Beargguy III was an immediate buy for me when I saw it and I definitely recommend it for those who don’t mind having an adorable yellow mecha bear in their gunpla collection.
GUNPLA SET: Beargguy III [San] Build Fighter China Kousaka Custom Made Mobile Suit
TYPE OF GUNPLA: HG 1/144
MODEL #: HGBF #05
RUNNERS: 5
PRICE: $19.99
THE REVIEW:
Known in Japan as KUMA-03 Beargguy III, this adorable yellow custom mobile suit is featured on the anime series “Gundam Build Fighters” and is built and piloted by female character, China Kousaka.
No doubt one of the popular Gunpla to purchase for its adorable look and features, Beargguy III sports beam cannons in his arms/hands, extendable arms and also in its mouth.
And similar to the series which Beargguy III has an LCD monitor on its face to change its eye expression, the gunpla comes with two faceplates which you can also add various stickers to change its expression during battle.
Its important to note that there are several Beargguys available.
Beargguy III Kai (from “Gundam Build Fighters Try”) is white and comes with a small light blue bear and a “GunPla Builders” Beargguy in brown. There are also mini petit figures in red, pink and blue available as well.
First, let’s talk about the the build. Personally, I think this bear looks perfect that it doesn’t really need any modifications, pain or marker use. What I do recommend is having good clippers and possibly an exacto knife or sandpaper to smooth out the nubs if any plastic is sticking out as it can be seen easily.
I took pictures of Beargguy before any cleanup, so one can see what kind of nubs you can expect to see and cleanup afterward.
Despite the good number of runners included in this set, not all are going to be used. For the most part, this is an simple HG kit as the head, torso and legs are easy to put together, as with the ribbon to put in the back.
You get two face plates, with your basic normal and angry face but then you get stickers for those who prefer to have different eyes. It’s important to note that a third party has created faceplates that one can find from eBay but these are not official Bandai Beargguy faceplates. But if you want to utilize different faceplates with several eyes, then you have that option.
Laserbeams can be fitted in the mouth and its arms/hands. There is an extendable arm which you can build and attach but I found Beargguy really difficult to stand with it on and for me, it didn’t look right.
I found the ribbon on the back to fit snugly but if you are doing different poses, that ribbon or parts of the ribbon kept falling off for me. But not difficult to put back together. There is not much articulation with Beargguy III. Aside from moving its head and its arms up and down or its mouth open and close, and of course head movement (left and right), you have limited movement.
Overall, Beargguy III is one that I really enjoyed because it looks adorable and stands out among other gunpla out there.
It’s yellow color makes this bear pop and because I think it looks perfect without any major modifications and because there aren’t many panel lines aside from its paw area, I chose not to use any markers.
If anything, because of its color and non-complex features, I see people buying multiple Beargguy’s for creative modifications as I have seen others make Marvel, DC, Dragon Ball Z versions with their Beargguy.
For beginners new to Gunpla, I feel that Beargguy is a perfect gunpla to start out with. Especially with learning how to use your clippers to make sure there are no little nubs, how to use an exacto knife or sandpaper to clean things up.
While the amount of runners available may scare some beginners, a lot of the small parts are for its interior and for the most part, it’s really nothing to worry about as you get extra parts for extendable arms and some parts that won’t be used at all.
But Beargguy III was an immediate buy for me when I saw it and I definitely recommend it for those who don’t mind having an adorable yellow mecha bear in their gunpla collection.
RATING: ****Â (4 stars out of 5)