OZX-GU01LOB Gundam L.O. Booster

I bought this Gundam in Canada long before I knew anything about Gundam at all. I bought it just because it was cheap. Didn't even really care for the design that much. Actually I think I just threw out a lot of the extra parts because I didn't like how they looked. But I did like the core suit (which is essentially the OZX-GU01A Gundam Geminass 01 from the Gundam Wing side story: G-Unit. Yeah I know. I wonder if 50 Cent has anything to say about that.)

In a recent issue of Hobby Japan one of the modellers re-did one of these old Geminass type models in the 'Gundam Love' series of refurbishings. Cannot remember which issue it was in but I remember being surprised at seeing it.

Anyways, here's mine with a bit of line art.

This is supposed to be a suit from the Gundam Wing universe but as you can see it doesn't really have many similar design traits with any of the 5 main suits, their upgrades or their Endless Waltz versions.

That said... I like this model a lot (The 01 on the shoulder indicates that he's the 'boss' of his scale, in this case, 1/144). I like the core design, especially the head. Relatively simple armament without all the extra crap attached to it. I think the proportions are good but it doesn't have a lot of articulation.

This model could use a severe paint job. Particularly those single molded feet. Yikes. The main reason why I like him is that he's a bit shorter than the rest of the 1/144's but he looks tough. He looks like a work horse, without the gimmicks or tricks but he's also got a couple of those too. The plain multi-purpose suits tend to get the 01 ranking with me.

Upgrade outline: Custom shoulders (simple), strip the fins from the legs, paint the whole thing (white, black, gunship grey, gun metal), seam lines, panel lines, putty the gaps in the rifle.

Rating: 7/10 (as a model but it ranks quite high as a personal favourite)