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- 018 Gun Sniper Naomi Special with W2 Unit
The Gun Sniper Naomi was the second variant released. While this was expected nobody quite thought it'd come with the Wild Weasel unit! Although untrue to the anime version it was still a nice surprise, especially for those that had the original blue Gun Sniper at the time of ordering.
Overall the colors are beautiful. A nice, slightly dulled red and black parts. There are also a couple of choice options, such as the ability to have the toes in red or black. The larger anchor claw can even be split into half and half! It looks good like that.
Quality wise the kit suffers. The torso came apart constantly while posing, almost to the point of making me rage quit this review. You can see in one of the photos below where the two side pieces will just come loose and then the torso will crumble into a bunch of loose parts. If you have the Leena version you'll also recognize familiar problems: The Wild Weasel Unit is always, always falling off. The list doesn't end there, either. I had issues with the legs coming apart once or twice and the head popped off a couple of times.
It's a beautiful kit if you want it to sit on a shelf but if you just want to play with it I definitely do not recommend purchasing. Way too many loose pieces.
Pros:
- Nice colors
- Extra weaponry
- Custom painted pilot
- Highly articulated
- Earlier issues with tail alignment fixed
Cons:
- Torso falls apart VERY easily
- Weasel unit does not attach well and falls off frequently
- Sometimes slumps a bit with the extra weaponry
- Box Art
- Gimmicks
- Cockpit
The canopy is made up of translucent orange and can flip backwards. It fits nicely with the red and the kit comes with a custom-painted Naomi pilot for your Zoid! The control panel attaches by a peg, it doesn't move.
- Ears
Well, horns, whatever you wanna call them. These rotate back but disappointingly they cannot stand straight up like they did in the show.
- Jaw
Jaws on the other hand can open up at a somewhat freakish 90 degree angle. Look at those chompers. I always loved that the teeth were shaped like sharpened razor blades.
- Neck
The neck allows the Gun Sniper to bend its head very far up and down. There are two cables that run through it; these are intended to be cut off before they slip through the body or they may prevent the range of motion from being what it should.
- Back Missile Pods
With the wild weasel unit attached these sit over the grey parts. The lighter red panel flips back to reveal a set of eight missiles.
- Radar Dish
The dish on the back can rotate up and down at two different points. This also lets the red barrel on the top change angles, and with the peg it's attached to it can also swivel independently of the main radar.
- Chest Gun
Just a basic peg motion that allows it to rotate left and right.
- Arms
The arms are able to rotate up and down at the elbow. Shoulders ca rotate in a full circle where they attach to the body. The elbows can also tilt sideways where it connects to the shoulder!
- Shoulder Missile Pods
Panels on top of the shoulders can flip back revealing a further four missiles! One thing to enjoy about the Gun Sniper is its ability to hide weaponry without it ruining the general aesthetic of the kit.
- Arm Gatlings
The guns ontop of the arms attach to a peg. This allows them to swing around in a full circle, barring where they come in contact with the torso or the top of the shoulders.
- Legs
The legs are well articulated with the ability to bend forwards and backwards at the knee.
- Leg Missile Pod
Like the arms the legs have an additional panel at the top. Once flipped back you can see a series of missiles well hidden underneath.
- Feet
While the feet have a basic up and down articulation they can also tilt to either side a bit, and the three toes are all seperately articulated with a huge range. The claws come in both red and black, with the ability to mix and match the larger anchor claw which is 2 pieces.
- Wild Weasel Unit
The guns at the side are the Wild Weasel Unit. The two barrels on the bottom allow them to swing left and right. The three barreled gun on the upper part of the side can also swing up and down, while the unit as a whole can tilt in or out, and also lift up or down.
- Tail
Gun Sniper's tail used to have some issues aligning straight but this has been fixed with the Gun Sniper Naomi. The ball joints seperating each segment also allow it to curl dramatically and swing from side to side with a huge range of motion.
