Kimi The Builder

The best burger maker that I’ve built

FINALLY, after taking quite a while to build I finally am able to give my final thoughts and opinion on this MG kit. It really has been quite a while I’ve built an MG kit that really managed to take so much of my time to have it completed.

One that I do as well find myself having quite enlightened after experiencing what this kit has to offer.

But before we get to that, let us first get into some of the lore and history of this badass MS, shall we?

History and Development of the RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 ALEX

Model name:

• RX-78NT-1
• RX-78NT-1FA

Classification:

• Prototype Newtype-use General-Purpose Mobile Suit

Weapon systems:

• 60mm Vulcan Gun
• 90mm Gatling Gun
• BLASH XB-B-09 Beam Saber
• BOWA Norfolk XBR-L Type-3 Beam Rifle
• Hyper Bazooka
• RX-C-Sh-05 UBC/S-0003 Shield

Height:

• 18.5 m

Armour Material:

• Luna Titanium

Powerplant:

• Minovsky Ultracompact Fusion Reactor

Total Thrust:

• 2 x 35,000 kg
• 6 x 6,000 kg
• 2 x 7,000 kg
• 6 x 7,000 kg (additional thrust when equipped with the FA option)

Effective Sensor Radius:

• 5,900 m

Crew:

• 1 pilot

There were many great what-ifs that was discussed about the One Year War conflict that was widely discussed like for an instance, what if the Gundam fall into the hands of the Zeon, or what happens if Char was to be on side of the Earth Federation and was the pilot of the Gundam instead of Amuro.

However, there was one particular great what-ifs of the one year war that we think about alot of. We do wonder if the Cyclops Team fail in their mission, and the Feddies managed to deliver the Gundam NT-1 to the White Base in time for their final push to defeat the Principality of Zeon.

The reason why we are quite interested in this is that the fact that the Principality was going all out in making sure of its destruction, even going as far to want to destroy a whole colony if their spec ops unit failed in their mission. The one incident that happened during the final days of the One Year War which was only known after the Earth Federation recently de-classified some of the One Year War files for the public.

So why is this particular incident is the one that we choose to talk about? Well, the reason being for that is because we now know that there was another RX model that was being worked on in secret, which was supposed to be delivered to the White Base, well more specifically to Amuro Ray. The RX-78NT-1 Gundam ‘ALEX, aka the much-needed upgrade that never came.

Yes, this was supposed to be the upgrade that White Base sorely needed to bolster its forces. The reason for this is because after a few battles with the Principality’s new MS’s the White Base MS Team did find themselves struggling with some of the battles that was faced in the later stages of the War on Earth.

Yes even though we know that White Base doesn’t really need the upgrade since the same Gundam that Amuro piloted from the start of his involvement with the Gundam was enough for them to push them through the final stretch. But it was said that during the final planning stages for the final assault against the Principality, the EFSF High Command was a bit concerned about their chances of success.

Because after looking at some of the battle data’s gained from the Gundam, some of the top Earth Federations analysts warns the Earth Federations high command that the new late Zeon MS’s maybe a bit too much for the Gundam to handle if they were to be mass-produced. This is why they approved the plans to create another RX model which was to be developed using all the new Federation tech and as well to be developed using Amuro’s Battle data.

However, somehow the Principality caught wind of this and to prevent this from ever happening they dispatched the Cyclops elite special operations team to deal with this matter. Even though they managed to prevent the delivery of the NT-1 to the white base but that was only possible after all the members of the elite team was killed in the process. However, as we have all known, the efforts that was made didn’t really make much of a difference because the Principality was eventually defeated, not by some technological prowess, but instead by the sheer overwhelming numbers of the EFSF forces.

So one might be thinking, why such measures was needed to be taken to prevent this federation MS from ever reaching the hands of the EFSF’s Ace pilot of OYW? From what we learned from the declassified documents from the development team of the RX-78NT-1 that this RX series is a much more vastly improved version of the first prototype version of the Gundam that Amuro piloted.

There were alot of major improvements that was made to this particular RX model, like the introduction of a panoramic cockpit and the linear floating pilot seat, which is a standard now for most newer MS today. It was as well given a Magnetic Coating on its components to improve the reaction speed of the NT-1 and they as well had the verniers of the backpack enlarged so the NT-1 would be able to outmaneuver anything that the Zeons had in its disposal.

