Monday, July 21, 2014

MG Daban Buster - Review

Good day Otakus! Let's kick of the week with a review of Daban's latest release - the MG Buster!


Click on the Read More link for the rest of this post...



Build

I've been looking forward to building this guy since I assembled the Daban Age-1, and boy does it not disappoint. Snapping this kit together almost felt like I was working on a "B" product.


I didn't encounter any fitting issues, there are no unwanted gaps and the only seam on this kit is along the length of the gun barrel. There are some mold lines to be dealt with, also on the gun barrels, but there are no deformities whatsoever.



Look and Feel

The plastic is a bit glossy, and the internal frame is still not quite as stiff as the original, but there is almost zero flash. Everything lines up perfectly. The details are sharp - both on the frame and the armor - even on the underside of some parts.


The joints on this thing are tight thanks to all the parts fitting snugly together. This means taking it apart for painting will be a bit of a challenge, but the solid joints are good for holding the guns in place while doing some dynamic poses.



Articulation

This is the first Seed MG I've ever built and I'm really impressed by the design. The double jointed elbows and knees, combined with short skirts give it max articulation. The balance is also really good, and thanks to the support arms that help hold up the guns, you can do some really nice poses.




Issues

I have a couple of small nitpicks about the design of the kit, so what I say here also applies to an original MG Buster. There is this moving mechanism under the kneecap that likes to pop out of place. In my opinion it is unnecessary and over-complicates the leg structure without adding anything in terms of articulation or aesthetics. Another thing is that despite all the advancements in MG design, this kit has it's front skirts joined together - so you can't, for example, flip up one side and keep the other one down when doing a kneeling pose. It doesn't affect articulation in any way, but I find it annoying because it is a step backwards in terms of design.

Update 07/25/2014

It was brought to my attention that I had the skirt on backwards (facepalm), and that the front skirts are actually independent. This eliminates nitpick #2, therefore boosting my overall rating for this kit.




Verdict

A well deserved 9/10 9.2/10. This is the most solid 3rd party kit I've built to date. The only issues found were inherited from the original Buster design, and for a fraction of a cost this kit is an absolute steal. I'm so pleased with it, the Daban Duel and Blitz just jumped to the top of my wanted list. There's really no reason you shouldn't get this if you are looking for a cheaper alternative for the MG Buster!

This review was brought to you by Gundam Central.



Till next time, keep building plamo!


8 comments:

  1. wrong waist side

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  2. you assemble the skirts backward man

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  3. Damn yes, I've been looking forward to seeing reviews on this kit and yours was spot on. I couldn't really make much of Dachong's review since it's in Chinese, but after reading this post, I'm totally decided to buy this kit now.

    I wish you put on the decals though, but Dachong's review had that covered anyway. Do you have any plans on modding this kit?

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  4. The head sculpt is a bit off. The orange part between the eye and the face mask is kinda thick (the distance between the eye and the face mask is a bit higher than usual), and its sharpness is way too off. Plus, there's something uneven about it. well, It just so happens that I am looking at my bandai buster now and looking at the picture here, so just kinda' noticed that. Hahaha.

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  5. @Anonymous, you guys are absolutely right! I must have mounted the waist on backwards in my excitement to put the damn thing together! Making an update as soon as I get it fixed, thanks for noticing!

    @Rein glad you like it bro. It was just pointed out that I had the skirt on backwards, so nitpick #2 is actually my fault lol! This guy will be detailed and painted plus maybe extra firepower. I still have a lot of other projects going on so it may take a while, but hopefully within the year.

    @asaka naman, Thanks for the input. I'll try and borrow an original buster and do a side by side comparison so we can pinpoint the differences. Can't really expect a copy to be 100% same as the original. To me as long as it looks good for a dirt cheap price, I'm in.

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  6. Bought a Daban Buster and I've had snap fitting issues to the point of breaking the 'male' part on the knee-leg socket. ON BOTH LEGS. lmao. Maybe I bought a bad batch of stocks. Also built the Daban Duel and I didn't have those issues. so strange.

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    1. Sorry to hear that, I had no issues with that connection on mine..strange indeed. For fitment issues like this I suggest shaving the peg a little bit with a hobby knife just so it can slide in place. If it gets too loose you can always add some glue to tighten it up again without risking a broken peg.

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  7. Hi there. can you sent me the decals for this buster gundam? email me if can. thank you :)

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