Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining

Size comparison with a cigarette pack — the universal standard reference. Seriously impressive bulk..

1/100 Providence Gundam - Upper body close-up (1/4)

1/100 Providence Gundam - Upper body close-up (2/4)

Upper body close-up

That backpack.. it's got great volume, but it's so massive it hogs way too much display space..

The left arm's combined shield and beam saber handle attaches like this.

The DRAGOON system's weapons are also mounted on the side and rear skirts. They move up and down.

1/100 Providence Gundam - The Providence Gundam's signature feature — the DRAGOON system. It's a type of beam weapon capable

The Providence Gundam's signature feature — the DRAGOON system.
It's a type of beam weapon capable of detaching and attacking remotely, much like the Nu Gundam's fin funnels.

All 11 units are detachable.

1/100 Providence Gundam - The articulation is pretty good. The leg bend in particular is impressive. The ankle joints are dec

The articulation is pretty good. The leg bend in particular is impressive.
The ankle joints are decent enough front-to-back..

You can also use the DRAGOON system like this to launch beam attacks.

Action pose. The leg articulation is pretty nice.

That big Judicium beam rifle can be held with both hands.

A large beam saber can be attached to the tip of the shield.

Beam saber action po~se

A shot with the main characters. Its build absolutely holds its own.

With Freedom Gundam's wings fully spread.. it is a bit bigger ^^;

Included 1/20 Creuset figure

Straight build photo before panel lining (front)

Straight build photo before panel lining (rear)

The Providence Gundam — which appears toward the end of Gundam SEED and is sometimes nicknamed the "Bodhisattva Gundam" (^^;) — has also been released in 1/100 scale.

The Providence Gundam is equipped with the D.R.A.G.O.O.N. system (Disconnected Rapid Armament Group Overlook Operation Network System) — a ridiculously complicated name for a weapons system. Much like the Nu Gundam's fin funnels, it's a beam weapon system that detaches and operates via remote control. It carries a total of 11 remote-controlled beam weapons — 2 on each side, 2 on the rear skirt, and 5 on the back — which can be launched individually to attack as needed. (Though I imagine after a battle, it'd come back missing a few that got lost along the way.)

This kit does a great job of recreating the DRAGOON system — all units are detachable and can also be posed at their connection points. Those long DRAGOON beam weapons are what give it such an enormous backpack presence. In terms of sheer visual bulk, it feels like the most voluminous of all the SEED Gundams. The downside, of course, is that it takes up a serious amount of display space..

Overall, the joint strength is above average, so it stands up straight just fine even with all that weight on its back. The knees in particular show excellent articulation, bending to around 170 degrees. The ankles have a wide range of motion front-to-back, but side-to-side is just so-so, which does limit the poses you can pull off a bit. The head articulation is also on the stiff side — it barely moves up and down, and doesn't rotate much side-to-side either..

The color separation is nearly perfect, but a lot of people feel the molded colors lean a bit too dark on the gray side. I kind of agree — I wish they'd gone with a slightly brighter, more refined gray — but it works well enough overall..

There aren't really any glaring flaws, and when you consider the solid joints and the imposing look once it's all built up, it deserves a fairly high score. It's a kit worth recommending to anyone who likes their Gundams with a big, bold backpack presence. ^_^

1/100 Providence Gundam | 2004.5 | ¥2,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.