The improvements that was made here was so significant, even the NT-1’s test Pilot, Christina Mckenzie acknowledged that all of this makes the NT-1 incredibly powerful almost to a point of uncontrollable.

But that is not the only thing that made the NT-1 Deadly, the fact that the NT-1 was given alot of particularly lethal weapons to combat the many Principality’s new MS, like the new BOWA·Norfolk XBR-L Type-3 Beam Rifle, which was a much more powerful version of the one used by the RX-78-2 model. Although what makes this more unique is the fact that it had as well some powerful 90mm Gatling Guns which was equipped in both of the NT-1’s arm unit.

Although what makes this truly unique compared to the other MS that was developed during OYW is the fact that it could as well mount additional Cobham Armor for extra protection. However, with the extra armor mounted does prevent the NT-1 from being able to wield some of the handheld weapons, although it could still be able to use its powerful 90mm during combat if needed.

This may explain why the Principality decided to tackle this issue immediately, to a point that they would even take the extreme measure of nuking the entire site to prevent the MS to be shipped to the white base.

Even though, the measures taken to prevent this are considered to be extreme. But if one sees from the Principality’s point of view, seeing how devastating the plain old Gundam was to their war effort. One can easily understand why they would want to take such an extreme measure like this.

But even then it doesn’t stop them from getting their asses whooped and turning some of them into space burgers.

With that ends the History bit, now let us get into the review, shall we?

The Review

I admit, before starting work on this I was coming into this feeling a bit skeptical. Even with me seeing and hearing alot of people singing praises of how great this kit really is, I still find myself not fully believing in all the hype surrounding this MG kit.

The reason being is, even with last year’s releases, none of the was able to recapture the same magic of the old MG’s that I experianced. But after working with both the MG Dynames and this, the MG NT-1 Ver.2.0 I’m starting to really see that the long lost magic, is slowly creeping back to the MG lineup.

Why do I think it is so? Well, there are many things that I experience with the MG NT-1 Ver.2.0 which does contribute that belief.

Like for an instance, like this is one of the newer MG kits that I feel has a few really pretty cool ideas attached to it. Take the Cobham Armor for an instance, because even though fundamentally the idea of how the Armor works on both the older Ver.1.0 and the newer Ver.2.0 is the same. But with the introduction of the inner-frame for the  Ver.2.0’s Cobham Armor and making some elements of the Ver.2.0’s Cobham Armor moveable really does improve the overall experience of building the MG NT-1 Ver.2.0.

For once you really get to see the inner workings of the Cobham Armor and on how it would work on the NT-1. Looking at this, I can understand why those that came with the previous experience of building the older Ver.1.0 version would love the new Ver.2.0. Because it is a major improvement over the previous version.

Speaking of the Cobham Armor’s inner frame, that brings me to the next point: the detail. From what I ‘m seeing here there is a much higher emphasis on detail that could be seen on some elements on both the inner frame and the outer frame on both the MG NT-1 Ver 2.0 and its Cobham Armor. The improvements made here was so vast that it is something that I would admit is a major step forward when comparing this to its Ver.1.0 version.

Not to mention too, alot of the individual parts of the MG NT-1 Ver.2.0 is the most color accurate, when compared to the other MG’s out there. The parts color separation here is so good that there isn’t any need to do any major paintwork. Although, yes you do need to do ‘some’ touch up work here and there to make the details of the MG kit stand out more. But then again that is something that I would think most of us here would be more than happy to do.

Even the existing gimmicks of the MG NT-1 was further improved on the Ver.2.0. For instance the gimmicks on the MG NT-1 Ver.2.0’s arm 90mm Gattling Gun and the NT-1’s Cobham Armor. Even though the mechanisms for the Gattling Arm unit does work just like how you would expect, but for us to see that many of the MG NT-2 Ver.2.0’s types of equipment was designed around the Gatling Arm Gimmick does improve on the kind of poses that you can actually pull off here and not to mention there is alot of moving parts on the Cobham Armor which does make the poses that you can pull off here with the Cobham Armor attached more dynamic compared to what you get with the MG NT-1 Ver.1.0.

I do think that some elements of the gimmicks seen here do make this MG kit to be the truest to the anime version yet.

