Kit Review

Straight build + panel lining + partial paint + decals

Size comparison with the universal standard — a cigarette pack. It's around 21–22cm, so it's pretty big.

Upper body front shot

Rear view

Side line on the shield side

Best angle shot

MG Ingram 1 - You can see the pilot Noah inside. Since the pilot is fully visible from outside — a characteristic of this mec

You can see the pilot Noah inside.
Since the pilot is fully visible from outside — a characteristic of this mech's design — I went ahead and painted him up carefully. ^_^;

MG Ingram 1 - The MG Ingram 1 actually has quite a few spots that need partial painting. On top of the clear blue / clear gre

The MG Ingram 1 actually has quite a few spots that need partial painting.
On top of the clear blue / clear green on the front of the face, there's the frame around the cockpit window,
the small lights on the shoulders, the gray tips of the head antenna, and more...
The gray on the head antenna can be handled with stickers if you prefer.

MG Ingram 1 - There are 6 spots on the front and back of the body that need clear orange partial painting. All the clear part

There are 6 spots on the front and back of the body that need clear orange partial painting.
All the clear parts come out completely transparent, so pretty much every single one needs to be painted —
it would've been nicer if they'd been molded in the correct clear colors to match the design specs.

Pilot before and after painting

The revolver grip also got a partial paint job in a brownish color.

MG Ingram 1 - Cockpit hatch open. The slightly complex double-hatch opening mechanism from the original work has been perfect

Cockpit hatch open. The slightly complex double-hatch opening mechanism from the original work has been perfectly recreated. That's MG for you.

Hands come in 3 sets: open hand, fist, and articulated hand.

Outer armor removed

Internal frame

Body frame. It's just a bare frame with nothing particularly detailed going on;;

Body frame viewed from above. Most of the body is taken up by the cockpit.

Backpack frame. At least this one has a bit more molded detail.

Leg frame. It feels more like a "skeleton" than a mechanical frame.

MG Ingram 1 - Mechanical frame of the leg section. It's asymmetrical left-to-right because of the revolver storage compartmen

Mechanical frame of the leg section. It's asymmetrical left-to-right because of the revolver storage compartment.
The leg area has the most convincing detail out of the entire frame, at least.

Peering into the seat area of the cockpit, you can see some pretty nice molded detail on the seat itself.

In frame-only state, you can sort of pull off a "doing the deed" pose well enough.

Frame articulation. The frame itself doesn't have great articulation either;

MG Ingram 1 - Articulation is rough all around — even bending the arms and legs to 90 degrees is a struggle. In the photos I

Articulation is rough all around — even bending the arms and legs to 90 degrees is a struggle.
In the photos I managed to get to 90 degrees, but with the stiff screw joints and the rubber joint-protection covers getting in the way,
even going past 45 degrees feels like a stretch. OTL

Neck and waist articulation. These are also heavily restricted by the rubber joint-protection covers.

MG Ingram 1 - The revolver storage gimmick in the legs is just like in the original! The gimmick where opening the cover auto

The revolver storage gimmick in the legs is just like in the original!
The gimmick where opening the cover automatically causes the revolver to pop up in sync is faithfully recreated.

The right hand has a gimmick where it slides right out like this. The reason is, of course...

To recreate the gun-drawing pose from the original work.

Police shooting stance

MG Ingram 1 - The left hand is supposed to properly support the right hand, but the arms are just too short and the range of

The left hand is supposed to properly support the right hand, but the arms are just too short
and the range of motion too limited, so this is pretty much the best you can do.

Honestly, just shooting one-handed is way less stressful;;

MG Ingram 1 - Inside the shield on the left arm is the baton in its folded state, while the fully extended baton comes as a s

Inside the shield on the left arm is the baton in its folded state,
while the fully extended baton comes as a separate part.

The face section can be swapped out for a version with a protective visor fitted.

Protective visor form

Baton draw stance

Take this, with love~!

The small cover on the shoulder can be swapped out for a red light version.

MG Ingram 1 - However, this shoulder part tends to fall off easily, so watch out — it's the kind of thing you'll lose before

However, this shoulder part tends to fall off easily, so watch out — it's the kind of thing you'll lose before you know it.

MG Ingram 1 - The MG Ingram 1 has several weak connection points throughout — the waist joint, the knee joint, and the knee c

The MG Ingram 1 has several weak connection points throughout —
the waist joint, the knee joint, and the knee cover connection all tend to pop off easily, so be careful.
You might just want to glue them down for peace of mind... otherwise the waist and legs will keep falling apart every time you pick it up and move it;

The included 1/35 Asuma figure.

MG Ingram 1 - Size comparison with MG Nu Gundam & MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079. It's a bit smaller than the big-sized Nu Gundam

Size comparison with MG Nu Gundam & MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079.
It's a bit smaller than the big-sized Nu Gundam, but way larger than the standard-sized MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079.

