Kit Review

Straight build + Partial paint + Panel lining + Decals

MG Nu Gundam - The universal standard for size comparison — the cigarette pack. It's already a big kit, but with the fin funn

The universal yardstick — size comparison with a cigarette pack.
It's already a big kit, but with the fin funnels attached it looks absolutely massive at around 30cm.

Body shot

Outer armor removed

The full-body frame is fully realized.

Upper front of the body

Backpack frame

Rear of the body with the backpack removed

Arm frame

MG Nu Gundam - The leg frame is a work of art. Mesh pipes are used behind the knees. The areas marked with yellow arrows are

The leg frame is a work of art. Mesh pipes are used behind the knees.
The areas marked with yellow arrows are die-cast, which reinforces the joints and keeps the center of gravity in check.

There are articulated cylinders above the knees.

MG Nu Gundam - Peel back one layer of the leg frame and you can see the die-cast parts. They're heavy and solid, which really

Peel back one layer of the leg frame and you can see the die-cast parts.
They're heavy and solid, which really plants the center of gravity down low.

The ankle polycap connects to a die-cast ball joint, making it incredibly sturdy.

MG Nu Gundam - The ball joint connecting the body to the legs is also die-cast, and the stiffness is tuned just right so the

The ball joint connecting the body to the legs is also die-cast,
and the stiffness is tuned just right so the pose doesn't shift even with the fin funnels attached.
Also worth noting — the skirt interior has separate parts with molded detail.

MG Nu Gundam - Thanks to the die-cast joints, you can hold it sideways like that and the legs don't budge at all — rock solid

Thanks to the die-cast joints, you can hold it sideways like that and the legs don't budge at all — rock solid.
And that's even with the heavy die-cast sitting down in the lower legs~

MG Nu Gundam - The color separation is also a work of art. There are no areas handled with stickers — everything is done thro

The color separation is also a work of art. There are no areas handled with stickers — everything is done through separate parts.

The yellow verniers on the legs are all molded in yellow as separate parts as well.

Cockpit hatch open. The opening angle is pretty wide.

All the weapons that come with the Nu Gundam are included.

MG Nu Gundam - The color separation on the weapons is excellent too. Though part of the bazooka didn't quite match the offici

The color separation on the weapons is excellent too. Though part of the bazooka didn't quite match the official colors.

The highlight of the Nu Gundam — the fin funnels.

They connect in multiple stages, and they're relatively sturdy so they don't come apart easily.

MG Nu Gundam - The connecting pins stored inside are designed to pull out in opposite directions from each other. This preven

The connecting pins stored inside are designed to pull out in opposite directions from each other.
This prevents force from being concentrated in one direction and causing them to pop out.
A significant improvement over the old 1/100.

MG Nu Gundam - But... the yellow in the center is done with separate parts, while the yellow on the white panel sections is h

But... the yellow in the center is done with separate parts,
while the yellow on the white panel sections is handled with stickers, which creates a bit of an inconsistent look.
If they'd done the color separation properly on that part too it would've been absolutely perfect.. oh well~

MG Nu Gundam - This is a section that could easily go floppy, but there's a multi-joint locking mechanism inside, so it click

This is a section that could easily go floppy, but there's a multi-joint locking mechanism inside,
so it clicks firmly into place every 90 degrees.

You can fold the fin funnels into all sorts of configurations.

Rear view with the fin funnels attached

MG Nu Gundam - Once you attach the fin funnels to the backpack, they naturally wrap around the body in a really satisfying wa

Once you attach the fin funnels to the backpack, they naturally wrap around the body in a really satisfying way.

Two beam sabers are included.

One beam saber is stored in the left arm, and the detachment gimmick is nicely implemented.

The second beam saber mount on the backpack can rotate 180 degrees.

MG Nu Gundam - Articulation is on the good side. The arms fold almost completely, though the legs don't bend quite as far. Th

Articulation is on the good side. The arms fold almost completely, though the legs don't bend quite as far.
That said, the legs hold their angles really well, making action poses easy to pull off.

The neck can tilt back about 45 degrees. (Grendizer??)

Just like the Sazabi, the front and rear toe/heel pegs can be folded down 90 degrees.

