Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining + Decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.
Just as expected, the volume is massive.

MG Deep Striker - Compared alongside the MG / PG First to give you a sense of scale. It easily dwarfs even the PG in terms of

Compared alongside the MG / PG First to give you a sense of scale.
It easily dwarfs even the PG in terms of sheer volume.

Viewed from the front, it tends to lean slightly to the right due to the weight of the main cannon.

Detail shots

The silver bands on the main cannon are color-separated with plated parts, which gives it a great look.

MG Deep Striker - The parts indicated by the arrows are handled with red stickers, but similar parts elsewhere are done with

The parts indicated by the arrows are handled with red stickers,
but similar parts elsewhere are done with color separation, so it looks a bit inconsistent.
(Either do it all the way or don't bother..)

A modified version of the existing large display stand is included.

MG Deep Striker - Due to the weight, a reinforcement has been added to the center support, and a unique locking fixture has b

Due to the weight, a reinforcement has been added to the center support,
and a unique locking fixture has been added to the rear to secure the propellant tanks.

MG Deep Striker - Since there's no inner frame or anything like that, let me at least walk through the overall "construction"

Since there's no inner frame or anything like that, let me at least walk through the overall "construction" (?) process.. ^^;
First, you plug the hip joint parts into the stand.

Attach the conformal packs to both sides of the hip joint, and then..

Position the propellant tanks on both sides so they fit snugly into their dedicated supports.

Next, attach the upper body and secure the two propellant tank packs to the lower back.

Attach the add-on parts to the front of the upper body, and then

firmly screw the two booster units into place at the backpack position.

After attaching both arms..

use the holes on either side of the booster units on the back to attach the main cannon support.

Then plug the main cannon into the upper right, and..

MG Deep Striker - connect the pipe from the rear stabilizer to the back of the main cannon. This is a mesh pipe with a wire c

connect the pipe from the rear stabilizer to the back of the main cannon.
This is a mesh pipe with a wire core inside, so you can bend and hold it in any shape you like.

MG Deep Striker - Plug the sub-arm into the hole beside the lower booster unit and put the beam smart gun in its hand, and co

Plug the sub-arm into the hole beside the lower booster unit and put the beam smart gun in its hand, and construction is complete.

For the head, you can also build it as an S Gundam-style head with the red incom attached.

The newly redesigned shoulder armor can slide the upper section outward.

MG Deep Striker - The landing gear at the bottom of the front add-on parts can move slightly in all directions, and the cylin

The landing gear at the bottom of the front add-on parts can move slightly in all directions,
and the cylinders are linked to the movement.

The structure attached to the bottom of the conformal pack also moves via linked cylinders.

Articulation of the intact (?) right arm.

The newly redesigned booster units also allow the lower section to move independently.

MG Deep Striker - There are a ton of leftover parts.. (There weren't as many photos to take as I expected, so I laid these ou

There are a ton of leftover parts..
(There weren't as many photos to take as I expected, so I laid these out carefully just to fill the space.. ;;)

Spreading out the shoulder armor on both sides and striking a pose.

MG Deep Striker - Some action poses, for what they're worth. Given the nature of this kit, there's almost no articulation, so

An action pose of sorts.
Given the nature of this kit, there's almost no articulation, so there really isn't much posing you can do.

Together with the MG Ex-S Gundam.

MG Deep Striker - Compared to the original MG S Gundam head (left), you can see the head is noticeably smaller. (Is this just

Compared to the original MG S Gundam head (left), you can see the head is noticeably smaller. (Is this just the trend these days?..)

MG Deep Striker - Together with the Perfect Zeong, which was once the largest MG ever made. The MG Perfect Zeong is way bigge

Together with the Perfect Zeong, which was once the largest MG ever made.
The MG Perfect Zeong is way bigger than even a PG, but standing next to the Deep Striker it looks almost modest.

Together with the MG Psycho Zaku Ver.Ka.
In terms of sheer space it takes up, this one is no slouch either.

MG Deep Striker - Together with the HGUC Dendrobium — a true monster kit at 1 meter long. The MG Deep Striker may lose out in

Together with the HGUC Dendrobium — a true monster kit at 1 meter long.
The MG Deep Striker may lose out in length, but in terms of visual spectacle, it's in a completely different league.

Straight build

In March 2018, the Deep Striker was released as the most expensive MG kit in history at ¥20,000. On a personal note, I still vividly remember the shock of first flipping through Gundam Sentinel at an import bookstore in Myeongdong about 30 years ago. That book, which announced the arrival of the genius Katoki Hajime, was packed with mechs of an astonishing level — and the undisputed crown jewel among them was the Deep Striker. Ever since, many old-school fans have been waiting for a plastic model of the Deep Striker. It did come out as a completed figure in the Gundam Fix line, but it's only now getting an injection-molded kit. And when it finally did come out, I expected it to be in 1/144 first — but it actually launched in 1/100. What a surprise.

Setting aside all that nostalgia, if we just look at the kit itself, it doesn't come across as great value for money. It's labeled as an MG, but there's virtually no inner frame to speak of, and for a large kit, there aren't any impressive open gimmicks or moving parts either — which was honestly a bit of a shock. Looking at the overall package, it honestly wouldn't seem out of place at all if this had been released as a RE/100 instead of an MG. Since it's based on the MG S Gundam, the developers probably wanted to keep the MG title out of pride, but the concept of focusing purely on making the exterior look impressive is clearly in line with the RE/100 philosophy, no matter how you look at it. Sure, the original MG S Gundam had a weak frame due to its complex transformation gimmick, but it's 2018 now — it's hard to argue that the technology just wasn't there to do better.

