Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining

HGUC Psycho Gundam - The universal size reference — a comparison with a cigarette pack. This is the largest HGUC mobile suit,

The universal yardstick — size comparison with a cigarette pack.
The largest HGUC mobile suit, standing a proud 28cm tall. Almost PG-level..

HGUC Psycho Gundam - Upper body close-up. The yellow parts on the torso are handled with seals, but they look relatively natu

Upper body close-up. The yellow parts on the torso are handled with seals, but they look relatively natural.

The mouth mask opens up.

HGUC Psycho Gundam - The fingers have double joints.. While not every knuckle moves individually, the structure still lets yo

The fingers have double joints.. While not every knuckle moves individually, the structure still lets you pull off most poses.
Think of it as the same approach used on the MG Dom/Sazabi/Rick-Dias, etc.

HGUC Psycho Gundam - The articulation is.. probably limited to an honest 90 degrees because it's a transforming kit ^^; Not e

The articulation is.. probably limited to an honest 90 degrees because it's a transforming kit ^^;
Not exactly great articulation.

The arms and legs can spread out at least this far.

Banzai action pose

A kneeling pose can just barely be pulled off.

The shield split in two and mounted on both sides.

HGUC Psycho Gundam - Transformed into Mobile Armor mode. Pretty big, right? (For the detailed transformation process, check o

Transformed into Mobile Armor mode. Pretty big, right?
(For the detailed transformation process, check out theTransformation Review below)

HGUC Psycho Gundam - The Psycho Gundam's distinctive Mobile Armor form, which at first glance almost looks like it's just cro

The Psycho Gundam's distinctive Mobile Armor form, which at first glance almost looks like it's just crouching and slumped over(?).

HGUC Psycho Gundam - The body panels line up pretty well. (1/3)

The body panels line up pretty well.

Size comparison with the HGUC Mk-II.

Compared to a standard MS, it's absolutely massive.

Swiping the Mega Bazooka Launcher from the Hyaku-Shiki.

"Heh.. size-wise, this is clearly MY weapon..!"

HGUC Psycho Gundam - Since there's no dedicated grip part.. it's a bit hard to get a proper hold on it. The finger grip isn't

Since there's no dedicated grip part.. it's a bit hard to get a proper hold on it.
The finger grip isn't all that strong either, so it's more like just resting it on top of the hand...

Together with the previously released HGUC Zeta series.

HGUC Psycho Gundam - Alongside the RX-78 MG and PG, which you could call the standard size references. Smaller than a typical

Alongside the RX-78 MG and PG, which you could call the standard size references.
Smaller than a typical PG, but way bigger than an MG...

HGUC Psycho Gundam - But next to the MG Perfect Zeong — the undisputed king of height at 36cm, even a PG can't match — it sta

But next to the MG Perfect Zeong — the undisputed king of height at 36cm, even a PG can't match — it starts to look a little small. ^^;

HGUC Psycho Gundam - A gathering of the tall ones. The 1/60 PG Zeta, Mk-II, RX-78, and Zaku II, along with the HY2M 1/60 Rick

A gathering of the tall ones.
The 1/60 PG Zeta, Mk-II, RX-78, and Zaku II, along with the HY2M 1/60 Rick Dom and Gouf, and the MG 1/100 Perfect Zeong..
The HGUC Psycho Gundam is only 1/144 scale, but since it's so massive in the lore, it fits right in with the big guys.

Straight-built state

Transformation
Review

Psycho Gundam → Mobile Armour

1. First, remove the shield and split it into two halves.

2. The shield halves have interlocking tabs that fit together in an offset pattern, so they lock together very securely.

3. Fold the wings on the inside of the shield outward.

4. Bend the wings 270 degrees and lock them in place.

5. Connect each of the two shield mounting brackets together.

6. Fold down the head antennae.

7. Gently tuck the head downward. (It only goes in a little bit ^^;)

8. Separate the front and back halves of the torso.

9. Raise the shoulder armor upward.

10. Push the raised shoulder armor about halfway into the torso.

HGUC Psycho Gundam - 11. Rotate the head guard on the back 180 degrees and raise it upward. The head compartment can be lifte

11. Rotate the head guard on the back 180 degrees and raise it upward.
The head compartment can be lifted up slightly to make it easier to slot the head in.

12. Fully cover and lock the top of the head.
This look is honestly giving me... Black Tri-Stars vibes??
(^^;)

13. Extend the double-jointed cover on the upper front of the torso and lift it upward.

14. Lift and tilt the lower front section of the separated torso.
You can see something that looks a bit like a creepy spine(?).

HGUC Psycho Gundam - 15. Raise the spine section 90 degrees and plug it into the polycap socket on the front torso section to

15. Raise the spine section 90 degrees and plug it into the polycap socket on the front torso section to lock it in place.

16. Fully close the face cover.
(You actually need to tilt the torso all the way and lock it in place for it to close properly)

HGUC Psycho Gundam - 17. Transforming the legs. I'll explain the process with the legs detached for a clearer look. The leg t

17. Transforming the legs. I'll explain the process with the legs detached for a clearer look.
The leg transformation is quite intricate and complex. @.@
First, pull out and extend the ankle and knee sections. These use a sliding mechanism, but
they click firmly into place at both ends so there's no looseness.

18. Slide the leg armor downward, then bend the entire knee joint 90 degrees backward.

19. Open the cover on the front of the thigh and rotate the thigh joint 90 degrees forward.

20. Bend the front section of the two-part ankle joint 90 degrees forward.

21. Bend only the thigh section 90 degrees backward.

22. Push the thigh armor downward.

That's how the legs transform through this intricate process.

