MG Shin Musha Gundam (Gao Gao)

While waiting for port clearance of my Daban 6605 MG Astray Blue Frame, I finally did this long awaited Shin Musha Gundam :)

Manufacturer: Gao Gao

Scale: 1/100
Grade: MG
Origin: unknown
Price: About RM90 (email me at DuelMasterNG@yahoo.com for latest price and availability)

Section 1: Runners

This is a pretty old production by Gao Gao but the molding is not bad at all! The white plastic looks a bit cheap but other than that I see no problem at all. Since I have the original Bandai version, I can safely say that this bootleg is at least up to 90% as compared :)

To my surprise is that Gao Gao successfully replicate the double-layer injection technology used for the leg inner frame, where the moving mechanism i.e. pistons are molded together... This piece, to me, is more sophisticated then RG, and since Gao Gao already did this couple of year back, RG is just a matter of time ;)

Section 2: Decals & Accessories

This is an older production of Gao Gao when their technology for dry-transfer decals are not yet matured so you can see that it gave a piece of dry stickers and water decal in place of the dry-transfer (all new re-production would come with dry-transfer as per Bandai). 

The quality of the dry-stickers are just so so, but the water decals are nice :) The foil stickers is pretty bad but I normally just paint this places with Gundam Marker so no issue :P

There are 2 screws to tighten the knee joint similar to the original.

Section 3: Skeleton Build

My usual skeleton build ;) 

The Legs

Detailing and articulations are very good! This is replicated perfectly from the original. The multi-layer injection leg inner frame is replicated perfectly with no movement issue.

The Waist Unit

Pretty straight-forward waist unit in inner frame form :) In case you did not know, most of the inner frame is inherited from RX-78-2 OYW ;)

The Chest

Another straight-forward piece with excellent shoulder articulations.

The Arms

Excellent articulations for the arms ;)

The Head

Pretty good parts separation ;)

Section 4: The Legs

Very solid build with very decent articulations :) The armor does hinders the movement a little bit but not a big issue. Parts separations are well done with no snap-fit issue ;)

Section 5: The Waist

Pretty solid waist. Parts separations are well done with no snap-fit issue ;)

Section 6: The Lower Abdomen

A simple piece that added a certain degree of articulations to the abdomen area ;)

Section 7: The Chest

Excellent parts separation ;)

Section 8: The Arms

Nicely done and highly articulated :)

Section 9: Gauntlet

Additional armor for the forearm resemble the samurai gauntlet :) However, the gauntlets actually hinders the elbow articulation by a few degrees :P

Section 10: The Shoulders

Pretty straight-forward build for the base shoulder armors ;)

Section 11: The Extended Shoulder Armors

2 pieces of extended armor mounted on the base shoulder armor. These armors are highly articulated due the the joints at the tip of the elbow ;)

Section 12: The Backpack

Pretty straight-forward backpack :) I did minor coloring on some minor details and thrusters.

Section 13: The Head

Just want to put some newer pictures of the head here :P

Section 14: The Weaponry

Very Samurai looked weaponry Shin Musha has ;)


The Halberd "Denkomaru"

The Spear "Sankomaru"

The Katana "Nichirinmaru"

Rifle "Tanegashima"

Section 15: Shin Musha Gundam

A very nice kit in my opinion :)

Section 16: Posing with Nichirinmaru

Section 17: Posing with "Tanegashima"

Quick Review

Plastic Quality and Detailing

Detailing for this kit is pretty nice done :) I would say this is as close as 98% to the original. As for the plastic, the white colored feels a bit cheap but the rest are nice.

The plastic quality is close to the usual Gao Gao/TT Hongli quality so no issue here.


Articulations

Articulations are very good!

• Head/Neck: Good!
• Shoulder: Excellent!
• Arm/Elbow: Excellent!
• Wrist: Excellent.
• Hand: Good.
• Waist: Good.
• Skirt Armour: Normal.
• Hip/Tight: Good.
• Knee: Excellent.
• Ankle: Poor.
• Feet: Normal.

Looks and Feels

The detailing is pretty good and come close to 98% of the original! The plastic quality is close to the usual Gao Gao/TT Hongli quality so no issue at all. I actually didn't find any flaw besides the lower quality plastic :P

The snap-fit is very nicely done as I do not have any issue at all snap-fitting the whole kit. The joints are also tight enough to hold the position even with some challenging poses ;) The only dissatisfaction would be the ankle articulations :)

Overall, this kit is VERY nice and a very viable replacement of the original, especially those who wanted to do a different color Shin Musha :) As usual, for those of you who can afford, do buy and support original ;)

Fin ;)