MG RX-93 V GUNDAM REVIEW
by Nima   2008-05-07 18:57:14.0

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See Also Related Reviews: .|. MG RX-93 v Gundam by RedRacer

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The legandary Nu Gundam was Amuro Ray's personal mobile suit from Char's Counterattack. Designed from scratch by Amuro himself, it was built by Anaheim Electronics at the Von Braun factory on the moon on U.C. 0093. The Earth Federation had been looking to use a totally psycommu-controlled mobile suit since the various Zeon-derived rebellions of the past decade had often relied on advanced Newtype pilots. Incorporating a new technology of mysterious origins known as the "psycho-frame", the Nu Gundam has the capability of responding directly to the pilot's brain waves, with microscopic psycommu chips built directly into the frame.

In addition to a massive arsenal of weapons, Nu Gundam was also equipped with "fin funnels", a giant version of the psycommu-controlled funnel systems used on many Axis Zeon suits. The Nu Gundam's version has both offensive and defensive capabilities, and can form a force field when used by an advanced Newtype pilot.

Due to its technological complexity, Amuro decided to keep the physical design simple (no transformations, core fighter, or core block), and only one unit was built. It was rushed to completion before most of his components had completed testing. Char Aznable had returned from hiding in outer space, and was building a Neo-Zeon movement with the intention of killing everyone on Earth.

As Neo-Zeon quickly defeated and outmaneuvered one Federation department after another, taking advantage of their corrupt buraucracy to further its genocidal goals, the last hope for Earth was the Londo Bell fleet, with Amuro as its top ace. The stage was set for a final disastrous conflict, as Amuro raced to bring Nu Gundam into battle...

The Nu Gundam has seen a couple of previous releases as a plastic model. When Char's Counterattack came out in Japanese theaters in 1988, Bandai released kits of the major mobile suits in the movie as part of its new "system injection" line - essentially the earliest "High-Grade" kits (though nothing like today's High Grades). These included two 1/144 scale versions of Nu Gundam (one with fin funnels, one without), as well as a HUGE 1/100 scale Nu Gundam, which featured all the Nu's weapons, as well as a primitive internal structure with die-cast metal parts. Although it was released 7 years before the first Master Grade kits, many modelers considered it the next best thing to a Master Grade due to its complexity and gimmicks. But they were in for a REAL surprise. In 2001, Bandai pulled out ALL the stops and skyrocketed the Nu Gundam even higher.

MASTER GRADE NU: we don't call it a Perfect Grade only because it doesn't say so on the box!

Bandai's Master Grade rendition of the Nu Gundam brings plastic models to a whole new level. For the first time, there is a full internal skeleton, much like the ones in Perfect Grade kits. The quality of the parts is a notch above even great kits like the Hyakushiki and the ZZ Gundam. And the inclusion of die-cast metal parts for the legs and groin internals makes this gundam incredibly sturdy. And lets not forget the decals and the awesome set of weapons...

The head of Nu Gundam is very big, though this makes sense as Nu Gundam is the tallest conventional Gundam ever built. The head does NOT have internal structure with removable armor, so in that sense it is not on the same level as Perfect Grade kits. But otherwise it is excellent. The details on the face and cheeks are perfect - not even one flaw - and the quality of the plastic puts even other Master Grades to shame.

The face has 3 vents instead of the usual two. The cheek vents follow a unique "stacked" design that was later recycled by the makers of Gundam for the Wing Gundam Zero (TV version). The "ear vents" look roughly like what you see on the original Gundam and the Mk-II. The eyes are huge and come with - dare I say it - a sticker that actually looks BETTER than paint! The antennas are long and sharp, so we get none of that "kid-friendly" design compromise like on the MG Gundam Alex. There's lots of detail, even on the little slits where the vulcan cartridges are ejected. The vulcans themselves are huge. The beard fits perfectly.

Also this model has a very long, detailed neck piece, which is actually double-jointed to allow an unprecedented degree of head movement.

