Kit Review

Straight build + panel lining + partial painting + decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack. It's a large unit by design, so it's got some real bulk to it.

MG S Gundam - The red on the wing sections of the shoulders and rear was handled with rather sloppy stickers, so I went ahead

The red on the wing sections of the shoulders and rear was handled with rather sloppy stickers...
So I took care of those with partial painting.

MG S Gundam - Unlike the old original release, this one has the Smart Gun and support arm attached to the side of the legs. S

Unlike the old original release, this one has the Smart Gun and support arm attached to the side of the legs.
Some people were disappointed by this, but honestly it looks pretty cool in its own way. ^^

Interestingly, the beam sabers are stored on the inside of the knee armor.

The head antenna slides forward, allowing you to pull out the INCOM.

Pulling out the INCOM and holding it...

The Smart Gun support arm is built quite solidly and holds up well.

The support arm connection can extend and retract with a sliding mechanism like this.

The auxiliary support arm on the left side can be used like this.

MG S Gundam - Removing the outer armor... though thanks to the complex transformation gimmick, only the legs actually have a

Removing the outer armor... though thanks to the complex transformation gimmick, only the legs actually have a frame and armor structure.

The mechanical frame of the legs.

Arm articulation is great, but leg articulation is just so-so.

Action poses~ It's such a big unit that even a simple pose looks really powerful.

MG S Gundam - Using the support arm (1/4)

MG S Gundam - Using the support arm (2/4)

Using the support arm

View from below

The foot pose looks a bit awkward too.

Beam saber action.

Since the upper leg rotates 360 degrees, posing is at least a bit easier.

Together with the HGUC S Gundam.

MG S Gundam - Together with the MG RX-78 v1.5, which can be considered the standard size reference. You can really see just h

Together with the MG RX-78 v1.5, which can be considered the standard size reference. You can really see just how big the S Gundam is.

Even the Nu Gundam, which is no small unit itself, looks totally outclassed next to the S Gundam...

MG S Gundam - Together with the Sazabi. The Sazabi's volume and bulk really are in a class of their own — and the S Gundam is

Together with the Sazabi. The Sazabi's volume and bulk really are in a class of their own.
And the S Gundam is right there to match it...

MG S Gundam - Together with the Sentinel FAZZ. The FAZZ is pretty bulky in its own right, but it's still smaller than the S,

Together with the Sentinel FAZZ. The FAZZ is pretty bulky in its own right, but it's still smaller than the S, of course.

Together with the MG Zeta Plus family.

It can transform into the G Attacker, G Core, and G Bomber.

The fully transformed G Attacker.

The G Core. Maybe because it's space-use only, it doesn't come with landing gear at all.

G Bomber
Transformation Review

The Superior Gundam (a.k.a. S Gundam), the main unit of Sentinel, has finally been released as an MG kit.
Several years before its release, a Bandai development chief expressed a strong personal wish in a hobby magazine to make a fully transformable S Gundam in MG form — and that dream has finally become reality.

The S Gundam was designed by the genius Hajime Katoki at the young age of 23, and as of 2005 when this review was updated, it's a design that's over 16 years old — yet it still oozes sophistication and style. It's a truly iconic design. Even though it only exists in story form rather than as an anime, its sleek design and sheer charisma have earned it a huge fanbase.

This MG S Gundam, a large unit standing around 23 meters tall, manages to nail both excellent proportions and full transformation — two goals that don't always go together. The body lines do a great job capturing that refined style, but the biggest highlight of the MG S is without a doubt the "perfect
transformation". The transformation itself is so complex by design that many people wondered whether it could even be pulled off in plastic kit form — but true to its reputation as a product that brings together all of Bandai's development know-how and expertise, the transformation is absolutely mind-blowing. Of course, credit is also due to Hajime Katoki, who had the foresight to design the unit with a fully transformable structure in mind from the very beginning.

In particular, the G Attacker transformation of the upper body is a masterpiece of precision engineering — you can almost feel the enormous effort and trial-and-error that went into it. The G Attacker in its transformed state looks even more stylish and solid than the original design, and every time you transform it you can't help but let out a gasp of admiration. The lower body G Bomber transformation is comparatively more straightforward, but regardless, the fact that a complete transformation is achieved with no parts swapping whatsoever is just incredible. T_T

As you can see from the comparison photos above, this thing is in the same size league as the Sazabi, easily dwarfing even the Nu Gundam — and yet the joints are solid enough that it doesn't topple over easily. The legs are still ever so slightly iffy (given how much volume the upper body has...), but there's not a single loose spot anywhere on the kit. The grip strength is pretty good too.

One issue though — there have been reports of the screws that hold the rear wing sections in place not seating properly, causing them to spin freely or not lock securely. I had a bit of that problem myself. That said, on the S Gundam those rear wing mounts don't actually need to move, so gluing them in place isn't a problem. (Note: on the Ex-S, those parts do need to be movable.)

The old original kit had beam cannons on the sides, but this MG S comes with the Smart Gun support arm and auxiliary arm instead. Some people might be a bit disappointed by that, but once you actually set it up, having the Smart Gun attached actually looks way cooler. ^^

The color separation and parts breakdown are excellent overall... but sure enough, the red on the wing sections is handled with plain stickers. T_T So I did some partial painting to get them looking right. Everything else in terms of color separation is perfect, but those wings must have left a lot of people feeling a bit sour.

Thanks to all the complex transformation gimmicks, articulation is somewhat limited — but when you actually try posing it, you can get some surprisingly dynamic stances. This is largely because the knees rotate horizontally, which effectively increases the range and width of leg movement.

I personally had been longing for a 1/100 fully transformable S Gundam for so long, and I was blown away countless times by the fact that it finally happened — but this kit goes above and beyond even the high expectations of longtime fans like me. It also made me even more excited for the Ex-S, which was naturally expected to follow. The Ex-S is fantastic too, but there's something really special about the clean, sleek style and transformation of the S Gundam that the chunkier Ex-S just can't replicate.

Long story short — once you build one, you won't be able to deny that this is one of the masterpieces in Gunpla history, one that will leave you genuinely amazed at Bandai's developers' technical skill and craftsmanship. ^^

MG MSA-0011 S Gundam
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	Aside from the head and gun barrel, this is really excellent~
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★☆	Excellent overall, but the sticker treatment on the wings is a bit of a letdown...
Proportions	★★★★★	The charismatic 1/100 S Gundam with its massive frame!
Articulation	★★★★	For a transforming kit, this is excellent. Poses well too.
Joint Strength	★★★★★	Overall, a nice consistent tightness throughout.
Internal Frame	★★★★★	The frame is only on the legs, but the transformation gimmick itself is an absolute work of art!
Detail	★★★★★	Words fail me.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★	It's got everything the S Gundam should have. Core block and core fighter both included.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★	501 parts total. Parts per ¥1,000: 83.5. The parts breakdown is an art form.
Uniqueness	★★★★★	The fact that it came out as a fully transformable kit is just incredible.
Dalong's Point : 95 pts.

MG S Gundam | 2002.10 | ¥6,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.