Kit Review

Straight build + light panel lining + wet decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.
It's an impressively large Core Fighter.

Size comparison with a Gundam Marker.

Held in hand, that's how big it is. Nice and chunky.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Basic diorama display. Technically, the pilots Amuro or Sayla should be standing outside with the coc

Basic diorama display
Technically, the pilots Amuro or Sayla should be standing outside with the cockpit empty...
But the pilot figure sits with his legs spread wide apart, so once you sit him down it's a real pain to get him back out, so I just shot it as-is. -.-

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The Core Fighter, the star of this kit. (1/11)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The Core Fighter, the star of this kit. (2/11)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The Core Fighter, the star of this kit. (3/11)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The Core Fighter, the star of this kit. (4/11)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The Core Fighter, the star of this kit. (5/11)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The Core Fighter, the star of this kit. (6/11)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The Core Fighter, the star of this kit. (7/11)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The Core Fighter, the star of this kit. (8/11)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The Core Fighter, the star of this kit. (9/11)

The Core Fighter, the star of this kit.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Detail shots of each section. It's covered in all kinds of panel lines and rivet marks, just like a s

Detail shots of each section.
It's covered in all kinds of panel lines and rivet marks, just like a scale model.

Underside

Underside detail

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Landing gear detail (1/4)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Landing gear detail (2/4)

Landing gear detail

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The white parts of the canopy are handled with seals, and they look reasonably clean. Of course, mask

The white parts of the canopy are handled with seals,
and they look reasonably clean.
Of course, masking and painting would look even nicer. :-)

The canopy can be opened in two different ways.

The visual targeting device attached to the seat can be swapped out.

Decals on the cockpit.

The ducts are designed to move individually.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The small rudder-like piece under the nose is a separate removable part that can be angled, and when

The small rudder-like piece under the nose is a separate removable part that can be angled,
and when transforming into Core Block mode it needs to be in the folded position.
However, this part is extremely tiny... and I ended up losing one of them. (sob..)

The fuselage missile bay open gimmick is also included.

Front and rear views.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - And one more thing... there's also a tiny navigation light that needs to be plugged into the back of

And one more thing...
There's also a tiny navigation light that needs to be plugged into the back of the vertical tail fin,
but somewhere between panel lining and applying decals it vanished into the void. -.-;
If you're worried about losing it, make sure to glue it down. T_T

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The flaps on the vertical tail fins can move left and right, and can also be spread wide open on both

The flaps on the vertical tail fins can move left and right,
and can also be spread wide open on both sides.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The detail inside the landing gear bays is also pretty impressive. (1/3)

The detail inside the landing gear bays is also pretty impressive.

Underside with the landing gear removed and covers closed.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The front cover can be closed with a hinge, but the two rear ones are removable parts that have to be

The front cover can be closed with a hinge, but the two rear ones are removable parts that have to be taken off and put back on.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The problem is the rear landing gear covers hold on really poorly... they barely stay in place when o

The problem is the rear landing gear covers hold on really poorly...
They barely stay in place when open.
I eventually gave up trying to keep them in position and just glued them all down..;
I have a feeling a lot of people are going to lose their minds over this — if you're planning to display with the landing gear attached, just go ahead and glue all those covers down.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - And here's another head-scratcher. There's a small elongated cover piece that's supposed to sit on to

And here's another head-scratcher.
There's a small elongated cover piece that's supposed to sit on top of the missile bay hinge area...
but it has absolutely no way to stay in place, which is pretty baffling;;
If you glue it down you can't open the missile bay, but if you just leave it loose it has nothing to hold onto
and falls off the moment you touch it. -_-;
What. A. Mess. I honestly have no idea what they were thinking when they designed this.

Remove the front landing gear cover and plug in the stand adapter, and...

you can mount it on an Action Base 2 for 1/144 scale.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Stand shots from various angles. (1/5)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Stand shots from various angles. (2/5)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Stand shots from various angles. (3/5)

Stand shots from various angles.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Transformed into Core Block mode. The transformation process itself is the same as usual, but the nos

Transformed into Core Block mode.
The transformation process itself is the same as usual, but the nose doesn't tuck in far enough so it ends up looking a bit awkward.
Also, the nose and tail section don't move in sync.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The wings don't lock into place with that satisfying snap you get on MG or PG kits. They're basically

The wings don't lock into place with that satisfying snap you get on MG or PG kits.
They're basically just folded loosely, so the wings wobble around every time you move it.
Well, I guess it's a scale model, so maybe that's just how it is.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - It's big, but just like other UCHG kits, there's absolutely no interior detail whatsoever. All the pa

It's big, but just like other UCHG kits, there's absolutely no interior detail whatsoever.
All the panel lines and detail only exist on the parts visible from the outside.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The way the armor goes together is definitely different from regular Gunpla — even just the side armo

