Good Morning everyone!
The last kit in my HGUC 1/144 scale, the other white horned devil. The one that always receives a lot of jokes because of its name.
Then again, it became one of the most iconic designs in Gundam history. Piloted by Banagher Links, a kid born from a rich bloodline but sadly he's illegitimate. His father still approves of him though and even entrusted the MS to him to protect the Laplaces box.
I can go on with the story but I'd recommend that you watch the ova series instead (It's has a 7 part mini movie series or the televised 25 eps format, just choose which one you can manage.)
Box art:
As you have noticed this box is labelled "Destroy mode" meaning you only build the MS in it's destroy mode and you can't turn it in its default mode.
I was not surprised by this. A kit in this scale can have a full transformation but that would be costly and besides, Bandai has a reason to sell multiple variations of the kit. Don't even start me with the color variants.
Manual:
Beautiful manual, simple but direct to the point. From the pictures, you'd probably guess what the kit has to offer. Based on the runner list, it's mostly duplicates because the Unicorn is one symmetrical kit. Also, there's not much color in this kit anymore aside from the subtle dark blue for the feet and backpack the signature Gundam V-fin.
Complete assembly:
Again, this is a kit I built prior to this blog so no assembly segment, sorry D: But to give you an idea, It's like an inner frame where in you just stick the white armor parts slightly out of position to make it look elongated and opened up, a completed opposite of the Unicorn modes build since that one has closed segments.
A very plain MS to be honest but the revealing red inner psycho frame steps up its visuals. As I said, its a very symmetrical MS but it looks so good because everything is proportioned and balanced.
If you're wondering about stickers, yes it has but it's so subtle you won't even notice it. It's the eyes, forehead camera, scope for the gun and those tiny white upper part of the segments coming out of beside his shoulders.
Aside from that everything is nicely molded in plastic. The white looks so creamy to me haha! The dark blue nicely contrasts the kits overall bright appearance. The red frame has a nice glow to them and if you have the time or no social life, you can install some LED connections to make his psycho frame look even more spectacular.
Also, he looks rather thin in some angles but maybe it's just me.
Picture is not mine, I got it from this site:
Besides, I'm too lazy for stuff like that LOL.
Details:
As I said, those white stickers on those tiny segments aren't too shabby. I didn't even realize the whole time I was deconstructing it that it was a sticker LOL. Anyway, the open frame really looks awesome!
Same with the legs. This guy suddenly gets a growth spurt when he's in this mode like BAM, instant 3m higher haha!
The backpack is cool too I guess haha!
I can still picture in my head the scene in the OVA whenever it transforms, it's like red veins started popping out his body like some enraged monster. This is called the Newtype Destroyer Mode or NT-D for short. This automatically activates whenever the Unicorn is near a Newtype pilot meaning it will activate even if Banagher doesn't want too.
In this mode, the Unicorn can overpower any Newtype controlled weaponry like funnels and use it to his liking. Pretty OP right? Ironically, this suit can only be piloted by a Newtype.
DAMN PLOT TWIST.
Anyway, let's move on.
Articulation:
Pretty good for a tall kit, the legs are on a ball joint so that's the maximum range it can do before it pops off.
Leg can move forward a lot despite the front skirts limited up movement. Back skirts are fixed so you can only move that backwards that far but the knee joint bends quite nicely.
It can do a fairly nice knee bend. The upper body can't position nicely enough to make it look more natural. He looks like he's being pulled backwards.
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Basic shoulder and arm movements. Elbows can bend the normal 90 deg. Also, the part where the shoulders connect to the torso also has a small inward movement whenever you move the shoulders up for more natural movements and angled poses.
Since the backpack is small, it can rotate allllllll theeeeee waaaaaaaaaaay. lol.
This middle torso is a separate piece and it's not pegged to anything so it moves freely give the Unicorn a more fluid torso bends.
The look can look down far when he's sad or demotivated.
Thanks to the neck joint being double jointed, you can move the head up and tilt it even farther for looking into the distance.
Accessories:
That's pretty much it. Bandai assumes you got the Unicorn mode first so deal with it. The Beam Magnum lacks coloring for the ammo packs but I don't mind, it looks ok as is like a regular beam rifle.
He does have 4 beam sabers, 2 on his backpack and 2 mounted on his forearms. The forearm sabers are merely being held by friction so they might get loose overtime if you flip them a lot.
Sadly, the kit doesn't come with any beam effect parts. Dammit, Bandai. Looks like a karaoke mic though haha!
Luckily, I have extras from my other kits :D Any UC beam effect can fit nicely into the saber.
If you have more extra kits (like me, deal with it XD) you can dual wield! because two is better than one.
The shield has a clip connector that nicely fits into either his arm and can rotate in place. Nice clear parts on the shield :D
The Beam Magnum can be pegged on to his back for storage. You also get an extra ammo clip but that thing is just for display because it hollow on the other side and you can't really unload the Magnum anyways.
Posing:
Throughout the posing segment, just imagine his Psycho frame lighting up, just like in the show. Play some UC music while you're at it too haha!
Since I have extra beam effect parts, I can nicely do dual wielding poses >:D Also, I'm using a Tamashii stage act 4 as my display stand because of the range of motion it can do compared to an ordinary gunpla action base.
The Unicorn looks so cool even with just two beam sabers, you know he can do a lot of damage with them.
And what's cooler than 2 beam sabers? 2 forearm sabers! Makes him look more feral and rabid if uses them like claws.
