Kotobukiya Zoid HMM

Gun Sniper W2

Kit Review

Straight build

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Size comparison with a cigarette pack.

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Various angles (1/7) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Various angles (2/7) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Various angles (3/7) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Various angles (4/7) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Various angles (5/7) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Various angles (6/7) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Various angles (7/7)

Various angles

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - The triple beam machine gun on the forearm can be swapped out for a short beam gun.

The triple beam machine gun on the forearm can be swapped out for a short beam gun.

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Zoid Core

Zoid Core

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Cockpit hatch open

Cockpit hatch open

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Multi-hatch open on the shoulders and thighs

Multi-hatch open on the shoulders and thighs

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Booster Scram Pod (8-tube missile pod) open

Booster Scram Pod (8-tube missile pod) open

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - There's also an option to swap the clear yellow parts out for fully transparent clear ones.

There's also an option to swap the clear yellow parts out for fully transparent clear ones.

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Leftover parts

Leftover parts

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Articulation is the same as before.

Articulation is the same as before.

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - An action pose of sorts (1/3) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - An action pose of sorts (2/3) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - An action pose of sorts (3/3)

An action pose of sorts

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Wide Weasel unit fully spread pose (1/4) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Wide Weasel unit fully spread pose (2/4) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Wide Weasel unit fully spread pose (3/4) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - Wide Weasel unit fully spread pose (4/4)

Wide Weasel unit fully spread pose

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - All hatches open pose (1/4) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - All hatches open pose (2/4) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - All hatches open pose (3/4) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - All hatches open pose (4/4)

All hatches open pose

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - With the original Gun Sniper. (1/2) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - With the original Gun Sniper. (2/2)

With the original Gun Sniper.

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - With the Gun Sniper Naomi Special. Structurally, the only difference is the tail armament. (1/2) Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 - With the Gun Sniper Naomi Special. Structurally, the only difference is the tail armament. (2/2)

With the Gun Sniper Naomi Special.
Structurally, the only difference is the tail armament.

This kit is the Gun Sniper W2 (Wide Weasel), the 49th release in Kotobukiya's Zoids HMM series. Released back in 2009, the Gun Sniperhas had its molded colors changed and comes with the Wide Weasel added. The Wide Weasel was already included in the Gun Sniper Naomi Specialreleased in 2010, so this is essentially a straight reuse + color variant kit with no new tooling whatsoever.

In the end, compared to the existing Gun Sniper Naomi Special, the only structural difference is the tail armament — it's the same molds with different molded colors. So for this review, just paying close attention to the color changes should be enough. That said, since the base Gun Sniper is an early kit, durability is a bit of a concern. The snap-fit connections in particular are pretty weak, so there are quite a few parts that fall apart easily if you build without glue.

On the plus side, even with all the moving parts, joint strength is decent enough, so as long as you keep the center of gravity in check, posing isn't much of a problem. The Wide Weasel unit can be positioned at all sorts of angles, letting you pull off a variety of dynamic poses.

So yeah, it's a simple color variant kit without a whole lot to dig into, but the colors look great and the overall result is quite nice. If you're a fan of the Zoids HMM series, this one should be a fun build. :-)

Zoid HMM Gun Sniper W2 | 2021. 1 | ¥5,200

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.