Head parts layout.
Being a PG, even just the head uses a ton of parts.
The colors are quite varied too..

Work-in-progress shots of the major sections.

A face where the color combination is perfect just from the color separation alone.

There's a silver reflective sticker that goes on the back of the eye section,
but if you're using the LED unit, the instructions say not to apply it since it would block the light.

The inside of the Unicorn's head antenna has an Extra Finish-style gold coating applied,
and small magnets are inserted at the arrow positions on both sides.

So when you bring the two halves of the antenna together, they snap right into place like shown.
The magnets aren't super strong, so you only feel a slight pull when they get really close together.

The head antenna snaps together nicely,
though there's no hiding the gold-coated section that shows through in the middle.

Also, if you don't properly secure the base of the head antenna,
the tips can gap open independently of the magnets, as shown.
If the antenna doesn't seem to be closing properly, check that the parts on the head side are locked in place.

Next, lift the head up sharply..

Close the cheek pieces back together and the transformation to Destroy Mode is complete.

The gleam of the gold-coated head antenna is gorgeous..

There's one more hidden open gimmick on top of the head for the Unchained Mode.
The locking on this one is a bit iffy though, and the retaining pin on the inside tends to pop out pretty often.
It's not hard to push back in, so that's a relief, but it is a bit of a letdown.

Well, I guess being a PG means there was enough room inside the head to squeeze in yet another gimmick like that.

Upper body parts layout.

For important joints like the shoulders, soft polycap (PC)and hard plastic cap (POM)are used together on either side.
This maintains joint strength in two stages, which is a pretty solid approach.
If you don't follow the manual carefully and insert the PC and POM in exactly the right positions,
they won't fit properly and there's a risk of breakage, so be careful.

Looking closely at the soft PC on the left and the hard POM on the right,
the PC is a typical soft polycap with a round hole,
whereas the ABS-material POM has an octagonal hole.
By securing from both sides with these two different types, it achieves both flexibility and firmness at the same time.

The waist also uses both the hard POM and soft PC together on either side.

The shoulder slide gimmick for Destroy Mode.
It's designed to push out slightly toward the back.

Despite the tight space, the shoulder joint still manages to swing out at a 45-degree angle to the front.

Attaching the armor pieces to the waist..

On the back of the neck parts you can see a slot for installing the LED unit.

Psycho-frame is also attached separately to the inside of the upper torso armor.

Parts for the lower body as well.

The hip joint looks really solid and mechanical.

Both sides of the hip joint's pivot point use hard POM and soft PC material together.

Parts for the front skirt.

Silver foil stickers are applied to the inside of the psycho-frame to help reflect the LED light later on.

For Unchained Mode, the bottom of the front skirt also spreads open further via a sliding mechanism.

Parts for the rear skirt.

It's interesting that the inside of the verniers has white color separation.

Unicorn Mode (left) and Destroy Mode (right)

Just like the front skirt,
the bottom of the rear skirt also extends via a sliding mechanism for Unchained Mode.

Parts for the side skirts.

When extending the waist to transform into Destroy Mode,
there's a locking pin on the back with the same structure as the MG.
The difference is that it's much stiffer than the MG, so it locks in place more securely.

For the upper body, the chest armor opens up additionally for Unchained Mode.

Backpack parts diagram

Main components of the backpack.

For Unchained Mode, if you pull out the bottom section of the backpack,
the lower verniers spread apart and the psycho-frame opens up even wider.

You can also pull out the verniers on the sides a little further too.

With even more psycho-frame surface area exposed —
the backpack in Unchained Mode.

Shoulder parts diagram

Reflective stickers are applied to the inside of the shoulder's psycho-frame.

Shoulder armor breakdown.

Also, there's psycho-frame hidden inside the small piece of armor attached to the tip of the shoulder too.

In Unchained Mode, the inner lower armor drops down,
and the small outer upper armor piece can be slid upward.

Left is Destroy Mode, right is Unchained Mode.
You can see how the exposed psycho-frame surface area is a bit wider in Unchained Mode.

Arm parts diagram.

Arm armor breakdown.

The fully articulated one-piece molded hand is reused from the PG Strike that came out back in 2004.

Comparison with and without armor

The arm folds up completely, as you'd expect from a PG.

Unicorn Mode and Destroy Mode.
The transformation to Destroy Mode is the same as the MG.

