L-Gaim Mk. I

Height: 12.5cm to top of head, 14.5cm to top of Land Booster.

Articulation: 38 total points of articulation: ball-jointed neck; 8 points in each arm- triple-jointed shoulders, pre-elbow swivel, triple-jointed elbow, ball-jointed wrist; mid-torso ball-joint; ball-jointed waist; 9 points of articulation in each leg- ball-jointed hip, triple-jointed knee, double-jointed ankle, three hinged "toes."

Colors: Molded white, brown, and translucent yellow. Painted black, gray, white, and pearlescent silver wash.

Accessories: Power Launcher with power cables x2, "Solar Binder" shield, S-Mine x2, Land Booster "Right," Saber with removable blade x2, Lancer, Extra Hands x6.

Release Data: Released in Japan Late June 2007 at a suggested retail price of 2940 Yen. This item is still available as of the date of this review (October 11th, 2007).

Gallery: 17 pictures.

Author: RAC
 

The Figure

Before Zeta Gundam, there was Heavy Metal L-Gaim. Like, directly before- this was the series Yoshiyuki Tomino directed in 1984, and was the first series to feature the work of mechanical designer Mamoru Nagano. Next year they began work on Zeta Gundam, with Nagano designing most of the really cool Mobile Suits and half of everything else you see.

Later, Nagano would go on to rework L-Gaim as part of the sprawling, never-ending manga epic The Five-Star Stories and design a lot of robots with narrow waists and pointy feet. While that describes L-Gaim Mk.I in the abstract as well, those features aren't as accentuated here as they are on later Nagano designs. (I've heard that he was previously a fashion designer- which may help explain the penchant for impossibly narrow waists and pointy "shoes," at least.) Here, as in the best Zeta Gundam mechanical designs, there's still a certain solid feeling to the design- it's elegant, but still grounded in reality, proportionally speaking.

The Head

A white, angular helmet with small brown horns makes up most of the head. Due to both the sloping helmet sitting so close to the body and the deep-set neck design, the head does not tilt or swivel much at all. It seems as though it could be forced further, but I don't recommend it, and I'm afraid to try it myself.

The Arms

The shoulders are the deep-set triple-joint first used on EMIA Hyaku Shiki, and more recently used in modified form on the EMIA Gelgoogs. The range isn't as great as the open-top shoulder joints used on other EMIAs, but as with the Gelgoog and Shiki it's what the design will allow comfortably. The familiarity of the arm jointing vanishes after the pre-elbow swivel, though. The elbow is a strange combination of a single-hinge and the much-missed ball-joint/post-elbow swivel, immediately followed by a second hinge in the middle of the forearm. The overall effect is less in the traditional elbow range than could be accomplished with a standard double joint, but the ability to turn the two hinges in different directions gives some niftily unique results.

The hands are very small and delicate, but the standard MSiA socket-ball combo works very well as always. There's a black cylinder mounted to each forearm; this is where the Sabers are stored when not in use, and double as small Launchers, according to the filecard. (Sound familiar, Qubeley fans?) The Saber tips seem to be removable- I'm not entirely sure, and they're so tiny and losable that I'm not really looking to find out.

The Torso

There are three hardpoints on the back to hold the Land Booster in place securely. Despite what you'd think after the similarly-shaped and superbly adjustable Hyaku Shiki torso, the upper torso joint is practically useless here. Fortunately, this is made up for by the waist, which has great tilt and only the slightest impediment to swivel in the front. The lower torso is very blocky, mounting the rear skirt armor and three sockets to accomodate the Power Launcher's cables- the waist blockage in front is caused by the flared piece above these sockets. The rear skirt is ball-jointed and more than mobile enough to get out of the way or the legs.

The Legs and Feet

The legs have a lot of design quirks that would've stopped MSiA cold in the past, but at most demand a bit of fiddling here. The hip joints remind me a lot of the shape of the Kampfer's, except they work very well here and have decent if not spectacular side-to-side movement. The side skirt plates attach by a double ball-joint connection, and pretty much move however you need. The knee is a very thin triple-joint in the traditional MSiA style, but is restricted by the flared upper leg and the cables running between the upper and lower leg. You can get a 90-degree bend out of it, but don't go expecting much more. The lower leg is very plain and cylindrical, but hides some extra detail- the outside half is hinged and slides open to reveal the inner frame. (The L-Gaim series is where the term "Movable Frame" originates, in fact!) While this has been done on various other MSiA in the past- Methuss and Burning Gundam, for two examples- L-Gaim is the first leg-hatched figure to have the sense to let you lock the hatches open. The struts lock pretty firmly into place, and it doesn't take a lot of work to unlock them when you're done.

