Folks, I think I’m in love. This Master Grade looks fantastic:
And to explain why, we have to start by comparing it to the High Grade.
My goal here is not to disparage the HG model. It’s served me well for many years now. In fact, the reason why it’s taken me this long to get another Ground Type model is because I’ve been so happy with it.
This is one of those cases where I really, truly was happy with it, but only because I didn’t realize how much better it could be.
It starts with the size and scale. With the Master Grade Turn A, I considered its extra size and extra detail to be “nice-to-haves”, but not strictly necessary. The High Grade holds up so well in comparison that it doesn’t feel like a downgrade.
I don’t think that’s the case here. There’s something about the extra scale that makes the Master Grade Ground Type feel so much more … mighty. Everything looks more powerful and impressive at 1⁄100 instead of 1⁄44.
But scale alone isn’t the difference maker. I think the Master Grade also has better proportions.
Older Master Grades often have big, chunky heads, which I admit some people don’t like. Here, though, I think it’s perfect. It gives the Ground Type so much more expressiveness.
And it doesn’t end there. Look at the yellow chest vent on both models. They’re practically the same size, so now I can’t help but feel like it’s too big on the HG (but just right on the MG)
Here’s another example. Check out the weapons packs:
The Master Grade’s pack is bigger both literally and proportionally. On the High Grade it doesn’t go past the skirt armor, but on the Master Grade it goes down almost to its knees. Now I want to be clear: the proportions on the High Grade are more anime accurate, but in my mind, when I think back to watching 08th MS Team on TV, the pack looked bigger, so that’s how I want it to be.
Lastly, there are a few genuine visual differences between the models, like the shoulders for instance:
To my eye, neither of these is truly anime accurate, though the HG is definitely closer. But what I like about the MG’s shoulders is that they’re wider and more flared. It makes the mobile suit look broader and bulkier.
Meanwhile, the HG’s shoulders are a little too narrow, and flare up at too sharp an angle. It’s closer to the design of the shoulders on Grandaddy Gundam, or an original GM, but I’m not going to be a stickler for authenticity simply for the sake of it.
The one area where the High Grade has the advantage is the elbows:
Remember that this is the area where they reused the parts from the Master Grade Ground GM, so it’s missing that little cover/flap of armor around the elbow. But this is such a minor think that I can’t really be bothered by it. Overall, the Master Grade is the clear winner to me. This is especially true considering that, since it’s usually under $40, there’s not a huge delta in price between the two.
Aura Farming
I just want to post a few more still shots, including some without the pack:
Some of you are probably laughing at me, but I think this thing bleeds coolness.
Weapons Posing
I think I mentioned it before, but this guy needs some help with its weapons:
Let me show you. Since the three lower fingers are all one solid part, if one finger moves, they all move. And when they all move, they lose their grip, and this happens:
But with a bit of sticky tack it will stay in place:
This wouldn’t be necessary if there was a little notch in the hand for the weapons to plug into, but I guess they weren’t doing that back in 2000.
The good news is once you have some sticky tack to help out, the model is pretty good at two handed poses:
It’s also worth noting that this is a very sturdy, well balanced model. It’s not going to fall apart on you, nor is it going to tip over a lot. It might be the easiest time I’ve had posing a Master Grade:
Now for the Beam Rifle:
This is where I get to show you the cool secret in the shield. While it can’t go into tripod mode, it can flip forward to be perpendicular to the fist:
This makes it so much easier to position the shield in a way where it can actually protect the mobile suit, and I’m not sure why more models don’t do something like this:
(I mean, maybe the do, and I just don’t know about it)
I will admit that the two handed firing pose looks a bit more awkward with the beam rifle than with the machine gun:
But overall it’s still fun to pose with:
Now let’s dig out that cannon:
Two handed poses look great with this thing:
Though kneeling poses aren’t so hot:
I couldn’t get it to have quite enough cross body range to get it to fire forward, and I feel like that’s a prerequisite for this thing.
So let’s whip out that clippy thingie and see if that helps:
… Kinda? Now the cannon is too high up for the Ground Type to do a full kneel, though if I tried a little harder I probably could have gotten it to shoot straight.
Alright, that’s good enough. Let’s wrap it up with the beam saber:
I’m still not great at beam saber poses, so please bear with me:
Wrapup
I’m feeling embarassed right now. I said earlier that I held off on buying (and building) this model because the High Grade was good enough. But that’s not the full story. I was also was scared off of building such an old Master Grade after hearing so many bad things about them over the years.
But now that I’ve finally taken the plunge, I don’t see the big fuss. No, this is not quite as intricate or as color accurate as a modern model, but as someone who has been building High Grades for years upon years, this still has a surprising amount of niceties. More importantly, it still has the all the bones needed to make it look amazing.
One More Thing
I brought my Urban Combat Ground Type home from work so I can take some more comparison shots:
I actually think this fares better in comparison than the other High Grade. Maybe it’s because I did a better job with it, or maybe it’s the change in color.
And here it is next to gramps:
I wanted to see how an old MG compared next to a modern one, as well check to see if they were similar in height. Also, if you look closely, you’ll see what I mean about the Ground Type having a chunky head.