The completed look with the leg transformation done. The middle section is nice and wide.

23. Pull out the wrist in two stages.

24. Bend the red section 90 degrees and push it inward, then fold the wrist as far inward as it'll go.

25. Open the armor on the upper forearm and front of the shoulder forward.

26. Pull out the bicep section using a double-slide mechanism.

HGUC Psycho Gundam - 27. Click the shoulder and forearm armor together to connect them, and the arm transformation is complet

27. Click the shoulder and forearm armor together to connect them, and the arm transformation is complete.

28. Remove the polycap fixing cover on the side of the thigh.

HGUC Psycho Gundam - 29. Plug a shield into each thigh mounting point, then fit the shield's bracket into the slot on the und

29. Plug a shield into each thigh mounting point, then fit the shield's bracket into the slot on the underside of the forearm to lock everything in securely.

30. After all that complex transformation, the Psycho Gundam's Mobile Armor form is complete!

After the Den-O, the Psycho Gundam has arrived as what could be called the greatest triumph of the HGUC series — a big-size kit that really delivers.
There were rumors for a while that it was in production, and it kept getting dragged out, but it finally got released alongside the Zeta theatrical films.

In the lore it stands a whopping 40 meters tall, giving it plenty of screen presence and charisma in the anime as an oversized MS (or more accurately, something closer to an MA), and it was a kit that drew a lot of attention thanks to its transformation feature.

When only the first photos were revealed, the proportions looked a bit off and I wasn't totally sold on it — but once I actually built it and saw it in person, the proportions are pretty solid. There are moments where the body looks a bit bulky, but since the original design is like that to begin with, you could say it's a faithful representation. Opinions on proportions like this really come down to personal taste.. And especially with big guys like this, the "feel" in person (probably because of the sheer sense of mass?) is often very different from photos — the Psycho Gundam seems to be one of those kits in particular.

The molded colors are generally excellent overall, and a lot of thought went into the parts separation too.. but the yellow sections on the torso and legs are inevitably handled with seals, as you'd expect from an HGUC. Fortunately, as you can see in the photos, the seals look decent enough that they don't stand out too much, which is a relief. Beyond that, the red sections on the legs and a few other areas aren't color-separated, which is a bit of a shame — but unless you know the design well, it's not something that'll catch your eye anyway, so let's move on.. ^^;

The transformation feature — arguably the Psycho Gundam's biggest selling point — has been implemented with an almost perfect transformation structure that stays faithful to the source material. It does transform into an MA that looks a bit odd, like one giant house(?) or something, but either way it's a massive leap in engineering compared to the old small-scale vintage kits. I was particularly worried about how sturdy it would be in MA form given the sheer size, but thanks to the relatively stiff joints and snap-fit locking pins, it holds together quite solidly. The transformation process might look complicated at first glance, but (see thedetailed transformation review ) once you actually try it, it's not that hard. Way easier than the MG Ex-S, that's for sure.. ^^

Above all else, the Psycho Gundam's biggest appeal is that 28cm height. As you can see in the photos, the sheer size makes it almost embarrassing to display next to same-scale MS kits — even MGs can't compete, and you really need to put it next to PGs for it to look at home.
(Of course, the MG line does have the Perfect Zeong as the undisputed height king, but that one has to be treated as a special exception.. ^^;)

At 28cm it's in PG territory height-wise, but unlike a PG it's not a kit packed with dense content, so it's actually quite light for its size. Thanks to that, it's not heavily affected by gravity, and on top of that the joints are on the stiff side, so it stands up nice and straight — which I really appreciate. (Anyone who's built a PG will know what I mean.) A lot of people will probably worry about the posture given how big and heavy-looking the shield is, but thankfully the completely non-articulated fixed waist (-_-;) and stiff joints mean it almost never sags to one side.

Being a transforming kit with the structure it has, the articulation isn't great — but since it's so tall and the joints are stiff, it holds poses well, so if you put it in a decent stance it still gives off plenty of dynamic charisma. The fingers also have double-knuckle articulation, so they look natural too. It'd be nice if every knuckle moved like on a PG, but I guess HGUC is still HGUC.

One thing though.. the wrist section that extends and retracts in two stages feels a bit fragile. The locking tab where the wrist pulls out is weak, and there are cases where it doesn't lock in completely. In plain terms, pushing the hand in should lock it in place, but in my case one hand keeps not locking properly, and the hand just slowly slides back down on its own in MS mode. You might need to fix it by thickening the locking tab a bit with super glue or something.

Either way, this is a truly representative kit (and I mean truly representative!) that fully delivers on the HGUC series' goal of bringing large MS to life without breaking the bank. I'd love to see other units that would be too much to tackle as MGs — like the Quin Mantha or Paras Athene — get released one after another too...^^ The Psycho Gundam Mk-II will probably come out at some point as well.. The Mk-I and Mk-II look completely different so reusing the molds would be tough, but if this one sells well enough, I'm hopeful that the Psycho Mk-II release isn't too far off~

Sure, the color separation and internal frame detail are pretty much what you'd expect from the HGUC grade — it has its limits. But for the price, you get a massive backpack presence, perfect transformation, solid joints, and more. If you're a fan of this mobile suit's design, it's definitely a kit worth recommending without hesitation. ^^?

HGUC Psycho Gundam | 2004.8 | ¥5,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.