The body unit of Nu Gundam contains an elaborate inner frame, surrounding a spherical cockpit. All of the black armor is removable, and underneath is tons of internal detail. Some of the detail is visible in the "collar" even when the armor is on. (remember, this mobile suit was rushed to completion).

The cockpit door is long and angled, and opens all the way to show that little Amuro figure in his normal suit (paint the visor orange if you're going for Anime accuracy), and he sits behind the panel of his pilot seat.

If for whatever reason you need to remove Amuro (I forgot to paint the visor the first time) it is VERY difficult without taking apart everything - and even harder to put him back. So make sure you get it right in the beginning.

The backpack of the Nu attaches to the rear torso with two tabs, which are a bit too shallow IMO, considering all the weapons it will have to carry.

Above the left chest, there is an embedded sensor with a clear lens. You can use the green sticker included for this, or paint it fluorescent green.

The chest vents are nice, but once painted they are tricky to detail (without yellow paint they just look too orange).

And finally, the crotch. It has a metal part for the hip joints, which is totally covered by plastic. The front crotch detail (with the "v" symbol common on many gundams) consists of several inlaid pieces in true Master Grade fashion. No problems here.

The front and rear skirt armors are fully articulated, and even have detailed ABS "backing pieces" to fill them out and make them more realistic. The inlaid vents are also a great touch. The side armors are much smaller, and have three vents each. The recessed area around the biggest vent should be painted yellow, but it is impossible to draw a panel line all the way around it like in the manual photos. (stop tricking us Bandai!)

The Nu Gundam has asymmetric arms. The left arm carries the shield on a rig that clamps halfway around the arm. This rig hides a beam saber handle tucked into the armor. The yellow block below serves as a deflector and shock absorber to protect the saber.

The right arm is far simpler - it just has a flat white piece on the back - with no hardpoints or attachment mechanisms.

The ball-shaped shoulder joints are all ABS plastic, and have a rack-and-pinion connection to ball-and-socket joints in the torso. These ball joints are a bit loose and may sag under the weight of weapons. I advise putting some glue in them to tighten the fit. The top of the shoulder ball has a hook panel for the shoulder armor, which can swivel independently. The shoulders have two small thrusters at the end, which consist on "inlaid" yellow parts inside white parts - eliminating the need for painting.

The hands are big and molded in gray ABS plastic. These are heavy duty, with tight joints. The wrists are double-jointed, and have black covers similar to the white ones on the MG Gundam Alex. The elbows and inner shoulders are held together with screws, and two circular bushings cover the screws on each elbow. The upper arm armor slides on before final assembly as a single box-like piece.

The legs of Nu Gundam are the most impressive part of the kit. At least, under the armor. The upper legs have a simple ABS frame with pegs to anchor the armor. The lower legs consist of THREE layers of skeleton: The internal metal cores and connecting polycaps, the main gray ABS frame, and finally, an outer "web" of reinforcing girders which are the most precisely molded plastic parts EVER in a gundam model. Even the recently released MG Hi-Nu doesn't have them.

The knee joint segments are long and bulky, and include some cook gimmicks. Hydraulic pistons in the front (similar to the ones on the ankles of the Master Grade Gundam Mk-II), and also like the Mk-II, there are mesh cables on the back of the knee. But here, the system that hold the mesh cables steady is MUCH stronger, and they feel rock-hard. This guy ain't going anywhere.

The hips are largely unarmored and exposed, but the side skirt armors do offer a little (I should say VERY LITTLE) protection. Their only major feature seems to be the three small thrusters in each one. These armors can only rotate outwards, not swivel forward and back like on most other gundams.

The legs feature fully removable armor, and the black side pieces reveal internal apogee motors imbedded deep in the legs. The rear of the lower leg has swiveling vernier rockets with long guard plates.

Finally, the feet. These are as tough as anything else on the kit. They have no arch mobility, but that's true to the show - fixed and powerful. They have hugs verniers embedded in the bottom, and flat yellow "claws" in the front and back (supposedly to give it a better grip when standing on asteroids). The feet attach to the legs via a REVERSE polycap joint that accepts the ball at the bottom of the metal cores of the legs.