The feet are also non-standard, unsurprisingly. Though not completely unprecedented. While double-hinged like many EMIA feet, the location allows you to swing the foot straight back at a 90-degree angle. Apparenly L-Gaim's feet are like this when the machine is stored or at rest, if I understand correctly. The side-to-side movement is good too- better than the hips can really fully support, in fact. On top of this weirdness, it also has a pair of hinged toes or claws on the back of the foot. Seriously, if you can't get decent balance out of a mech with tripod-feet, chances are it's your own fault.

Paint and Decoration

Deco is sparse, but very clean. Unlike Movie Bumblebee, you never get the sense that you should have more color here and you just don't. The figure is three colors, two of which are black and white, and the accessories only add two more, but it's appropriate here. Also of note is the pearlescent finish, very similar to that used on the US Burning Gundam and Fuunsaiki set. This is just one of my favorite colors on a toy ever- I bought a third Burning and second Fuunsaiki just to get it before!- and it really punches up what did have the potential to be a drab-looking figure. I don't know how I'd have felt about a figure like this if it sported a matte finish.

Articulation gets 8/10
Sculpt and Deco get 9/10

 
Accessories

-Power Launchers

Unlike a lot of Nagano's weaponry- the Rick Dias Beam Pistols are a good example- the Power Launchers are thin without looking delicate. They mount very securely to the forearm- almost worryingly so, since both halves of the connector are hard plastic. Running between the Launcher and L-Gaim's waist (or thereabouts) is a thin black cable. A thin brown cable painted black, rather- the paint has a tendency to scratch easily. The fit is secure, and the cable is long enough that it's not going to restrict L-Gaim's arms very much. The launchers can also attach to the Solar Binder, which is even more worrying than the arm connection because the shield plastic seems even that much harder.

-Solar Binder

Another piece of frequently-used Zeta terminology- "Binder"- makes its debut here in L-Gaim. I'm often down on shields without both a hardpoint connection and a handgrip, but the hardpoint is so secure that I can't fault it here outside of the same hard plastic/hard plastic issue that dogs the Power Launchers. Seemingly a shield with a solar panel on the outside, the Solar Binder is pretty heavily armed for a mere defensive item. It sports mounts for both Power Launchers, a pair of Sabers- fixed display models here- and storage for the L-Gaim's two S-Mines. That accounts for versions of every single weapon the figure comes with. Quite a shield! since all the components are made of the light, hard plastic used for modern MSiA accessories, it doesn't really weigh the arm down much at all.

-S-Mines

Small, segmented discs designed for throwing- I guess they're explosives, judging from the name? Like Funnels or the Jegan's tiny grenades, it's not a particularly exciting accessory, but it is a weapon the machine used, and it's good to have for completeness' sake. And while they're not as neat to look at as Funnels, at least L-Gaim can actually hold them, which puts it one up. The box doesn't indicate it anywhere, but the Data Sheet shows the mines stored in the shield, under the removable bracket.

-Land Booster "Right"

Here's where not having seen all of L-Gaim really trips me up. This is what I'd have to assume is an optional high-mobility or flight backpack for L-Gaim. It features two adjustable arms whose details indicate that they function as thrusters, and the white panel on top of the backpack slides in and out. I have no idea why. All I can tell you is that all the pictures on the box that show the Right show it arms up, white panel extended. If anyone with more knowledge of L-Gaim can tell me more I'd appreciate it!

What I can tell you is that as a toy accessory it works pretty well: it attaches firmly to L-Gaim's back and in no way obstructs the articulation. Good piece of design work!

-Sabers and Lancer

Here's familiar territory, at least. The Saber is a pretty standard energy sword with soft hilt and hard blade, and the Lancer is the double-bladed version. The Saber hilts are pretty small- the shortest I've seen in quite a while. Both versions fit the hand snugly, and the blades fit the hilts quite well, though the fit on the Lancer is too tight- I had to widen the sockets to get it to accept blades at all.

-Extra Hands

Eight in all: fists, Saber hands, and two open pairs, one fairly standard-looking and one with fingers dramatically splayed. In keeping with Nagano's usual design habits, L-Gaim has very small, delicate-looking hands. They all fit the wrists well and look nice, and it's nice to see angled Saber hands once again. They really should be standard by now.

Accessories get 8/10

Closing Remarks

I hope that this, Xabungle, Dunbine and Billbine aren't the last we hear of In Action!! Offshoot. L-Gaim is a well-executed version of a design I've always liked, and while it has a few quirks due to the design, I don't see any of them as being particularly avoidable. And some of them, like the oddball elbow joint, are intriguing enough that I can't really classify them as flaws. It's an Excellent figure, and a great start for the new subline.

-RAC, 10/11/2007