METAL BUILD Justice Gundam
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Compared to the Freedom Gundam, I've always preferred the Justice Gundam, and its unique backpack sub-flight lifter is a huge part of that appeal. After spending some time with this figure, my first thought was, "So, when is the METAL BUILD Infinite Justice Gundam coming out?" I'm definitely looking forward to it. But for now, let's dive into the review. While this mobile suit shares some similarities with the Freedom Gundam 2.0, its strengths are very distinct. Of course, it's not without its problems, so I'll be sharing my hands-on experience with you.
The Good
Outstanding Backpack: Great Proportions, Multiple Modes
The most distinctive feature of this release is, without a doubt, the Fatum-00 backpack. And yes, it is massive. Mounted on the back, the wingspan is truly enormous. Some collectors have compared it to the Master Grade Justice Gundam, and the size difference is significant. Personally, I absolutely love this design choice. When you deploy it for posing, it looks incredibly cool, and spreading the wings gives it an undeniable presence. Unfortunately, my photo studio is a bit small, so I couldn't fully capture its grandeur.
The Justice Gundam and its Fatum-00 backpack offer four main modes of play.
The first is the standard configuration, with the Fatum-00 mounted vertically on the back. The connection point is well-designed and very secure this time around, so unless you're extremely careless, it's not going to fall off.
In this state, spreading the wings horizontally creates a truly imposing silhouette. However, your only option for mounting it on the display stand is via the crotch connector, which limits some posing possibilities.
The second mode involves flipping the backpack up 90 degrees to position the two beam cannons over the shoulders. Since the backpack is quite heavy, this mode could be prone to accidents. To prevent this, Bandai has included support struts that plug into the bottom of the Fatum-00, making it very stable once attached.
The trickiest part here is avoiding interference with the head's V-fin. Bandai was kind enough to include a spare V-fin, just in case you break one. However, with careful handling, you should be able to avoid any tragedies. The manual suggests removing the V-fin before positioning the backpack, but that's a bit too tedious. As long as you're careful when moving the cannons over the shoulders, it should be fine.
Will it tip over backward? Unlikely. The backpack connects to the main body via two separate pegs, making the connection extremely secure.
Historically, the biggest issue with this over-the-shoulder cannon mode has been head articulation. Starting with the Robot Spirits line, figures in this configuration have had virtually no head movement, like they're wearing a neck brace. This time, however, there's a noticeable improvement. While you still can't get a wide range of motion, the head can now be moved slightly without risking paint scuffs, which is a huge step forward. The two cannons can be extended and have some articulation, but they're still blocked by the head and the shoulder armor, so the overall range of movement remains about the same.
This mode is a lot of fun to pose. You get two options for the display stand: the crotch mount or a back mount. I was initially worried about using the back mount, as they can often be loose. However, the connection here is incredibly solid, and I didn't experience any issues. This is a crucial feature for me. I love creating dynamic, action-oriented poses, and the display stand is both my greatest ally and my worst enemy. The crotch mount is safe, but it severely restricts leg movement, making it impossible to achieve many poses I have in mind. The back mount allows for convincing "in-flight" poses, which is fantastic. You can also adjust the insertion angle to create banking or tilted flight poses, which is a huge help for combat scenes.
The third mode is, of course, having the Justice Gundam ride on top of the Fatum-00. I feel like the designers really put some thought into making this work, and my experience handling it was pretty good. However, there are some definite design flaws that hold it back, which is a shame. I'll get into the details in the "Cons" section below.
The fourth mode is separating the two units, treating the Fatum-00 as an independent drone. It's a bit disappointing that Bandai didn't include a second stand to properly recreate scenes of them fighting side-by-side. You really need two stands to pull this off. From my perspective, both the Justice Gundam and the Fatum-00 are fun to handle separately.
In the anime, the Justice Gundam often uses this separation tactic for feints and flanking maneuvers. Without the backpack, the Justice Gundam is very easy to handle, and I took the opportunity to recreate some of its iconic poses. As for the Fatum-00, Bandai provides a dedicated stand for displaying it solo, and it looks great. It's just difficult to pose them together.
Solid Paint and High Articulation on the Main Body
The main body is predominantly red, and to create more depth, two different shades are used: a deep, vibrant red and a slightly purplish-red, both with a subtle gloss finish. This treatment adds a nice texture, but the two colors are quite distinct visually. Placed together, they look fine. As for markings, which are a staple of the METAL BUILD line, this release is surprisingly sparse. There are only markings on the shoulder and leg armor. The Metal Robot Spirits Justice actually has more markings than this METAL BUILD, which is a real shame. Fortunately, the paint application QC is up to par, with no major issues.
However, compared to the more vibrant and flashy finish of the Freedom Gundam, the Justice Gundam has a noticeably more subdued and less "shiny" feel.
As for articulation, the head, shoulders, waist, and legs all have a good range of motion, so there are no major problems there. You can recreate most poses without issue.
However, the ankle articulation is just average, which negatively impacts the experience of posing it on the Fatum-00.