Ahhh, here come the goodies. Sure, the Nu Gundam itself is nice, but who would want one without all the amazing weapons this Gundam had in the movie? You get:

BEAM RIFLE: the Nu Gundam's custom beam rifle (highly detailed, in matching colors!) Includes a mini-grenade launcher above the main nozzle. The handle is a little too short for the Gundam to hold it properly, and the trigger guard seems cumbersome for the huge pointer finger.

NU HYPER BAZOOKA: Similar to the bazooka used by the Mk-II, but considerable larger and heavier. Features an adjustable handle, a sensor, and a "naked" magazine that partially exposes the red shells (they have a bit of detail on them too!). The square rack fixtures around the barrel need to be painted black.

CUSTOM BEAM SABER: The Nu Gundam's signature weapon, specifically made for Amuro's fighting style. Has a long, curved main blade like a Japanese Katana, and there is also a short spike-like beam at the rear end of the handle (useful for jabbing enemies from above without having to flip the saber around - which WAS Amuro's original finishing move with the RX-78-2 Gundam, way back in the One Year War). The saber also has a swiveling hand guard (great idea considering how bad it is to get your hand blown off in space combat). The custom saber's handle stores on a rotating circular rack on the right side of the backpack.

Spare BEAM SABER: this is just a regular beam saber with minimal detail, that is stored in the left arm.

SHIELD: A shield with tons of internal detail that needs no painting. Also has molded tanks and vents, four missiles, and a thin beam cannon in the center (I didn't even know it was a beam cannon until I read up on it! It looked like something for launching the missiles...). The kit includes a nice "unicorn" dry transfer decal for the shield symbol (there's also an "Amuro A" transfer for the shoulder). The shield attaches to the left arm clamp via a ball joint. The clamp covers the spare saber.

FIN FUNNELS: these are perhaps the most interesting weapons on the kit. There are six of them, and they are double jointed in two places. They hook onto each other with tabs that fold out and fit into side slits. The first funnel in the sequence has a hole that plugs onto a gray piece on the Nu Gundam's backpack. Be careful bending the joints - they only get into firing position a certain way. These things are a bit fragile, so it's easy to shock or even break the plastic. The whole setup looks pretty cool, but it is the flimsiest part of the kit. I wish Bandai had engineered the funnels far better than it did. Their detail alone is impressive.

BACKPACK: it has hardpoints for carrying the Fin Funnels and the Bazooka, as well as the rack to store the Custom Beam Saber. The backpack also features removable armor and lots of detail, both inside and out. The four verniers are fully articulated, with some "tubing" detail, and it's relatively easy to paint the insides yellow like in the photos. There is no place to store the beam rifle (BOOOO!!!) but I managed to wedge it in next to the bazooka without too much hassle (see photos for how this looks).

* one last cool bit - Nu Gundam has some of the BEST decals on any Gundam kit, so if you're like me and hate spending extra money on decal sheets, you're in for a real treat.

FINAL VERDICT:

Overall, the MG Nu Gundam is a great improvement over it's 1/100 scale predecessor. In fact, it's strangth and poseability, not to mention the full skeleton and all the other cool features, put it almost on the level of a Perfect Grade kit (at 1/4 the price!!!)

This kit is rock-solid. It will hold a pose indefinitely. The only issues with loose parts are in the shoulder-torso ball joints, and the fin funnels, both of which can be fixed reasonably well if you put your mind to it. The level of surface detail is not too lavish, but that's fine considering that this gundam's construction was rushed, and Amuro wanted to keep the design simple and clean.

The color quality is top notch (except of course for the yellow parts being too orange, but that's the case with nearly all of Bandai's kits.) Painting is minimal on this kit (though the unique surfaces still make it a welcome challenge).

I rate this astounding model a 9. Hands down, it's the best.

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See Also Related Reviews: .|. MG RX-93 v Gundam by RedRacer

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