Kit Review

Straight build
+ panel lining + decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.
Absolute unit, as expected! Seriously big and hefty.

MG The-O - By the way.. I lost the right chest vernier part while disassembling the armor. T_T (I know people will call it ou

By the way.. I lost the right chest vernier part
while disassembling the armor. T_T
(I know people will call it out from every direction when a part's missing — I'm bummed about it too, so please bear with me- sob sob)

Upper body and head

MG The-O - The overall body detail is very simple — not much different from the HGUC. (1/4)

MG The-O - The overall body detail is very simple — not much different from the HGUC. (2/4)

The overall body detail is very simple — not much different from the HGUC.

The waist area (below the pipes) looks noticeably bare.

MG The-O - Shoulders and arms. Also a simple design. (1/3)

Shoulders and arms. Also a simple design.

Beam rifle

MG The-O - Back and backpack section. (1/4)

MG The-O - Back and backpack section. (2/4)

Back and backpack section.

Thick legs and rear skirt.

The legs are also very simple in detail, but
the decals are what remind you this is an MG..

The color separation on the soles is pretty nice.

MG The-O - Armor-removed shots — the number of armor pieces is a bit on the low side for its bulk. (1/2)

MG The-O - Armor-removed shots — the number of armor pieces is a bit on the low side for its bulk. (2/2)

Outer armor removal shot
The number of armor pieces is a bit on the low side for its bulk.

MG The-O - Inner frame shots. It's a full-body frame except for the feet. (1/2)

MG The-O - Inner frame shots. It's a full-body frame except for the feet. (2/2)

Internal frame.
It's a full-body frame except for the feet.

Upper body front and rear frame

Head frame

Big in volume but the body frame detail is pretty bland.

The back and lower body frame are also kind of bland.

MG The-O - The shoulders and arms have some detail, but there's not much sense of depth to them. (1/3)

The shoulders and arms have some detail, but
there's not much sense of depth to them.

The legs are relatively more three-dimensional in terms of the frame.

The thigh and knee frame detail is also shallow and simple.

MG The-O - The rear leg frame looks nicely packed together thanks to the pipes. (1/3)

The rear leg frame looks nicely packed together thanks to the pipes.

MG The-O - Those massive feet — about the size of a computer mouse — could easily have had a frame built into them, but they'

Those massive feet — about the size of a computer mouse — could easily have had a frame built into them,
but they're completely hollow inside.
I can't shake the feeling that this part was just kind of phoned in.

The inside of the skirts has separate parts for added detail.

Inner detail of the rear skirt

Inner detail of the front/side skirts

Detail with the front skirt's sub-arm extended

The inner side of the large front/rear leg armor pieces are also handled with separate parts.

Inner detail of the backpack

Inner detail of the shoulder covers.

Some armor pieces have molded detail on the inside.

MG The-O - The other half of the armor pieces have nothing on the inside at all. There doesn't seem to be any particular rule

The other half of the armor pieces have nothing on the inside at all.
There doesn't seem to be any particular rule for which ones get inner molds and which don't..

MG The-O - Articulation with the frame only. Pretty impressive for its size. (1/3)

Articulation with the frame only.
Pretty impressive for its size.

MG The-O - Frame action poses. The limb bend articulation is good, but the range of poses you can actually pull off is limite

Frame action pose.
The limb bend articulation is good, but the range of poses you can actually pull off is limited by the design.

MG The-O - There's a gimmick where the hip joints move forward and backward on a lever mechanism, but since this isn't exactl

There's a gimmick where the hip joints move forward and backward on a lever mechanism, but
since this isn't exactly a dynamic-looking unit, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference T_T

MG The-O - The biggest complaint I have with this kit is right here.. the fact that the large, heavy legs connect via ball jo

The biggest complaint I have with this kit is right here..
the fact that the large, heavy legs connect via ball joints.
Ball joints may look like they offer flexible range of motion, but
when you're connecting something with real weight to them, there are serious issues with durability and holding position. (See the review body for details)

MG The-O - For the knees, because of the thick leg bulk, they're designed to fold as much as possible through three separate

For the knees, because of the thick leg bulk, they're designed to fold as much as possible through three separate pivot points.
You can tell someone put a lot of thought into this.

