Kit Review

Straight build
+ stickers

HGUC Neo Zeong - Size comparison with a cigarette pack... or rather, it's more like "Find the cigarettes!" The height goes ov

Size comparison with a cigarette pack... or rather, "Find the cigarettes!" That's about the level we're at.
The height is 80cm over that, so shooting in my mini studio was just impossible,
and I ended up hanging a blanket on the wall and shooting in front of that.. ^^;;;

HGUC Neo Zeong - Since size is really the whole point of this kit, let's start with some size comparisons. Comparison shots w

Since size is really the whole point of this kit, let's start with some size comparisons.
Comparison shots with MG and PG.

Together with the 1/48 Mega Size Gunpla, which are already pretty big in their own right.

HGUC Neo Zeong - Together with the extra-large 1/24 HY2M First Gundam. The First is bulkier overall, but Neo Zeong is actuall

Together with the extra-large 1/24 HY2M First Gundam.
The First is bulkier overall, but Neo Zeong is actually taller thanks to those massive shoulder binders..

Together with the BB Senshi Neo Zeong.

HGUC Neo Zeong - Together with the Dendrobium, which used to be the biggest kit in the HGUC lineup. Hard to say about length,

Together with the Dendrobium, which used to be the biggest kit in the HGUC lineup.
Hard to say about length, but in terms of sheer volume, it's no contest.

Various angles

HGUC Neo Zeong - Close-up detail shots. Big as it is, the detail is actually pretty simple. (1/6)

HGUC Neo Zeong - Close-up detail shots. Big as it is, the detail is actually pretty simple. (2/6)

HGUC Neo Zeong - Close-up detail shots. Big as it is, the detail is actually pretty simple. (3/6)

HGUC Neo Zeong - Close-up detail shots. Big as it is, the detail is actually pretty simple. (4/6)

Detail shots.
Big as it is, the detail is actually pretty simple.

Bottom detail.
Even with the large Schutzrum Booster removed, there are still boosters underneath.

It's not a thermos.. ^^;

An inner frame has been added inside the skeleton for extra durability.

HGUC Neo Zeong - You build it by attaching the armor onto this basic body frame — and since the part count is low, assembly g

You build it by attaching the armor onto this basic body frame,
and since the part count is low, assembly goes pretty quickly.

HGUC Neo Zeong - A large, sturdy-looking dedicated stand. Because it's secured with a clear rod, it gives off a nice floating

A large, sturdy-looking dedicated stand.
Because it's secured with a clear rod, it gives off a nice floating-in-mid-air vibe.

The front and back of the stand have storage space for the chest cover open parts and hand parts.

Neo Zeong body on its own

The Sinanju inner unit.
I skipped panel lining on this kit given the sheer volume of it.. (ahem)

HGUC Neo Zeong - Together with the original HGUC Sinanju (left). The build is the same, but if you look clo~sely, the molded

Together with the original HGUC Sinanju (left).
The build is the same, but if you look clo~sely, the molded color on the Neo Zeong version of Sinanju is a bit brighter.
Probably to create color contrast against the purple Neo Zeong..

Two Sinanju bazookas have been added that weren't included with the original HGUC Sinanju.

A long barrel and a short barrel are included..

and they can be assembled into a compact, shortened bazooka form like this.

There's also a feature that lets you combine them with the existing beam rifle.

HGUC Neo Zeong - Rifle + bazooka armed action pose (1/3)

Rifle + bazooka armed action pose

HGUC Neo Zeong - Double bazooka action pose (1/3)

Double bazooka action pose

To seat Sinanju inside, you need to lower the chest cover,
and temporarily remove 6 body armor pieces.

You need to clear away all those obstructions like that before you can comfortably seat it inside.

There's a pin that locks into Sinanju's stand attachment port on the backside.

To seat Sinanju inside, you need to remove the propellant tanks,
and pose it with the knees bent like this.

HGUC Neo Zeong - Sinanju seated inside. There's so much stuff in the way that you can't just shove it in all at once — you ha

Sinanju seated inside.
There's so much stuff in the way that you can't just shove it in all at once — you have to carefully wiggle it in bit by bit.

The amount of leftover parts is on the small side.

The covers on the shoulder binders can be opened.

HGUC Neo Zeong - There's almost no articulation to speak of — the waist rotates just a tiny bit, and the forearms can bend ab

There's almost no articulation to speak of — the waist rotates just a tiny bit, and the forearms can bend about 90 degrees.

The arms on the back need to be extended outward before they can be posed.

HGUC Neo Zeong - The shoulder covers aren't on a moving hinge — you have to attach a fixed hinge piece to the top of the armo

The shoulder covers aren't on a moving hinge — you have to attach a fixed hinge piece to the top of the armor and then reattach it.
It's not as cool-looking as a moving hinge, but it holds nice and firm.

The front section of the Sinanju bazooka can be detached and mounted inside the shoulder.

Shoulder cover open action

HGUC Neo Zeong - The chest cover has two attachment holes — you can remove it from the chest and plug it into the shoulder as

The chest cover has two attachment holes — you can remove it from the chest and plug it into the shoulder as shown,
which lets you extend Sinanju's arms out to the sides.

You can also have it grip the Sinanju bazooka like this.

Sinanju bazooka action

Neo Zeong with its many arms, like the god Shiva.

