E's Collection of Things : Robot Damashii

Robot Damashii - side MS RGM79SP Sniper II

Released: 2010-ish maybe earlier
by Bandai Japan
Price: $25.00 or more + shipping
Available at speciality retailers or www.amazon.com

Some info before we begin:

This particular figure comes from the Gundam universe this time around from the Universal Century 0080. Basically in a timeline where the years are designated as Universal Century there is an Earth that has shifted a majority of its population to space in giant colonies. A small number of these colonies have started a war for their independence and the main work horse is a machine called a Mobile Suit. Giant humanoid war machines piloted by human beings. Well the Earth Federation manages to create their own versions of these Mobile Suits and this particular figure is part of that.
The designation RGM is the Earth Federation Government's code for their mobile suits. The 79SP, well is probably the year and function - sniping.

The GM Sniper II? Wait isn't there a Sniper I? Yes there is, though the Sniper II is a different design it still preforms the same function. I'm not going to go into the specs of each unit here, but if you're interested in finding out more please visit:

www.mahq.net the site has a lot of technical and background information on the Gundam universe and other mecha themed series.

Also I must note this is the final item I have purchased, and will not be posting any further Damashii reviews. I however will continue to blog about other items. What? Well that is to be determined.

Contents:

1 RGM Sniper II
1 Sniper rifle
2 open hands
2 closed fists
2 Trigger shaped hands
2 hands shaped in grips
2 beam sabers
1 Shield
1 Shield connector
1 Special connector for the Stage

Out of the package the articulation of the figure is up to spec of the Damashii line. You can bring the form arm up to the shoulder and actually touch it meaning a double joint system. The legs are the same, with the knee armor being on it's own connector. So articulation is decent in the body over all...
Accuracy? Color wise it's very close to the original source material that I can think of: the anime Gundam 0080 - War in the Pocket where I've seen the suit, in a short cameo.

Pose Test - Don't attempt if you're not agile!

yo.

Back of the figure

There some minor issues with the accuracy of the figure, but I'm not going to note it as the figure is a very inexpensive when compared to the other Robot Damashii figures available on the market.
Now features aside from the additional stuff you do get - there are gimmicks.
First gimmick, which isn't really a gimmick but part of the accuracy of the figure is the piece abve the visor on the head. This is the targeting sensor that the pilot would activate when attempting to snipe at its target. It drops down over the main visor giving it a cyclops look.
The second gimmick is they incorporated a cockpit piece that flips up to show you where the pilot would be sitting. Except they left that part empty...so all you see is colored plastic...
The additional connector for the Stage is a nice thought it connects under the figure right between the legs, and it's a solid connection. So you don't have to worry about the figure being disconnecting during a pose. The shield has three holes where you can plug the peg into, as to give the shield a raised or lowered appearance on the figure. Also you can rotate the shield connector piece around to alter how the shield sits on the figure's forearm.
On the back of the figure is the storage for the grips or handles, of the beam sabers.
Which leads me to the negative of this figure.
The shield connector bit, as in the previous Mobile in Suit Action line, is a fail. The peg-in-hole system doesn't work well with the shield connector. The design has the peg on a small individual piece that connects with the connector itself. So when you attempt to remove the shield you pull the peg connector out. You literally need a tweezer to get said peg out in hopes you don't break the darn thing.
Aside from this the head doesn't have very much tilt capability. You can only tilt it back so far, making some of the sniper poses look off.
Aside from this the beam saber grips don't stay attached to their storage point on the back of the figure well at all. This is similar to the previous MSIA line as well, so you're better off not attaching the sabers at all.
Then there is the lack of additional accessories. The sniper was only featured in the anime with this particular rifle. But the Sniper can utilize a machine gun and a different rifle as well, which were not included.
One final negativity would be attention to detail of the figure itself. Though it's fairly accurate to the source media, it is missing some finer touches. There are suppose to be textured points on the back of the lower legs right above the thrusters that look like circles. This was missed.
The cockpit should be under the flap you can open, otherwise what's the point of including the option to flip it up to only reveal an empty space underneath? Also the shield usually has a decal of the faction it belongs to, and usually the shoulder of the unit does as well. Both is lacking that, which can be found on the smaller older figures from the MSIA line.

Got an itch....Just kidding!

How does the pilot fit in there?

I hope I don't lose these...again.

Verdict: The Robot Damashii line has seen some very impressive figures and their articulation is just as impressive. But the GM Sniper II feels off. You get only two weapons, some of the finer details are missing, and the head's articulation feels very limited for the theme of the figure. The price seems steep for such a lacking figue. But when compared to the rest of the line, this figure can be skipped unless you can find it for way, way less.

Additional Pics: