MSiA GAT-02L2 Dark Dagger-L

Height: 10.5cm to top of head, 11cm to top of antenna.

Articulation: 27 total points of articulation: Ball jointed neck; 6 points in arms- double-jointed shoulders, pre-elbow swivels, double-jointed elbow, ball-jointed wrists; ball-jointed waist; ball-jointed main thruster on back; 6 points in each leg - ball jointed hip, triple-jointed knee, double-jointed ankle.

Accessories: M703K Beam Carbine, Mk39 Low-Recoil Cannon, ES04B Beam Saber with removeable blades x2, Mk315 "Stiletto" daggers x4 (2 for storage, 2 for use), AQM/E-M11 "Doppelhorn" cannon Striker, Shield, Extra hands x4

Colors: Molded dark gray, blue-gray, medium gray, black, and translucent pink. Painted red, black, blue, orange, light gray, dark gray, blue-gray, white, and yellow(visor).

Release Data: Released May 20th, 2005 in Japan at a price of ¥1500. This item is still in production as of this review (June 20th, 2005).

Gallery: 11 images.

Author:RAC

The Figure

It's an oft-overlooked fact in Mobile Suit design, but space is fairly dark. Big, and dark. I've always been of the opinion that darker colors make more sense on an MS- if you're harder to see, you're harder to hit, plain and simple. So I was rather pleased to see the Phantom Pain team fielding a Dagger-L in shades of black and gray during the early episodes of Gundam SEED: Destiny. In MSiA terms, that unit came to be known as the Dark Dagger-L, which is our review for today.

The Head

The head is a bit more Gundamlike than a Universal Century GM, but about the same as the Strike Dagger's. Interestingly, though, the Dagger-L's head has different aspects of the Gundam look than its predecessor- while the Strike Dagger had the helmet-style head that most Gundams have, the Dagger-L opted for a smoother head with a red Gundam chin. A nice touch. Also, the Dagger-L's CIWS has taken the form of Vulcan Pods, like those found on the Gundam Mk.II or the RX-79(G). These are glued to the head, but if you really wanted to be rid of them you probably could. The antenna is straight, and pretty sharply molded.

The shape of the head is nice and simple and all above the collar, so swivel is unrestricted. The tilt is also quite good in all directions, the forward tilt in particular- the Dagger-L can look down quite nicely.

The Arms

Standard, which for an MSiA is excellent. The shoulder hinges have a good range of swivel, and the ball-joints have a slightly less than 90-degree arc, which is normal for the SEED Destiny figures, and the double-jointed elbows allow the forearm to lay flat against the upper arm. The forearms have black details which resemble gauntlets, or another layer of armor, and the hardpoints for the shield are here, just above the wrist.

The Torso

The torso shows the Dagger-L's Strike Gundam heritage, though in the grand tradition of mass-production Mobile Suits, it has been simplified in several places. Even so, a second set of Vulcans has been added to the torso on either side of the collar area. The back has a single thruster, like the ZAKU family, and a pair of hardpoints for mounting the new Strikers.

The waist turns effortlessly, and has some tilt, mostly to the back. Not bad by any means, but not as impressive as the ZAKU series' and Marasai's waists. The side skirt panels are almost identical to those of the Strike Gundam, complete with opening compartments for storage of the Stilettos. The new addition are clamps for the Beam Sabers, which hold the grips in place nicely. Otherwise, the skirt armor is pretty standard MSiA fare- slightly restrictive to the legs, but not by much, and in danger of warping.

The Legs and Feet

The hips have a good range in all directions, and the knees allow the leg to bend in half without any problems. Just what I've come to expect from a good MSiA. The calves feature hardpoints which are the same as those on the forearms, and can be used to store the Beam Gun. Or the shield, I guess. The next interesting point is the ankle- the Dagger-L lacks the hinged ankle armor of most Gundam-type MS. This can often be restrictive, and without it, the Dagger can really lean into its steps. It may not even have significantly more ankle range than other MSiA, but not having to fiddle with the ankle armor makes it feel more flexible. Otherwise, the ankle is the standard double ball-joint, which does a good job as always. The ankle blocks could be a tiny bit wider, though- small as they are, they tend to want to turn sideways when you're adjusting the feet.

