HGUniversal Century

AMX-004-2 Elpeo Ple's Qubeley Mk-II

A funnel-slinging Newtype suit that finally gets its screen-accurate black paint job out of the box.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Elpeo Ple's Qubeley Mk-II · 1/144 · 2016

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2016

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the Qubeley Mk-II done right, and it took Bandai until 2016 to do it.

The 2015 Revive-mold engineering under the hood makes this a much better kit than the year-2000 original it replaced, and the P-Bandai colorway finally molds Elpeo Ple's actual black and navy scheme instead of forcing you to paint over a generic purple release. The ten-funnel gimmick is genuinely satisfying to fuss with. It is not a showstopper, but it is a well-built, characterful HG that earns its price.

Best for: UC/ZZ fans who want Ple's specific black Qubeley Mk-II molded correctly, and anyone who enjoys a good funnel-storage gimmick

The full review

What it is

This is the P-Bandai exclusive Revive-mold version of the Qubeley Mk-II, recolored to match the actual black and navy screen colors Elpeo Ple's unit wore in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, rather than the more generic purple molding Bandai used on earlier releases. Building it feels like the payoff HGUC fans had been waiting for since the original 2000 kit. The ten funnels tuck away into the rear skirt armor and pop out individually, which is a small mechanical detail that makes handling the finished kit fun rather than just decorative. The wing binders carry multiple articulation points so you can angle them for a real all-range-attack silhouette instead of leaving them stuck flat against the back.

The catch

The sticker count is heavy, especially for the pink trim across the wings and both front and back skirt armor, so if you want clean color separation without foil stickers you are looking at a real paint job, not a quick weekend build. The Zeon faction marking is a dry-transfer decal, which is a nice touch for an HG but adds another finicky step if you have not used dry transfers before. This is also a P-Bandai exclusive, so it comes and goes in limited web runs and secondary market prices can run well above a standard HGUC release once it is out of stock.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already care about Elpeo Ple as a character or you specifically want the Qubeley Mk-II in its correct show colors without repainting a purple kit. It also rewards anyone who likes funnel-type suits and wants to fiddle with storing and deploying them, and it pairs well with the separately sold Funnel Effect Part set if you want the full all-range-attack display. Skip it if you just want a generic Qubeley Mk-II on a budget (the standard retail release is cheaper and easier to find), or if heavy stickering is a dealbreaker and you are not ready to paint the pink accents yourself.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

The Revive-mold engineering underneath is a clear step up from the original 2000-era Qubeley Mk-II kit, with tighter part fit and cleaner gate placement. Runner cleanup is straightforward for an HG of this vintage, nothing unusually fiddly, though the small funnel components deserve a careful hand during clipping so you do not lose one across the workbench.

Color separation is decent out of the box for the main black and navy body, but the pink accents on the wings and skirts lean hard on stickers rather than molded plastic, so expect a noticeably higher sticker count than a typical modern HG. The ten funnels store cleanly under the rear skirt armor and can be pulled individually for posing, and the wing binders' multiple articulation points let you angle the whole silhouette for a proper Newtype all-range-attack display.

Lore & trivia

01Elpeo Ple was a ten-year-old Newtype test pilot created by Neo Zeon's Cyber-Newtype program during the First Neo Zeon War of UC 0088, and her fate in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ is one of the show's most quietly devastating arcs.
02This P-Bandai release reuses the improved 2015 Revive-mold Qubeley Mk-II engineering but molds the plastic in Ple's actual black and navy unit colors, correcting the more generic purple scheme used on the standard retail HGUC release.
03The kit includes a dry-transfer decal for its Zeon faction marking, an uncommon inclusion for a High Grade kit that usually relies on simple waterslide or sticker decals.
04The suit is armed with twin hybrid beam sabers that double as beam guns, backed up by ten remote funnels for long-range Newtype combat, and is compatible with the separately sold HGUC Qubeley Funnel Effect Part set for a full deployed-funnel display.