Review: HGUC 1/144 - Gundam Unicorn 02 Banshee

Model Number: RX-0
Appearance: Gundam Unicorn (ep. 5)
Pilot: Marida Cruz
         Riddhe Marcenas
Armaments: Armed Armor BS
                     Armed Armor VN
                     Beam Magnum
                     Shield
                     2x 60mm Vulcan Gun (mounted in head)
                     4x Beam Saber (not included in kit)

Beam saber not included in the kit.

Review:
The Banshee was an easy build for me due to the fact I already had expecience with the Unicorn. Although, I did spend quite some time on the stickers because there are lots of them. Most of them are used for gold markings.

You could say this is the dark version of the Unicorn. The details and building process is almost the same. The only difference would be the colors and features. I like it's black and gold color scheme just as I like the Unicorn's white and red combination. Due to the model's dark color, you'll be needing to do a thorough cleaning on the nub marks.

This model requires minimum panel lining. I just did some thin black panel lining on some of the gold frames. The Banshee comes with 4 hands. 2 closwd fists for both left and right, an open hand for the left and a trigger finger for the left as well.

The main armament compose of the Armed Armor VN on the left arm and Armed Armor BS on the right. The BS stands for Beam Smart gun and is used for long range attacks. While the VN is in the form of the claw and is obviously for close range attacks. The Banshee can still use it's left hand while the VN is attached. It can even hold a beam saber. But the Banshee can't use it's right hand while the BS is in place.

Aside from the main armaments, there are also 4 beam saber handles. Two stored on the back and one stored on each arm. I consider them nothing more than designs since the kit didn't include any clear beam saber parts. Aside from that, the kit also has a beam rifle and shield that is exactly the same as the Unicorn. But the manual didn't provide any instruction on how to assemble the beam rifle and shield. So unless your familiar with them, you need to peek at the manual of the Unicorn just to see how it's done.

The articulation is good. Everything is intact and there are no parts easily falling off from the body. Unlike the Unicorn, I was able to take a lot of great pictures of the Banshee since it has more armaments and features. I didn't tackle some of the features since their also the same as the Unicorn. Just refer to my HG Unicorn post for an explanation about these common features. The kit has a lot of extra parts which I presume are optional parts that can be used as an alternative black Unicorn.

I have the same issue as the Unicorn kit. The Banshee kit could have atleast one beam saber added to it's armament. The gold frames look great on the Banshee. But for me it would have been better if it's a shiny gold similar to the Akatsuki Gundam.

Overall, the Gundam Banshee is a freat model. The Armed BS and VN makes it worth buying. I mean, it's rare for a gundam to have these kind of rare armaments. Too bad the Armed VN isn't movable. It would have been cooler if it does. If you already have a Unicorn, then you could try making a customized unicorn by doing a mix up on the frames. Meaning, a combination of white and gold or black and red.
Rating: 5 out of 5