HGUniversal Century

Me02R-F02 Messer Type-F02

Mafty's guerrilla workhorse gets a bulkier, better armed encore.

MechaGrade Score

3.6/5

Messer Type-F02 · 1/144 · 2021

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2021

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

The Messer Type-F02 is a smart, faintly nerdy upgrade of an already solid Premium Bandai release, and I like it more than the specs sheet suggests I should.

It takes the F01's frame and adds lifting flares to the legs for a bulkier hover profile, a commander-type antenna head, and a batch of naked frame parts so you can build the exposed F-type from the film. It is not a kit for someone chasing flash. It is a kit for someone who wants the deep cut from Hathaway's Flash done right.

Best for: UC completionists and Hathaway's Flash fans who want the Mafty guerrilla suit exactly as it appears on screen, naked frame and all

The full review

What it is

This is the second Premium Bandai release of the Messer, and it leans into being a variant kit rather than a new sculpt. You get the same competent HG frame as the F01, now carrying lifting flares on the legs that visibly bulk out the silhouette and are meant to represent the suit's improved hover duration in the film. The commander head with its extra antenna is a nice touch for anyone building a squad, and the inclusion of naked (exposed frame) parts lets you recreate the stripped-down F-type moment from the movie, the one where the Messer grapples for the Xi Gundam. Building it felt less like assembling a new mobile suit and more like customizing one I already knew, which has its own quiet satisfaction.

The catch

The naked-frame swap is the real sticking point. Builders doing the F-type conversion have to separate and transplant parts at the right shoulder, backpack, and legs, and that process is fiddlier than it needs to be for what is otherwise a straightforward HG. Color coding on the small parts falls short in a few spots, particularly the yellow pipe base and the purple and pink leg accents, so you get foil stickers to cover the gap rather than molded plastic. This was also a Premium Bandai exclusive at 3,300 yen, meaning you likely paid secondary market prices and box lottery tax to get it at all, which stings more given it is fundamentally a parts-swap release.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already love the Messer Type-F01 or the Hathaway's Flash aesthetic and want the commander variant with the naked-frame option in your cabinet, it rewards people who care about screen accuracy over spectacle. Skip it if you are new to Gunpla or want your first HG purchase to feel like a complete, self-contained design statement, since so much of this kit's identity is defined by comparison to its sibling release. If you can only own one Messer, the F01 is the more standalone build, and this one is the specialist's follow-up purchase.

What works

Lifting flare legs and commander head genuinely change the silhouette and read as a distinct suit on the shelf, not just a recolor
Naked F-type frame option lets you recreate a specific, memorable movie beat instead of just posing with a rifle
Full accessory loadout including long beam rifle, shield, twin saber blades, and a stand joint for hover poses

Worth knowing

Naked-frame conversion requires separating and transplanting parts at the shoulder, backpack, and legs, more fiddly than a typical HG swap
Color coding on small parts (yellow pipe base, purple and pink leg details) relies on foil stickers rather than molded plastic
Premium Bandai exclusive pricing and availability make it a harder, pricier get than a retail HG

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The build story

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

The core assembly runs like the familiar HGUC Messer frame, so gate cleanup and part fit are unremarkable in the best way, nothing fought me on the runners. The lifting flare add-ons for the legs clip on cleanly and immediately change how the suit reads in a hover pose. Where the build gets interesting is the F-type naked conversion, since you are not just adding parts, you are pulling the standard shoulder, backpack, and leg armor off and swapping in exposed frame pieces, and that swap wants patience rather than force.

Articulation carries over the F01's hover-focused engineering, so the legs and hip joints are built to hold a floating pose rather than a deep knee bend, which suits the character. Color separation is good for an HG in the main color blocks (the Mafty grey and purple scheme reads well out of the box) even though a few small accents lean on foil stickers. For the price and rarity, the part count and accessory spread, twin sabers, long beam rifle, shield, commander head, hover stand, is a genuinely generous haul.

Lore & trivia

01The Messer Type-F02 is a variant of the Type-F01 with lifting flares added to the legs, which in the film represent an improved hover duration over the original.
02The kit includes a commander-type head with an additional antenna, distinguishing squad leader units from standard Mafty pilots.
03The included naked (exposed-frame) parts let builders recreate the F-type form the suit takes on screen during its confrontation with the Xi Gundam.
04The Messer serves as the primary mobile suit of Mafty, the anti-Earth Federation guerrilla group led by Hathaway Noa in Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway, and was developed under Anaheim Electronics.