MG The-O - Cockpit hatch open. You pull the rounded section forward and then open the top and bottom covers. Be careful — the

Cockpit hatch open.
You pull the rounded section forward and then open the top and bottom covers.
Be careful — the yellow armor tends to fall off easily when you open the covers.

The massive beam rifle.
I was a bit disappointed that it's just a simple two-piece clamshell construction..

Stickers are applied at each joint to hide the seam lines and add a sense of depth.

MG The-O - You can cover all the seams with stickers like this.. it does look kind of cool, but it also feels like a bit of a

You can cover all the seams with stickers like this..
it does look kind of cool, but it also feels like a bit of a band-aid solution to cover up the simple split construction T_T

The connection between the palm peg and the rifle hole is.. the worst -.-;;
It barely holds at all.

MG The-O - That said, thankfully the stock at the rear of the gun catches on the forearm, so in practice holding the rifle is

That said, thankfully the stock at the rear of the gun catches on the forearm,
so in practice holding the rifle isn't really a problem.
In other words, it's not gripping strength holding it — you can lock it in place by hooking the stock onto the forearm. (A little sad, but it works)

MG The-O - The beam sabers are stored two per side in the side skirts, for a total of four. The fit when stored is solid, so

The beam sabers are stored two per side in the side skirts, for a total of four.
The fit when stored is solid, so thankfully they don't fall out easily.

MG The-O - But.. there are 4 beam sabers and only 2 beam effect parts, and they're the small size at that;; It's not a huge d

But..
there are 4 beam sabers and only 2 beam effect parts, and they're the small size at that;;
It's not a huge deal, but it feels like the kind of thing people are going to gripe about -_-

The sub-arms inside the front skirts extend properly as per the design specs.

The 1/100 Scirocco figure comes with a display stand.

MG The-O - The mono-eye can be rotated by opening the head cover, but the rotating part is so small that you can't really do

The mono-eye can be rotated by opening the head cover, but
the rotating part is so small that you can't really do it with your fingers — you have to tap it around with the tip of a hobby knife.

Articulation with all armor attached.

The arms can fold completely.

The legs also seem to fold about as far as the structure allows.

MG The-O - The front thigh armor does have a slide gimmick, but the range of movement is narrow. And critically, it's complet

The front thigh armor does have a slide gimmick, but the range of movement is narrow.
And critically, it's completely hidden behind the massive skirts anyway.. OTL

The shoulders swing forward quite a bit more than you'd expect from looking at them.

The angle the shoulders can raise upward is about this much..

The waist does rotate, but there's so much in the way that it can't turn very far.

MG The-O - The fingers are the same style as the MG Zaku 2.0. The middle knuckles are articulated, and the three fingers that

The fingers are the same style as the MG Zaku 2.0.
The middle knuckles are articulated, and the three fingers that are joined together can be separated for individual movement.

MG The-O - Rifle firing pose. For a kit this size, this level of posing is honestly enough. (1/6)

MG The-O - Rifle firing pose. For a kit this size, this level of posing is honestly enough. (2/6)

MG The-O - Rifle firing pose. For a kit this size, this level of posing is honestly enough. (3/6)

MG The-O - Rifle firing pose. For a kit this size, this level of posing is honestly enough. (4/6)

Rifle firing pose.
For a kit this size, this level of posing is honestly enough.

MG The-O - A dedicated mounting piece is included for connecting to the Action Base 1, and thankfully the hold is solid enoug

A dedicated mounting piece is included for connecting to the Action Base 1, and
thankfully the hold is solid enough that it doesn't come loose easily.

MG The-O - Flight pose. I'd love to spread the legs wide, but.. the hip joints can't support the weight of those heavy legs a

MG The-O - Flying pose. I'd love to spread the legs wide open, but.. the hip joints can't hold up the weight of those heavy l

Flying pose.
I'd love to spread the legs wide open, but.. the hip joints can't hold up the weight of those heavy legs, so it snaps right back to attention stance.

MG The-O - Double beam saber attack using the sub arms. If there were 2 more beam parts, a quad beam saber attack would've be

Double beam saber attack using the sub arms.
If there were 2 more beam parts, a quad beam saber attack would've been possible..

Comparison with the HGUC The-O.