Movement of the vernier cover on the back of the legs

MG Nu Gundam - Action poses~ The MG Nu Gundam holds poses really well. Appreciate it in the larger photo too! View larger ima

Action poses~ The MG Nu Gundam holds poses really well.
Appreciate it in the larger photo too! View larger image

No matter what dynamic pose you put it in, the joints are so sturdy it holds perfectly.

Bazooka action. Oozing coolness as expected~ View larger image

The rear view is great too.

Drawing the beam saber from the backpack comes off completely naturally~

Beam saber action.

Looks awesome as always. View larger image

The other beam saber

The king of joint gimmicks, the emperor of cool — Nu Gundam glamour shot~ View larger image

MG Nu Gundam - Amuro's first and last mobile suit. Comparison with the RX-78 v1.5. In lore, the Nu Gundam is about 4m taller.

Amuro's first and last mobile suit. Comparison with the RX-78 v1.5.
In lore, the Nu Gundam is about 4m taller. The Nu Gundam's proportions are killer~

Together with its arch-rival, the Sazabi.. The Sazabi's size is just intimidating~

A special bonus for Professor Mulder. It's now an era of reconciliation.

Following the Sazabi, the Nu Gundam naturally got the MG treatment as well. (There's sometimes debate over the pronunciation — "Nu" or "New" Gundam — but since it varies depending on the region anyway, we'll just go with Nu Gundam here for convenience.)
The mobile suits from the Char's Counterattack series are larger than earlier ones, and the Nu Gundam is about 4m taller than the standard RX-78. So along with the Sazabi, the Nu Gundam is one impressive, imposing MS.

The 1/100 Nu Gundam released in 1989 was also quite a sensation at the time — it featured outstanding color separation and molded colors by the standards of the day, and even incorporated die-cast parts for a luxurious parts lineup. In particular, the proportions were good enough to hold their own even against the MG Nu Gundam, and if you stand the old 1/100 and the MG side by side, it's actually hard to tell them apart at a glance.

Hard to tell which is which at first glance, right? ^^;

But the quality of 1989 had its limits — the joints were loose overall, some details were a bit chunky, and stickers were used here and there, so aside from the proportions it had quite a few shortcomings. The MG Nu Gundam was released as a complete and total upgrade over all those weaknesses. This review will focus mainly on the improvements over the old 1/100, which was a decent kit in its own right — and for the comparison photos with the old 1/100, since the one I have is in pretty rough shape, I'll just make do with a single old photo I took back in 2001 when I built the MG Nu Gundam ^^;;

The biggest problem with the old 1/100 was the joint issue when the fin funnels were attached. Carrying such a large, lopsided load on its back made it extremely difficult for the kit to hold a pose. The old 1/100 was genuinely quite a pain to keep standing upright.

It seems like joint reinforcement was the top priority when planning the MG Nu Gundam. The MG Nu Gundam uses heavy die-cast parts at both ankles to shift the center of gravity down into the lower body, and die-cast is also used at the connection point between the body and legs to keep the center of gravity stable. On top of that, the die-cast isn't just acting as a counterweight — it's directly used as the ball joints at the most stress-sensitive articulation points. This makes the most critical joints — the ankles and the body-to-leg connection — incredibly stiff and locked in. The knees are also tightened with screws, making them quite solid as well.

In the end, this approach with the MG Nu Gundam was a tremendous success — it produced the kit with the sturdiest joints in Gunpla history. Unlike the old kit, which would lose its pose in just five minutes, the MG Nu Gundam can be fully loaded with fin funnels, posed, and left standing for years — and it'll hold that pose perfectly~! The fact that it can maintain a pose with those large, off-center fin funnels attached is genuinely impressive. If you remember the old 1/100, this point will hit even harder — and it's the single greatest strength and defining feature of the MG Nu Gundam.

The arm joints are also on the sturdy side, though the waist ball joint feels slightly weaker by comparison. But since the range of motion there is limited anyway, it doesn't cause any real issues when posing overall. The one thing I do wish were better is the grip hands — in classic early-MG fashion, the rock-paper-scissors style articulated hands have some trouble with grip strength. They're a bit loose, so the rifle doesn't stay firmly in the hand.. Every other part is so stiff and tight that the loose hands stand out even more, but you can fix it pretty easily by reinforcing the connection with super glue. Still, it's a disappointing point.

