For today’s post we look at the Full Armor Gundam as well as its Type B variant, the Heavy Gundam and the Gunner Gundam.
The Full Armor Gundam was a proposal for the original Gundam to apply additional armor as well as armaments. The original Full Armor Gundam added a shoulder mounted rocket cannon, it’s beam rifle was swapped out for twin arm-mounted beam rifles but had a much smaller shield since it was intended for more of a ranged role vice the close combat we often saw the original Gundam get into. It also sported missiles in its chest and knees. Unfortunately, all the additional armor resulted in an unacceptable drop in performance for the Gundam so the project did no go into full swing. Some units were produced with one being piloted by Federation Ace Heinz Bauer. There is also some older artwork out there showing the Full Armor types facing the Zeong, this was later explained as a computer simulation. The design of the Full Armor Gundam would later be reinvented in Gundam Thunderbolt.
A variant of the Full Armor Gundam denoted as Type B sought to remedy the flaws of the original Full Armor while providing even more firepower. This one now has a triple beam rifle, twin arm mounted beam sabers, micromissile bays and a massive shoulder mounted missile launcher. As you can expect the Type B was well suited for anti-ship combat. In addition to Mobile Suit Variations (MSV) this unit appeared in the opening chapter of the manga MSV-R Return of Johnny Ridden.
The Heavy Gundam was envisioned as a Mobile Suit design to enhance the firepower of the Gundam without the drawbacks shown by the Full Armor prototypes. This design brought in a frame launcher consisting of an integrated large gatling gun and missile launcher as well as a shoulder mounted beam cannon. The Heavy Gundam (Heavy being the firepower) was a successful result with its maneuverability meeting the same standards as the Gundam while having a large firepower boost. One unit was piloted by Colonel Den Berserk who took part in taking over Zeon’s Pezun base which developed the Act Zaku.
The Gunner Gundam was also being designed around the same time being envisioned as the Gundam version of the various GM Sniper types, building upon the very successful GM Sniper Custom and GM Sniper II, it combined a powerful beam sniper rifle as well as improved shoulder mounted sensors that could also provide jamming. As the original Gundam continued to destroy Zeon’s mobile armors the idea of upgraded Gundam’s soon lost traction and the Gunner Gundam allegedly was never built. Both the Heavy Gundam and Gunner Gundam were both featured in Gundam the Origin with a spruced up design.
You can read more about the Full Armor, Type B, Heavy and Gunner Gundam at MAHQ.
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