Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - The Moonlight Butterfly and an action base are i

The Moonlight Butterfly and an action base are included.

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - The center of the Moonlight Butterfly has a hing

The center of the Moonlight Butterfly has a hinge gimmick made of clear parts.

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - Only the front side has the holographic coating,

Only the front side has the holographic coating, but under bright lighting it's hard to tell the front from the back.

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - Darken the background and change the lighting an

Darken the background and change the lighting angle, and you can see all kinds of rainbow-colored reflections.

The included action base

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - The clear material mixed with pearl gives it a s

The clear material mixed with pearl gives it a slightly premium feel.

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - Insert the H3 parts included with the MG Turn A

Insert the H3 parts included with the MG Turn A Gundam into the back, then plug the Moonlight Butterfly into that spot.

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - MG Turn A Gundam with the Moonlight Butterfly at

MG Turn A Gundam with the Moonlight Butterfly attached

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - To mount it on the action base with the Moonligh

To mount it on the action base with the Moonlight Butterfly attached, you need to remove the center cover first and then plug it in.

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - The Moonlight Butterfly has quite a wide range o

The Moonlight Butterfly has quite a wide range of motion in all directions — up, down, left, and right.

Leftover parts

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - Various poses (1/9)

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - Various poses (2/9)

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - Various poses (3/9)

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - Various poses (4/9)

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - Various poses (5/9)

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - Various poses (6/9)

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - Various poses (7/9)

Various poses

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - Dim the lighting and the holographic coating eff

Dim the lighting and the holographic coating effect becomes much more vivid.

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" - Comparison with the HGUC Moonlight Butterfly rel

Comparison with the HGUC Moonlight Butterfly released through Club G.
The MG is definitely much more colorful and flashy.

This kit is the MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly", released as a Club G (Premium Bandai) online exclusive. Back in 2014, Club G released the HGUC Moonlight Butterfly,and then the MG version followed the next year in 2015. True to MG standards, it's bigger and more impressive than the HGUC version.

The basic package includes the Moonlight Butterfly and an action base. The action base is made of clear material mixed with pearl, giving it a premium feel. The Moonlight Butterfly, just like the HGUC version, has holographic coating applied to the front, so depending on the lighting angle you can see dazzling rainbow-colored reflections. That said, the holographic effect still shows up more clearly under slightly dimmer lighting or against a dark background rather than in bright light.

Compared to the HGUC, the MG Moonlight Butterfly features much more intricate patterning, and thanks to the center articulation gimmick it moves widely in all directions — up, down, left, and right. The hold is solid relative to its size, so attaching and posing it is no hassle at all. When mounting it on the MG Turn A Gundam, you need to first plug the H3 parts that came with that kit into the back, then attach the Moonlight Butterfly there. If you built your MG Turn A Gundam a long time ago, those parts might be hard to track down, so it's always a good idea to keep your accessory parts well organized and stored away.

All in all, this is a really useful item if you own the MG Turn A Gundam. The quality and volume are noticeably better than the HGUC Moonlight Butterfly which was ¥1600, yet it only costs ¥1800 — just ¥200 more — which is a great price. In terms of both quality and value for money, this is easily one of the more highly recommended kits among MG accessory sets. :-)

MG Turn A Gundam Expansion Effect Unit "Moonlight Butterfly" | 2015.7 | ¥1,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.