OLD Gundam F90 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type

Release 1990.10

Price ¥2,500

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Box side view (1/3)

Box side view

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Runners (1/8)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Runners (2/8)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Runners (3/8)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Runners (4/8)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Runners (5/8)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Runners (6/8)

Runners

There's one runner specially packaged and placed on top of the box.

The system insert runner — back in 1990, this thing was absolutely mind-blowing.

It's a technology that molds 2–3 different molded colors into a single part all at once.

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Looking at the back of the parts, you can see how it's structured. (1/3)

Looking at the back of the parts, you can see how it's structured.

A large number of seals are included.

A Type weapon runner

D Type weapon runner

S Type weapon runner

The S Type also includes spring parts.

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Parts diagram (1/6)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Parts diagram (2/6)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Parts diagram (3/6)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Parts diagram (4/6)

Parts diagram

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (1/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (2/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (3/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (4/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (5/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (6/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (7/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (8/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (9/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (10/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (11/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (12/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (13/16)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Manual (14/16)

Manual

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

This kit includes a total of 3 different type weapon packs combined together.

Gundam F90 base body

Standard weapons

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - The system insert does make things more colorful, but due to the nature of the technology,

The system insert does make things more colorful, but due to the nature of the technology, the gate color can come out different from the base color, which doesn't look great.

Limb articulation

The elbow joints pop out easily, which is a real pain in all sorts of ways..;;

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Action poses with the base body. The articulation is a bit awkward, so it's not easy to get

Action poses with the base body. The articulation is a bit awkward, so it's not easy to get good poses.

To attach the weapon packs, you need to remove the covers on various parts of the body.

A (Assault) Type weapon pack

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - A Type configuration (1/4)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - A Type configuration (2/4)

A Type configuration

The machine cannon section on the backpack can also be angled.

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - Action poses with the signature weapon, the mega beam bazooka (1/3)

Action poses with the signature weapon, the mega beam bazooka

D (Destroid) Type weapon pack

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - D Type configuration (1/4)

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - D Type configuration (2/4)

D Type configuration

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - D Type action poses (1/3)

D Type action poses

S (Support) Type Weapon Pack

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - S Type configuration (1/3)

S Type configuration

Spring parts are used for the power cables.

Backpack rail cannon articulation

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - S Type action poses (1/3)

S Type action poses

OLD 1/100 Gundam F90 A/D/S Type - The F90 was developed at around 15m tall under the MS miniaturization program, so even thou

The F90 was developed at around 15m tall under the MS miniaturization program, so even though it's 1/100 scale, it's much smaller than the 1/100 Nu Gundam. It's even smaller than the 1/144 Nu Gundam on the right!

This kit is the Gundam F90 A/D/S Type, released as the first entry in the Gundam F90 series, and it's a combined kit that includes the F90 base body along with three different weapon packs. The F90 was basically a teaser lineup (?) leading up to the Gundam F91 series set in the theatrical anime, existing only as lore and concept. That said, it also served as a testing ground for the latest Gunpla technology of the time.

First off, this kit introduced an innovative technology called System Insert. The earlier System Injection was a molding technique that combined parts of different colors in separate zones on a single runner, but System Insert takes it further — it molds a single part with 2–3 colors of plastic all fused together at once. This allows a single part to come out of the mold with color separation already built in. It was also used in the four old HG Gundam kits, and carried over into a few later series like F91 and V Gundam.

Later on, similar techniques were applied to things like PG fingers and RG frames for single-piece molding of special parts, though there's a technical difference in that those involve simultaneous molding of articulated joints. Then in 2016, the concept made a comeback in the Figure-rise Burst series under the name Layered Injection, with a much more refined execution.

Anyway, this technology had a high defect rate that hurt productivity, and the color boundaries between different colors on the same part could come out blurry — the market reaction was pretty lukewarm overall, so it was only a brief trend in the early-to-mid '90s.

Gundam F90, along with these new technologies, feels like a kit where Bandai was really trying to push Gunpla to the next level. Due to the MS miniaturization setting, the 1/100 kit actually came out smaller than a 1/144 Nu Gundam. It seems like they were trying to move away from the split between 1/144 and 1/100 scales, and instead unify the lineup at 1/100 by setting the in-universe height to around 15m. But this whole MS miniaturization trend also turned out to be just a brief fad of the era.

Looking at the F90 base body first — along with advances in molding technology, the proportions became much slimmer and more slender compared to older kits. These kinds of proportions are totally normal now, but back then, such a slim silhouette was actually quite shocking. There were praises calling it sleek alongside complaints that it looked too fragile, but either way, even by today's standards it holds up pretty well without looking dated.

That said, the articulation on the arms and legs still falls below average, not clearing 90 degrees, though joint strength overall is decent enough. The elbow joints are a weak point though — they don't hold well and pop off easily, and having the arms keep falling off while you're posing it gets pretty annoying. There's also the issue that the angle for holding the shield is awkward, making it hard to get the shield positioned in a convincing way. On top of that, the seals have weak adhesive, so over time they tend to lift and fall off, which is a bit of a problem.

To attach the weapon packs, you need to remove the cover parts on the shoulders, forearms, front/side skirts, thighs, and backpack. All of these sections use polycaps, so the weapons lock on with plenty of stability.

The first of the weapon packs, the A Type, stands for Assault. It equips the backpack with an enhanced mobility unit, 6-ton and 17-ton propellant tanks on both forearms and legs, and a beam bazooka as additional armament — all assault-type gear designed for hovering and flight. The whole thing is molded in a single shade of blue, which makes it feel a bit plain, but it's a solid, no-nonsense loadout. The one issue is that the clip-style attachment on the rear skirt is weak, so the armament tends to fall off.

The second, the D Type, stands for Destroid, and it loads the whole body up with various offensive weapons. A gatling gun and heavy magazine go on the left side, rocket pod packs on both arms, boost packs on the sides of both legs, and grenade racks on top of both shoulders. Compared to the A Type, it feels like it blends more naturally with the base body. And while the A Type had that weak rear skirt attachment issue, on the D Type the heavy magazine in that same spot holds on without much trouble.

The last one, the S Type, stands for Support — and true to its name, it's all about fire support. Large long-range cannons sit on the shoulders, a support brace attaches to the rear skirt, missile pods & cannons go on both forearms, and cruising missiles mount on the sides of both legs. Personally, this is the most stylish-looking of the three loadouts. It's also the most stable of the three in terms of how securely everything stays attached.

So all in all, it's quite a lavish kit with a sleek color scheme, great proportions on the base body, and a variety of weapon packs included. It was released as a bootleg copy domestically in Korea at some point, but since System Insert wasn't replicated, the colors looked pretty rough. The polycap quality was also off, making it a poor-quality copy overall — the official Bandai release of the F90 is clearly in a different league in terms of quality.

Anyway, it's not really fair to compare it to the latest Gunpla with all its incredible advances, but even after more than 20 years, this old kit doesn't feel like it's fallen drastically behind. It was a pretty sensational Gunpla for its time, and I think it's thanks to all these various experiments that Gunpla has evolved into what it is today. :-)
[ Updated at 2017.9.8]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.