Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining + Seals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Detail shots (1/4)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

Outer armor removed

Internal frame

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Frame detail shots (1/4)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Frame detail shots (2/4)

Frame detail shots

Frame articulation

In frame state, the waist is super flexible.

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Frame action poses (1/4)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Frame action poses (2/4)

Frame action poses

Cockpit hatch open. You can open the whole thing or just the front cover.

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - You slide the vinyl bellows joint onto the bazooka parts, scrunch it up, then insert it into the sho

You slide the vinyl bellows joint onto the bazooka parts, scrunch it up, then insert it into the shoulder-to-body connection point.
Once it's in, you can barely see it though..

90mm Gatling gun open gimmick

Weapons loadout

Rifle with detachable magazine

Bazooka with great color separation. The handle is poseable.

You can also mount it on the rear skirt.

The internal structure of the shield is oddly complex..

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - As shown, the lower cover of the shield can be opened, so you can use the Gatling gun while the shie

As shown, the lower cover of the shield can be opened, so you can use the Gatling gun while the shield is still attached.

There's also a damaged version of the head antenna as seen in the show.

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - The hands use a 4-type finger swap system, and depending on the finger type, they can lock in deeply

The hands use a 4-type finger swap system,
and depending on the finger type, they can lock in deeply in 2 different directions. That makes the hold a lot more secure.

1/100 Alfred and Bernard figures

A standard-style stand joint part is included, and it holds pretty well.

Leftover parts

Excellent limb articulation

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Instead of a hip slide gimmick, it uses a hip joint with the fixing pin positioned at the front, sim

Instead of a hip slide gimmick, it uses a hip joint with the fixing pin positioned at the front, similar to the MG Zaku 2.0.

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - There's a gimmick where the front skirt also rotates sideways, though I wouldn't say it makes a huge

There's a gimmick where the front skirt also rotates sideways, though I wouldn't say it makes a huge difference for posing.

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - When you bend the knee, the lower rear armor automatically tucks in, giving the knee a slightly wide

When you bend the knee, the lower rear armor automatically tucks in, giving the knee a slightly wider range of motion.

Shoulder and waist articulation

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Action poses (1/11)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Action poses (2/11)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Action poses (3/11)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Action poses (4/11)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Action poses (5/11)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Action poses (6/11)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Action poses (7/11)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Action poses (8/11)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Action poses (9/11)

Action poses

To attach the Chobham Armor, you first attach the inner wall.

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - To attach the inner wall, you need to open the front skirt cover and unfold the top section of the b

To attach the inner wall, you need to open the front skirt cover and unfold the top section of the backpack.

Inner wall attached

Chobham Armor attached

Chobham Armor attached state

The face armor wasn't in the show, but it's included as a bonus.

The Chobham Armor also has a cockpit hatch open gimmick.

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Covers for exposing the verniers on each part are also included. (1/4)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Covers for exposing the verniers on each part are also included. (2/4)

Covers for exposing the verniers on each part are also included.

The 90mm Gatling gun can be deployed too.

Articulation with the Chobham Armor on.

To get a bit more knee range of motion, the rear leg Chobham Armor can slide down.

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Chobham Armor action poses (1/5)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Chobham Armor action poses (2/5)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Chobham Armor action poses (3/5)

Chobham Armor action poses

With the MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.1.0.

With the MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.1.0's Chobham Armor.

With the HGUC Gundam NT-1.

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Straight build (1/4)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 - Straight build (2/4)

Straight build

The MG Gundam NT-1 originally released in 1999 has been renewed as a Ver.2.0 after 20 years. Given how much time has passed, it comes out feeling like a completely new kit in terms of quality — it's been upgraded in every way.

First off, visually, the most striking thing is how many verniers have been color-separated. Even the dozen-plus small verniers that are a signature of this design have been carefully broken out into individual parts, and the large verniers on the backpack even get plated parts, giving it a colorful and flashy look. The proportions have been refined and updated in their own way, though there's a subtly retro feel to it. Compared to the increasingly slender trend of recent kits, it has a slight old-school vibe — probably a nod to classic fans, I'd think. (Which might split opinions a bit..)

