MG Nu-Gundam ver. Ka

From Amuro Ray's first Gundam straight to his last Gundam. The RX-93 Nu-Gundam (properly spelled v-Gundam) appeared as Amuro's custom Newtype Mobile suit in the film Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack. The design of this Gundam struck me early on as uninspired and I wasn't a huge fan, but it grew on me over time. What eventually became the most appealing aspect to me was the asymmetry given off by the fin-funnels. So, when I learned just what kind of step up a ver. Ka can be over a standard MG release, it was time for me to grab myself a Nu Gundam.

The ver Ka is a great step up from the original animated design, opting for a slimmer chest that is move evocative of the Gundam Mk II. The vents are positioned in a more vertical manner, while the original design had a chest piece that protruded out and then angled back toward the "stomach" area. And again, much like the Gundam ver 3.0, the Nu-Gundam has multiple shades of gray and white to create a little more visual variety in the arm and leg armor.

A little controversially, the ver. Ka of the Nu-Gundam adds a psycho-frame gimmick that was not originally found in the Nu-Gundam and which is almost identical to the Unicorn Gundam. It's not pictured because I don't really care for it. The torso does fit an led unit, which allows the eyes to light up green (or whichever led color you choose). Unfortunately, in order to get to the unit to turn in on or off, you must first pull off the backpack, then pry off the back panel of the torso. It's not really an easy process, so I don't light it up very often.

Speaking of the backpack, it has been reported online that the fin-funnels tend to fall apart when placed on the backpack. So, knowing that I was unlikely to utilize the specialized funnel stand, I sank a piece of wire coat-hanger inside so that they don't fall off. It's easily done, almost as if the funnels were designed with that in mind. You just have to cut away a little but of plastic found inside of each funnel, which would never be seen anyway. It's also pretty easily reversible if you wish to display the unit with funnels engaged.

This kit was one of my first ever experiences in using water-slide decals. On the upcoming photos you can see some of my favorite markings, but you can also see some of the issues in my application of those decals.

You can see a lot of the little details that in many other kits would require painting or stickers. You have those little yellow rings on the forearms and other places. They were quite a pain to put together, but they look absolutely beautiful.

This was also one of the earliest kits that helped me learn one essential rule of gunpla: you can tell a lot about a model by its feet. The amount of detail that goes into the foot of a model is a pretty good indicator of the rest of the kit. Including the rare use of color application stickers, there are five separate colors that go into the feet of this kit. Even the soles of the feet have yellow boosters built into them, while many other kits have a very poorly detailed thruster or other detail molded into the plastic. This has become one of my very favorite kits and has a huge presence on my display shelf.