HGGundam Build Fighters Try

GT-9600-DV Gundam Leopard da Vinci

A gunslinger's dream in HG scale, all articulation and firepower, one stubborn red sticker away from great.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Gundam Leopard da Vinci · 1/144 · 2015

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2015

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I think this is one of the most underrated HGs in the Build Fighters line.

It moves better than kits twice its price, and the sheer amount of ordnance strapped to it makes every pose look like a firing line. The design itself is plain compared to flashier Build Fighters suits, and the chest piece being a sticker instead of molded plastic is a real letdown on an otherwise sharp build. Still, for the price, this is a lot of poseable, well armed suit.

Best for: HG builders who want gatling guns, beam cannons, and a rifle all bristling off one small frame with joints that actually hold the pose

The full review

What it is

This is Akira's custom rebuild of the Gundam Leopard, remodeled sleeker after the West Tokyo Gunpla Battle Championship in Build Fighters Try, and it shows in how clean the frame feels in hand. The assembly itself is quick and painless, most of my time went into clipping and mounting the weapons rather than the body, because there just isn't much else going on. What got me was how it moves. Double ball joints in the neck, double jointed elbows and knees that fold close to 180 degrees, and palm joints that let you actually curl a trigger finger around that beam rifle. For an HG, that is a genuinely satisfying range of motion.

The catch

The plain, boxy silhouette is the tradeoff for that articulation, there just isn't a lot of surface detail or panel lining to reward once it's built. The bigger issue is the chest piece, which is molded plain and covered with a red sticker instead of colored plastic. It's the single most visible part of the kit and it looks it, I ended up hand painting mine because the sticker just didn't hold up to handling. Budget builders who lean on stickers everywhere will be fine, but anyone hoping for color separated detail on the torso will be disappointed.

Who it's for

Grab this one if you want an HG that can hold an aggressive gunslinger pose without sagging, and you don't mind painting or swapping out one sticker to get there. The weapon loadout alone, gatling guns, twin beam cannons, missile pods, and a beam rifle with an underslung shotgun, makes it a fun pick for diorama and battle scene builders who want a small suit that reads as heavily armed. Skip it if you're chasing a show accurate, highly detailed HG for the shelf on looks alone, the base suit design just isn't going to give you that payoff.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

Construction moves fast because the body itself is simple, the real time sink is clipping and mounting the backpack weapon arms and swapping between the light and heavy armament configurations. Part fit is solid throughout with no looseness reported in the joints.

The articulation is the standout here, double ball jointed neck, elbows and knees that bend close to 180 degrees, and palm joints for hand posing, all of which let the kit hold aggressive gunfighter poses without the frame fighting you. Multiple peg mounting points across the body also make it a good base for further customization.

Lore & trivia

01The Gundam Leopard da Vinci is Akira Suga's remodeled version of his own Gundam Leopard, rebuilt after the West Tokyo Gunpla Battle Japanese Championship in Gundam Build Fighters Try.
02It can switch between a light armament form and a heavy armament form, the heavy form adding the beam cannons and missile pods for ranged bombardment.
03The original Gundam Leopard it's based on traces its design back to the GX-9900 Gundam X from After War Gundam X, reworked with a sleeker silhouette and different armaments for its Build Fighters Try appearance.