In terms of articulation, as you'd expect from a modern kit, the limbs fold up completely. The hip joints don't have a separate slide gimmick — instead, they use the same approach as the MG Zaku 2.0, with the fixing pin positioned at the front. Given that the front skirt structure makes it hard to raise the thighs very high anyway, this hip joint setup is still more than enough for dynamic poses. Joint strength is generally solid overall, but the balance feels a little off in places. For example, the wrist joints are stiff to the point where you worry about breakage, while the ankles are noticeably looser compared to the other joints. The feet are big enough that it doesn't really wobble when standing, but there's a sense that the tuning wasn't quite finished. On another note, swappable fingers are included, and unlike previous kits, the connection points work in 2 directions and lock in deeply, so they hold much more securely. This is one upgrade I really like.

Gimmick-wise, there are several interesting new ideas — the shield has a clever opening mechanism built in. It's designed so you can strike a pose firing the poseable 90mm Gatling gun on the forearm while the shield is still attached, which makes for more dynamic poses. On top of that, there's a gimmick where the lower rear knee armor links up to improve knee articulation, and the front skirt rotates sideways to gain a bit more hip range of motion. (Though I'm not sure it makes a huge practical difference.)

The shoulders use bellows joints, similar to what was used on Patlabor — the same method of fitting a vinyl part into a round tube and scrunching it up. Since the mechanical designer for both Patlabor and Gundam NT-1 is the same person (Yutaka Izubuchi), there was always a similarity between the two, and that's reflected here with the same part approach. That said, since the bellows joint sits inside the shoulder, you can barely see it, and personally I'm not a big fan of this crumple-and-stuff style of bellows joint.

The biggest highlight of this kit is definitely the Chobham Armor. Rather than just slapping armor on top like before, you first attach a skeleton-like inner wall, then layer the armor pieces on top of that one by one. Even after the Chobham Armor is on, there are all kinds of open gimmicks — covers that open to expose the verniers on the shoulders, backpack, and legs. The forearm Gatling gun opens, the cockpit hatch opens, and there's even a slide-down gimmick on the rear knee armor to maintain articulation with the Chobham Armor on. It's almost hard to believe they went this far, but you can clearly see the effort put in to differentiate it from the Ver.1.0.

That said, while the outer armor has all these layers, the main frame itself feels a bit bare. There isn't much mechanical detail — it reads more as a structural skeleton than anything else, which is a little disappointing. Though to be fair, the box art proudly boasts a 4-layer armor structure of frame → armor → inner wall → Chobham Armor, so maybe that's their way of making up for it.

One thing that bugs me is that the shoulder joint tends to pop out during posing, and because of the bellows joint in that area, it's a hassle to reattach. The shoulder joint fixing pin feels a bit shallow, so the shoulder can come loose while you're moving it around. If it weren't for the bellows joint, reattaching it would be easy — it's just not a great setup all around. And while the various clever gimmicks on the Chobham Armor are a nice touch, the complexity of it all makes taking it on and off pretty tedious. I think the real value is just in how faithfully it recreates the design, going above and beyond what the source material even called for.

So there are a few things to nitpick, but overall the kit quality feels really clean and polished. The molded colors, color separation, build feel, and gimmick execution all scream cutting-edge modern kit, and it's genuinely satisfying to put together. If you're a fan of Gundam 0080, this is obviously a must-have, but even if you just want a sharp, satisfying MG build experience, this is a kit I'd happily recommend :-)

MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	What was that again?
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★★★★	Color separation on every single vernier, regardless of size. Better than expected!
Proportions	★★★★★	More refined and solid than the Ver.1.0, but with a slightly retro feel..
Articulation	★★★★★★	Grade-A articulation with full fold-up limbs, as you'd expect from a modern kit
Joint Strength	★★★★★	Overall pretty good, but the joint strength balance feels a bit off
Internal Frame	★★★★★★	The main frame is a bit of a letdown, but the inner wall is a pleasant surprise
Detail	★★★★★	Not a ton of detail, but the execution is definitely clean and refined.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★★	Chobham Armor with shield opening and hatch gimmicks. Better than expected.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★★	410 parts total. Parts per ¥1,000: 70.7. Fair price for what you get.
Uniqueness	★★★★★★★	Baseline quality upgrades are a given! On top of that, a gift set packed with plenty of unexpected gimmicks
Dalong's Point : 114 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 Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 | 2019. 6 | ¥6,200

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.