HGFuture Century

GF13-011NC Dragon Gundam

Neo China's Shaolin fighter gets an HG that finally earns its flags.

MechaGrade Score

4.1/5

Dragon Gundam · 1/144 · 2024

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2024

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is one of the best surprises to come out of the G Gundam 30th anniversary wave.

I went in expecting a basic HG regrade and came out with a kit that has real color separation, a fun Core Lander gimmick, and enough accessories to actually stage Sai Saici's signature attacks. The catch is that it's a Premium Bandai exclusive, so getting one at a fair price takes patience.

Best for: G Gundam fans who want Sai Saici's Dragon Gundam built up with its actual attacks staged, not just standing on a shelf

The full review

What it is

The Dragon Gundam is built around its dragon head forearms, and this kit nails that detail with molded eyes and jaw sections instead of stickers slapped over gray plastic. The Core Lander splits out of the chest like it should, the twelve Feilong Flags come as separate pieces you can fan out or clip to the arm extensions, and there's an Action Base 5 in the box so you can actually pose the flying attacks instead of just imagining them. Building it, I kept noticing small touches, like the queue on the back of the head being its own tiny part, that show someone on the design team actually cared about this specific mobile fighter and not just hitting a release quota for the anniversary.

The catch

The dragon-arm assemblies are busy. You're working around claw pieces, extension joints, and effect-part pegs all in the same forearm, and it's easy to pinch or misalign something if you rush it. This is a Premium Bandai release, which means no wide retail run, and by the time secondary sellers get involved you're often paying well north of its original 3,600 yen sticker price, sometimes into the seventy or eighty dollar range. The Feilong Flag effect parts are a joy to pose but also the first things that will go missing from your parts tray if you're not careful, and a couple of the smaller PET effect pieces feel like they'll stress-whiten if you flex them too many times.

Who it's for

If you grew up on G Gundam or you specifically want Sai Saici's fighter with its dragon claws and flag attacks properly represented, this kit delivers more than its HG price class usually promises. It's not a great pickup for someone hunting a cheap, easy first build, both because of the Premium Bandai markup and because the arm assemblies want a little patience. But for anyone chasing the Neo China entry in a G Gundam shelf lineup, or anyone who wants an HG that actually plays with its gimmicks instead of just posing static, I'd tell you to track one down.

The build story

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

The main body goes together like a standard modern HG, quick and satisfying, but the forearms slow you down. Each dragon-head arm stacks a claw mechanism, an extendable joint, and pegs for the flag and effect parts, so cleanup and test-fitting matter more here than on a typical HG sprue. Gate marks are placed reasonably but a few sit right on visible dragon-scale detailing, so I'd recommend a nipper pass followed by a light sand on anything facing forward.

Where this kit earns its keep is everything past assembly. The head, chest, and arm color separation is genuinely strong for the grade, sensors and the Core Lander canopy are the only real sticker points, and the flag set gives you enough spare hands and effect pieces to build out the True Meteor Butterfly Sword pose instead of just holding a static weapon. For an HG in this price class, the accessory count punches well above what I expected.

Lore & trivia

01The Dragon Gundam represents Neo China in the 13th Gundam Fight and is piloted by Sai Saici, the youngest Gundam Fighter in the tournament at sixteen years old.
02Its forearms conceal fire-breathing dragon claws, and it carries twelve Feilong Flags, beam weapons that double as spears and shields.
03A dagger-tipped queue mounted on the back of its head functions as a hidden close-range weapon, a nod to Sai Saici's Shaolin background.
04This HG release came out in November 2024 as part of Bandai's Mobile Fighter G Gundam 30th anniversary lineup.