OZ-00MS2B Tallgeese III

The OZ-00MS2B (OZ-00MS3) Tallgeese III (aka Tallgeese, Tallgeese III) is a mobile suit featured in New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz. The unit is piloted by Zechs Merquise.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The Tallgeese III is based on the previous two models and, like them, features superior speed that exceeds that of most other mobile suits. It retains the beam saber that are used by the previous models, and features three new weapons, a pair of head mounted vulcans, a retractable heat rod and a mega beam cannon. According to the Gundam Wing Encyclopedia, the Tallgeese III is fitted with an interface similar to the Epyon System.

Armaments

 * Vulcan Gun
 * Mounted in the head, these shell firing weapons have a high-rate of fire but have little power and can't damage the thick armor of a mobile suit, though it can damage lightly armored areas such as the sensors. The weapons are ideal for shooting down small, fast moving, lightly armored targets such as missiles, small land vehicles, and attack helicopters.


 * Beam Saber
 * The Tallgeese is equipped with two beam sabers which are powered by capacitors in the handle. The cylindrical handles are stored in the shield for recharging. The beam sabers are capable of cutting through any armor that is not treated with an anti-beam coating.


 * Mega Beam Cannon
 * The strongest weapon of the Tallgeese III is its mega beam cannon, which replaces the old dober gun used on the previous two models. It has two modes; a compact configuration which functions like a beam rifle, and a beam cannon mode where the barrel splits open and extends. The beam cannon mode is among the most powerful mobile suit beam cannons and nearly as powerful as the twin buster rifle of the Wing Zero. Its raw strength was displayed when one shot was enough to destroy the asteroid base MO-III.


 * Shield w/Retractable Heat Rod
 * Like the previous two models, the Tallgeese III's shield is hung off the left arm's shoulder joint for defensive purposes. This design allows for maximum mobility and also for both beam sabers to be used simultaneously. However, unlike its predecessors, the shield also mounts a retractable heat rod, similar to the one previously used on Zechs' OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon. The heat rod is normally stored in the shield and can be used when not activated to trip or entangle opponents. When activated the heat rod becomes super-heated, letting it cut through mobile suits easily. This weapon is useful for battling mobile suits with anti-beam coatings.

History
Tallgeese III is a variant suit of Treize Khushrenada's OZ-00MS2 Tallgeese II and started development around the same time as the building of that unit; however, it wasn't finished in time for Treize to take it with him to space. After the Eve Wars' conclusion, the Tallgeese III was confiscated by the Earth Sphere United Nation's Preventer taskforce and kept in storage.

In AC 196, when the Mariemaia Army declared war on the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, former OZ ace pilot Zechs Merquise returned from hiding to work for the Preventers. Zechs was assigned the code name Wind and given Tallgeese III to fight against Mariemaia's Army. He first attacked them in space while they launched from their base MO-III. Using the suit's beam saber, Zechs cut down several ships but had to stop when Dekim Barton threatened to throw a colony on Earth. When Dekim fled, Zechs used the Tallgeese's mega beam cannon to destroy the asteroid base. Later, Zechs would use the Tallgeese III to pacify Mariemaia's army of MMS-01 Serpents in Brussels without killing any of the pilots.

Notes & Trivia

 * In Super Robot Wars 64, Tallgeese III can be obtained by bartering Epyon for Tallgeese III to Howard. This method is a bit different compared to the method of obtaining the five primary Endless Waltz Gundams. The Endless Waltz version of the five Gundams can be obtained simply by fully upgrading the TV version of the pertinent Gundams.
 * Zechs with the Tallgeese III appeared in Gundam Battle Assault 3: Featuring Gundam SEED, challenging the player as Athrun Zala with his Justice. Before the fight begins, Zechs confirms that Athrun's mobile suit is a Gundam type. Then he said that all Gundams are tools of mass destruction and such things must be destroyed.
 * Additionally, the suit is featured in a secret boss battle with the theme used being a remix of the Tallgeese music that was used in Gundam Wing: Endless Duel, a game ironically released only in Japan.


 * Tallgeese III's Mega Beam Cannon as MAP attack is missing from some Super Robot Wars games, but it returned in Super Robot Wars Z3: Time Prison.
 * It is possible to build Tallgeese I or Tallgeese II from the HG 1/100 Endless Waltz series model kit of Tallgeese III as the pack provides the parts to build the older Tallgeeses. However, only one of which can be built from one pack of the model kit as the pack only provides one set of parts of the main body.
 * Tallgeese III appears in Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space' as a DLC unit in the Japanese version and already unlocked in the localized version.
 * Additionally, there is an error in its equipment; the Mega Beam Cannon is depicted as a much thinner weapon that the Tallgeese holds in its hand rather than it being attached to its shoulder. During gameplay, the shield loaded to be held upside down though in the Unit Viewer this is rectified. Additionally, despite the presence of the shield, it cannot use its heat rod as an additional weapon. Both problems are rectified in Gundam Battle Assault 3 as it recycles the models used from that game.
 * The Tallgeese III's golden head ornament is similar to the one found on Char Aznable's original helmet.