Kit Review

Straight build + Partial paint + Panel lining + Decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack — the universal standard for scale reference.

Cockpit hatch open

The inside of the verniers are separated out as yellow parts.

The verniers on the inner legs are also separate parts.

The Gatling gun on the arm can open and close.

MG Gundam NT-1 - The forearm Gatling opens up on both sides. The forearm cover slides upward, and the entire arm part slides

The forearm Gatling opens up on both sides.
The forearm cover slides upward, and the entire arm part slides down and splits open to both sides.

Close-up of the upper body. The shoulders thoughtfully use soft rubber joints..

The shield mount can be fixed at one of three positions, letting you adjust the height.

Weapons are kept to the basics. Well, there's always the Full Armor for that..

There are 6 hand types in total. One pair each of scissors/rock/paper hands, closed hands, and open hands.

MG Gundam NT-1 - Nicely includes two types of head antennae — soft flexible ones (less likely to break) for straight builds,

Nicely includes two types of head antennae — soft flexible ones (less likely to break) for straight builds, and plastic ones for painters.

Outer armor removed

Internal frame

The leg frame and armor structure. Since future variations were kept in mind, the inner frame is doubled up.

Left side shows just the basic skeleton, right side has the NT-1 frame added on top.

The detail is, well, decent enough..

The backpack's inner frame.

MG Gundam NT-1 - Arm articulation is pretty good, but the legs are just average. The ankle movement in particular is very lim

Arm articulation is pretty good, but the legs are just average.
The ankle movement in particular is very limited.. ;;

The double-joint structure at the elbow. The parts themselves are doubled up.

The kneeling firing pose comes out a bit hunched over.

Action pose

Drawing sword pose. The arm articulation is decent enough that the pose works.

The knee is bent to its maximum angle there.

Beam saber action pose.

Full Armor NT-1

Before putting on the Full Armor.

To attach the armor, you have to disassemble it like this and fit the pieces on.

Every armor piece has its own separate molding on the inside too. Definitely MG quality.

Full Armor form.

The cockpit still opens via a sliding mechanism even in Full Armor mode. Nice~

The front and rear armor on both shoulders can open upward. (Almost like a PG!)

Full Armor action po~se. "Come at me!"

The Gundam NT-1, the star of 0080: War in the Pocket, has been released. This is the first time it's come out in 1/100 scale, and the proportions are on a completely different level compared to the old 1/144 kit. First thing you notice — the white molded color has this lovely soft, matte quality to it. Pure white with not a single flow mark, almost flat in finish. It's got a slightly premium feel to the plastic. The verniers on the backpack and legs are especially nice, with the insides separated out as yellow parts — something both straight builders and painters will appreciate.

The forearm Gatling gun, one of the NT-1's signature features, is pulled off pretty convincingly. The forearm cover slides open, and the entire arm part also splits downward, fully exposing the Gatling.

The arms have a double-jointed elbow, so they bend quite a bit, but the legs only manage a basic 90-degree bend. The inner frame on its own actually has pretty decent articulation, but once you put the armor on, the range of motion gets restricted. The ankles in particular barely move even 10 degrees, which makes posing a real headache.

The biggest complaint about the NT-1 is that, being an older kit, the joints are generally a bit weak. The knee joints in particular are a problem. They're the kind that dangle when you lift the body up, so if you don't get the balance right when standing it up, there's a real risk of it toppling backwards. It won't fall over on its own if you leave it alone, but give it a gentle nudge and it'll go down nice and smoothly ;; True to its age as an older kit, the hand grip isn't great either, so it can't hold the rifle tightly.

The inner frame is only properly done on the legs and backpack. The legs in particular have a doubled-up frame — there's the main skeleton frame, and then an additional mechanical frame that attaches to both sides of the lower leg. When I first saw it I thought, "Oh nice, these guys went all out with a multi-layered internal structure!" — but later I found out it was actually just the base structure for variations into the GM Custom and GM Quel, which was a bit of a letdown ;; The frame detail is just so-so..

The Full Armor, one of the NT-1's defining features, is implemented pretty well. Putting it on does cut into the already average articulation even further, but it has great volume and the detail is solid all the way to the inside. Especially noteworthy is that even in Full Armor mode, the cockpit open function and shoulder armor open function (almost like a PG!) are both included — that's worth giving credit for.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of 0080: War in the Pocket — it's one of those anime that really moved me — so this was a kit I had high hopes for, and it ended up being half satisfying, half disappointing. It's got solid detail, a lovely molded color, and a properly done Full Armor going for it, but on the downside the joints are a bit loose and the articulation is just average. Either way, it's a fairly good-looking kit just standing on display. ^^

MG RX-78 NT-1 Gundam NT-1
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★	Made a fair effort to hide seam lines here and there. Happy with the leg color separation.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★★	Lovely molded color. A fresh approach with separate vernier parts. Excellent color separation.
Proportions	★★★★	Feels a little awkward in places, but overall pretty good.
Articulation	★★	Arms are good, but legs not so much.. Ankles in particular are terrible!
Joint Strength	★★	Arms are passable, grip not great. Legs aren't great either. Knees especially are a bit ;;
Internal Frame	★★★☆	Frame on the legs and backpack. Double frame on the lower legs. Detail is a bit plain.
Detail	★★★★☆	Overall a lot of care went into it. Full Armor interior detail is great.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★	Weapons are nothing special, but the Full Armor is pretty substantial.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★☆	329 parts total. Parts per ¥1,000: 109.7. Great volume for the price.
Uniqueness	★★★★	Built with future variations in mind.
Dalong's Point : 77 pts.

MG Gundam NT-1 | 1999.6 | ¥3,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.