HG 1/144 00 Gundam Seven Sword/G

Straight to the point: this should have been the true and complete form of 00 Gundam instead of that fluke of an upgrade they call “00 Raiser”. This variation has all the Swords and guns Setsuna could ever want to throw away in battle and has more combat and defensive capabilities than slapping a jet fighter could ever hope to achieve… of course, none of this matters due to the convenience of the Twin Drive System not being perfect without the 0 Raiser -_-. Why not use both then?

OUT OF THE BOX

Six Runners total. Green clear and plain clear parts. Wire for the slash harken. Tons of foil stickers. Instruction booklet.

PREPARATIONS

This model has quite a few parts that requires painting so before assembling anything, I masked the parts and paint them first. Paint needed: gray, clear green, clear red, yellow, and some sort of metallic green. Foil sticker is not an option.

LEG UNITS

While straightforward and easy to assemble, the legs has a rather unique approach in the way they come together *points at the knees*. Not sure if it really helps with the articulation, but the range of motion is as good as it gets. Yes, the original knee armor is included if you are wondering about that…

BODY UNIT

Nothing fancy here but it is nice to note that the PC parts where the shoulders plug in can rotate out slightly to provide a few more degrees of motion for the arms. The GN Drives goes into the side of the backpack.

HAND UNITS

What I said about the legs apply to the arms as well. The joints feel snug but since everything is connected through polycaps, I am not too confident that they will be able to hold up over time.

WAIST UNIT

No front and rear skirt armor on the waist means the legs can go a little higher than most. I was wondering how the legs connect then I saw that you have to build the “pelvis/crotch” area separately and then it joins with the waist together.

HEAD UNIT

Painting the v-fin and the gray “side burns” on the face plate was no fun…

WEAPONS

Beam saber hilts… I like how Bandai actually include beam effect parts for the model.

GN Sword II Blaster…  this is seriously a Gun x Sword!

YES! No more spatulas! but if you fancy them, they are included also.

GN Katars… how awesome is that? AND! they go on the legs! Sorry but I have a thing for unconventionally placed and unorthodox melee weapons :D

GN Buster Sword+shield thing. This is THE weapon to wield. Yea, it’s not a GN Sword III but I’m sure it is just as fun to slice things up with ^^.

COMPLETED MODEL

Matte topcoated :)

Asymmetry is a strong statement. I totally prefer this setup over the 00 Raiser look; the equipments actually make the 00 Gundam feel like an upgraded unit. I was also pleasantly surprised that the Buster Sword doesn’t drag down one side of the model and make it lopsided; the GN Drive’s joints are fairly strong ^^.

After putting in the effort to paint in the details, I can appreciate the design of this Gundam a lot more ^^;. The shoulders itself might be small and plain but with the GN Drives covering them, it doesn’t appear that way as much.  The GN Katar added some much needed “bulk” and color balance to an otherwise completely white lower bottom. Everything is just aesthetically pleasing… ^^;

00 Raiser meets 00 Gundam 7Sword/G

GN SWORD II BLASTER

Let’s start off with the big gun while the joints are still fresh!

One nice thing about this weapon is that the blue part clips into the back of the forearm so there is no need to worry about it staying on even if there is no hand to hold it (the handle is also secured in by the blue piece).

Love the built-in GN blade!

Even if the shoulder can rotate forward a little, it was still difficult to get the left hand to hold onto the side handle.

Holding it with one hand looks better anyway ^^

GN BEAM SABERS

Pretty standard fare

the classic melee weapon.

The same con on the other HG 00 units also apply here as well- the hands can’t hold the beam sabers upside down or they will fall right off.

“Ore wa Gundam…”

GN SWORD II LONG/SHORT

Instead of looking like spatulas, the GN Sword II now looks like a sharp, flat missile… cool!

Versatility is preserved in the long version as the sword can still function as a beam rifle while the short one becomes something like a Slash Harken.

This looks so much more intimidating than than the spatula…

Just like the GN Buster Sword, the Blaster also doesn’t weigh down the model like I initially thought it would. As you can see, I can also lift and rotate it with no problem and it will actually stay that way; there is no sagging parts.

More badass than ever before…

GN KATARS

I had quite a lot of fun posing with this weapon… a GN Blade Knee Bazooka to the face?

The inclusion of the katars can make a serious kick…

GN!

KICK!

The GN katars would just flop around in the hands unless you push the handle in against the fingers.

This is many times better than the solid shield katars it had but I think it is much cooler on the legs :D

“DIEEEE!!!”

GN BUSTER SWORD II

The most devastating weapon in its arsenal…

Another pleasant surprise… Despite its size, it is relatively light so the arms were able to wield it fairly well. I supposed the topcoat helps a bit as well…

The sword still puts on quite a leverage and strain on the joints though.

I like how I don’t need two hands to wield this giant cluster of plastic.

Dual wield…

I’m beginning to find that white “v-collar” piece to really get in the way of the face… it obstructs the head from turning and blocks the face when I’m trying to take a photo!

So who needs the GN Spatulas when you have these two awesome swords to lay waste on your enemy’s path?

Now that I think about it… with the addition of the GN Sword II Blaster, wouldn’t an alternative name for this Gundam be EIGHT SWORD as opposed to 7S/G?

