In my Gunpla Retrospective for 2022, I mentioned there was a kit that I assembled but hadn’t yet painted or detailed. This is that kit.
I finally got a chance to finish the job on January 2nd (I had the day off while my kids went back to school, giving me the entire morning to myself). I don’t plan on counting this as part of the 2023 Gunpla retrospective when that comes around in December, as I don’t consider this a 2023 build.
Anyway, now that I got that out of the way, let’s get back to our regularly scheduled intro post.
I wasn’t planning on building this one right now, but my daughter really wanted to “build a Gingum with dada”. When I was around that age, there were many times where I would have done anything to play with my dad, but for any number of reasons it never happened. That’s why it was so hard to say “no” to her.
I figured the Guntank would be a good choice for us to build together. It’s simple, it’s easy to build, and if something went horribly wrong, I’d only be out ten bucks.
So let’s build a Guntank!
About the Guntank
The Guntank is one of the “Original Three” mobile suits assigned to White Base during the events of Mobile Suit Gundam.
Here’s what the Gundam Wiki has to say about it:
The RX-75 Guntank was the first prototype Earth Federation Forces mobile suit developed by Operation V. However, it was said to be closer to a tank rather than a mobile suit. A number of companies such as Takim and Hervic participated in its development. The Guntank had the torso and arms of a mobile suit, but possessed caterpillar treads for legs. Initially, it was designed to be piloted by a crew of two, with a gunner in the canopy-style cockpit on the head and a driver in another cockpit in the torso. However, it was later changed to be controlled by a single pilot in the canopy-style cockpit. Like all "Operation V" mobile suits, the Guntank used the Core Block System.Its reactor is a hybrid type of nuclear reactors and gas turbines, and its output is insufficient for powering beam weapons. The Guntank's main weapons are twin 120mm cannons, which are effective at long and medium ranges. Its arms have four-barrel missile launchers instead of hands, and they provided good cover fire against enemy tanks and aircraft, but are less effective against enemy mobile suits. A major flaw of the Guntank is its inability to turn its torso, making it difficult to aim the cannons at moving targets, as the Guntank must reposition itself. Another major flaw is that its design was primarily for ground combat, resulting in it having poor maneuverability in space.
As you can see, it’s a bit of a strange bird. Unlike a regular mobile suit, it doesn’t have legs, or human-like hands. And unlike a real world tank, it can’t rotate.
And unlike a real world tank, it can hover short distances, which is the only reason it is at all functional in outer space (provided it has some surfaces to jump to and from).
My key takeaway from the Guntank is that it (as well as the Guncannon) doesn’t necessarily feel like a natural evolutionary step on the path to the Gundam. Rather, it feels like it was designed to sell toys first and foremost, and is one of the most obvious holdovers from Mobile Suit Gundam’s Super Robot heritage.
As such, it’s not really worth it to overanalyze its design, as I don’t really think there is much of a rhyme or reason to any of it.
Core Fighter
Technically speaking, the Guntank uses the same Core Block system as the Gundam, meaning it has a Core Fighter in there that can deploy to allow the pilot to escape from imminent doom (though I can't recall if we ever see it being used in the original show).Weapons and Armaments
The Guntank has two sets of weapons. Its arms are equipped with twin four-tube, rapid fire missile launchers. On its shoulders lie a pair of low recoil 120mm cannons.
The purpose and potency of these weapons vary among different depictions of the mobile suit. For example, I’ve read that both the missiles and the guns can be used for anti-air purposes. I’ve also read that only the guns are, or only the missiles. I’ve also read that the missiles are meant for close range/defensive combat.
Whatever you want to believe, it is clear that the Guntank is not meant to be leading the charge against the enemy, but is rather meant to support the Gundam by taking out airborne targets and shelling long range ground forces. If properly positioned and protected, it should, in theory, rain down hell upon its enemies.
Depiction in Mobile Suit Gundam
There are many different Guntanks that show up across the Gundam metaseries, but the original version really only shows up in the original show. There it is a key element of the White Base’s combat forces, remaining in operation all the way through until the final battle at A Baoa Qu (where it is, sadly, destroyed).
However, being “key” doesn’t necessarily mean it was effective. Being an older anime, the original MSG plays by the rule that the hero has to look the coolest. So while the Guntank definitely fights, it doesn’t have a whole lot of success. It mainly exists as another body on the battlefield that can distract the enemy (and thus allow Amuro and the Gundam to come in and get the kill).
