I’ll say it now – the Gawain is hands-down my favorite Knightmare Frame from Code Geass.
Aside from being 3x the size of a normal Knightmare (this is debatable; the anime, figures, and official reference material all clash on Gawain’s official size, but point is that it’s bigger and badder than your standard Knigtmare), sporting the awesome black and gold, and being an all-around badass mech, the Hadron Cannons kicked ass.
Too bad it didn’t get enough screen-time.
I’ve coveted this figure for quite some time since its release, but have only been able to pick it up at Anime Expo two years ago. Quite a worthy buy.
While the Gawain isn’t anything special as far as innovative figure technology and gimmicks go, it does get all the basics right. Although given the proportions are kind of funky (look at those limbs!) they achieve a fair range of articulation, so no complaining here.
Since this is a Robot Spirits figure, it comes fully assembled (mostly – you kind of have to pop the Float Pack on when you take it out of the package, but that’s beside the point) and fully painted.
Given my penchant for touching all my figures up though, I went ahead and added some touch-ups, including:
- Gunmetal for the back of the shoulders (the vent-looking things)
- Metallic green for the float pack (it was already green but not metallic enough)
- Light panel-lining. Mixed results.
- Hadron Blaster emitters painted red (originally a boring gray)
I really like the head design. It’s almost Gundam-esque, save for the big Egyptian cat ears. The entire Knightmare seems to be based off ancient Egyptian designs, which isn’t a bad thing.
Overall the paint apps are in no way bad on this figure – I love the glossy black and very vibrant gold.
The only real discrepancy I noticed is in the fingers, which seem to be a more pale and opaque gold than the rest used on the body. The reason for this is that they’re made of a softer material than the rest of the figure – explained on the back of the box for your convenience. There’s actually a color-coded diagram of the figure highlighting all the different areas were different materials were used in the making – composite plastics, e-carbon, Gundanium, etc.
Unfortunate as it is, you only get one set of hands with the figure. It would’ve been cool if there was a Slash Harken feature for the fingers, but I understand why it wasn’t implemented, given the size.
Articulation is also pretty well done. I’m most impressed by the fact that it can kneel. And not look funky.
There’s nothing too remarkable about the range of movement – I will say now that the big ‘ol shoulders are kind of loose on their ball joint connecting into the torso socket though.
Gawain’s landspinners are stored in its legs, much like the Guren’s. (Unusual in that this is a traditionally Japanese feature on Knightmares, yet the Gawain was built by Britannians)
It takes quite a bit of fiddling to get them to pop out and come down; it’s actually a pleasantly complex mechanism. Unfortunately, they don’t lay as flat on the ground as I would have liked; the middle of the landspinners kind of hangs from the flap and doesn’t touch the ground entirely.
And then – that pose. Lelouch’s personal favorite, I reckon.
The Hadron Cannons open up via simple hinges, and actually clasps closed quite well.
I’m not sure why the original emitters came in gray – it was so boring. I love how the red looks.
In all honesty, there’s not a lot of ways you can pose the Gawain with these open. They look fantastic, but the Gawain has to look elegant when firing them or it’ll just be…strange.
A very nice little gimmick, however, is the opening cockpit. While this is standard on most Robot Tamashii Knightmares, Gawain actually comes with a mini-Zero figurine to put in there.
The cockpit is detachable from the back, and sports a good amount of detail.
Unfortunately, only Lelouch’s pilot section is included. The Gawain is a double-seater (though it doesn’t need to be piloted by a duo) but the lower cockpit would run into Gawain’s actual body through the back, hence it wasn’t implemented with a complimentary C.C. figurine.
The actual opening of the cockpit is actually a little more advanced than the usual flip-the-hatch-open. You have to pull out the rear block first *le gasp* and then flip the hatch open.
Still looks cool.
The Float pack is actually a candy-coated maroon-ish color, and sports some pretty terrible nubs. The rest of the figure is actually pretty good about this, but for some reason the backpack just has to get craptastic quality control.
A closer look at the Lelouch/Zero figure. He doesn’t sport a face, but all the other small details are there.
Very nice painting and detail. He’s a static figurine, and plugs right into the seat pretty securely.
Gawain also includes its own dedicated display stand/action base. Made of a tinted clear plastic, it doesn’t have much articulation, but gets the job done. The tip plugs right into the Gawain’s back, and allows limited rotation.
But it’s enough for a GAWWAAAIIIINNNNN KIICCCCKKKKK!!
Yeah, it doesn’t feel right to me either.
A size comparison to Robot Tamashii Shinkiro. Now, the official specs do indicate it as being three times larger than the average Knightmare, but it seems to be less than twice as tall in figure form. And these are to supposed to be in scale. Somebody screwed up…
Hey! A complimentary Energy Filler!. What a thoughtful gesture from the guys at Tamashii Nations – batteries are included!
Really only used to replicate this one scene. (Which was admittedly pretty great, but it amazes me how figure companies devote a specific accessory to replicate some of the smallest and most obscure scenes in a franchise.)
Didn’t have a Lancelot on-hand, so I used the Shinkiro instead. Yeah, Lelouch is the kind of guy who would only take a battery from himself.
All in all, this is a worthy representation of Lelouch’s personal Knightmare in Season 1 of Code Geass. While not exactly the king of accessories, the figure itself is well-made enough with a good amount of playability and appealing cosmetics to hold its own.