And also… why is it Seven Sword, not Seven SwordS?English is confusing to me ^^;

Family portrait… notice how 00 is the shortest in the group xD. Guess Setsuna compensate that by having the physically largest weapons in the bunch…

/boxart pose

Shield up! hmm… I think I much prefer to use my sword as a sword than as a shield…

00 GUNDAM NINE SWORD

A Gundam can never have enough swords. As if the GN Buster Sword II wasn’t big enough, here’s the latest addition to the equipment for more destructive cleaving…

While the Gundam has no problem holding it up…

Swinging it is a totally different story…

“DIYYEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”

The power of the sword is so taxing on both the joints and the GN Drives that 00 can only swing it once before repairs are required. As a result, this particular weapon should only be used as a last resort… ^^;

00 RAISER SEVEN SWORD/G

Combining the best of both worlds…

… you also get the worst of both worlds too. In this case, the weight of the 0 Raiser on its back.

“ORE WA GUNDAM DATTA…”

Now THIS should’ve been the final form of 00… >_>. The only thing missing is the GN Sword III…

Sure… it’s a bit excessive and there are no spots to store the two huge weapons but at least it looks a lot more intimidating than ever before ^^;.

“BRING IT ON! INFINITE JUSTICE!”

PROS AND CONS

PROS

– Fantastic articulation… which is a given.

– Great set of weapons to play around with.

– overall the joints are sturdy.

– Great looking model if you put some effort into it.

– Can adapt its other add-on like the 00 Raiser

CONS

– Requires some painting in order to look good; the foil stickers won’t do this model justice (would you seriously use the foils for the v-fin and crest?).

– the GN Sword II’s sit very loosely on the side armor.

– Could use some better hands… just like the rest of the line-up.

– Head articulation is the only thing that is hindered by design.

VERDICT

This is THE model of 00 Gundam to get! It has all the right weapons and the looks for a complete package that can please both the display-type and the play-type modelers. The effort put into painting some of the parts goes a long way for the aesthetics of the Gundam as well so do not use the foil stickers. Even if you already have the 00 Raiser, you should still get it if you are contemplating on it. I think it’s best if you actually don’t have a 00 Raiser and pick this model up along with the HG 1/144 0 Raiser to make the “00 Raiser Seven Sword/G” ^^;. This is a fairly inexpensive model and it certainly packs a lot for its price so what’s not to love?

DOUBLE OO

“That’s…” “It can’t be…” “It’s a…” “…GUNDAM!”

“HAHAHA!”

“That’s right… I am Gundam!”

“Veda does not acknowledge another 00! Exterminate the target!… Let’s go! WE ARE TENTAISEIBUTSU!”

“ROGER!” “ROGER!”

“BRING IT ON! CELESTIAL B*TCHES!”

“Wait! We should try to understand him instead!”

“GN BAZOOKA! MAXIMUM HYPER MEGA CHARGE BUR– “SHUT THE HELL UP AND JUST KILL HIM ALREADY!”

“LOCK ON! LOCK ON TO THE TARGET!”

*Spams lazers everywhere*

“Fools…”

“1, 2, step!”

“Wait! Just who are you? Why are you here?! What is your purpose?! ANSWER ME! LET ME UNDERSTAND!”

“THEN UNDERSTAND THIS!” “UAHH!”

“Pattern RB26DETT!”

“Hell yeah! Let’s combine our reflexes and thoughts! Got it!”

“Leave it to me!”

“WTF?!”

“NOW! SHOOT!”

“INDISCRIMINATE FIRING!”

“AHHHHHH!!”

“TIERIA!… umm… here, lemme pull that out for you…”

“Watch where you’re shooting, idiot!” “Well… it wouldn’t be [INDISCRIMINATE] then…”

“HAHAHAHA!!!”

“UGH!” “TIERIA!”

“DIEEE!!!”

*Pierces through the Gundam*

“UAHHHHH!”

“TIERIA!”

“No time to let your guard down!” “Oh what the…!”

“HAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!”

“THIS IS THE POWER OF A SUPER SOLDIER!”

“IKUUZEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” >:D “hm… my innovator senses are tingling…”

“TOH!” “AHH! AHHHH! AHHHHHH!! I can’t stop in time! Lockon! Move your ass out of the way!!” “huh? wah?”

“…” “Oh Hallelujah…” @.@

“WAHHHHHHHHH!!!”

“You really screwed this one up, Hallelujah” “SHUT UP! I can still fight! FINAL FORM RIDE!”

A-A-A-ARIOS!

“I will live on!”

“ITADAKIMAAAAAAAAAASUUUU!”

“Try me…”

“That @$$hole blocked my claws with those katars?!”

“Gochisousama deshita…”

“NANIII?!!?!?!!!”

“I have more than enough blades to take care of all of you!”

!!!

=.=;

“If only we can understand each other…!”

“What part of [I am here to kill you] don’t you understand?”

“Close combat is my specialty… don’t force me!”

“Now here’s the question: which one of us will get killed first? one, the lunatic with one giant sword or two, the fool with the spatulas?”

“Now… which one is it?” *gulp*

“EVEN SO! I WILL STILL FIGHT!”

“Hahaha! Now that’s what I call GUTS!”

“TAKE…!”

“THIS!”

*CLASHES*

“HAHAHA! No spatulas can withstand my Sword’s might!”

“Bastard!”

“How are you going to cut your path to the future now huh?!”

“WITH MY GUNDAM! No… I AM GUNDAM!” “IN YOUR DREAMS!”

*Clashes*

O____O;

“Someone like you… has NO FUTURE!” >:D

AAAAAAAAARYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

“Gundam…. Gun… dam…. GUNDAMMMM!!!”

“This is for not making ME the star of the series!”

“It’s okay. I know how you feel right now. Let’s be friends” :3

“… Go away”

*Kicks*

“Jerk…”