Pose with all 4 back arms deployed

Back arms(?) deploy~

HGUC Neo Zeong - But when you actually try to swing the arms forward into an attack pose, they don't have the range to go dow

But when you actually try to swing the arms forward into an attack pose,
they don't have the range to go downward, so it's hard to position them.

In the end, the easiest thing is just to have them all pointing upward like this.

HGUC Neo Zeong - Six-arm(?) attack (1/3)

Six-arm(?) attack

The clear pillar on the stand can be swapped out for a shorter one..

which lets you display it in the form with the Schutzrum Booster removed, like this.

The main body can be disassembled pretty easily as shown.

HGUC Neo Zeong - According to the manual, after disassembly it can be stored neatly in the small inner box inside the Neo Zeo

According to the manual, after disassembly it can be stored neatly in the small inner box inside the Neo Zeong box..
it can be stored neatly after disassembly..
but I tossed mine the moment I finished building it, so I can't show you that T_T

HGUC Neo Zeong - As a bonus, for those wondering whether you can seat other HGUC kits inside — structurally, most HGUC kits s

As a bonus, for those wondering whether you can seat other HGUC kits inside —
structurally, most HGUC kits smaller than Sinanju will fit.
But as you can see, anything that isn't Sinanju-sized just looks too empty and doesn't really work ^^;

Bandai has been making some pretty wild moves lately, releasing all kinds of unexpected oddball(?) kits that have been turning heads — and right at the center of all that is this HGUC Neo Zeong. Nobody could have predicted that a massive mobile armor like this would ever get the HGUC treatment. Seriously intimidating stuff.

Its in-universe height is 116 meters, which means the kit itself stands over 80cm tall — a super-super-super-super oversized kit. It's kind of absurd to release a mobile armor this enormous in 1/144 scale to begin with, and the only remotely comparable kit that's come out before is the Dendrobium. But the Dendrobium had massive presence in the show and was a Gundam's own mobile armor, so that choice made sense in its own way — Neo Zeong, though... I mean, it's interesting, but it definitely wasn't the kind of lineup addition anyone would have easily predicted.

Anyway, as expected, the sheer size of the box alone is jaw-dropping (no matter how you think about it, it's genuinely huge -_-), and then the incredible volume of parts inside surprises you all over again — and on top of that, the box is actually heavier than the 1/24 HY2M First Gundam, which really caught me off guard. That said, the part count is surprisingly low for the volume — excluding Sinanju, Neo Zeong alone comes to roughly 356 parts. That's about on par with a typical MG, and the part structure is simple enough that assembly goes faster than you'd expect. The bigger issues are finding space to lay out all the runners and tracking down the right parts — but either way, a single weekend day is more than enough to get it built.

The assembly itself moves along in big, sweeping steps, but since many of the parts are large and heavy, you do need a bit of muscle to put it together. There are plenty of spots where things are held or articulated by plastic friction alone rather than polycaps, so you'll often need to push hard to get parts to seat properly — and holding up the heavy body with one hand while fitting another part with the other gets tiring on the arms pretty quickly. That said, for such a massive kit, the durability engineering is actually really well done. The double-frame skeleton structure, the way parts connect to each other — a lot of thought clearly went into making it hold together, which is why that big heavy thing manages to keep its shape so well. (Though honestly, it probably helps that there's almost no articulation to worry about..)

Once you finish putting it together in a casual, no-fuss way, the satisfaction and sense of achievement from this massive beast — unlike anything you've ever seen before — is pretty substantial. Thanks to its sheer size, the color separation is well done, and the purple molded color in particular comes out with a nice matte, premium feel, so much so that even a straight build alone gives you the illusion that you've already sprayed a topcoat. The real charm of this kit ultimately comes down to its "size," and on that front it definitely lives up to expectations. That said, looking at just the body on its own, it does feel a bit smaller than you'd expect — but in the end, the massive Schuzrum Booster and those beefy shoulder pads give the overall silhouette a presence that's on a whole other level.

Since this is a mobile armor with very limited articulation by design, there's really not much to pose with aside from a slight waist rotation and the forearms bending about 90 degrees. The shoulders are fixed too, so arm movement is pretty restricted. The four extra arms on the back look like they'd pull off some seriously charismatic Shiva-god poses, but there's so much getting in the way that you can't quite get as dramatic a look as you'd hope. If you had to pick the best option, having all four arms swept up over the back and reaching forward is probably the most convincing pose you can pull off.

The included Sinanju is the same as the existing HGUC version, though the molded color has been changed to be slightly brighter. Two Sinanju bazookas have also been added, which weren't included with the original HGUC. And while pretty much any HGUC-class kit can be seated inside the Neo Zeong, it doesn't really feel like a natural fit ^^

Anyway, this is a kit that generated a lot of buzz thanks to its incredible volume, its price tag, and its bold, out-of-nowhere product concept that felt like a punch to the back of the head. Whatever way you look at it, it's clearly a landmark kit. The build process takes some effort, but the assembly itself is straightforward, the straight build quality is high, and while the articulation isn't great, the sheer bulk seems to say it all... If you're looking to build something truly different in the Gunpla world, it's hard to imagine finding another kit that delivers this kind of culture shock anytime soon :-)

HGUC Neo Zeong | 2014.6 | ¥25,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.