Gunbuster SRC and Effort and Guts Weapons Set Review by Gold

The following review was originally prepared by Gold in August 2013 on the Robot-Japan Forum:

Hi, all, here's the review for the Super Robot Chogokin Gunbuster and Effort and Guts Weapons set. 



Opening Credits

Please click to begin playback



  




 



Gunbuster launch!




I’m glad the SRC can somewhat pull off the folded arms pose.











Gunbuster in action!

Click to begin playback




Buster Home Run (Did not appear in the cartoons, only in the radio dramas).







Super Inazuma Kick!













Peg attachment to Soul Stage






Double Buster Collider


Parts swapping required (Painted parts go in the front panels). Be prepared to test the limits of your patience though, as the rods from the Colliders keep falling off.








Arm parts


















According to the manual, you can also attach the drills from the Gurren Lagann set to the buster Collider rods. I passed on this, as my thumbs can still recall the pain from trying to attach the drills to Gurren Lagann. 






Detonating the Generator Core


Chest plate can be swapped out.





I dunno… maybe it’s the lack of paint apps on the cables or the core, but somehow, this gimmick just falls flat for me.







Comparison with the Gx-34 Gunbuster





The Gainax robots




The Good

Weigh in
-Gx-34- 737 Grams
-SRC – 138 Grams

 



-Diecast parts 
--Inner parts of the lower legs (really cool, by the way)
--Red parts on the torso
--Main joints connecting to the torso



-Can do the “elbows folded” pose

-Holds almost all poses flawlessly.




The Bad
-Lack of paint apps on the core just makes it look too bland.

-Strange choice of color for the Gunbuster (too light grey?)

-Easily passable if you already have the SOC Gunbuster.

-Some weapons sold seperately



The Ugly
Those Double Buster Colliders… they keep falling all over the place. Extremely annoying (I cannot emphasize this enough). I can see the cost cutting measure here done by Bandai, to minimize costs by using the same molds for the arm and leg colliders, but it just comes out poorly executed.


Overall, not bad, but not really something that I’d recommend one to buy, especially if one already has the SOC Gunbuster. Lots more diecast, accessories, stand and impressive transformation and engineering?! 


Considering how much the SRC Gunbuster costs including the weapons set, I think I’d rather get a second Gunbuster if the darn thing wasn’t so expensive now, as the combined cost of the SRC GB and the weapons set on the secondary markets is roughly close to how much the SOC GB retailed back in the day. Shocking….








Super Robot Chogokin Effort and Guts Weapons Set


  







This is how the cape/Buster Shield should look when you’re returning the set back into the box.






Buster Shield




Gunbuster’s backpack can be removed to reveal the port for the Shield. Be warned, attaching and removing the cape is a chore, as the connection is very, very tight.




















Buster Tomahawk. (did not appear in the cartoons, only in the radio dramas and SRW games).
















Buster Missile Might







Double Buster Collider Effects parts – these can be tricky to attach, mainly due to the collider rods falling off so easily.


















Super Inazuma Kick effects parts.











Cape and Tomahawk on Gurren Lagann




Warning : When attaching or removing the cape to Gurren lagann, remember to take off the shades on his chest. The cape’s connection is so tight, I must’ve pressed my thumb somewhere against the Gurren and now the shades show stress marks… sigh….



Overall, I’m not really feeling the $60 I paid for this, particularly when I think about the SRC Mazinger Weapons set costing only less than $20. 


Also, is this set is very limited? I just saw one or two listings on Ebay. 




Gold