Quick Review: HGBF Gundam Tryon 3

Vector provided by Morgenroete Munitions

Preamble
Year: 2015. The one we call Meijin had given me two Gunpla over the past few years, HG AGE G-Exes Jackedge and HGUC Crossbone Gundam X1. To exact revenge, I decided I wanted give him something for Christmas. The weapon of choice, HG00 Seravee & Seraphim Gundam (Trans Am Mode): he REALLY likes pink colored Gundams. Little did I know he had a counter attack waiting for me. It happens to be my absolute favorite suit from Gundam Build Fighters Try, Gundam Tryon 3.
Thank you very much, Meijin! Now stop spoiling me!

Background
In order for Yuuma's rival, Minato Sakai, to compete in the junior division tournament Yuuma is in, he teams up with his school's Gunpla Battling club to enter. He builds a ridiculous Gunpla based on the ZZ Gundam, Tryon 3.

The full title of the Tryon 3 is Saikyo Kido Tryon 3, or 最強機動 トライオン3. The Kanji '最強' (saikyo) roughly translates to 'strongest' like the title Saikyou Robo Daiouja, whereas 機動 (kido) translates to 'maneuver,' the same characters used in Gundam's full title  機動戦士 (Kido Senshi) ガンダム. The title suggests it is a mashup of a Super Robot and a Mobile Suit.
This is made quite obvious with the 80s/90s title that appears in the anime, the track that plays during its transformation sequence, and the crowd that questions whether or not his creation is a super robot. Gunpla is freedom, Sakai. Gunpla is freedom.

Thoughts
Coming into this build, I vaguely knew what kind of flimsy mess I was getting myself into - Any suit that is supposed to break up into three different suits cannot be structurally sound - but I did not truly know what I was diving into with this build.

 

On first glance, this is a ridiculous mess of red, blue, and yellow. I would not have it any other way. As a suit that is supposed to emulate the super robots of the 70s and 80s, this suit was executed perfectly. The suit designer nailed it! From its ridiculous V-fin(s) to its Sora Tryon talons, this suit roars super robot from its Liger Glaring chest!
Color separation is also pretty good. despite the shields not having the proper yellow pattern, the rest of the suit has quite a bit of color separation in the plastic, some with details, some without. I only panel lined the face (and ligaments) of the Riku Tryon, and the Tryon 3 head and only used stickers for Riku Tryon's eyes. The rest is bare plastic.
Unfortunately, the suit is quite back heavy with Riku Tryon's body upon its back. It is not as back heavy as winged suits, but the center of gravity is definitely thrown off with such a large piece. Articulation is not too much of a problem, but the side skirts prevent any of that decent articulation from going anywhere - a red piece hit against the torso, causing the piece to pop off any time the legs extend even a little bit. A lot of the dynamic poses depend on wider stances which are simply impossible with current side skirt armor.
Speaking of pieces falling off, because of how the color separation was designed, certain pieces like to fall off. At least the issue is not as bad as the Unicorn Gundam in Destroy Mode.
All the aforementioned issues combined make for a very finicky suit that has a hard time standing on its own. This is without its large weapon in hand - That is another set of issues on its own.

The size of the suit is definitely one of the larger suits, as seen above standing side-by-side with the RX-78-2, but for a kit in a box that felt as heavy as a small Master Grade kit, it was disappointing to see it was not as large as the Banshee Norn in Destroy Mode. At least the Hyper Minovsky Chohoken is longer than Unicorn's Hyper Beam Javelin.

Two massive suits with two massive weapons: I might need a larger light box...

Seriously, the beam effect for this sword is ridiculous! My longest melee weapon looks like a tiny dagger compared to Tryon 3's main weapon. Funny how both of my largest melee weapons happen to be also the two most flimsy weapons to exist in my collection. The Hyper Minovsky Chohoken's effect parts are attached loosely to the hilt, causing them to fall off quite easily. Though a little glue could fix it, I am disappointed that I would need it to begin with.

When attempting to pose the Tryon 3 with the Hyper Minovsky Chohoken, all the issues compile into a hot mess of a Gunpla. Without trying too hard, I managed an underpar pose in about twenty minutes. As you may expect, pieces fell off, the suit fell over, and the sword would fall over from gravity. At least the sword kept in the hand despite these issues (that would have been my number one concern).

The flimsiness of this kit is mostly in part by the fact that the kit is a transforming kit. Like the Gundam ZZ, the Tryon 3 splits up into multiple parts, in this case three animal-shaped suits: Riku Tryon, Umi Tryon, and Sora Tryon.

Riku Tryon is probably the best transformation of the three. Because it stands on four legs, it is well balanced. The only issue I had with the Riku is the lack of color though it is understandable since the overall kit is already jam packed with runners.

Size Comparison: Riku Tryon is only slightly larger than a Loto

I do not know what to think about the Umi Tryon. It is definitely another pretty solid parts-former with good color separation and and form, however in order to 'pose' it properly, a stand is required.

I think I would be interested in displaying the animal trio especially with Riku and Umi Tryons being the way they are. Unfortunately the last Tryon piece did not win my heart over.

Up until this point, I loved the designs of the Tryon 3. The main suit, Riku Tryon, and the Umi Tryon. Unfortunately, the Sora Tryon is what some might consider a deal breaker. The amount of work required to parts-form the legs of the Tryon 3 into this sad excuse for a bird is already bad enough. Add the fact that the clear pink wing effect parts fall off just as much as the side skirt armor the wings are attached to and we have a hot mess of stupid on our hands.

The design is terrible, the structure is terrible, it definitely requires a stand, and it has no place on my shelf.  I'll be combining these suits back into the Tryon 3 and leaving it as such. For those who want to display the Sora Tryon, make sure it does not have access to your smaller SD kits.

As an added bonus, the Tryon 3 includes the Gundam ZZ core fighter. Though a lot of kits include extra parts, the Tryon 3 also includes a small section in the instructions for the construction of this core fighter. Another piece to add to the backlog of tiny things I want to paint.

 

In summary, I cannot suggest this kit to anyone. Despite having amazing color separation, more work is required to add some essential color separation. Despite having some decent articulation and play options, the kit suffers from falling-apart syndrome which in some cases cannot really be fixed.
Issues aside, I love this kit. It is a flamboyant mess of colors with an outrageous glaring face on its chest and a massive beam sword coming out of the beak of an eagle. How can one pass by a shelf with ridiculous standing there and not look? But seriously, if you are on the fence about the HGBF Tryon 3, I highly suggest you save the tears and move along.