This is no doubt one of many Gundams that has dragged me into the world of Universal Century. The iconic design with the Fin Funnels on the fuel backpack combines with the simplicity of color choices of the Gundam body that make the v (nu) Gundam a standout machine among its peers. In Char’s Counter Attacks show, the unforgettable scene when Amuro Ray shouted out: “νガンダムは伊達じゃない- v Gandamu wa date janai” (nu Gundam is not just for show), when he and his Gundam tried to stop the broken Axis colony from crashing on to the Earth that would cause a massive destruction. Seeing that, every other Mobile Suite from both Earth Federation and Zeon factions, even when they are currently at war with one another, joined forces together to help Amuro to push the Axis out of orbit. However, the Axis is too heavy and the Earth’s gravity attraction toward it is too great, all other Mobile Suits are overloaded and flung out of position. Seeing everyone's life is in danger, Amuro’s overflow emotion activates the Gundam’s Psycho Frame, which then creates a Psycho Wave that wraps around both halves of the Axis, attracting them toward one another. Amuro and his Gundam vanished during action and the earth is saved from destruction. Seeing that scene makes me understand that the Gundam itself is incomplete without the pilot, and it is the pilot’s characteristics that make the Gundam truly become alive.
Please forgive me reader, for including such an animated scene in this blog which is a Gunpla focus subject. However, it is Amuro Ray that inspires me to like nu Gundam, and it’s the nu Gundam that inspires me to write this blog to share with mina san about the model kits. Please take your time and enjoy the blog. Like always, I hope that everyone here will find the information not only interesting but also helpful for you to choose your own version of nu Gundam model kits.
Arrangements: Both MG Ver.Ka and RG will share the same weaponries.
- Beam Rifle x1
- Beam Saber x2
- Shield x1
- Fin Funnel x6
RX-93 RG nu Gundam (v Gundam)
Release date: August 10th, 2019
Runners: Comes with 13 runners
Materials: PP and PS
Looks: Includes many sliding mechanisms and the grey color between parts that make the kit look appealing.
Articulations:
Pilot Cabin: There are two ways to open the pilot cabin: open the whole middle chest part or just sliding the red plastic piece within it.
Head: Can move up freely but its downward movement can only move as far as half of its up-looking direction. Side to side rotation of the head is easy due to no obstacles around the neck.
Shoulders: Front and back of the shoulders can open upward slightly. The whole shoulders pieces can move up as well, allowing the arms to move around easily.
Arms: With the help of the shoulder moving parts, the whole arms can easily achieve almost 180 degrees upward and almost 90 degrees forward. The arms can also easily rotate freely on their axis and bend 90 degrees at the elbow and with a smaller beam saber attached to the moving part on top of the left arm.
Hands: Can perform a minor circulation at the wrist and easily bend back and forth 90 degrees. The whole hand can be levitated slightly thanks to the moving mechanism at the connection between the arm and the wrist.
Body: The body articulation is excellent. The abdominal joints allow the abdominal section to extend upward for better movements. Hence, it can easily do a forward abdominal crunch and bend backward at almost 90 degrees. In addition, the abdominal area can also bend side to side slightly. The body itself can also rotate freely at the waist.
Hip: Many moving mechanisms are going on here. First, the middle piece of the hip can slide out V-shape and the back pieces at the center hip can be moved around. Secondly, after inner frames which connect to the legs’ pegs can be detached a V-shaped from the central body to allow the abdominal area of the Gundam to pivot forward better and can be used to connect the beam rifle.
Legs: With the help of moving front skirts, the legs can easily raise up to 90 degrees forward. Vice versa, the backward leg movement is restricted due to the back armor skirts. Thanks to the coalition moving parts of the thigh and knees which allow the shins to bend a wobble 90 degrees nicely at the knees.
Feet: At the ankles, the feet pivot backwardly slightly better compared to their opposite position. The feet also bend easily side to side at their own axis. And the front parts of the feet can pivot upward slightly.