Guntank Erasure
In almost every alternate telling of Mobile Suit Gundam - including the film adaptation, the novelization, and Gundam: The Origin - the Guntank is eventually swapped out for a second Guncannon. I think the original anime is the only version of the story where it remains on the White Base until the final battle.Guntank Variants
There are a whole bunch of different Guntank variants. These three are (in my opinion) the most notable of the bunch.
The first is the Guntank Mass Production Type as seen in the 08th MS Team OVA.
This model lacks a Core Fighter, which allows its torso to finally rotate. It also has much, much bigger cannons, and is largely relegated to long range artillery and fire support. Indeed, in their brief apperance in the OVA, they’re treated like fixed gun emplacements that need to be protected.
The second notable appearance is in MS IGLOO, which features the Ground Assault Type Guntank in one of its short stories.
This is one of my favorite depictions of the Guntank, because it’s the only one that really takes advantage of the concept. Unlike the OG Guntank (which is depicted as mobile but slow), or the Mass Production Type (which isn’t really depicted as being mobile), the Assault Type is shown as being able to move fast, at least in desert terrtain. Indeed, it even has a “cruise” mode where it gets low to the ground and picks up even more speed.
In the hands of a good pilot, it can dodge enemy attacks, get in close, and literally drive circles around a target before stopping for a killing blow.
The other thing I like about this model is that it’s armed to the teeth. In addition to the traditional Guntank weaponry, the Assault Type can carry lots of other ordinance, including:
- A flamethrower
- Land mines
- An MLRS
- Additional missile launchers
I love the idea of mounting different weapon packs to each unit based on the situation.
The third and final notable depiction is the F-50D Guntank R-44 from the film Gundam F91.
This one is a little crazy pants. According to the Gundam Wiki, it is technically a descendant of the Loto, the (miniature) transformable mobile suit from Gundam Unicorn. This of course would be a retcon, since the F91 film was written and produced over a decade before the Unicorn OVA (or even the original Unicorn novel) came about.
Like the Loto, the F-50D is also transformable.
Other than that, we don’t know much about this unit. It was a proof-of-concept that never gained wide adoption, and by the events of F91 it was a relic sitting in a museum. Our heroes only bring it out of storage in an act of sheer desperation, and sure enough it doesn’t fare very well in combat (thought it does (mostly) keep its occupants safe, so it has that going for it).
Even More Variants
There are still more Guntank variants out there, and while they’re not quite as notable as the three we already looked at, they’re at least worth mentioning.
The first is the Guntank Early Type from the Gundam: The Origin OVA.
Keep in mind that The Origin is a retelling of the original story, one that takes some major liberties with the history and evolution of mobile suit designs. In the case of the Guntank, this Early Type was in use by the Earth Federation in UC 0065, well over a decade before the One Year War.
This really emphasizes the idea that the Guntank is more of a specialized tank than an actual mobile suit (otherwise you’d expect the Feddies to develop true mobile suit tech far more quickly than they actually did).
There is also the Guntank II, which shows up in both Zeta Gundam and Unicorn, albeit so briefly that I forgot about its existence prior to doing research for this post.
The most notable thing about it is how little it resembles the original design.
Lastly, there is the redesign featured in Gundam Thunderbolt:
Thunderbolt is notorious for redesigning every single One Year War suit that shows up in the story. In this case, it’s made to look like an even heavier version of the F-50D from F91.
About the Visual Design
I’m going to try something different this time: I’m going to wait until the build is done before I talk about the visual design. I’ve noticed that I tend to say one thing about a given mobile suit in these build intros (in which my opinions are based entirely on illustrations), and slightly different things once the model is complete.
The fact of the matter is that not every model kit is a 1:1 perfect representation of what we see on the screen, and it is far more appropriate for me to analyze the former rather than the latter.
About the Model Kit
This is a very very old High Grade, what with it being number seven in the HGUC line.
In this case, however, I don’t think it’s going to be a big deal. The Guntank is simply different in the way it is assembled, and I don’t really think it’s age is going to be a major liability.
Other Thoughts
A while back I got this sheet of waterslide decals:
I mainly got it because I was in need of some Earth Federation logos, but later I discovered that the sheet was made specifically for use with some OG Feddie mobile suits, including the Original Trio and the GM:
How fortuitous for me.
One more thing - despite the Guntank more often than not being treated as the butt of the joke, it is one of initial characters chosen for Gundam Evolution:
Clearly someone at Bandai has a soft spot for it.