Kit Review

Straight build

EX Model Musai - Size comparison with a cigarette pack. For a warship kit, once you finish building it, you'll probably cry o

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.
For a warship kit, once you finish building it, you'll probably cry out "Why is it so small!?!"
It's a cute little thing that fits right in the palm of your hand;;

Front detail shots. True to the Igloo version, the panel lines are incredibly elaborate.

The side line molding is just as wild~

The bridge section. This is the mass-production type.

Center body section

Engine section

Nozzles

Rear center section

EX Model Musai - Engine section underside detail. The three ball-shaped drop tanks hanging under the center section are struc

Engine section underside detail
The three ball-shaped drop tanks hanging under the center section are structures specific to the Igloo version.

Front underside detail.

The Komusai is of course reproduced as a detachable piece.

Even the empty slot left after removing the Komusai is packed with molding.

Even the underside of that tiny little Komusai has landing gear represented. Swappable parts, of course :-)

Komusai detail

The MS hangar hatch at the rear does open, but the interior is blocked off so you can't see inside.

EX Model Musai - The bridge can be assembled with either the Char-use version on the left or the mass-production type on the

The bridge can be assembled with either the Char-use version on the left or the mass-production type on the right — your choice.

Starting from this mass-production type bridge...

Swapped out to the Char-use bridge

The Char-use Musai... though the color scheme is a bit different, of course.

EX Model Musai - The side body ducts can be swapped in as optional parts. The left one is the original, and the right one is

The side body ducts can be swapped in as optional parts.
The left one is the original, and the right one is the Igloo version duct.

EX Model Musai - Looking down from above, the difference between the left original and right Igloo version ducts is really st

Looking down from above, the difference between the left original and right Igloo version ducts is really striking.

The MS hangar at the front of the bridge is reproduced with swappable parts.

Likewise, the rear MS hangar is also reproduced with swappable parts...

EX Model Musai - It's really appreciated that they managed to reproduce two openable MS hangar hatches even at this tiny scal

It's really appreciated that they managed to reproduce two openable MS hangar hatches even at this tiny scale.. ^^

The three cannons only rotate a tiny bit to either side;

EX Model Musai - One of the highlights of this kit — the etched parts. They're the small wing pieces and the radar antenna pa

One of the highlights of this kit — the etched parts.
They're the small wing pieces and the radar antenna parts for the bridge.

EX Model Musai - The bridge-side radar swapped out with etched parts. The top and bottom are supposed to sit a bit closer tog

The bridge-side radar swapped out with etched parts.
The top and bottom are supposed to sit a bit closer together, but I assembled it a little sloppily;

The wing section swapped out with etched parts.

The Musai with etched parts installed.

EX Model Musai - The stand at the bottom has something like a nameplate on it... but there are no decals or seals included to

The stand at the bottom has something like a nameplate on it... but there are no decals or seals included to put on it;
You're on your own to make something and stick it on...

EX Model Musai - This kit includes a total of 3 Zakus. Two are mass-production types and one is the Char-use version — if you

This kit includes a total of 3 Zakus.
Two are mass-production types and one is the Char-use version — if you look closely at the head on the far right, you can see a small antenna on it.
Unfortunately I stored it carelessly and the antenna got a little bent.. ^^;

The detail on the 1/1700 Zakus is decent enough..

EX Model Musai - However, the scale between the MS and the Musai is way off. The Zaku should be able to lie down inside that

However, the scale between the MS and the Musai is way off.
The Zaku should be able to lie down inside that MS hangar, but it can barely stand upright in there..
The Musai seems to have come out a bit too small..
In my opinion, the original Musai design itself probably never really accounted for the storage space properly.

Alongside the 1/400 Gun-Kull Musai. The size difference is massive;;

EX Model Musai - Bonus — comparison with the old-kit Musai from over 20 years ago. That old kit is 1/1200 scale, so it's a li

Bonus — comparison with the old-kit Musai from over 20 years ago.
That old kit is 1/1200 scale, so it's a little bigger than the EX.

The difference in panel lines is huge.
The old kit has almost no molding at all — a super clean design.. ^^;

The difference in the engine verniers. The old kit doesn't have verniers at all. OTL

Comparison with the old-kit Komusai (left). Again, the panel line difference is clear.

EX Model Musai - Comparison with the previous EX releases, the Archangel and the Argama. You'll definitely get that "wow, the

Comparison with the previous EX releases, the Archangel and the Argama.
You'll definitely get that "wow, the Musai really is small~" feeling.

A Zeon warship has finally joined the EX warship lineup, which has been all Federation ships up until now. When you think Zeon, the first warship that comes to mind is definitely the Musai.

First impressions of this kit — at ¥2800, you'll be a little surprised by the super simple contents that look like barely a single runner, and then once you build it you'll be surprised again by just how small it is, and finally you'll be amazed by the incredible panel lines packed into that tiny scale.

The Musai itself is a small warship by design specs, so at 1/1700 scale it's a really adorable little thing that fits neatly in the palm of your hand. Anyone is bound to think "This tiny thing costs ¥2800!??"

But packed into that small size is an incredibly intricate and complex web of panel lines and detail. That's because it's based on the Musai as it appeared in MS IGLOO, loaded with panel lines. This kit can be built in three main configurations: 1. Mass-production original, 2. Char-use original, and 3. Igloo version — and it includes the corresponding Char-use bridge, Igloo-exclusive side ducts, and three drop tanks.

As additional options, the MS hangar covers on the top and rear aren't quite full open/close (it's too small for that!) but are reproduced with swappable parts. The real highlight among the options is definitely the etched parts. You can attach etched parts for structures like the small wings and the bridge radar antenna. The etched parts really do give it a noticeably higher level of detail and presence.

And just like the other EX warship series kits, it comes with 3 MS figures at 1/1700 scale — but they're all Zaku IIs. Sure, one of them has the antenna on its head making it that certain someone's personal unit, but either way you're getting three of essentially the same thing.

Setting all that aside, the detail alone is truly eye-popping. I did feel like the panel lines were a little rougher compared to MG or HGUC kits, but compared to the old 1/1200 Musai which is practically a bare mountain, this is a massive leap forward!

There's not much to say in defense of the size-to-price ratio, but when you consider the intricate molding and panel lines that rival even the massive 1/400 Gun-Kull, it's not really that overpriced a kit. More than anything, the fact that the Musai — a ship so familiar to all of us — has been reborn as such a finely detailed kit is something to be genuinely happy about :-) And on top of that, thanks to the molded colors, you can capture about 90% of the look with just a straight build~~

EX Model Musai | 2004.12 | ¥2,800 | 1/1700

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.