HGBuild Divers

Mercuone Weapons

A cheap little armament box that only makes sense once you already own the Mercuone Unit.

MechaGrade Score

3.0/5

Mercuone Weapons · 1/144 · 2020

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2020

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this set for what it honestly is, an add-on weapons runner, not a kit you buy on its own.

Taken alone the winged backpack and the harpoon-firing gun are a fun ten-minute build with decent line work for the price. The catch is that almost everything good about it depends on parts you only get if you already have the Mercuone Unit or a Core Gundam sitting on your shelf.

Best for: Build Divers completionists who already own the Mercuone Unit and want the full underwater loadout

The full review

What it is

This is a small support set, a backpack-mounted needle gun, a pair of fin zambers, and two bit pods meant to dock onto the Mercuone Unit's Core Gundam. Building it took me under fifteen minutes, the runners are simple, and the parts snap together with the kind of confidence-inspiring click Bandai gets right even on their cheapest releases. The gun has a satisfying trigger-hinge action and the fin zambers slot onto the forearms cleanly. On its own it is a modest little accessory kit, nothing that will wow anyone, but it does exactly what it says on the box.

The catch

The problem builders keep flagging, and I agree with them, is that this set was never designed to stand alone. Without the Mercuone Unit (sold separately) the backpack has nothing to mount to and half the gimmick parts just sit in a bag. Reviewers have also called the small companion weapon underwhelming compared to the rest of the set, and a few note the whole loadout starts to look cluttered and overcrowded once you actually attach it to a suit, more gear than the frame comfortably wears. At 660 yen it is cheap, but that price reflects how little is actually in the box.

Who it's for

If you already picked up the Mercuone Unit or you are chasing the complete underwater loadout for a Core Gundam build, grab this, it is the piece that makes that combo feel finished. If you do not own the base unit, skip it outright, there is nothing here that functions as a standalone weapons pack the way some other support sets do. This is a completionist purchase, not an entry point, and I would not recommend it to anyone building their first HG or looking for a self-contained accessory kit.

The build story

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

There is not much to the build itself, a handful of runners, minimal nub cleanup, and parts that click together with the same tight tolerances Bandai uses across its HGBD support sets. Nothing here fights you, the trigger mechanism on the needle gun is the most engaging part of the whole assembly and it moves smoothly once snapped in.

The engineering only really pays off in context, the fin zambers add real cutting silhouette to the forearms and the bit pods with their torpedo launchers give the Mercuone Unit's underwater profile its extra mobility read. Judged purely as a standalone accessory set the part count is thin for the price, but judged as the finishing half of the Mercuone combo it earns its keep.

Lore & trivia

01The Mercuone is the underwater combat form created by docking the Core Gundam with the Mercury Armor in Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE.
02Its armament includes fin zambers for underwater cutting power and a harpoon-firing water needle gun, plus bit pods carrying their own torpedo launchers and propellers.
03The HGBD:R Mercuone Unit and Mercuone Weapons sets released close together, February and March 2020, as a matched pair meant to be built in tandem.