Review: LM 1/144 OZ-06MS Leo Custom

General/Technical Data

Series: Limited Model (LM) 1/144

Title: OZ-06MS Leo

Release Date: 12/1996

Suggested Price: ¥800 ($10)

No. of Parts: 22 + Polycaps + Water-Slide Decals

Plastic Color: Olive Green

Gimmicks: 105mm Rifle

Intro

For those who watched Gundam Wing, the Leo is the last mobile suit they'd ever want to pilot.  In the hands of a main character, it's almost invincible.  In the hands of a nobody, it blows up without even getting shot down.  Yet everybody in the Gunpla community seems to want one.  As luck would have it, Bandai released this simple, affordable and extremely rare model kit.

Torso

The torso consists of 2 parts that make up the head and chest and include pegs to attach the arms,  Another part depicting the rockets between the legs and in the "buttocks" goes underneath.  My only issue with this section is that stripes engraved on the Leo's head don't align perfectly.  Decals go on both sides of the chest and the lower back.

Arms

Each arm bears 4 points of articulation, rotating a full 360° at the shoulders, elbows and wrist, but rising at a 90° angle.  The polycap hands were a tight squeeze into the wrists, but were manageable once they were in.

Legs

Once attached to the ball joints at the torso and the feet, each leg has 4 points of articulation.  Unlike the actual mobile suit, the knees were missing the 'bolts' shown in the anime.  The double-joints legs bend back more than 90°, but bend them too much and they'll loosen up.  The feet (each molded in one piece) wiggle at the ankles but don't bend so far.

Weapons & Accessories

Once again, I bring up the anime because there you'd see the Leo packing a wide variety of weapons and equipment.  Even the action figure version has a full arsenal.  In this kit, you just get its signature pea-shooting rifle.  Other Gundam models from this particular line include at least 2 weapons, so there's no excuse.  2 decals go on the rifle.

Conclusion

You're not really missing anything by not having this kit, especially when you can buy newer, more articulated kits with more features (and at a much lower price in online auctions).  But since I own the whole Limited Model Gundam collection, I can say with complete confidence that with thick, solid parts and the most articulation out of the other models, the Leo is--ironically--the best of the worst.

Overall Rating: 3.5 Out of 5 Stars

That's it for my first Gunpla review for this blog.  The next one will be for my next project after the Leo Type IV.  Until then, I've gotta add more tools to my arsenal.