Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining + Decals

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Size comparison with a cigarette pack. Let's start the review with the Duel Gundam in its nor

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.
Let's start the review with the Duel Gundam in its normal state. ^^

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Duel Gundam base body. (1/6)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Duel Gundam base body. (2/6)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Duel Gundam base body. (3/6)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Duel Gundam base body. (4/6)

Duel Gundam base body.

Upper body and head

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Back and backpack area. The color separation on the yellow verniers really stands out. (1/2)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Back and backpack area. The color separation on the yellow verniers really stands out. (2/2)

Back and backpack section.
The color separation on the yellow verniers really stands out.

Legs

Weapon section

Cockpit hatch open with 3-stage mechanism

Comes with swappable finger-style hands, just like the MG Wing series.

Inner detail of the shield.

Outer armor removed

Internal frame

Upper body frame. Pretty simple in design.

The head has no separate frame.

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - The arm and leg frames have a decent amount of sculptural detail. (1/3)

The arm and leg frames have a decent amount of sculptural detail.

Articulation in frame state

The hip joints move independently up and down.

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Natural kneeling pose in frame state. (1/3)

Natural kneeling pose in frame state.

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Frame action pose (1/3)

Frame action pose

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Articulation of the Duel Gundam base body. The arms and legs fold up nicely, but... despite t

Articulation of the Duel Gundam base body.
The arms and legs fold up nicely, but... despite the hip joint mechanism, the angle the thighs can raise is limited,
and the slide mechanism isn't reproduced either, which is a bit of a letdown.

The verniers on the backpack each move individually.

The shoulder locking mechanism opens up just like on the Strike...

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - It looks like you might be able to attach the MG Launcher/Sword Strike's equipment, but it do

It looks like you might be able to attach the MG Launcher/Sword Strike's equipment, but it doesn't connect completely.
In the photo it looks like it's sort of resting there, but it doesn't actually peg in properly.

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Look closely and you'll see that the shoulder locking hole found on the Strike is absent on t

Look closely and you'll see that the shoulder locking hole found on the Strike is absent on the Duel,
so it can't be secured properly.
Bottom line — compatibility with the Launcher/Sword equipment simply wasn't designed in from the start.

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Natural draw-sword action pose (1/3)

Natural draw-sword action pose

Beam saber action

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Natural kneeling pose (1/4)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Natural kneeling pose (2/4)

Natural kneeling pose

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - The classic mid-air shooting pose. Looks pretty good though ^^ (1/4)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - The classic mid-air shooting pose. Looks pretty good though ^^ (2/4)

The classic mid-air shooting pose.
Looks pretty good though ^^

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Alongside the 1/100 No Grade Duel Gundam base body. The proportions are quite different, and

Alongside the 1/100 No Grade Duel Gundam base body.
The proportions are quite different, and it's interesting to see how much smaller the overall size has become.

Arm comparison.
The side shoulder armor has gotten noticeably smaller.

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Leg comparison. The feet are smaller too, and the overall leg length has gotten shorter as we

Leg comparison.
The feet are smaller too, and the overall leg length has gotten shorter as well.

Articulation comparison.

Alongside the MG Strike Gundam base body.

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - As you can tell from the legs — which look similar but are actually completely different in d

As you can tell from the legs — which look similar but are actually completely different in design —
the Duel Gundam is built on an entirely new structure.

Assault Shroud armor layout shot.

Some of the armor pieces even reproduce the internal molding nicely.

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Duel Gundam Assault Shroud. (1/7)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Duel Gundam Assault Shroud. (2/7)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Duel Gundam Assault Shroud. (3/7)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Duel Gundam Assault Shroud. (4/7)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Duel Gundam Assault Shroud. (5/7)

Duel Gundam Assault Shroud.

Upper body armor

Back section. The elaborate vernier color separation stands out even more here.

Arm armor

115mm rail gun on the right shoulder

Backpack armor

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Leg armor (1/3)

Leg armor

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - The Assault Shroud armor also has a cockpit hatch, so even with the armor on you can open mul

The Assault Shroud armor also has a cockpit hatch,
so even with the armor on you can open multiple hatches all at once.

Left shoulder missile pod open

The rear verniers on the leg armor are articulated.

Top and bottom movement of the backpack armor

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - You can remove the 115mm rail gun from the shoulder, pull out the handle, and use it as a sep

You can remove the 115mm rail gun from the shoulder, pull out the handle, and use it as a separate weapon.

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - The cannon, which in the lore was developed specifically for the Duel Gundam. Great sense of

The cannon, which in the lore was developed specifically for the Duel Gundam.
Great sense of depth and dimension.

1/100 Yzak figure with display stand

Even with the armor on, articulation is maintained at nearly the same level as the base body.