Hey, I may not look like much, but I'm the Ingram 1, you know!

In the summer of 2001, the Ingram 1 burst onto the scene out of nowhere as an MG release. The sudden appearance of a non-Gundam mech in the MG lineup — which had been considered exclusively Gundam territory — was quite surprising and refreshing.

Patlabor had previously gotten several kits in 1/60 scale, but being older releases, they look small and stubby with not-so-great proportions by today's standards. (Though I remember them being pretty well-made for their time, over 10 years ago.) When it first came out, there were supply issues and it never officially made it into domestic stores, so I remember having an incredibly hard time tracking one down. About a year later they started importing a bunch and it became easy to find, but still...

The MG Ingram 1 comes in 1/35 scale — a scale more reminiscent of military models. At over 20cm tall, it's considerably bigger than most 1/100 Gundam kits. (See the comparison photo with the RX-78.) Befitting its large size, the greatest highlight of this MG Ingram 1 kit is its detail and faithfulness to the source material.

First, there's the full inner frame worthy of the MG name... The frame detail isn't actually all that impressive, but regardless, the approach of building the skeleton of the entire body first and then adding the armor definitely reminds you that this kit is an "MG." The clean exterior armor detail is very restrained to match the original design, showing a simple charm without excessive panel lines. Details are well-executed even in small areas like the cockpit interior machinery that's barely visible, and the mechanics inside the camera eyes. The cockpit interior detail and the articulated center console are particularly worth noting. (Though even if you try to look closely, it's hard to see since it's all tucked inside -.,-;)

As for color separation, the basic body colors of alternating white and black are perfectly separated. In particular, the fact that even the shield — which would normally be nearly impossible to achieve without painting — was cleverly split into separate parts to reproduce the design colors was quite a remarkable attempt for its time. However, due to the nature of the mech's design, there are quite a few small areas scattered around that need partial painting. The clear sections on the face, the gray areas on the head antenna, the cockpit window frame, the lights on the shoulders and body — when you add it all up, it's quite a lot.

One particular disappointment in the parts breakdown is that while the shoulder emergency lights come as separate red clear parts, the camera eye sections on the face and the small blinking lights on the waist and shoulders are just plain white clear parts. This is a bit of a letdown when you consider that the later-released Griffon had its clear parts done in the correct design colors. I especially think the kit would've been absolutely top-notch if the green clear had been properly done. In the end, I had no choice but to mix clear orange, green, and blue paints and do partial painting on the eyes, shoulders, and waist sections myself. Whatever else you skip, the eye sections at least — you really have to paint them clear green to bring them to life.

Also, because of the design where the cockpit and pilot are completely visible from the outside, whether or not you paint the pilot makes a pretty big difference. So after some deliberation, I went ahead and painted him up as best I could (with my feet, lol). ^^

Beyond that, there are various design spec recreations worth paying attention to — particularly the system for drawing the revolver stored in the leg. Opening the leg armor automatically causes the revolver to pop up in sync, and the arm section slides out so you can grab it. The complex cockpit section is also split into multiple parts so it can open and close perfectly as per the design specs. The baton can be stored inside the shield, and while it's a shame the lights on the upper body aren't hinged open, they are at least swappable. The hands come in 6 varieties — articulated, fixed, and action types, one pair each — and the included figures are a same-scale Noah sitting in the cockpit and a standing Asuma, both with average detail. The face armor can also be swapped out for a riot-control protective visor, and at this point it feels like every feature the Ingram 1 needs has been recreated as a full set of options.

Articulation is a bit worse than expected — below average. In particular, the major joints at the arms, legs, and waist are fixed without polycaps, relying only on the stiffness of ABS and screw joints, which makes the joints extremely stiff and unpleasant to move. At least they're not loose, but ironically, being too stiff means the joints tend to pop out suddenly while you're posing it. The waist joint in particular keeps coming apart, so if you're just carrying the upper body, you'll constantly be dropping the lower half on the floor. The knee connections are also a bit weak, and the knee covers pop off easily too. These are all points that'll be bad for your mental health unless you reinforce them with glue... Bottom line, in terms of range of motion, joint strength, and connection stability, articulation deserves the lowest possible score. T_T

Setting aside the articulation and joint issues, there's no question this is a kit that leaves a really good impression in terms of detail, proportions, and faithfulness to the design. Pose it reasonably and stand it up and it has good bulk and good proportions, so it displays really well. And beyond all of that, for a longtime Patlabor fan like me this is honestly an amazing gift. It's on a completely different level from the old 1/60 — a full-option package with every feature you'd want from an MG, like one big comprehensive gift set. I have plenty of complaints about the quality, but I'm just grateful it came out at this level at all. ^_^

MG Ingram 1 | 2001.7 | ¥3,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.