Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers + Panel lining

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

HGCE Destiny Gundam - Detail shots (1/4)

HGCE Destiny Gundam - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

HGCE Destiny Gundam - The various articulated weapon mounts unique to the Destiny Gundam are well reproduced with moving part

The various articulated weapon mounts unique to the Destiny Gundam are well reproduced with moving parts.

A nice variety of beam effect parts are included.

HGCE Destiny Gundam - Two types of hands are included, but annoyingly there's only one yellow cover, so you have to swap it b

Two types of hands are included, but annoyingly there's only one yellow cover, so you have to swap it back and forth between them.

Top-class limb articulation

The waist can also bend forward quite a bit.

HGCE Destiny Gundam - There's a gimmick where the side skirts swing backward so they don't get in the way of the hip joint ar

There's a gimmick where the side skirts swing backward so they don't get in the way of the hip joint articulation.

There's also a gimmick that lets you drop the hip joints down slightly.

The mid-forearm section also rotates, which really helps with posing.

Wing articulation

HGCE Destiny Gundam - Action poses (1/10)

HGCE Destiny Gundam - Action poses (2/10)

HGCE Destiny Gundam - Action poses (3/10)

HGCE Destiny Gundam - Action poses (4/10)

HGCE Destiny Gundam - Action poses (5/10)

HGCE Destiny Gundam - Action poses (6/10)

HGCE Destiny Gundam - Action poses (7/10)

HGCE Destiny Gundam - Action poses (8/10)

Action poses

Alongside the HG Destiny Gundam.
It's noticeably bigger and the proportions are much more slender.

Alongside the RG Destiny Gundam. The HGCE's wings are bigger.

Alongside the HGCE Strike Freedom Gundam.

Straight build

The Destiny Gundam has been released in the HGCE line, which is the non-Universal Century equivalent of HGUC. The overall feel is similar to the other HGCE kits like the Force Impulse Gundam and Strike Freedom Gundam, but this one feels subtly more polished overall.

First off, as you'd expect from the latest release, the large wings and slender proportions really stand out — and the wings are even bigger than not just the old HG but the RG as well. The 2005 HG Destiny Gundam was a pretty solid kit for its time, but with the HGCE upgrade it's come out as an even more flawless kit.

The color separation is handled quite cleanly aside from a few minor spots, and the top-tier articulation combined with various movement gimmicks makes for some really dynamic posing. The joint strength is on the stiff side — in a good way — so whatever pose you put it in, it holds rock solid. In particular, there have been cases with other grades where the weapons mounted on the backpack don't stay put, but on the HGCE they lock in nice and tight.

Effect parts are generously included as well — you get the Wings of Light that were even missing from the RG, plus the signature "Hadouken" effect part (official name: MMI-X340 Palma Fiocina beam cannon), making the package feel like it's practically a full-option set. One minor gripe if I had to pick one: there's only a single yellow hand cover piece, so you have to keep swapping it between the effect hand and the regular hand, which gets a bit tedious. Would've been nice if they'd just thrown in two as a little bonus.

The 2013 RG Destiny was excellent too, but it had a lot of over-detailing that divided opinions and quite a few parts that didn't hold their position well. By comparison, the HGCE Destiny is a kit that delivers near-perfect quality across the board — it's a fantastic kit that deserves a full 100 out of 100. It really feels like it's saying, "This is what the best quality possible in the HG grade category looks like!" :-)

HGCE Destiny Gundam | 2019.5 | ¥2,400

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.