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Recreating the box art pose (1/5)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Recreating the box art pose (2/5)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Recreating the box art pose (3/5)

Recreating the box art pose

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - 115mm rail gun action (1/4)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - 115mm rail gun action (2/4)

115mm rail gun action

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Beam saber action (1/4)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Beam saber action (2/4)

Beam saber action

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Cannon action. Getting the hand to grip and hold it up is a bit of a struggle; (1/4)

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud - Cannon action. Getting the hand to grip and hold it up is a bit of a struggle; (2/4)

Cannon action.
Getting the hand to grip and hold it up is a bit of a struggle;

Alongside the 1/100 No Grade Duel Gundam Assault Shroud.

The gap between No Grade and MG is still massive ^^;

Straight build shot of the Duel Gundam base body

Straight build shot with Assault Shroud armor

With the Gundam SEED remaster came a rerelease of HG SEED kits, and seemingly as an extension of that campaign, the MG SEED lineup has resumed. And the first out of the gate is Yzak's machine — the Duel Gundam Assault Shroud.

As you probably know, the Duel Gundam has a separate weapon armor system called the Assault Shroud — essentially a version with reinforced armor and additional weaponry added all over the body. Both the old 1/100 and HG kits included the Duel Gundam base body and Assault Shroud armor mode as a set, and the MG follows the same format. That said, as befitting a brand-new MG after a long wait, the quality has been massively upgraded across the board.

First off, a new SEED frame runner has been introduced for this new MG SEED lineup — similar to how the MG Wing series got its own frame — and it seems like they're clearly eyeing MG releases for other SEED units down the line. This new SEED frame is a completely fresh design with no relation to the old MG Strike Gundam, showing somewhat revised proportions, design, and parts layout... though in terms of articulation gimmicks, it doesn't feel like a significant step up from the MG Aile Strike — more like just a slight reshaping. That said, the notoriously weak joint strength that was criticized in the MG Strike has been almost entirely resolved, and the joints are now quite sturdy — which is very welcome news. (Especially the ankles!!)

The MG Duel Gundam base body has been reborn as a polished new kit with clean MG-worthy proportions, color separation, and articulation, and the Assault Shroud armor likewise shows very precise parts engineering and functionality at MG level. The clever color separation on the orange parts is particularly impressive — the vernier color separation on the back is genuinely jaw-dropping. The structural design that keeps articulation largely unhindered even with the armor on is also worth praising.

Overall joint strength is a massive improvement over the MG Strike, but there are a few areas where the holding power leaves something to be desired. The 3-stage cockpit hatch itself is great, but when closed it tends to pop open on its own, suggesting the fit is a bit loose. The cockpit hatch open gimmick on the Assault Shroud armor in particular has a tendency to droop and fall open by itself, which meant I had to keep an eye on it throughout the shoot. On top of that, the Assault Shroud leg armor connection is a bit weak and tends to fall off — though thankfully the fit on other parts is generally solid.

The Duel Gundam's shoulders also have an additional weapon locking gimmick similar to the Strike Gundam, but it's not compatible with the MG Sword/Launcher equipment. There's a photo in the review where it's sort of forced on there, but the shoulder structure is different enough that it won't lock in properly. In other words, you could probably make it work with some modification or customization, but the design itself is clearly a separate one with no compatibility built in.

This kit also includes the cannon weapon that came with the 1/100 No Grade Astray Gold Frame — with slightly better detail and depth compared to the No Grade version. This weapon was originally developed for the Duel Gundam, but in the side story, during the process of stealing the Gold Frame, it was grabbed along with the escape to secure a getaway route (^^;), which is how it ended up being associated with the Gold Frame.

The timing is a bit late, but personally I'm glad to see the MG SEED series back. That said, like most of the MG Wing lineup, this feels more like a competent, technically polished MG rather than one that has the developer's soul poured into it. There's no real standout "wow" factor, but it's clean and refined enough as a modern MG to give dedicated fans more than satisfactory results. Still, the fact that the joint strength is so much better than the MG Strike is genuinely great news, and despite the fairly generous parts count, the ¥4,200 price tag is cheaper than you'd expect — which is definitely a plus. All in all, I think it's a great gift for anyone who enjoyed SEED, offering solid value for money and a reliably satisfying build :-)

MG GAT-X102 Duel Gundam Assault Shroud
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	Parts count worthy of a modern kit.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★★☆	The tight, satisfying color separation on the verniers is a real highlight.
Proportions	★★★★★	Clean, MG-worthy proportions. Doesn't look bulky even with the armor on!
Articulation	★★★★☆	The arms and legs themselves are great, but the hip joints leave a bit to be desired.
Joint Strength	★★★★☆	Joint strength is generally passing grade, but some armor connections are a bit weak.
Internal Frame	★★★★☆	Full-body frame, but feels a little plain.
Detail	★★★★★	Overall, it has that neat and intricate feel you'd expect from an MG.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★	The Assault Shroud is faithfully reproduced to MG standards.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★★	358 parts total. 85.2 parts per ¥1,000. Excellent value for the price.
Uniqueness	★★★★★	Improved joints over the MG Strike. A clean, polished new release.
Dalong's Point : 98 pts.

MG Duel Gundam Assault Shroud | 2012. 2 | ¥4,600

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.