OZ-06MS Leo

Mobile Suit Gundam had the venerable Zaku II for cannon fodder.  Mobile Suit Gundam Wing had the Zaku’s leaner and more explode-y cousin, the Leo.

The Robot Spirit release of the OZ-06MS Leo comes in the standard Robot Spirits package, but the contents are a little light.  The Leo Option Set was released as a standalone package of guns and goodies to supplement the lean base package.

The Leo is impressively articulated as per the Robot Spirits line.  The base figure does not feature any head or neck articulation, but everything else moves as it should.  The shoulders , thighs, and back feature sneaky hard points compatible with many accessories from previously released Robot Spirits figures.

Thanks to a codpiece that features articulated skit flaps as well as a swiveling center part, the Leo has great freedom in its legs and can almost pass the Iron Man poster pose test.

The butt thrusters are even movable!  Also, butt thrusters.

The base Leo figure features three sets of hands: ferocious fists…

…generic grabbing hands…

…and terrific trigger hands!

Bandai also played a little trick with the elbows that simplifies them while still allowing enough motion for dynamic poses.  Instead of a double joint, the elbows feature a single joint and the elbow armor is molded to the forearm at an angle.  The arms cannot be posed perfectly straight, but can bend to more than a right angle with only a single joint.  I think it’s worth the tradeoff.

The Leo features only one accessory, a 105mm rifle.  For such an ineffective weapon the 105mm looks awesome.  That chunky ammo drum speaks to how much useless fire a Leo can lay down.

The rifle features a grab handle on top for two-handed action.  As if aiming was going to improve a Leo’s chances of survival.

The matte green color and ‘realistic’ styling of the machinegun make for a convincing military grunt robot.  The Leo looks and feels like a barebones production machine designed to be sent to die by the hundreds.

The Leo can even pull off a nice kneeling firing pose.  The lack of head articulation, while canon, does make some poses seem a bit awkward.  Still, the Leo is a solid little package for anyone who likes green robots or wants some fodder to feed to their Wing Gundam hero mecha toys.

The Leo Option Set, however, is anything but lean.  A pile of parts adds all sorts of variety and fun to the mix.  Included in the set are a bazooka, a dober gun, a set of shoulder armor with integrated beam cannons,  a large shoulder mounted shield, two beam sabers with removable blades, a swappable articulated head, and two splayed hands.

To install the articulated head, we first need to remove the fixed head from our Leo… with the help of another Leo.

Underneath the fixed head is a ball that the new articulated head fits onto.

The movable head features nice articulation since the main head part is separate from the chin part.  I have mixed feelings on Bandai’s making the articulated head an Option Set part.  On one hand, the base figure is accurate to the show with no neck joint.  On the other hand, not having any head movement makes the base figure look a bit awkward, even if it is canon.  Even if all the other weapons were still in an Option Set, I would have rather seen the base Leo come with both heads so the buyer could chose posable or not.

Next we will convert a Leo into an Early Type using the large shield.  The existing shoulder armor comes off, and the mount for the big round shield clips on.  Note that for an accurate Early Type the other shoulder armor should also be removed, which I forgot.  Sorry.

The Early Type shield is ball jointed and looks solid.

Stored under the shield are two beams saber hilts.

Because, you know, a Leo should really be used for close combat.

The splayed hand and the beam saber pair well together.  The lean sculpt of the Leo allows for a great dynamic look while retaining a chunky, utilitarian feel.

What could go wrong?

Oh, that…

The fearsome dober gun attaches to the shoulder in the same way as the Early Type shield.

The dober gun features a movable handle for the Leo to grip to swing around its firepower.  Equipping a Leo with a dober gun hearkens back to the Leo’s origin as a dumbed down version of the Tallgeese for disposable pilots.

I think the dober gun and the Early Type shield make a great pairing.  Sort of a Tallgeese Light.

Next up we can make a Cannon Type Leo using the beam cannon shoulders.  They mount in the same way as the previous accessories, but I find that the fit between the armor and the shoulder clips is a bit loose.

The Cannon Type looks great.  The beam turrets swivel and the gun barrels elevate.  They are dinky little guns, but the heavy shoulder armor adds some beefiness up top.

Last is the bazooka, which features a regular trigger handle and a grab handle much like the rifle.

The bazooka features a little bit of painted detail, but it is all really subtle.  It looks the part of a heavy weapon and the Leo poses well with it over the shoulder.

A holder part can be fitted to one of the hard points on the back to stow the bazooka for when things require a more subtle approach.

Now that we have lots of Leos and lots of weapons floating around, my dream of a dual machinegun Leo can be fulfilled.  Sadly, it still would not be able to kill anything.

In order to make the most of the Option Set, I purchased three Leos.  It’s a big commitment, but I love having a little squad of uniquely equipped green bots tooling around my display.  They’ve almost got a Charlies’s Angels thing going on.  The Robot Spirits Leo can be purchased for around $35 from most retailers.  It’s a lean, no frills package, but it’s a solid figure of an underappreciated grunt mecha that’s simple enough to get into all kinds of trouble.  The Option Set can be had for around $25, and is a regular release, not a difficult to find web exclusive.  Some people might argue that all of the weapons should have just been included with the figure, but I disagree.  I like having the generic grunt as its own package, so that people who are not big on accessories or just need some green filler for their Wing Gundam displays can grab one on the cheap.  Then the rest of us filthy green mecha lovers can go all the way and pick up the goodies set.  Grabbing a couple Leos and the Option Set is almost like getting a building toy, with the ability to mix and match parts to make whatever variant you like.  Green grunts with lots of guns.  I dig it.