In Unchained Mode, you can spread open the bicep armor to expose additional psycho-frame.

Destroy Mode (left) and Unchained Mode (right)

Parts breakdown for the legs.

The ABS-material POM has an octagonal interior shape like this.

When you bend the knee, the entire large knee plate slides and moves.
It's the gimmick that links up with the big Destroy Mode knee.

The knee joint is also built in a double-layer construction to allow LED wiring to be routed through the inside.

A PG-exclusive side leg psycho-frame exposure gimmick for Unchained Mode.

Knee / rear vernier internal movement gimmick for Destroy Mode

When you bend the knee, the middle section of the knee links up and moves separately.

Unicorn Mode (left) and Destroy Mode (right) — both
are well-designed so the knee folds completely regardless of which mode you're in.

Inner frame and outer armor of the leg

Comparison between the standard Unicorn leg and the frame alone

The inner frame in Destroy Mode.

When transforming into Destroy Mode, lifting the thigh armor upward
automatically pushes the leg out and extends it a bit.

Comparison of Unicorn Mode and Destroy Mode.
The transformation method and overall construction are the same as the MG.

Even with the armor on, both Unicorn and Destroy Mode achieve full knee bend properly!!
The MG Unicorn's knee articulation was honestly the worst of any Gunpla ever made...

When you bend the knee in Unicorn Mode,
the gap in the knee armor briefly opens up partway through,
then the inner gimmick slides out and the armor closes back together for a perfect fit.
It's hard to put into words, but seeing it in person will definitely get an "ooh~" out of you..

In Destroy Mode, because of the protruding knee,
an additional slide gimmick extends from the inside to allow the knee to fold completely.

If you watch closely while bending the knee in Destroy Mode,
you can see the slide gimmicks hidden at the top and bottom being revealed in the process.
The fact that they packed in layer upon layer of internal gimmicks
just to nail both the transformation and the articulation is genuinely impressive..

For Unchained Mode, the front of the ankle armor pops forward
to expose additional psycho-frame.

The rear of the ankle guard armor can also be spread open slightly to expose the psycho-frame.

Here's a before/after comparison of this area opening and closing.

The legs in Destroy Mode and Unchained Mode.

Rear view of the Unchained Mode legs, spread wide open and looking spectacular.

Parts breakdown for the feet.

The all-important ankle section again uses a large mix of POM and PC,
The joint strength is rock-solid — stiff to the point of being tight.

By combining a hard POM with a hexagonal hole on one side of a single pin and a soft PC with a round hole on the other,
it seems they've managed to pull off a pretty successful joint strength solution.

There are also psycho-frame parts on the inside of the side foot armor.

Unicorn Mode and Destroy Mode feet.

When switching to Destroy Mode, the foot dorsal cover lifts upward.
On the PG, the black section of the dorsal cover snaps firmly into place underneath the ankle guard.
On the MG this was a spot that never quite lined up right, but true to PG form, they've come up with a proper solution here.

Including the beam Gatling, most of the weapons associated with the Unicorn are included.

Beam rifle parts breakdown.

At least there's a bit of detail inside the barrel.

The grip connection is solid, so grip strength shouldn't be much of an issue.

Bazooka parts breakdown.

Bazooka in its retracted form.

I turned it every which way hoping to find some PG-worthy detail added somewhere, but nope...

Shield parts breakdown.

Beam Gatling parts breakdown.

Two beam Gatlings are included.

To mount the beam Gatling on the arm, you have to remove the shield's mounting bracket and reuse it.
This is a PG after all — why not just throw in a spare part instead of making us go through this hassle?

just like with the MG, you stack it and mount it onto the arm like that.

The beam sabers are about as plain as it gets.

That said, the handles are one-piece slide-molded parts, so at least there are no seam lines.

The included pilot figure.
The detail is pretty nice, as you'd expect from a 1/60 scale piece.

Stand parts breakdown.

It's nice and big, as you'd expect from a PG stand~

The front section of the stand is where the LED unit's battery pack goes.

View of the stand's underside.

It can extend and retract roughly within the range shown above.
This is a feature designed to accommodate the height difference between Unicorn Mode and Destroy Mode.

On the back of the base, you can see a groove for routing the LED wiring.

This stand connects very securely to the back of the body.

And if you look at the back of the stand, there are some curious holes there.

Still, seeing all those spare holes left over... does that mean we're supposed to go Full Armor to fill them all up?...;;