Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body close-up. The color separation is worlds apart from the FG, as you'd expect..

HG Gundam Dynames - That said, a good chunk of the body is patched up with seals like you see here. Thankfully the seals do f

That said, a good chunk of the body is patched up with seals like you see here.
Thankfully the seals do fit on pretty cleanly without gaps, but I guess they're saving something for the 1/100, right? ^^;

The face..

The rear of the body. They put in some effort, but the color separation is still a bit lacking.

The front skirt is designed so the builder can split it however they like.

The legs.

HG Gundam Dynames - The highlight of the HG Dynames is none other than the GN Full Shield. True to its name, it covers the en

The highlight of the HG Dynames is none other than the GN Full Shield. True to its name, it covers the entire body.

The Full Shield folds and unfolds in three sections.

With the shield and weapons set aside.

Gundam Dynames in normal mode.

The rotating shoulder joint clicks into place when you push it in, so it doesn't feel loose at all.

With the rifle mounted on the shoulder.

HG Gundam Dynames - The arms bend a bit past 90 degrees, but the knees have double joints just like the Exia, so they can ben

The arms bend a bit past 90 degrees, but the knees have double joints just like the Exia,
so they can bend all the way. Seems like that's just the standard for HG kits now..

The shoulders swing forward quite a bit.

The verniers on the rear end are on ball joints too, so they've got a pretty good range of motion.

The Full Shield can rotate freely through a 180-degree range.

HG Gundam Dynames - Ta-da.. full cover mode.. To block the whole body with that Full Shield, it'd have to stand there with it

Ta-da.. full cover mode..
To block the whole body with that Full Shield, it'd have to stand there with its legs spread wide in that classic Katoki stance. ;;;

HG Gundam Dynames - A sneaky action pose using the Full Shield... blocking what needs to be blocked and attacking at the same

A sneaky action pose using the Full Shield...
Blocking what needs to be blocked and attacking at the same time.

A pretty cool kneeling sniper pose.

Standing action pose

Action pose in normal mode

The draw pose is pretty unique. Since the beam saber is attached right next to the rear verniers..

HG Gundam Dynames - But wait..?? There's only a beam saber handle — the beam effect part is not included in this kit. -_-;;;

But wait..??
There's only a beam saber handle — the beam effect part is not included in this kit. -_-;;;
Even if not a soft vinyl beam part, they should've at least included a plastic beam saber part like the HG Exia..

HG Gundam Dynames - The GN Sniper Rifle comes with a separate bipod. Thanks to some unnecessary color separation, the extende

The GN Sniper Rifle comes with a separate bipod.
Thanks to some unnecessary color separation, the extended bipod ends up being white. Ugh;;

Prone sniping pose using the bipod

HG Gundam Dynames - Oh but.. since the neck joint doesn't tilt up very much, the head just stays drooped down the whole time.

Oh but.. since the neck joint doesn't tilt up very much, the head just stays drooped down the whole time.
This is basically full slacker soldier mode..

Mounted on the separately sold Action Base 2 for 1/144 scale

HG Gundam Dynames - Stand action~ Maybe it's because the sniper image is basically one of crawling around on the ground, but

Stand action~
Maybe it's because the sniper image is basically one of crawling around on the ground,
but stand poses don't really seem to suit it that well...

HG Gundam Dynames - Together with the FG Dynames. The HG has the Full Shield, so it almost looks like a completely different

Together with the FG Dynames. The HG has the Full Shield, so it almost looks like a completely different kit;

HG Gundam Dynames - A fair comparison with the FG in normal mode. The FG's detail is decent too, but the difference in color

HG Gundam Dynames - A fair comparison with the FG in normal mode. The FG has decent detail too, but the difference in color s

A fair comparison with the FG in normal mode.
The FG has decent detail too, but the difference in color separation is pretty significant.

The HG is molded in noticeably deeper, richer colors.

Comparing the rifles, you can see that the FG's detail is barely any different from the HG's.

The Bandai HG trio. The high-quality streak just keeps on going.

When HG Exia came out with surprisingly outstanding quality out of nowhere,
the second Bandai HG — the Union Flag — felt just a little less exciting by comparison. Like, yeah it's good quality... but that's about it. So going into HG Dynames, which has more of a supporting-character vibe, I honestly wasn't expecting all that much...

Even better than HG Exia — satisfaction beyond expectations! :-)

For starters, the color scheme and role gave off a Buster Gundam from SEED kind of feel, so I went in with the assumption that they'd put a little less effort into it compared to the lead-role Exia. But this kit blows that preconception right out of the water. Just looking at the appearance, the color separation is even more precise as you'd expect from an HG, the detail is a notch better too... and as a bonus, the GN Full Shield that appears in the anime is included — that alone feels like a nice little extra.

But the real value of this HG Dynames is something you have to feel with your hands — it's definitely a different experience from just looking at it. For one thing, the GN Full Shield, which I'd written off as just an extra option, is way cooler than I expected. The three-stage folding mechanism is nicely done, and while it could've easily ended up loose and looking silly, it's stiff enough to hold its shape just fine. Once you start playing around with the Full Shield in all its different configurations, it feels like way more than just a bonus accessory. It really elevates the overall value of HG Dynames by a lot.

The Dynames body itself, much like HG Exia, shows off what a high-quality HG is all about — with legs that fold up completely and a surprisingly complex color separation. On top of that, the sniper rifle bipod option adds even more coolness, and the joints hold firm in any action pose you throw at it, which is really satisfying.

In a word, this kit is worth far more than just "oh, they made an HG of a supporting-role unit." Once you actually build it and start posing it, you'll be genuinely impressed — in that sense, it's somehow even more satisfying than HG Exia. It really hits home again just how fundamentally different these Bandai HGs are from the SEED HGs of the past.

In the end, this is a great kit that exceeded my expectations and left me genuinely impressed all over again by the overall quality upgrade of the Bandai lineup. ^^

HG Gundam Dynames | 2007. 11 | ¥1,400

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.