, just like a brand-new car straight off the production line.. ^^;
Anyway, once you paint it up it looks really sharp, and applying the included exclusive stickers makes it even nicer. The stickers that come with it almost look like waterslide decals at first glance, but they feel quite different from the clear sticker seals you'd find in regular MG kits. The usual sticker seals feel thin, but the ones in this kit are noticeably thick and have a real sense of texture to them. Personally, these stickers feel more premium to me.

The two GMs are the same as the existing ones, but stickers have been added to the shoulders, shield, and so on. However, if you look closely at the box art, the GMs are shown with the dual beam saber backpack from the First and a bazooka-mount type backpack like the MG GM. But the actual kit uses the standard parts without any changes, so both come with the plain single beam saber backpack. They even went to the trouble of tooling new molds, so they could've just used parts from the HGUC First Gundam — it's hard to understand why they released it like this. It's a nagging disappointment. (If that was the plan, they could've at least drawn the box art to match the actual kit..!)

Either way, even after it's built, it's really hard to recreate the action poses from the actual Gundam The Ride footage (since you'd have to hang it in mid-air). So this limited edition feels more meaningful as a way to own an escape launch you can't get anywhere else. :-)

HGUC GM Gundam The Ride ~ A Baoa Qu
2001.12 (Limited Edition)

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.