MG The-O - The overall detail is.. basically a scaled-up copy of the HGUC The-O.. and there's hardly anything visually that s

The overall detail is.. basically a scaled-up copy of the HGUC The-O..
There's hardly anything visually that screams MG-worthy additions. -.-
The molded color has been changed from mustard to yellow.

Comparison with the MG Sazabi.
The-O is way more chunky and imposing, isn't it.

Together with its rival, the MG Zeta 2.0.
The MG Zeta is pretty big too, but The-O is on a whole other level.

Comparing it with the MG First 2.0 really gives you a sense of just how massive it is.

MG The-O - Epilogue... The box is huge, but the actual parts count is low, so assembly goes by fast. Once you pop all the run

Epilogue...
The box is huge, but the actual parts count is low, so assembly goes by fast.
Once you pop all the runners out and try to put them back in, it feels surprisingly empty in there.
That's because it's not about having lots of parts — it's about each part being big in volume.

MG The-O - When you first open the bag, you might be startled by the absurd number of ball joints staring back at you — but i

When you first open the bag, you might be startled by the absurd number of ball joints staring back at you,
but in reality, only 44 out of those 136 are actually used. The rest are all leftover parts.

Straight build

● Rumors surrounding
the MG The-O.

Finally, the day has come where The-O — once a symbol of the ultimate bulky MS — gets the MG treatment. It might've come out simply because Bandai was running low on kit ideas, but it was also one of those kits that longtime fans had been wanting to see in MG form for years. That's probably because they were hoping to see the romance of a massive MS rendered with the latest technology in all its precision glory. After all, Bandai had been cranking out one masterpiece kit after another, thanks to rapidly advancing design technology in recent years!

But there was a rumor going around even before this kit was released — that the MG The-O had been planned and developed around 2005, around the time the Mk-II 2.0 came out, coinciding with the start of the Zeta theatrical films and the renewal of Zeta-series kits. That was a period when Bandai was seriously trying to kick off a Zeta boom, so it was a rumor with some credibility. The story goes that it got put on hold due to pricing issues and various other concerns, and finally came out five years later in 2010.

So when the MG The-O — released as of August 2010 — finally arrived and I cracked it open... I'm now strongly feeling like that rumor was probably true. -_-;

First of all, there was a lot of concern and anticipation when the pre-release price was announced at ¥12,000 — a new all-time high for MG. Sure, it's insanely expensive, but it was a price tag that was enough to get your hopes up that they were going to deliver something truly spectacular. Gunpla technology had come a long way, and a kit with The-O's sheer size would have more than enough room to pack in elaborate frame detail and all kinds of fun little gimmicks. Either way, that PG-level price of ¥12,000 seemed like it had to mean something.

But if you look at this kit through the lens of those price-driven expectations, it can be quite a disappointment. Personally, I wasn't expecting all that much from it to begin with, but I did think it would at least deliver the basics you'd expect from a modern kit. However, once I actually built it, it felt like it fell short of even my modest expectations — which honestly caught me off guard.

"Wait, this is actually a 2010 release???"

● Bland detail,
bare-bones gimmicks

First of all, this kit is pretty far removed from the "refinement" you see in recent MG releases. There is a full-body frame, but the frame detail is flat-out boring — practically brick-level — and those massive feet, which are about the size of a computer mouse and could've easily housed some impressive internal framing, are completely hollow inside.

The exterior detail also goes for extreme simplicity — honestly, you could argue it's basically just a scaled-up copy of the HGUC and nobody could really say otherwise. Sure, it comes with a decent amount of decals and seals as you'd expect from an MG, but the surface area is so vast that the effect doesn't quite match the time you put into applying them. Even if you go all-in with panel lining, the panel lines are right at HGUC level, so it doesn't really pop.

This kind of simple detail could of course be intentional, but when the interior is bland AND the exterior is bland on top of that, it creates a negative synergy effect. Honestly, the stronger feeling I get is that they just didn't put much thought into it..

If they had packed in complex internal gimmicks, this already heavy kit would've gotten even heavier, potentially causing durability issues. So in a way, the simple structure with no special gimmicks does make some sense — but that still doesn't explain why both the interior AND exterior had to be this boring. (The price!! The price!!)