Decent Arsenal with Plenty of Options
The beam rifle, beam boomerangs, and beam sabers are all standard-issue weapons, so there's not much to say here.
The backpack has been discussed at length already, so I won't repeat myself.
Versatile Stand with Multiple Configurations
Bandai put some extra thought into the stand this time. Although this base design has been used for many, many years and they don't seem keen on creating a new universal stand, this one offers different ways to play.
First, if you just want to display the Fatum-00 in solo flight, a small support arm is included, similar in size to a Metal Robot Spirits stand. There are two different connectors for the bottom of the Fatum-00: a smaller one for solo flight and a larger, more robust one for when the Gundam is riding it. The base connector has three different insertion angles, similar to the one included with the first-run edition of the DX Chogokin VF-31AX, allowing you to display it in tilted or banking poses.
For displaying the Gundam riding the Fatum-00, the manual suggests using the large main support arm with an included extension piece for the base. This setup keeps the Fatum-00 from being too high up, allowing you to lower the main arm for easier handling and reducing the risk of accidents. Posing something so high up can feel precarious. When the Gundam is on the Fatum-00, you can still adjust the flight angle. If you secure the figure's feet to the glider, slight tilts shouldn't cause any problems.
When I was handling the Justice Gundam by itself (without the backpack), I found that the back port can also be used with the stand for temporary posing, which opens up even more action possibilities.
The Bad
Face Sculpt is Too Gentle, Lacks Menace
In the anime, the Justice Gundam is one of the most powerful mobile suits and should have a commanding presence. However, the face sculpt on this METAL BUILD looks a bit too gentle. This is mainly because the black armor sections on the cheeks aren't wide enough, making the face look round and almost cute. Of course, this is just my personal opinion.
Riding the Fatum-00 Isn't Much Fun
Time to address the point I mentioned earlier. I'm sorry to say, but it's time for some criticism.
The Fatum-00 can be extended to create more space for the Justice Gundam to stand on. The question is, how do you "lock" the feet onto the glider? There have been many methods over the years. For example, adding connectors to the glider and holes in the Gundam's feet to plug them in. This METAL BUILD Justice Gundam uses connectors that attach to the feet and then plug directly into holes on the Fatum-00. The advantage of this method is that it's "extremely secure." Both feet are firmly locked onto the glider, making it very safe. However, this arrangement severely limits the poses you can put the figure in. It's incredibly rigid and not ideal.
What if you only secure one foot? It doesn't make much of a difference. The locked-in foot can't move, and the range of motion for the "free" foot is limited, so you still feel constrained.
Furthermore, the foot connectors are extremely tight. Once you've plugged them into the Fatum-00, it takes a fair bit of force to remove them. You have to do it slowly and carefully, without using too much strength.
Honestly, this implementation is not good. The fixed-foot approach lacks flexibility and makes it difficult to achieve almost any dynamic pose. Looking at the official promotional photos, it seems they weren't even taken with the feet locked in.
The Fatum-00 also has holes for a small, clear support strut. This strut is "better than nothing," but can that tiny clip really hold the heavy Justice Gundam securely? Of course not. If I just want a static display, the foot connectors are sufficient, making this clear strut largely useless.
Connecting both feet doesn't work well, and connecting one isn't much better. In the end, my solution was to not use the connectors at all, just balancing the figure on top like Aladdin on his magic carpet. However, be warned that you can't tilt the glider in this configuration.
The Fatum-00 Wings Lack Vertical Articulation
This is something that the Metal Robot Spirits Justice Gundam could do, yet for some reason, the feature is absent on the METAL BUILD version. This small bit of articulation would have made the Fatum-00 look much more dynamic. As it is now, the wings are stuck in a flat, horizontal position, which is a real pity.
Feet are Too Small, Struggles to Stand on its Own
Getting the Justice Gundam to stand on its own with the backpack attached takes some effort, but I strongly advise against displaying it like this long-term. The slightest vibration could cause it to topple over. A fall from that height with such a massive figure would likely be "catastrophic," so please be careful.
Can it stand? Yes. But it's not the kind of figure that's stable right out of the box. The backpack is heavy and the feet are tiny—it's like it's wearing three-inch golden lotuses! It's almost pitiful to look at.
The Huge Holes in the Forearms are Disgusting
This is my biggest complaint. The Freedom Gundam also had these ports, but they were cleverly hidden within the exposed frame details of the arm guards, making them less noticeable. This time, however, they just carved a giant hole directly into both forearms. Couldn't they have at least given us a cover part to hide the ugliness? They did not. Even though you might not see this spot often, a hole this obvious is just not a good look.
Overall, while the METAL BUILD Justice Gundam has a few issues, it is still an outstanding figure. It has its imperfections, but the bold design and reinterpretation of the Fatum-00 are excellent. Indeed, a little bit of "re-imagining" can make a METAL BUILD figure even more appealing. We all remember the METAL BUILD Destiny Gundam, right? Even by today's standards, that design is timeless. Therefore, I'm not against these creative liberties, as long as the result looks good, there's no need to get hung up on minor design changes.
Here are some more photos:
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