MG RX-0 Unicorn Gundam Ver. KA (Gao Gao)

My 1st review for 2012 :P

Since peoples are talking heavily about the FA Unicorn, I decided to do this MG Unicorn from Gao Gao instead while waiting for my MG Hi-Nu Evolved to arrive ;)

Manufacturer: Gao Gao (TT Hongli)
Scale: 1/100
Grade: MG
Origin: Gundam UC 0096
Price: RM120 - RM140 (This is the Deluxe version with Twin Gattling Gun and Action Base)


Part 1: Runners

This is one of the very early production of Gao Gao (005/005B) thus the quality is not as good as the more recent production... The runners are almost exactly like the original but only resemble about 80% of the detailing of the original.












Part 2: Decals

Since this is an older kit and I am actually doing the older batch, this kit is coming with 2 sets of dry-stickers and 1 set of water-slide decal that is no longer available in the newer production.

The quality of the dry-stickers are a bit disappointing... the cutting of the stickers are off and I basically need to trim every one of them, plus the black color come off easily too :(






Part 3: The Extra

This 005B comes with a set of Twin Gattling Guns and an action base 01. There's not much to talk about the action base 01 but the quality of the Twin Gattling Guns is pretty nice :)




Part 4: Skeleton Build

OK, my usual skeleton build for MG kit ;)

The Legs

The knee articulation is pretty limited as this kit is based on Bandai's ver. KA. The knee can only bend to near 90 degrees.



The Waist

Pretty straight-forward ;)




The Arms

Great articulations for the arms :)



The Chest

The pull-out mechanism would allow the shoulder joints to be pulled out for more dynamic posing. The neck employed a dual-joints so the head could slightly tilt upward and downward ;)




Completed Skeleton without the Head

Pretty solid inner frame except it is a little brittle as compare to the original due to different material used... ABS (original) vs normal plastics.




Hadoken!

Pretty good overall articulation with the inner frame ;)







Part 5: The Legs

The feet are pretty complicated due to transformation mechanism.



The knee articulations are pretty limited due to a flaw in the original design but it does not really a big issue...




Transformation to Destroy Mode

The tight ;)




The shin ;)



The knee ;)




The foot ;)




Part 6: Waist

Parts separations are very well done and the skirt armors are highly moveable so the hindrance to posing is minimum ;)

Unicorn Mode




Destroy Mode






Part 7: Chest

Parts separations are very nicely done (credit to Bandai) and Gao Gao replicated this excellently, but due to older technology, some minor production flaws are there and little trimming/touch-up needed.

Unicorn Mode




Destroy Mode





Part 8: Arms

Nicely done and highly articulated;)





Part 9: Shoulders

Side-by-side comparison between the Unicorn mode and Destroy mode ;)





Part 10: The Head

This is one very complicated part as it resemble the transformation between Unicorn mode and Destroy mode without any need of replacement/additional parts.

Unicorn Mode





Transformation from Unicorn Mode to Destroy Mode

Detach the horn and face armor...



Push the Gundam face forward...



Hide the Unicorn face...



Re-attach the face armor... rotated ;)



Attach the transformable V-Fin and deploy it ;)



Destroy Mode






Part 11: Backpack

Nicely done ;) The left picture below is Unicorn mode and the right is Destroy mode.




Part 12: Putting All These Together

The Unicorn mode ;)










Part 13: Weaponry

This kit comes with a Shield, a Beam Magnum and the Hyper-Bazooka. The Shield is transformable and the Hyper-Bazooka could be extended when in use ;)




This is the Twin Gattling Guns comes as an extra in this kit ;)




Part 14: Unicorn Mode, Fully Loaded

Ready to go to battle ;)











Part 15: Size Comparison with other MGs

With Sinanju




With RX-78-2 OYW as well ;)




Part 16: Destroy Mode









Wielding Beam Tongfa ;)









Shooting with Beam Magnum











Side-by-side with Sinanju!




Quick Review

Plastic Quality and Detailing

The plastic quality is the usual Gao Gao quality. Since the original is using a lot of ABS material (and no polycap) for the inner frame where the bootleg is not, it is a little brittle as compared so do handle with care.

The detailing at most is up to 80% of the original.


Articulations

Articulations are pretty good except for the knees...

• Head/Neck: Good
• Shoulder: Fantastic!
  
• Arm/Elbow: Excellent!
  
• Wrist: Normal+.
• Hand: Normal+.
• Waist: Good.
  
• Skirt Armour: Good.
  
• Hip/Tight: Good.
  
• Knee: Below par.
• Ankle: Normal+, with the ankle armor getting in the way limiting the pose-ability.
  

Looks and Feels

Pretty decent and about 90% close to the original ;) Unless a new mold are used and the decals being reproduced with better quality and separations, I would not recommend this kit for straight-builders.

If you are planning to color the kit anyway, do get this as most of the flaws would disappear after sanding and seamless makeover ;)

As for the decals, get a set of water-slide decals if you could afford, either from Bandai or third party.


Fin ;)