The way the armor goes together is definitely different from regular Gunpla...
As you can see, even just the side armor involves carefully fitting together no fewer than 8 separate pieces one by one.
A regular Gunpla kit wouldn't be built that way, but thanks to this approach, there are absolutely zero seam lines to be seen.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Straight build detail of the instrument panel. Maybe it's because of the larger scale, but it's got q

Straight build detail of the instrument panel.
Maybe it's because of the larger scale, but it's got quite a nice sense of depth.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The center instrument panel has clear parts layered on the back, which looks really nice... but it se

The center instrument panel has clear parts layered on the back, which looks really nice...
It seems like it'd only really be worth it if you're painting each individual gauge.
For the rest of us mortals... we'll just have to slap some waterslide decals over it. T_T

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The instrument panel covered with waterslide decals. I applied plenty of Mark Setter and Mark Softer

The instrument panel covered with waterslide decals.
I applied plenty of Mark Setter and Mark Softer trying to get them to follow the contours...
But my skills weren't up to the task and they ended up sticking completely flat. -.-;;

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - You can also apply decals to the instrument panels on both sides, but getting them to conform to the

You can also apply decals to the instrument panels on both sides,
but getting them to conform to the 3D surface is just as tricky... *cough*.

If you look at the cockpit section of the manual, there's a blurb about the seat belt.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - It's telling you to cut out the green-printed section at the top of the very last page of the manual

It's telling you to cut out the green-printed section at the top of the very last page of the manual and use it as the belt.

Like so.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The cockpit is designed to rotate to match both the Core Fighter configuration and the Core Block con

The cockpit is designed to rotate to match both the Core Fighter configuration and the Core Block configuration.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - As shown in the illustration above, pushing in the nose section automatically links to tilt the cockp

As shown in the illustration above, pushing in the nose section automatically links to tilt the cockpit backward.

The canopy mount is flexible, so both the top-opening and rear-sliding actions can be reproduced...

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - The canopy mount gets in the way, making it hard to push the nose section all the way in flush. When

The canopy mount gets in the way, making it hard to push the nose section all the way in flush.
When you actually try to push the nose in, the inner blue ring catches and causes the canopy to lift up.
For a quick fix, you can just shave or cut off that blue pin, so keep that in mind.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Nice touch having the nose machine gun fitted as a separate part from the inside! But then you can ba

Nice touch having the nose machine gun fitted as a separate part from the inside!
But then you can barely see it from the outside... ;;;

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - This kit comes with a total of 4 figures including the pilot. Previous UCHG kits had color separation

This kit comes with a total of 4 figures including the pilot...
Previous UCHG kits had color separation on their figures too, but for some reason the Core Fighter figures
came out molded in a single color like a regular Gunpla... Hmm... I wonder why they did that.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - What's interesting about the Core Fighter figures this time around is that instead of color separatio

What's interesting about the Core Fighter figures this time around is that instead of color separation,
they let you apply tiny little decals for the eyes.
That's honestly a tricky area even for people who paint... seems like a pretty decent solution to me.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - But somehow... now that I've put them on, they look kind of creepy. -.- Maybe because I didn't paint

But somehow... now that I've put them on, they look kind of creepy. -.- Maybe because I didn't paint them...
I was worried since they're so small, but as long as you have Mark Setter and Softer, they're not that hard to apply.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Amuro figure (1/3)

Amuro figure

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Sayla Mass figure (1/3)

Sayla Mass figure

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Deck crew — for some reason they kind of look like riot police holding batons. (1/5)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Deck crew — for some reason they kind of look like riot police holding batons. (2/5)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Deck crew — for some reason they kind of look like riot police holding batons. (3/5)

Deck crew —
for some reason they kind of look like riot police holding batons.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - There are a few accessories left over... and it's a bit baffling that the clear visor parts for the h

There are a few accessories left over...
It's a bit baffling that the clear visor parts for the helmets end up as leftover parts.
That's because the pilot's visor was just done in plain plastic molding,
so if they were going to be leftover anyway, they could've made the pilot's visor clear like the helmet Amuro is holding...
Feels like a bit of a blunder.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Even after applying all the numerous waterslide decals, quite a few will still be left over... these

Even after applying all the numerous waterslide decals, quite a few will still be left over...
These are extras for if you paint it in the Sayla Mass version or G3 version color scheme.

Comparison with PG and MG.

Wow... the sheer size of 1/35 scale really is something.

I always thought the PG Core Fighter was really big...
But next to the 1/35 UCHG, it looks adorable.

Comparison in Core Block form.

The size difference is quite significant, as expected.

The UCHG's Core Fighter nose doesn't go in all the way... so the shape ends up looking a bit awkward.

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter - Together with the UCHG Zaku head and Ground Type arm. Our Core Fighter looks massive no matter what y

Together with the UCHG Zaku head and Ground Type arm.
Our Core Fighter looks massive no matter what you put it next to. -.-

Straight build

A highly anticipated kit that appeared like a comet to revive the UCHG lineup, which had seemed to be discontinued due to poor sales! It's the 1/35 Core Fighter. The fame and charisma of the Core Fighter is truly something else — it became the most hotly anticipated kit of any 1/35 UCHG release.

