Review: 1/144 NG G Gundam

Before I finally begin my review on God Gundam, here's all the WIP blogs leading to it:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

General/Technical Data

Series: No Grade 1/144

Title: GF13-017NJII God Gundam

Release Date: 12/1994

Suggested Price: ¥500 ($7)

No. of Parts: 59 + Polycaps + Foil Stickers

Plastic Colors: Red, White, Blue, Yellow

Gimmicks: Core Lander, Beam Sword, "God Finger" Hand

Intro

My quest to collect every God Gundam kit of every grade of quality began with me getting the lower-grade models outta the way.  This one's simple enough to build and it can pull off some decent poses once complete.  But as with all NG's, a bit of painting makes a big difference in the overall look.

Head

The head consists of the back, the face, the forehead and the double V-fin; supported by a polycap ball joint in the torso.  Very small but also very detailed.  Stickers are available for the eyes.

Torso

The chest has 2 pegs for the arms, a hole in the back for the Core Lander jet, and a peg at the bottom to attach to the lower body.  Held together by a special polycap piece, the torso barely holds together, especially since the front and side skirt armor are molded as separate parts.  Stickers are included for the front skirt armor.

Arms

Each arm has 6 points of articulation, if you count the ball-jointed polycap hands, the spikes on the forearm guards and the armor parts that sandwich the shoulders.  The spikes also have tiny holes on one side that don't really ruin the look if you position them with said holes facing each other.  The forearms also bare 2 pegs to extend and retract the guards for God Gundam's Hyper Mode.

Legs

Once fixed to the torso, each leg bears 4 points of articulation, including the double-jointed knees typical of 1/144 scale NG's.  One drawback is that the ball joints of the feet aren't stiff enough to fully support the rest of the body.  Stickers are available for the knees.

Weapons & Accessories

The most color-accurate accessory to the kit, G Gundam's Core Lander jet (Left) tranforms to attach to the Gundam's back, and only its canopy and thrusters need to be painted.  The thrusters also have holes on the side.  The jet's 6 fins all separate for G Gundam's Hyper Mode.  The Gundam's single beam sword (Center) and God Finger hand (Right) are molded in single yellow parts so painting is recommended.  The God Finger also has a gaping hole in the palm, which can be filled in with putty.

Conclusion

The only major flaw I really see in this kit is the flimsy lower torso.  With just that special polycap wedged between the 2 main parts for the lower body, it can easily fall apart and I'd rather have a sturdy torso with limited articulation than separate skirt armor.  Other than that, the 1/144 NG G Gundam is a well-made, cheap alternative to the more advanced Gunpla hobbyists enjoy now.  Hopefully it's High Grade counterpart will prove to be one such kit.


Overall Rating: 3.0 Out of 5 Stars.