M.S.G Variable Frame System 01 Garudagear [Beluga] Review – Robot and Plane Mode

 

Here is the second review post for the complete build of M.S.G Variable Frame System 01 Garudagear [Beluga]. It was a very fun kit to play with and not complicated to assemble the kit. Took me almost 5 hours to complete the build because some of the joints are very tight and require me to trim down some of the connectors to easily remove them later for painting in the future after this photoshoot.

I am impressed with the design and how good the Garudagear kit is. While the kit does look plain and shows fewer details in the photos. You will need to use a panel line accent colour to draw out the detail lining on the model.

Good articulation for arm, shoulder, lower body and knee joints. Only the leg joints have limited movement side by side.

Hidden thruster behind the knee bottom part. Sadly you cannot push out the thruster easily while in plane mode.

Beam sword stored in the arm.

The beam rifle can transform into a plane tail mode and can be optionally stored at the back.

Total eight 3mm points for equipping other M.S.G weapon units or other compatible 3mm option parts of your choice.

Size comparison.

Plane Mode:

Hidden beam gun and Macross-style wing mode.

Overall:-

Very fun and interesting mecha kit to play with. I am impressed with Kotobukiya M.S.G Variable Frame System 01 design and hope they could further tweak it to improve the joints (especially the leg). I can't wait to see the Variable Frame System 02 coming this year. The transformation steps are not that challenging and quite straightforward for the plane mode, although, for convenience's sake. I disconnect its lower body for it easier to transform before I reconnect back to the upper body.

The only downside is the price of the kit. Garudagear [Beluga] is an original M.S.G design that is not well-known to an international audience and is not even found in any popular anime or movies. I feel that they are asking too much for a price of 6,800 YEN for unknown mecha products that didn't even come with a single sheet of water decals or display base.

Another problem I discover, they are using an oversize box to pack the runners, making the customer bear the additional shipping cost. This is very bad marketing. I understand their reason for choosing the large-size boxes for balance distributing the runners on both sides, maybe to prevent damage to the kits. But the 17 runners seriously don't require such an oversize packing if they learn how Bandai pack their Gunpla kit.

My Rating: 7/10😎

Photo & Review by F.A.M.S.G