First and foremost, this is a kit that's sure to stir up old fans with its large, hefty, giant-scale Core Fighter. Being a UCHG kit that aims for a military model feel, the detail is naturally going to be excellent, and you'd expect all kinds of internal gimmicks that are only possible at this big a scale.

After cracking it open and building it, my impression is... pretty much what I expected — it has the character of a military model rather than a Gunpla. It claims to be snap-fit, but in practice it's nearly impossible to assemble some parts without glue, and while the detail is incredibly precise, it's a kit that feels a bit fragile. The Core Block transformation and the various moving missiles, flaps, and ducts do give it a Gunpla-like feel as a poseable model, but the tactile sensation in your hands is definitely closer to a military model.

Simply put, this isn't the kind of Gunpla kit where you enjoy the satisfying snap of assembly — it's a kit where you have to handle the parts carefully so you don't lose any. In my case, I ended up sending the navigation light on the vertical stabilizer and one tiny part from under the nose off to another dimension... T_T They were so small I just couldn't find them. Be careful, everyone, seriously.

Once you finish the UCHG Core Fighter, you'll first be blown away by its size — and then immediately feel uneasy about its durability. ;; With so many moving parts, issues with durability and part fitment will feel even more acute, and you'll inevitably need to compensate for the weak construction by gluing things in various spots. In particular, the duct section that joins the nose and body together doesn't hold well and comes apart easily, and the middle section of the wings will crack easily if you don't glue them. The various components inside the cockpit area especially will practically fall apart from the inside if assembled without glue (-_-), so you'll need to carefully secure them one by one as you work through painting and decal application.

The landing gear covers are also a bit of a problem. The front ones are hinged while the rear ones are removable, so the front landing gear section is manageable enough. The issue is the rear landing gear covers — if you assemble them in the open position, they barely stay in place, and if you don't glue them down you're going to have a really frustrating time. On top of that, there are small cover parts that sit on top of the internal missile hinge on the upper panel — they literally just sit there with no locking mechanism, so the slightest bump and they vanish somewhere. Gluing them down interferes with opening the internal missiles, but leaving them loose means they keep disappearing — they're truly a chicken-rib kind of part. It makes you wonder whether this design was really the only option.

From a gimmick standpoint, the Core Block transformation, internal missile open/close function, vertical stabilizer flap movement, and cockpit rotation linkage are all faithfully reproduced. However, it's hard to feel anything truly special that only this giant scale could offer — most of the features have already been implemented in the PG and even the MG. If anything, the moving gimmicks don't feel as sturdy as Gunpla, and it's a kit you need to handle with care.

In a way, this feels like a kit where trying to balance moving gimmicks with military-style detail led to design missteps popping up here and there. In particular, if you go in with Gunpla-style expectations just thinking "giant-scale Core Fighter," you might end up getting pretty frustrated — so it's probably better for your sanity to approach it as a military model where you carefully piece everything together one bit at a time.

Maybe it's because my expectations were so high, but this kit ends up having quite a few disappointing points too... Things like not including the navigation lights as clear parts, the nose section not stowing away completely due to the canopy gimmick, the landing gear not being made retractable, and giving up on color separation for the figures — all of these stick out to me. And while I wouldn't quite call it a flaw... there are just so many waterslide decals that even if you're only doing panel lining and decals like I did, you're looking at about 12 extra hours of work. When you're painstakingly applying all those water slides one by one, the dry decals on the MG Sinanju — as numerous as they are — start to feel like nothing -.- Thanks to all that, it seems like it took me well over a full week just to build and review this thing.

From a regular plastic model perspective, this is a pretty easy and clean kit to build — but from a Gunpla builder's standpoint, the assembly feel is just kind of... meh, and even after finishing it you're left feeling a bit uneasy about it. The thing is, a good chunk of the people interested in this kit are folks who are used to Gunpla, and I think a lot of them are going to be caught off guard by the more delicate assembly feel and durability — more like a regular plastic model — when building what is essentially the iconic Core Fighter in Gunpla form.

In a word, just taking it at face value — "I want to build a big
Core Fighter" — it's a kit best suited for people who are happy with exactly that, or those who enjoy painting and decaling from the get-go. That said, it's a bit of a bland kit with just a straight build, so even if it's a hassle, I think you'll want to do at least some panel lining or decaling. It's a pain to do, but once you're done, the results are definitely worth it.

One way or another, this is certainly a memorable kit that deserves its own place in Gunpla history — but I'd say it's best not to get your hopes too high. Given the nature of UCHG releases with their limited production runs and rare reprints, if you're interested you should probably just grab one while you can... though personally, even if the detail were a bit simpler, I find myself more drawn to the idea of a Gunpla-style giant Core Fighter that emphasizes easy assembly, precise gimmicks, and an inner frame — which makes me think I've been spoiled by snap-fit Gunpla for too long. :-)

UCHG FF-X7 Core Fighter | 2011.2 | ¥4,900

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.