MGUniversal Century

RGM-79SP GM Sniper II

A one-scene background suit from a four-episode OVA that Bandai turned into a genuinely satisfying MG.

MechaGrade Score

3.9/5

GM Sniper II · 1/100 · 2017

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2017

Runnersn/a

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

This kit earns way more attention than the anime ever gave its suit.

The GM Sniper II shows up for barely a minute in episode four of War in the Pocket and gets wrecked almost immediately, yet Bandai built it a real MG with a purpose-made waist gimmick just to nail one sniping pose. That effort shows in hand. The frame is confident, the proportions read as GM-family lanky rather than bulky, and it holds the crouch-and-aim stance it was designed for without fighting you.

Best for: UC completionists and GM-line fans who want a proper MG built around one specific sniping pose

The full review

What it is

This is Bandai giving real MG treatment to a suit that flashes onscreen for under a minute before getting destroyed, and I respect that kind of commitment to a background unit. Building it, the frame goes together clean and the proportions land right for a lanky GM variant rather than something bulkier. The signature feature is a waist mobility gimmick built specifically so the suit can drop into a proper sniping crouch with the bullpup rifle raised and the visor engaged. Getting there and feeling the torso twist and settle into that pose is the moment the kit earns its price. The visor itself flips between the standard face and the sniper-mode targeting shroud, which is a small touch that pays off every time I pose it.

The catch

The accessory load is generous (rifle, bullpup machine gun, two beam sabers, three spare magazines, three sets of hands, and a pilot figure) but several builders note the hands don't grip weapons as solidly as they'd like, so swapping poses with gear in hand takes patience and occasionally a little fussing to keep things from popping loose. The joints themselves run stiff rather than loose, which is good for holding poses but makes fine adjustment with accessories in hand more tedious than fluid. There's also a single foil sticker to deal with, minor but worth knowing going in. Nothing here is a dealbreaker, it is the kind of friction that shows up on an intermediate-level MG rather than a beginner kit.

Who it's for

If you've already built an HG RX-78-2 or an MG Zaku II and you're ready for the next rung up, this is a fair, well-paced step, no photo-etch or aftermarket parts needed to make it look good on a shelf. UC and GM-line fans in particular get a lot of goodwill here since Bandai clearly cared about a suit most viewers barely remember. If you want a kit that poses effortlessly straight out of the bag with zero fiddling, the stiff joints and so-so hand grip might frustrate you, but if you enjoy working a pose into place, this one rewards the effort.

The build story

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

Assembly is straightforward and reads as an intermediate MG rather than a beginner one. Gate placement is standard Bandai and cleanup is painless, nothing tucked in awkward spots. The frame snaps together with confidence and nothing feels undersized or cheap for a suit this obscure in the show.

The standout engineering is the waist mobility gimmick, added specifically so the kit can hit the crouched sniping stance from the anime, and it works. Shoulder range is also wider than you'd expect from a GM-family kit, and the flip visor between standard sensors and sniper-mode targeting shroud is a satisfying tactile detail every time you switch it.

Lore & trivia

01The GM Sniper II is a variant of the RGM-79G GM Command, developed late in the One Year War specifically for long-range engagements and built on lessons from the earlier RGM-79SC GM Sniper Custom.
02In Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, three GM Sniper IIs from the Scarlet Team engage the MS-18E Kampfer in episode four; two are destroyed with bullpup machine guns and the third misses its shot at the Kampfer from the Gray Phantom's deck.
03Despite appearing on screen for less than a minute in a single episode, the GM Sniper II became a fan favorite and shows up repeatedly across Gundam spinoff media, most notably Rise from the Ashes.
04The suit's face guard houses specialized targeting sensors layered over its standard sensors, giving it long-range performance that reportedly exceeded the RX-78-2 Gundam's own specs on paper.