But the thing that we are quite happy with most here with this MG NT-1 Ver.2.0 is the fact that this MG kit is a blast to build. Its reasonably challenging on certain sections of this MG kit, which I experianced while working on the arm unit, body unit and it’s Cobham Armor. Although at certain sections does take more time for me to properly complete the section, but the end result of the hard work put on does show on the completed kit. Which is admittedly can be quite a satisfying feeling.

Although the kit is awesome overall, however, it is not to say that it doesn’t come with its set of issues and things that I’m frustrated by.

Because strangely enough out of all the MG kits that I’ve built ever since I started with this blog, this might be the first MG kit in many years that I encountered an MG with the loose arm unit issue. Both arm unit for the MG NT-1 Ver.2.0 keeps getting itself detached whenever I tried to pose the arm unit for a bit. Although I do admit that it is not so bad till it affects that articulation of the MG kit, like a certain MG kit that I know of, however, it does get quite annoying when you need to reattach the whole arm unit when it detaches itself from its connecting hinge.

Speaking about the Arm unit, another issue that encounters here with this MG kit’s arm unit its waist. Which was insanely tight to a point that I was afraid to articulate the manipulators of this MG kit with the fear that it might break if I apply too much pressure on the arm unit. Although I myself was being careful with it, thanks to some advice given to some of the awesome builders in Reddit and FB, but this might be something for the newbies to be aware of if you are considering working on this MG kit.

Another thing that I am quite annoyed with is the fact that some areas of the Cobham Armor are a tad bit loose, especially on the arm unit area. Though it could be attributed to the fact that Bandai made the mechanisms for the arm unit to be able to move which is why in some areas the Cobham Armor can feel be a bit flimsy and it may also be due to the fact that the lack of actual hinges on the said areas for the Cobham armor to hold on to which kind of makes some sections of the Cobham Armor doesn’t feel as solid as the rest.

What really pisses me off the mos is the fact that how the fittings on the head unit’s Cobham armor look here. Yes, I know that is not standard equipment and was something that was add-in as a tribute to the old SD version. But at the very least, they could’ve just made the part fitted better than this mess. Just look at the gap in between them parts here.

Yes, I’m aware that you can easily fix it up with some putty, but seriously, applying putties is only a measure that should’ve been only be used as a method to improve a look of a kit, not to fix it.

Regardless, of all of that issues that I just laid out, I still freakking love this MG kit. It’s probably one of the best MG kits that I’ve built in a long time, and it is one that I feel really pushes boundaries of what an MG can or could be in the near future.

You might be wondering why did I say at the start of this review that this kit is managed to recapture some of the magic of the old MG here? Well, that is because just like the MG’s of old, you can see the design team for this MG kit takes some risks with implementing new additions to the MG NT-1 Ver.2.0 and even though there are some problems here and there, you will find yourself not minding the issues as much. Because you can feel that the designers of this MG kit really wanted to make something that fun and awesome to build.

Not to mention too that this is really one of those kits that you can really feel that the design team really had fun redesigning the MG NT-1 Ver2.0.

I really find myself falling in love with this MG kit, and seeing how good this is, I really can’t wait to see what more they have to offer with future MG releases. I really hope that they will continue releasing awesome MG kits for us all.

With that ends the review for the MG 1/100 RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 (MG). What do you think of both the kit and the review for this MG kit? Do you share the same thoughts with us or do you think that this kit could’ve been better? This took me quite a while to get to complete and longer to finish reviewing. but it is nevertheless one of the best new MG kits that I’ve built-in quite a while. It really manages to leave me with a big grin towards the end of it and as well a renewed hope that we will continue to see badass MG kit coming to the retail side in the near future.

Now, I finally can get to work on the RG project that I have been putting on hold for so long. I’m really excited to finally start on the RG Nu-Gundam! I really hope that the good times continue on with this RG kit.

Anyways, we will be back again with more Let’s Talk Gunpla Segment on the next coming Wednesday and Friday. This coming Monday Kimi will be back again with either a review or an unboxing, So do look forward to that!

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We hope by sharing our love and passion for gunplas here, it’ll inspire you to pick up the hobby or reignite your love for gunpla!

Anyways, we shall see all of you again next week, and we hope that you all have an awesome week and weekend ahead! Have an awesome Gunpla building time there as well and until next time!

Ciao!