The small slide gimmick in the thighs is at least worth some credit, but the fact that it's almost completely hidden behind the massive skirts is just sad.. T_T

● Joint stability issues.

For a big, heavy kit like this, joint strength is crucial — and the polycaps overall are pretty tight, so that part is reasonably satisfying. However, I was genuinely shocked to see ball joints used at the hip area, which is the most critical point. Ball joints on a heavy kit are a notoriously unstable structure, and recent large MGs like the MG Sinanju — as well as the Zaku/First 2.0 line — had all moved on to fixed pin-style joints for exactly this reason.

And yet, they went with ball joints on a kit with legs this heavy.. T_T
In my experience, ball joints under significant weight tend to loosen up quickly with repeated movement, and they make it really hard to hold a spread-leg pose when the kit is on a stand. Sure enough, the MG The-O basically can't do anything other than an attention stance on a stand. Even if you manage to get it into a wide-legged pose, step out for a smoke and come back to find it's neatly closed its legs and is waiting patiently for you..

Sure, The-O as a unit is more about presence than dynamic poses — but it's still pretty questionable whether they really needed to use the same ball joints from the MG Sazabi era. Feels like a step backwards, honestly.

The real killer is when you pick up the kit by the upper body and move it around — the hip ball joints can't support the weight of the legs, and the legs just slam down to the floor with a thud~ (seriously heavy enough to make a loud thud~). I've dropped them a few times myself, but fortunately the durability is solid enough that it just comes apart a little without actually breaking. Please make sure to always carry this kit respectfully with both hands ^_^)r;;

On top of that, grip strength tends to be a common issue with large kits due to big weapons, and the connection between the palm pegs on the MG The-O's hands and the weapon attachment points is basically nonexistent... There's zero holding force — it's really just about lining up the position. The interesting thing is, regardless of grip strength, you can rest the rifle's stock against the forearm, which actually holds it in place surprisingly well. Whether they intentionally skipped the grip because of that, I'm not sure — but either way, it doesn't look like much thought went into it. Feels like something that just happened to work out by accident.

Also, as a minor side note, the two small armor pieces that attach to either side of the upper chest tend to pop off fairly easily due to some slightly off fitment — but that's a relatively minor complaint compared to everything else.

● The stingy beam sabers

You might wonder why this even gets its own section.. but it's actually a moment that reveals the mindset (?) behind this kit's release. Specifically, the beam sabers.
The-O, by its specs, can use its sub arms to deploy a total of four arms — so it carries four beam sabers, two on each side skirt. That means there should naturally be four beam parts included, and the HGUC The-O does indeed come with four beam saber beam parts, allowing for a four-sword action pose.

But.. the MG The-O comes with a measly two beam parts — and not even anything special, just the same small generic beam sabers you'd find thrown into any random kit. The HGUC The-O at least included four separately designed, scale-appropriate large beam parts in a sword shape, but the MG The-O only gives you two tiny, personality-free beam sabers... (fuming)

Honestly, I can't shake the feeling that this was just plain lazy. Normally in cases like this, I'd grab spare beam parts from another kit and take four-sword action shots anyway — but seeing this absurdly stingy parts selection just killed my motivation to even bother.. ;;;
It feels right to just show this kit for what it is — and this is its limit.

It's a minor thing, but honestly, I was a bit shocked. For the most expensive MG out there, how can the contents be this flimsy??
Come on, Bandai... this is just not okay~ T_T

● It's not all bad though!

Given the titles of "unique and distinctive unit," "most expensive MG," and "2010's latest release," my first impressions were honestly full of complaints — but if I'm being objective, it's not really that bad of a kit.

First of all, the presence of the 1/100 The-O is genuinely impressive. Sure, you have to turn a blind eye to the fact that the detail feels a bit plain for an MG, but if you're a fan of big kits, the sheer size will definitely satisfy. And while some people complain that the legs are longer than the official specs, I do agree that the proportions came out looking sleek and clean.

I did bring up the hip joint and grip strength issues, but the reason I'm frustrated is more that it feels like they just didn't care enough — overall joint strength is actually pretty decent. At least standing it upright on a flat surface isn't much of a problem. The ball-joint hips are a bit sketchy and there's a chance the heavy upper body will lean backward over time, but thankfully the massive rear skirt uses the back legs as a support to hold things in place, so it probably won't be a big issue.