Paint and Decoration

The Dark Dagger-L looks good, with very little paint that looks uneven or sloppy. The blue-gray color of the joints and "bare frame" areas is very nice, and even though it may be slightly off-model, it adds a hint of color to the MS without making it loud and flashy, which wouldn't suit the concept. In short: the deco is good, and the deco is clean. Not much else to ask for.

Articulation gets 8/10

Sculpt and Deco get 9/10

Accessories

-M703K Beam Carbine

The standard issue weapon for the Dagger-Ls, the Carbine looks a bit more like a compressed Beam Rifle than the old Beam Spray Guns of the GM series. It's cute, insomuch as deadly weapons for giant robots can be cute. It fits the Dagger's trigger-finger hands nicely, and it has a post on either side to attach to any of the four hardpoints on the Dagger's extremities.

-Mk39 Low-Recoil Cannon

Big Gun #1- handheld version, and one of the two accessories exclusive to the Dark Dagger-L. I usually struggle with how a Mobile Suit should hold a bazooka, but there's not much question here- the Mk39 has to be used over the shoulder due to shape and size. It's also pretty obviously built with right-handed use in mind, and probably won't work well in the left hand. The hand fits it fairly well, though not as well as it fits the Beam Carbine, and the Dark Dagger-L will stand while holding this massive weapon- though some balancing is naturally necessary.

-ES04B Beam Saber with removeable blades

Ever since Bandai moved to a hard plastic blade, Beam Sabers have been hard to screw up for them. And they're in their usual fine form here- the blades hold firm and straight to the grips, the grips hold well to the correct hands and the mounting brackets, and this particular set of Sabers have the most vividly pink blades I've seen in a while now. Good stuff overall, though the grips are a bit softer than I'd consider ideal, probably to make it easier to clamp to the hips for storage.

-Mk315 "Stiletto" daggers

The Stilettos are kind of a neat idea- instead of being carbon copies of the Strike Gundam's Armor Schneider knives, which would be all but useless since the Dagger has Beam Sabers as standard-issue weapons, it carries a pair of armor-piercing explosive throwing weapons. Two pair are included, and while one is presumably "collapsed" for storage, they're also clearly to a smaller scale than the ones made to fit the Dark Dagger's hands. The latter fit the correct hands quite nicely, just as the smaller set fit securely into the compartments on the Dagger's hips. As always, I advise installing them and never looking at them again. Ever.

-AQM/E-M11 "Doppelhorn" cannon Striker

Big Gun #2: The Backpack- the other exclusive accessory. A pair of cannons, each roughly the size of the bazooka, with swiveling ball-jointed mounts on the Dagger's back. Despite their size, the cannons have a fair firing arc, provided they're not aimed straight ahead- at which point the Dagger-L's head gets in the way. Also, don't try to use this and the Mk39 at the same time- you just can't.

The Striker attaches firmly to the Dagger's back via a pair of sockets on either side of the main thruster. Despite these being classified as Strikers, they attach differently than the Strike Gundam's accessories, and will not fit an unmodified Strike. It seems as though all you'd need to do would be to drill out the two spots that correspond to those sockets on the Dagger. Attempt at your own risk- though it's not like it's hard or expensive to find Strike Gundams if you have access to a KB Toys.

-Shield

No fancy serial number, to my knowledge- but it's a very simple but attractive shield, consisting of a ball-jointed peg and a fixed handgrip, which fit arm and hand very nicely. Once in place, it should stay with no problems.

-Extra Hands

Six, just like always. They fit nicely and hold their weapons well. No problems that I've found so far- the wrist is a bit floppy with the heavy, heavy Recoilless Cannon, but the hand stays attached, and that's what counts.

Accessories get 8/10

Closing Remarks:

The Dark Dagger-L is well-articulated, well-decorated, and well-equipped. It has no major flaws, and very few minor ones. While there's nothing ground-breaking about the figure, that can't be held against it- everything it does, it does right. I paid roughly $18 shipped, and for your average import MSiA, that's not bad at all. The Dark Dagger-L is Excellent.

-RAC 07/01/2005