Mg Unicorn Gundam Ova Ver (Part 2)

Continuing my look at the Mg Unicorn after Part 1, will start with all the transformed parts. Note that i have topcoated the kit while it was in unicorn mode, since the pink pscyo-frame parts may fog up due to topcoat. Hence the photos may look a little different, but probably not noticeable anyway.

1. Parts

The head, and torso. I used the fixed v-fin for the head. The yellow paint i used for the v-fin turns out splendid despite my amateur hand-paining skills. Head transformation was interesting and nothing too difficult. The torso's transformation is a pain though, as the 2 protruding parts on the shoulders refuse to be flipped out. The manual suggest using the beam sabers to dig them out. But even with a toothpick they are still acting stubborn and refuse to bulge. I had to remove the white armour piece that is blocking them in order to get them out.

Backpack's transformation is relatively easy. Very cool revealing of pscyo-frame and even more thrusters. The beam sabers' hilts are flipped upwards. The hilts do not stay on very securely and they will fall out more often than not.

Front of waist. Easy transformation. Only complaint is that the crotch piece tends to collapse back in too easily.

Side view of waist. Back panel of waist open up for more thruster glory. By now it is common knowledge that a gundam's strength is proportional to the number of thrusters it has.

Arms. Easy transformation. Shoulders' transformation do not feel too solid and the top white armour piece (the one with the AE and RX-0 decal) do fall out sometimes when i am posing the kit. The arms are fine generally, except that when the shield is attached, the shield may dislodge the white armour piece along with it when i want to move the shield around.

Legs. The knees have a extremely loosely attached part (circled in blue) that keeps dis-attaching itself. The attachment mechanism exist but do not seem to be working too well. Other than that, for the transformation, it is not too difficult as long as you follow the instructions carefully. Remember to push the rear white panel (the one that is covering the thrusters) downwards, as this will lock the psyco-frame in place.

Transformed shield. Nothing fancy here. Simply fan out the pink parts and pull the shield top and bottom to make it longer. When i was topcoating this part i masked the pink pscyo frame parts behind the shield to prevent fogging.

2. Poses

While this kit is far from being perfect, i must say the finished product here looks like a beast of a model kit. Probably one of the my most eye-catching display piece on my shelf.

Armed up. The Unicorn gundam is simply awe-inspiring. The frustration of transforming the torso is all worth the effort in the end.

Up on an action base. I used the pink beam sabers from Mg Rezel regular to replace its blue ones. The beam sabers can be held old fashioned style, or via the attached beam saber hilt on its forearms. Overall, posing is generally an extremely finicky process, as the kit has a thousand moving and falling parts. A little adjustment to the legs will cause the knee piece to get unattached, the crotch piece to collapse in , and multiple other problems. Thus explains the lack of pictures of poses.

3. Sturdiness.
Transformation wise, i find it acceptable and much better than Mg Zeta 2.0, which has a very complicated transformation that consist of tiny parts that seem to be on the verge of breaking.
The destroy mode is not sturdy at all, due to multiple moving parts and some loose ones.

4. Conclusion
Mg Unicorn Gundam Ova ver is a kit that is a treat to build and a awesome display piece. It has more than its fair share of issues, but none of them deal-breaking to me.

The leftover Ver Ka parts.

However if given the choice, i would have picked up the Ver ka instead of the Ova ver, because as a oob builder i cannot stand nub marks. The minor increase in articulation is clearly negligible.

Details: 7/10 Nub marks on metallic parts can be an eyesore on an otherwise highly detailed kit.
Articulation: 5/10 Practically the same level of articulation as the hguc counterpart.
Sturdiness: 5/10 Falling parts. Especially on Destroy mode.
Poseability: 6/10 This kit actually has many posing options, with its many weapons and its 2 configuration. Unfortunately it is too heavily bogged down by its finickiness.

Negatives:
1. Blue beam sabers are not ova accurate.
2. Metallic blue and gray parts leave ugly nub marks.
3. Weapon scopes and head camera are just stickers. No clear parts.
4. Destroy mode has too many falling and moving parts to pose.
5. Shield decal should be a dry transfer.
6. Beam magnum and hyper bazooka have some loose parts.
7. V-fins clearly require painting.

Positives.
1. Transformation process is actually acceptable for such a complicated design.
2. Pink pscyo-frame parts look bright and vivid.
3. Well hidden pscyo-frame in unicorn mode.
4. Finished product is extremely eye-catching.
5. Ingenious engineering makes the build process a lot fun.

In short, i love the Mg unicorn gundam, but i am not impressed enough until i have to buy a Mg banshee to keep it company.