Fin-Funnels: It contains three different separated segments, which can be folded on both sides to create a U-shaped looking piece. A regular nu Gundam carries six of the Fin-Funnels. Each funnel has a + shaped hinge on its back to connect with the stand and hinges on the side to connect with one another via connective hooks. In addition, the model kit comes with extra parts that can be used to attach to another Fin-Funnels set (purchase separately) that connect to the backpack for double Fin-Funnels style.
Weapons: The Beam Rifle’s design is simple with no moving parts involved. The Bazooka, on the other hand, has a built-in mechanism that allows the barrel to contract or extend depending on the user's intention and the handle can be closed when attached to the backpack. The unique double-sided Beam Saber comes with the curved blade and a foldable knuckle guard. The Shield also has no movable part involved and it is also equipped with four small Missiles and a small Beam Cannon at its tip.
Backpack: This is very standard. The only movable parts are the hinges on top of the thrusters, which allow the thrusters to pivot upward. The middle top section of the backpack has a hinge to hold the bazooka, while the bottom section is for connection with the action base.
Mg nu Gundam Ver.Ka
Release Date: December 15th, 2012
Runners: 21 runners in total
Materials: ABS, PP, PE, PS
Looks: Armor parts can be split to expose the inner green Psycho Frames. The appearance looks classic, yet very detailed.
Articulation:
Head: Thanks to the neck joints, the head can comfortably bend back and forth vertically. It can also easily perform a 360 degrees turn without barely any obstructions on the way. However, side to side movement of the head is restricted.
Shoulders-Arms: The arm adduction is slightly off compared to the RG version. However, to make up for the extra shoulder piece mobility, the multiple joints at the arm allow it to extend further out from the chest piece for better “cross-shoulder” movement. In addition, the arm can rotate 180 degrees around the shoulder and abducts a little over 90degrees sideways.
Chest: The abdominal-chest section doesn’t have the extension parts within the inner frame; hence the movement is minor compared to the RG. It can perform minimal side to side movements and pivot a little backward. However, the abdominal crunch is almost absent on this model kit due to the interference between the armor cockpit section and the center hip armor part.
Hip: All four armor skirts can move individually and there are no separate mechanisms within the inner frame like the RG. The rear skirts flip independently from one another. However, excess movement can cause them to pop out of the connection points. The front skirts, on the other hand, are more secure than their rear counter parts. They stay in place even though the legs shoot forward extensively.
Legs: The legs can extend almost 90-degree side to side, and at 90 degrees backward and forward. Double joints allow great knee bends also at 90 degrees. There are also two sets of thrusters on the back side of each leg.
Fin-Funnels: This model kit includes an extra part, which can attach to the top-left of the thruster pack, allowing the Gundam to carry two sets of Fin Funnels. The Funnels are divided into three sections, which then when both sides are folded together, create a U-shape mobile weaponry. On the side of each funnel is a multiple hook-like structure that allows the funnels to connect with one another, but not tightly whatsoever. The funnels, sadly, will easily fall off if not handled carefully. This kit also included the base with extension arms for displaying the fin funnels.
Special note:
- The psycho frame gimmicks are a little tricky to work with and broken parts are inevitable if not handled carefully such as the forearms, kneecaps, and both sides of the upper shins.
- There is an LED slot right under the top chest section of the gundam. The compatible LED unit is Bandai Gunpla LED Unit GREEN Set for MG ( 2 LEDs a box; battery excluded.)
In conclusion, whether you choose the RG or the MG of the Nu Gundam, each one of them has their own unique characteristics that will match your needs. The MG nu Gundam Ver.Ka gives you a better overall satisfaction look with its psychoframes gimmick but with the cost of some extra body articulations and the loose connections between the fin funnels. Meanwhile, the RG Nu Gundam stands out as one of the most popular Gunpla model kits out there with versatile body movements and with a trade-off Psycho Frames. The other thing that should be considered is the size of the Gundam according to the grades. The MG Ver.Ka is 1/100 scales while the RG is only 1/144. The Mg overall is more comfortable to work with while the RG is a little more challenging because the parts are smaller and require more of the user's patience and focusing power. But none model kits are truly perfect, if it is the model kit that you like, there won’t be any obstacles building it, right!?
Your Gunpla, your choice as always. Hope to see you in the next post.
Jyā ne mina san,
Novice Coordinator.