Kit Review

Straight build + Partial paint + Panel lining + Decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack — the universal standard reference size.

Spot painting point 1 - The white band on the back of the head

The white and red parts on the gun barrel were also spot painted.

1/100 Chaos Gundam - The yellow parts on the shield have proper color separation as you'd expect from a 1/100. The small vulc

The yellow parts on the shield have proper color separation as you'd expect from a 1/100.
The small vulcan section, however, was spot painted in dark gray.

The inside of the pod lid also got a dark gray spot paint.

1/100 Chaos Gundam - The underside of the skirt was also spot painted white. The 1/144 HG at least included a white sticker f

The underside of the skirt was also spot painted white.
The 1/144 HG at least included a white sticker for this, but the 1/100 just quietly dropped it altogether;;

Articulation is decent. Maybe thanks to the transformation mechanism, the legs bend quite a lot.

Action pose

Kneeling fire pose is doable well enough

Beam saber action pose

Beam claws plugged into the toes

Mobile Armor Transformation

1/100 Chaos Gundam - A more refined transformation compared to the 1/144 HG. The head antenna folds and rotates, then tucks n

A more refined transformation compared to the 1/144 HG.
The head antenna folds and rotates, then tucks neatly inside the lid.

The claw deployment on the legs works the same as the HG.

1/100 Chaos Gundam - As befitting a 1/100, there are pins on the inside of the skirt that connect to the legs to lock the lar

As befitting a 1/100, there are pins on the inside of the skirt that connect to the legs to lock the large body in place.

Transformed into MA mode. The structure is reminiscent of a GERWALK.

Beam claws made of beam saber material can be plugged into the leg claws.

Extremely menacing... (you might actually hurt yourself if you're not careful)

MA mode with beam claws attached

The weapon pod on the back is detachable

Push the vernier at the back and the rod at the front gets pushed out.
(Same mechanism as the 1/144 HG)

Just like the 1/100 Force Impulse, instead of a figure you get a weird cellophane character card.

Comparison with the 1/144 HG. The 1/100 just has slightly better color separation, that's about it.

Comparison with the 1/100 Force Impulse.

Either way, this is one chunky 1/100.

Straight build photos

The Chaos Gundam has been released as the second entry in the 1/100 Destiny series. The 1/144 HG Chaos was already a pretty solid kit, but the 1/100 takes it further with more detailed parts breakdown. The yellow parts on the shield, the red parts on the head antenna, the yellow parts on the chest, and the rifle all have more accurate color separation, making the straight build look noticeably better right out of the box.

That said, there are still a few spots where the colors don't quite match the official design. The white band on the back of the head, the white and red parts on the rifle, and the white on the rear skirt are the main offenders. The rear skirt white in particular — the 1/144 HG Chaos at least handled it with a sticker, but the 1/100 just quietly skips it entirely with no sticker or anything. I went ahead and spot painted those areas, plus the vulcan on the shield and the inside of the pod lid in dark gray. That said, even straight out of the box the colors are colorful enough to look pretty nice ^^;

Above all, the Chaos Gundam itself has quite an impressive presence. It's probably thanks to those weapon pods on the back — the overall volume feels generous even compared to other 1/100s or MG kits.

The MA transformation and gimmicks are a big step up from the 1/144 HG in several ways. For starters, beam claws have been added to the leg claws, making for some seriously menacing action poses. Unlike the 1/144 HG where you had to detach the head to transform, the 1/100 lets you fold the head antenna and tuck it inside. The legs also lock in place after bending 90 degrees — a peg on the inside of the skirt clips into the top of the leg for a more solid hold. And the weapon pod lid on the back has been upgraded from the detachable style of the 1/144 HG to a proper hinged opening. (It's a 1/100 — this is the bare minimum! Grr!)

Notably, the head antenna that folds down comes in two versions — a soft flexible part and a standard plastic part. This is the kind of option you'd normally only see on some MG kits, so it's a pleasant surprise to find it on a No Grade 1/100. What a treat~

One thing that does disappoint me, though, is that the joint strength feels a bit lacking. The joints on the previous 1/100 SEED series kits were just average, but the 1/100 Force Impulse showed noticeably sturdier joints that made me think "now we're getting somewhere!" So it's a bit of a letdown that the Chaos actually feels looser than its immediate predecessor, the Force Impulse. It's not floppy like a wet noodle or anything, but given that this kit needs to crouch down into a GERWALK-like transformation, knee joint strength really matters here — and the knees do feel a bit loose. As a result, when you try to lay it down in MA mode, the body keeps tilting and touching the ground;;;

In MS mode standing upright it's mostly fine, but given that this is a transforming kit, it would've been great to have knee joints as solid as the Force Impulse. It's hard to understand why the joints took a step backward on the second 1/100 Destiny kit;; On top of that, the beam sabers stored in the side skirts fall out way too easily;; A tighter fit would've been much appreciated.

Overall, the kit offers pretty good value for money with its well-thought-out color separation, decent articulation, and impressive bulk — but the weak knees in MA mode are a definite blemish. At least it's fine when standing in MS mode, so there's that... Bandai, please reinforce the joints on transforming MS kits in the next 1/100 Destiny release!

1/100 Chaos Gundam | 2005. 1 | ¥2,300

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.