Looking through the roughly 40 runners, about 2/5 are reused from the existing MG S / Ex-S Gundam, and some runners are reused from the MG S Gundam Booster Unit that was released as a Club G exclusive. Just over half of the runners are new, but if you look closely, about half of those are labeled as S Gundam, with only the rest labeled as Deep Striker. It seems like they probably had an S Gundam v1.5 in mind as well. (See the runner shots in the Info section for reference.)

While a good number of runners are based on the 2002 S Gundam kit, quite a lot of leftover parts remain from those runners, which makes the value feel even worse. When you actually build it, most of the externally visible parts are new, with the older parts used more for the internal skeleton. Compared to the existing MG S / Ex-S, the head is a bit smaller, a slide gimmick has been added to the upper front of the shoulder armor, and the booster units have been upgraded to fold outward at the middle.

As mentioned above, this kit has almost nothing that could be called articulation. The lower conformal packs and the booster units that serve as the backpack are all fixed in place, and the large main cannon is "firmly" locked down so it doesn't move even a millimeter. The only things that move are both shoulders, the right arm, the rear stabilizers, and the head rotation — so there's not much room for varied poses. Having so little articulation does feel a bit stifling, but on the flip side, everything holds its position well, so the kit stays sharp and squared-up without sagging out of shape.

In terms of buildability, it goes together smoothly as you'd expect from Bandai — but since it's based on the 2002 kit, it feels slightly rougher around the edges compared to more recent kits. With so little articulation, it feels less like building a model and more like stacking LEGO bricks one by one. Also, there are a lot of runners but with so much reuse, the parts are scattered all over the place, so hunting down the right pieces is quite a grind.

There are also a few minor disappointments on the color separation front. On the main cannon, some of the red band sections are color-separated while others are handled with stickers. The problem is that the stickers look a bit cheap and feel out of place next to the molded parts, and for a kit of this price and size, it really would've been nice to have everything done in parts separation. Seals are provided instead of decals, and the quantity feels a bit sparse for the size of the kit, leaving it looking a little plain. As for optional parts, only a few extra pieces are included to swap in the S Gundam-style head with the incom — and once you're done building, there are almost no leftover option parts to speak of, which is honestly a bit baffling. (Even more so when you consider the price..)

Ultimately, the virtue of this kit lies in its grand and spectacular visuals — and it definitely does make you think, "big and beautiful." It's on a completely different level of presence compared to the old 1/144-scale Gundam Fix figure, and the thrill of seeing the Deep Striker realized in three dimensions right in front of you is genuinely powerful.

The thing is, that thrill is probably felt most strongly by old-school fans who've been waiting for the Deep Striker for years. For those who don't have any particular attachment to this unit, the poor value for money will likely be the more dominant impression. Personally, I think ¥15,000 would've been a fairer price — but beyond the cost, this thing takes up an enormous amount of space and stands quite tall, so storage and display are no small considerations either.

Anyway, it may carry the stigma of being an MG with no inner frame and almost no articulation, but as a display piece to show off prominently, it delivers an absolutely overwhelming visual impact. The sheer presence it commands from its size and style makes every other MG you put next to it look underwhelming. The scoring below is also a bit awkward to apply using the standard MG criteria, so I've scored it at my own discretion — but either way, another landmark kit has been added to Gunpla history.

To sum it up: if you've been waiting a long time for a plastic model of the Deep Striker, I'd recommend it without hesitation regardless of the price. Just the fact that it exists is something to be grateful for. And even if you weren't familiar with this unit before, I'd still recommend it if the visuals appeal to you — just don't go in with too high expectations because of the MG label. It's probably better for your sanity to think of it as building a RE/100. :-)

MG PLAN303E Deep Striker
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	Seam lines are nearly perfectly hidden thanks to the improved parts structure.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★☆	The overall color separation is good, but the inconsistency of some stickers is a bit annoying.
Proportions	★★★★★ ★★★★★	Absolutely stunning in terms of presence and style.
Articulation	★	Articulation is virtually nonexistent — and that's not an exaggeration.
Joint Strength	★★★★★	What it gives up in articulation, it makes up for in rock-solid stability.
Internal Frame	★	Simply none.
Detail	★★★★	Big and flashy, but lacking in fine detail.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★	Everything went into the main body — almost no extras to speak of.
Parts Count / Price	★☆	636 parts total. 31.8 parts per ¥1,000. Not great value for what you get.
Uniqueness	★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★	Debatable whether it really qualifies as an MG, but for some people, just having it exist is a blessing.
Dalong's Point : 100 pts.

* The scoring system used only for MG has been carried over from First 1.0 twenty years ago,
so applying it uniformly even to the latest kits — whose quality has leveled up across the board — is honestly a bit ambiguous.
Since it's just my personal take and can't clearly capture the differences in kit quality over the years,
please don't read too much into it and just use it as a loose reference.
(For kits scoring above 100, take it to mean the quality is much better than kits of the past.)

MG Deep Striker | 2018. 3 | ¥20,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.