If I'm not mistaken, this is how he attacks in Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 as his special attack. He's fast and strong!
It looks weird but the forearm sabers in reverse is possible to achieve.
Of to shield poses. Again, very simple but the Unicorn still delivers in being one overwhelming adversary.
Just imagine him using his NT-D powers and stuff flies around haha! Oh yeah, I painted the backside of the shield because I saw it in the manual pics LOL.
Gun poses. Very standard, the gun has an extra handle that he can easily grip since the Beam Magnum packs quite a punch when it fires. I always love the sound the Magnum makes whenever it fires a shot. search it in youtube, it sounds so awesome.
Lastly, the Unicorn can also fight barehanded, sadly he doesn't come with other hands for dynamic poses. He can't kick very also though but that's due to the kits design. In the show, he can do kicks well and even do karate chops.
With his articulation, he can pass as a Mobile Fighter from G-Gundam, but he's probably not fast enough to combat Domon Kashuu.
The legs has a nice range of mobility in the ground which enable him to do some nice looking battle stances.
And this is when Banagher just decides to forget everything and just drift in space. He cries a lot.
Comparisons:
The Unicorn is a very tall MS so here's a pic of him with the other big MS in the UC timeline. Also, all the MS in this pic have their individual reviews in my blog!
For the HGUC 1/144 Nu Gundam with HWS:
For the HGUC 1/144 Sazabi:
And my recently reviewed HGUC 1/144 ZZ Gundam:
Here's the HGUC 1/144 Psycho Gundam if you really want to put him in his place. Also cehck the review of this monstrous kit here:
And lastly, here he is with the rest of my HGUC 1/144 kits. The others are in MG 1/100 scale so they're not included here.
Once again, all the kits here has their own review entries just search my blog and enjoy! Except for the HGUC 1/144 Char's Zaku II because that one is still pending.. :P
Conclusion:
Details 10/10:
Despite being a simple kit, I closely resembles the actual MS in the OVA. Honestly, it looks like the real thing. The psycho frame has a nice clear tint to them and they all have surface details to look like it's pulsating with light.
Seriously, if you can install some LED in this kit, it would look spectacular. Even the V-fin, beam magnum and shield has nice details into them, set aside the minor painting.The shield even looks like it will transform. But it doesn't D:
It's mostly white and there's nothing much to dwell on in this form.
Articulation 10/10:
The articulation is pretty good for his size. Then again, The Unicorn doesn't really do over top ninja moves but it's enough to do some decent posing both in the ground and in the air. It has you basic elbow and knee joints combined with that nice torso/shoulder movement, you can still pull off nice expressive poses.
When I first assemble the kit, the head is loose.. I dunno why but I did the super glue technique to help thicken the neck ball joint and my problem was solved.
Accessories 8/10:
I just wished they included beam effect parts. It's not like everyone will buy the Unicorn mode first. So for people who bought the Destroy mode first will really be in for a surprise. Those beam sabers are practically just sticks or pretend microphones. Because UC songs are so damn catchy. Yay, Aimer!
The beam magnum has an extra ammo clip but it's practically an armor piece since it doesn't really plug in to the gun and it's hollowed on the other side.
The shield is ok, it does what a shield does, but I wish it can be plugged in the back when not in use. It's like they're forcing you to ignore the beam sabers and just enjoy the gun and shield.
Then again, if you have the extra money, might as well get the Unicorn mode as well for the bazooka and beam effects.
Since it's 2017, Bandai already released the RG 1/144 Unicorn Gundam which is basically the superior kit. It's fully transformable and it's stable and poseable! Even better than the MG in my opinion.
I wish I have money to buy that D:
Parts 8/10:
It's not consistent. Some of the armor pieces fall off since they're basically just pegged onto the red frame and tends to be knocked off at times if you move some parts without caution. Like the V-fin, it's just being held by a small piece in the forehead and it's so tiny that if you loose it, good luck finding it haha!
The shoulder vents also falls quite a lot during my inspection of the kit. Same with the ankle guards, they're positioned in an angle and yup, if you bump into it, it falls off. I'm not exaggerating or anything but the parts falling of really happens at times.
Good thing I'm used to dropping some parts, I literally go in scanning mode when I check the floor hahaha!
Some joint connections are stiff though which helps him greatly in holding the poses. Lastly, the beam connectors in the backpack are very small tiny pegs. I accidentally broke mine when I was removing the head. So yeah, I had to glue that in. Thankfully he has 3 more beam sabers :D
Verdict 8/10:
It's an ok kit. Take note, I got this kit before the RG lien began so make do with whatever HG kits we have.
During that time, Gundam UC is still ongoing and they're literally pumping out kits left and right. Aside from the grunt suits and top Zeon units, they're literally making unnecessary variants of this kit.
Metallic, clear, different psycho frame color, pearl coating.. you name it. Then comes the Banshee and Phenex and even those guys have variatiosn as well in various scales.
Then the final episode was aired... Another shitload of Unicorn variations came to surface. Seriously, Bandai strategically planned this hahahaha!
To summarize, I loved the OVA series and that's the main reason why I got this kit. I only really appreciate the Destroy mode so I got this kit first. Looking back, I kinda want the Unicorn mode now since that's his first form, technically.
The MG scales have a lot of stuff to work on but that's where the RG kit shines, it's pretty much the beast of possibilities. Seriously, if you want the best Unicorn Gundam, get that.. Unless the size bothers you.
Then again.. Does size matter?
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Stay tuned for more reviews and updates!
Nice info sir keep it up :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! Glad you like it!
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