Kit Review

Straight build

MG Gundam ~ 20th Aniversary Coating Version - Front, rear, and upper body close-up shots (1/3)

Front, rear, and upper body close-up shots

Gate marks are painfully visible on the shoulders and head. OTL..

Gate marks on the arms and legs

Plenty of weapons, as expected.

Plated Core Fighter

MG Gundam ~ 20th Aniversary Coating Version - It goes something like this.. The plating quality and thickness vary from part

It goes something like this.. The plating quality and thickness vary from part to part, so there are a few spots where you can see some awkward step gaps..

MG Gundam ~ 20th Aniversary Coating Version - The head antenna plating combination is a bit awkward. The plated antenna doesn

The head antenna plating combination is a bit awkward.
The plated antenna doesn't have color separation for the red section in the middle..
The one with the red color separation is designed to have a plain white soft antenna plugged in.
Probably best to polish the plated antenna and combine it with the red plated part.. ^^;

You can see roughly this kind of difference.

Hatch open

MG Gundam ~ 20th Aniversary Coating Version - Action pose (1/6)

MG Gundam ~ 20th Aniversary Coating Version - Action pose (2/6)

MG Gundam ~ 20th Aniversary Coating Version - Action pose (3/6)

MG Gundam ~ 20th Aniversary Coating Version - Action pose (4/6)

Action pose

MG Gundam ~ 20th Aniversary Coating Version - The v1.0's signature optional parts are plated too. Somehow these actually look

The v1.0's signature optional parts are plated too. Somehow these actually look like they'd be useful.. ^^

One of the key highlights of this kit — the 1/20 Amuro figure!

Comparison with the v1.0 original

Comparison with the original Core Fighter

The trio together — original, Crystal, and plated version.

This kit is the MG First v1.0 Coating Version, released in 1998 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Gundam series which began in 1978. The exterior armor runners — excluding the gray joint and weapon parts — have each been painted in different metallic colors to match their respective color schemes. And as a bonus, a 1/20 Amuro figure is included.

The plastic material used in this plated version is a bit unusual. It's clearly different from the standard release — the base color is completely black throughout, and the material feels somewhat softer. It's probably a type of plastic that takes plating well.. Perhaps because of that, the assembled kit also feels noticeably lighter than the original. The difference is especially apparent when trimming gates with a cutter.

There must be some reason they used this black, soft plastic.. but because the base is black, gate marks stand out particularly badly on the silver plated surfaces. Without lightly touching them up with something like a silver plating marker, they look pretty rough... (Gate marks were left uncovered in this kit for review purposes. ^^;)

And since this is an early plating release, the plating quality isn't really at a level you could call great. As you can see in the photos above, there are spots where the plating condition differs between two adjacent parts, creating a noticeable mismatch. On larger surfaces, there are also some areas in the corners that look like the coating was sprayed and then stopped partway.

In my experience, this kind of uneven plating quality is hit or miss. In other words, it comes down to the luck of the draw with your particular kit. This wasn't a product made in an era like today where plated kits are common and quality control is well-established, so it's hard to fault them too much..

Regardless, it holds great significance as the first MG plated kit, and while the quality can't exactly be called excellent, it does look pretty and sparkly once built. The 1/20 Amuro figure is a nice little bonus in its own right. The original price is a bit steep — 1000 yen more than the standard — but it's also a kit that goes on sale at many shops, so being able to pick it up cheaper is a plus in itself. :-)

MG Gundam ~ 20th Aniversary Coating Version | 1998.6 | ¥3,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.