The color separation on the old 1/100 was impressive for its time, but the MG Nu Gundam's color separation takes it to another level entirely. Unlike the old kit, which used stickers for small details, the MG Nu Gundam has all the yellow verniers and various red accents done completely through separate parts and color separation, and the weapons with their complex color schemes are also well separated. That said, there are still some disappointing spots on the color separation front — the yellow areas on the fin funnels are partially done with separate parts and partially handled with stickers, which creates an inconsistent look. That's the biggest letdown. The bazooka also has better color separation than the old kit, but a few spots inevitably came out in colors that don't match the official design.

The articulation on the MG Nu Gundam isn't exceptional. In terms of raw bend angles alone, it's just about average-to-good — but it poses naturally and looks great in action poses. This kit is proof that you can't judge articulation quality by bend angles alone. Combined with those stiff, sturdy joints, the dynamism and stability of its action poses is genuinely on another level compared to other kits. Take a look at the action pose photos above and you'll see what I mean — it just looks so cool :-)

The fin funnel structure also saw a revolutionary improvement over the old 1/100. Where the old kit had them loosely connected with polycaps, the MG Nu Gundam adopts a clicking multi-joint structure throughout. This greatly improved the stability when connecting the fin funnels together, and they have a special mechanism where they click into place every 90 degrees when folded. It's a completely different world from the old kit's tentacle-like fin funnels ^^ The solid locking means the angles look so much sharper and cleaner.

On the surface, the proportions look similar to the old 1/100 kit, but the inside is completely different. The MG Nu Gundam features a full-body inner frame, which takes the kit's quality to an even higher level. Not only does it have this full inner frame, but the detail throughout the body is top-notch. Some people say the head looks a bit large, but that's really a matter of personal taste, so take a look and judge for yourself.

At first I was scratching my head at the ¥5,000 price tag — the box is thin, more like a ¥4,000-level kit, and since the old 1/100 was already pretty good, I figured how much better could an MG really be? But after actually building it, that preconception was completely blown to pieces! It's a high-quality kit that's an upgrade over the old version in every single way, and it's absolutely worth every yen of that ¥5,000. The old kit tried to use die-cast parts in the legs to help with the center of gravity, but that was a total failure... So I thought, even if it's MG, how different could the die-cast parts really be? But in the MG Nu Gundam, they're used "properly" — for real this time.

The feel of building the MG Nu Gundam is unlike any other kit. The solid, sturdy feel, the perfect inner frame and detail — it's a top-tier kit in every way. The fin funnels being handled with stickers and the somewhat weak grip are downsides, but the strengths are so overwhelming that those flaws get quietly swept under the rug. (^^;) It seems like Bandai has a pretty serious attachment to the Nu Gundam — Amuro's final mobile suit and one of the most popular Gundams out there. The old 1/100 kit already blew people away back in the day with quality that stood head and shoulders above other kits, and the MG Nu Gundam delivers once again at the very top level.

So what's the verdict on the MG Nu Gundam? It's a kit I'd highly recommend to anyone and everyone who loves Gunpla. ^^

MG RX-93 Nu Gundam
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	None, aside from the unavoidable head size issue.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★☆	Overall color separation is very good. The fin funnels and bazooka leave a little to be desired.
Proportions	★★★★★	Outstanding! The dynamism and impact of the action poses in particular are absolutely stunning.
Articulation	★★★★☆	The range of leg movement is a bit limited, but action poses really come together beautifully!
Joint Strength	★★★★☆	The joint feel on the body is arguably the best among MG kits. The weak grip is the one blemish.
Internal Frame	★★★★★	This kit helped write the history of what a near-complete full-body inner frame could be.
Detail	★★★★★	You can clearly see the effort that went into it.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★	Sturdy fin funnels with solid gimmicks. Well-separated colors on the weapons. Good stuff.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★★	421 parts total. Parts per ¥1,000: 84.2. A kit that's well worth the price.
Uniqueness	★★★★★	Amuro's final machine. The strongest joints. The best looks. The best action poses.
Dalong's Point : 97 pts.

MG Nu Gundam | 2000.12 | ¥5,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.