GBT#5-Kampfer

I guess you could call this weeks Gunpla Builder Thursday the second part of a two part episode.  After all, since I looked at the primary Gundam of Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, aka the Gundam “Alex”, it only makes sense to look at the rival Mobile Suit that is often associated with it.  Like so many mecha throughout the Gundam franchise, the Kampfer is exclusive to Gundam 0080 and isn’t a mass produced model.  It is a customized one off with a very terrifying design and an arsenal to rival a small battalion of Zakus.  And who doesn’t love a Mobile Suit with a ton of guns amirite Gundam Heavyarms fans?  This Gunpla also came recommended in a way by a Gunpla expert I got to meet at Katsucon 2023, Vampy Bit Me.  Sure this isn’t the Master Grade I’d hoped to find based on her suggestion during a panel, but it’s still a Kampfer and lemme tell you, this one might easily be one of my favorite Gunpla Builds to date, tying right up there with the Alex from last week.
 
Suit History

In the closing months of the One Year War, the Earth Federation sought to create an updated Gundam Mobile Suit for White Base Pilot Amuro Ray, due to his Newtype abilities surpassing the original RX-78-2 Gundam.  Zeon discovered this secret project and sent in the Cyclops Spec Ops team to eliminate it in Antarctica.  The Gundam was successfully evacuated to space and the Cyclops Team eventually pursued it to the neutral space colony of Libot.  Sneaking onto the colony, the Cyclops Team managed to smuggle a disassembled, customizable Zeon Mobile Suit, the Kampfer, for their mission.  While reconning the base where the Gundam Alex was being constructed, the team assembled the Kampfer, complete with a large arsenal.  Cyclops ace Mikhail Kaminsky was tasked to be the Kampfer’s pilot and ran a highly destructive attack on Libot to cover the infiltration of his fellow team members into the Gundams hangar.  While Mikhail dealt serious damage to the Federation’s security teams with the Kampfers weaponry, the Cyclops Team failed to destroy the Gundam before it was able to launch with test pilot Christina “Chris” Mackenzie at the helm.  Mikhail faced the Alex head on and while he managed to destroy the Gundams outer armor, the main body was unscathed.  Stunned by the durability of the suit and out of ammunition, Mikhail and the Kampfer fell swiftly to the Alex’s powerful gatling guns, marking a disastrous end to the Kampfer and the Cyclops Teams second attempt to destroy the Alex.

 
Build Experience

I had a good feeling about the Kampfer pretty early on, though I did kind of struggle with the white decal meant to go along its horn.  After that though, everything fell into place quite easily and nicely.  There’s something to be said about seeing this massive and bulky suit come together the further along you get into the building process.  The smooth blue color can give off an air of both beauty and terror.  It’s material is a bit shiny but not like the Shiny High Grandes or Perfect Grades out there.  And the dark of the blue means this thing was perfect for a nighttime attack in the OVA and yet it still stands out.  Building the suit was fun but I’ll admit, I really liked building the Kampfers weapons.  Dual Shotguns, Rocket Launchers, Missiles, Beam Sabers, this thing is loaded for bear for sure and there are plenty of combinations to try out for posing.  What really impressed me though was the Mine Chain, which actually isn’t part of the Kampfer’s initial weapons set, it grabs it from a nearby supply truck when fighting the Alex and Mikhail uses them to try and destroy it, only to just destroy its outer armor.  You only have one thin line and several mines to attach but once I got the hang of it, I smiled a lot.  This is one of the longest weapons I’ve put together and it came out great.  Even if the mines aren’t spaced correctly apart, theyre easily maneuvearable once theyre on the line.

 

Conclusion/Rating

I love how the Kampfer came out, I just love it.  The colors are great, the weapons are numerous and all can easily be stored on the suit, and it just looks like a true freaking bad ass, a monster of coolness.  If I have any negatives against the Kampfer Gunpla, theyre very, very few.  Like I said, the white decal around the horn doesn’t look the best but the transparent decals worked better this time than with the Alex, probably because they were much fewer.  The Kampfer easily stands alongside the Alex as one of my all time favorite Gunpla Builds and I’m so excited to share some shots of these two rivals squaring off once again in the comfort of my own home.

9/10
 
Next week we’re mixing things up a bit with a special custom Mobile Suit Variation.  From what I understand, this particular Gundam Model only appears in the novelization of this particular series and that’s a shame.  Because if it turns out as well as I hope it does, there’s no reason why this couldn’t be included in an OVA with an already impressive roster of Mobile Suits.  Find out our next mystery build Next Thursday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.