Gunpla in short is the term used for giant robot models. Gunpla usually can't be found outside of Asia as it's built mainly for the Japanese in tandem with various anime series. While there is a good bit of Gunpla out there it is mostly dominated by BanDai as they hold the contract with Gundam.
[HEADING=1]Welcome to this review of the 1/100 Nu Gundam[/HEADING]
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First impressions of the Nu Gundam are good. You'll get a box that is about 3x the size of a normal Master Grade (see 1/100 Wing Gundam box as normal) and the contents of the kit are impressive.For preset colors you'll get an off yellow, a very, very dark purple color in place of black, white, red, and some clear parts for the eyes. The kit will come with a set of dry transfer decals, and a set of normal sticker decals. Included with the kit (and toted on the box) are some die-cast metal parts.
Construction for Nu Gundam is pretty basic, you just need to make sure not to strip any of the screws in the model or else you'll damage the kit beyond repair like John Funk did [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/101126-Scientist-Says-Building-Gundam-Models-Makes-You-Smarter]. Honestly when moving on to any of the screws in the kit make sure the screw is snug, but not tight or else the joints will be so still it'll be like you glued them into position.
In terms of outside appearance Nu-Gundam is severely lacking. The kit lacks panel lines, and if no decals are applied it's rather bland to look at. I do strongly suggest you paint this kit because the way the light hits the "black" parts on this kit make it look like it's an off shade of purple. This kit does provide a good starting point for beginner painters because it's mostly black and white.
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Nu Gundam with no pose
The accessories of the kit are rather basic. Nu Gundam will come with his signature Beam Rifle, Bazooka, Shield, Beam Sabers, and 6 Fin Funnels. One cool part of the accessories however is one of Nu Gundam's beam sabers is held in his left arm area which (with a small bit of elbow grease) you can wedge the extra saber out of the holster. The funnels themselves are repetitive to build, but thanks to a locking mechanism in the kit they don't move around unless you want them to.
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Funnels connected together, and all accessories
The final construction of the kit is very solid. Nu Gundam holds all of its weight very well thanks to the die-cast pieces in the frame, although they do shoot it in the foot by not allowing the kit to be held up by an action base. While it does hold up the weight and successfully balances everything out the kit really isn't all that poseable. I half expected more pose-ability out of a 2000 release Master Grade, but then again I also expected him to hold his accessories better.
Nu Gundam must have been built before BanDai found out that having pegs in the accessories to attach to the hands (or vice versa) is a good idea, so there's weight issues for all of Nu Gundam's accessories. Really though these complaints are really just me nitpicking a very solid and well constructed kit, which brings me to note that Nu Gundam will probably be the biggest Master Grade you build shy of the Master Grade Sazabi.
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Before and after painting. (Also this is about the extent of pose-ability)
Finally I'll just say that this kit is pretty damn good if you want something to act as a $90 decoration, but if you want to do poses with it I'd suggest the 1/144 version over the 1/100.
[small][sub]Sorry bout the short review. Not much to say about the kit.[/sub][/small]
Master Grade Wing Gundam [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.197182-Gunpla-Review-MG-Wing-Gundam]