The articulation is also well-designed relative to the body size — it bends as much as the design structure allows, and most of the joints are solid enough that action poses aren't too hard to pull off. The only downside is that poses with the legs spread wide on a stand don't hold up well over time. That said, I think for such a chunky build, it's more than dynamic enough.

The actual part count doesn't exceed 400, which is actually fewer than recent MGs. In other words, it's a kit where the individual parts are large rather than numerous — and there's a unique satisfaction in snapping those big chunky pieces together one by one and watching it come together easily. The build feel itself is pretty great. The only problem is that given the price and size, it's easy to feel a little underwhelmed.

● Exactly 5-year-old quality + way too expensive price

After building and reviewing the whole thing, my overall impression is that it genuinely feels like a kit designed back in 2005. Around the time MG Acguy came out and MG kits were just starting to take a big leap forward — at that point in time, a kit of this quality level wouldn't have seemed out of place at all. (Though the price would've still been an issue...)

That said, the fact that it uses the same full double-jointed hands that were introduced with the Zaku 2.0 back in 2007 suggests it's not simply a 2005-era design being released as-is. There may have been some revisions along the way, and maybe that was their way of showing some effort... The real point isn't whether this was literally designed in 2005 and only now released. What matters is that the kit's quality is squarely at the level of something that came out in 2005...

MG The-O is absolutely not the kind of kit where you can feel the developer's soul poured into it — if anything, it strongly feels like it was designed without a whole lot of effort, possibly due to overall production costs. (Saying they "half-assed it" feels a bit too harsh on the developers...) It's more like... "We're putting out The-O in MG form, here you go" — a special service for the old-school fans?

Sure, the price is up there with PG territory, but was The-O just too niche of an item to justify hoping for PG-level gimmicks and detail packed into that massive frame? Compared to a ¥12,000 PG, the molds look pretty underwhelming by comparison — it seems like they weren't confident that MG The-O would sell in big enough numbers to justify that investment.

In conclusion, this kit honestly can't be called poor quality. It's got a great build, decent articulation, and a really satisfying build feel. The problem is that for a new release in 2010, something feels off about the qualityand, the price is just way too highIt's not just a matter of not living up to expectations — it's a kit that feels weirdly out of place timing-wise, which is what's so baffling about it.

Especially that ¥12,000 price tag — no matter how I think about it, it's hard to accept given the quality. If it had been cheaper, the positives might have stood out more and it might have done reasonably well in the market — but unless you're someone who's been desperately waiting for a 1/100 The-O, this is just not a price point that's easy to recommend to anyone.

Thinking "well, whoever's gonna buy it will buy it anyway" as a launch mindset... even so, it's hard for anyone to deny that the price feels heavy relative to what you get. It's clearly a kit with genuine quality in certain respects, but no matter how generous I try to be with the score, the price makes me evaluate it more strictly — and that means more deductions, making it hard to come out with a good overall score. Personally, if it had been ¥8,000, I think it would've at least scored better than MG Sazabi — that's the lingering regret I'm left with. :-)

MG PMX-003 The-O
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	The rifle handling is a bit awkward, but basically out of sight.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★☆	For a kit this size, the lack of more precise color separation on the verniers is a shame.
Proportions	★★★★★	Slightly slimmer than the original, but with a refined look and overwhelming presence.
Articulation	★★★★	For that size, this is about as good as it gets.
Joint Strength	★★★★	Shaky hip joints. The weak grip strength is disappointing.
Internal Frame	★★★★☆	Full inner frame, but it's a shame the large foot section is missing.
Detail	★★★★	For the size, the detail is just plain simple. Don't expect much.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★	A basic beam rifle. Small beam sabers — and only 2 of them T_T
Parts Count / Price	★★	485 total. 393 actual. 32.8 parts per ¥1,000. Worst value for the price.
Uniqueness	★★★★★	The only real value is the sheer boldness of releasing a 1/100 The-O at all.
Dalong's Point : 84 pts.

* This score may be controversial, but please understand it as reflecting how poorly this kit rates in terms of value for money ;

MG The-O | 2010. 8 | ¥12,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.