RX-93 Nu Gundam
Londo Bell Unit (E.F.S.F.) Amuro Ray’s Custom Mobile Suit for Newtype Use
Real Grade 1/144
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack, Gundam Evolve 05
Despite only having a relatively moerate screen time presence, the RX-93 Nu Gundam is one of the most acclaimed and popular Gundams of the multiverse. It’s a physical manifestation of the will of Amuro Ray, having been designed by the legend himself and thus mirroring his growth since the fateful day he assumed the controls of the RX-78-2 Gundam. The Real Grade Nu Gundam more than lives up to this legendary status.
Much like what I’ve heard of the Real Grade Sazabi, this kit is a culmination of Real Grade development that has increasingly perfected the art of scaling down Master Grade level build into a 1/144 scale kit. This kit is amazing to look at in terms of detail and colors, especially in dynamic poses where the armor moves to reveal glimpses of the superb mechanical detailing of the inner frame. If there is any cons to this kit’s detailing, it’d be that some of the panel lines are deeper than they need to be but that’s really not much to complain about. Additionally, this initial release version of the kit does not come with effect parts which have to be bought separately. There will be a version of the kit that includes effect parts and a action base, and a P-Bandai version that comes with the full fin funnel wing and Amuro Ray signature action base. However, buying the effect parts separately gives you the freedom to choose what color effect parts you want to use. I prefer the blue instead of the yellow that Bandai will be using, but I got both to see how they would look and the yellow definitely stands out more.
The RG Nu Gundam handles like a dream with fantastic articulation complimented by a solid build that guarantees it will hold almost every pose imaginable. This is most likely thanks to a constructed inner frame instead of those pre-articulated, molded Advanced MS Joint frames that made of a majority of the inner frame for early Real Grades, in addition to what I believe to be tighter tolerances for increased friction at connections and joints. None of these are new, since this has been a trend since at least the Real Grade Unicorn Gundams. However, it really shows how far the Real Grade line has come because it handles this big mobile suit design exceptionally. Where this Real Grade really outshines the Master Grade (Ver. Ka. to boot) is how well the fin funnels stick together when being stored on the backpack. The kit also has no problems standing with the fin funnels attached if the legs are posed to accommodate the extra back weight, albeit it will have a very slight tilt at the torso. The one issue with the build of this kit is the backpack connection to the torso which will loosen up severely if disconnected and reconnected repeatedly. I would really recommend thickening up this connection or just gluing it in altogether if you don’t plan on detaching the special base stand adapter that plugs into the back. This is not a deal breaker though, as this really only becomes a major issue if you have the kit angled facing down to near 180 degrees flat.
This kit was a joy to build, and fun to pose. The RG Nu Gundam marks both the second mobile suit for my Project Rivalry, and the second entry for Amuro Ray in said project. Having built the RG RX-78-2 Gundam, I can really appreciate how far the Real Grade line has come with the both the latest Real Grade and final mobile suit of Amuro Ray.