HGBuild Divers

Nepteight Weapons

A cheap little backpack kit that only tells half the Neptune Armor story on its own.

MechaGrade Score

3.2/5

Nepteight Weapons · 1/144 · 2020

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2020

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a fun, honest, ten dollar add-on that does exactly what it says and nothing more.

I like what it does for the Core Gundam II's silhouette, and the transport-mode gimmick is a nice touch, but calling it a kit on its own is generous when it was clearly meant to be bought alongside the Nepteight Unit armor. If you already have that half, or a Core Gundam II sitting around, this is an easy yes at the price.

Best for: Core Gundam II owners who already have (or are buying) the Nepteight Unit armor and want the full Neptune Armor backpack

The full review

What it is

Nepteight Weapons is a small HGBD:R accessory set, a backpack and arm unit built to dock onto the Core Gundam II and pair with the separately sold Nepteight Unit armor to form the full Neptune Armor. On its own it's a quick, breezy build, snap it together in well under an hour, no cement needed. I like the way the backpack folds out to reference the Voiture Lumiere propulsion look from Stargazer Gundam, and it genuinely changes the profile of whatever Core Gundam you clip it onto. For the price, it's a fun little shelf accent rather than a display piece in its own right.

The catch

The big one every reviewer flags: this is sold separately from the Nepteight Unit armor that actually completes the look, and a lot of builders feel these two should have been one box. Buy just the Weapons set and you're stuck with an incomplete silhouette. The gold trim is entirely stickers rather than molded color, so if you're picky about color separation you'll be doing extra work or hunting for a paint match. A few owners also mention some of the smaller backpack hinge parts feel thin and can get brittle if you force a pose without a little joint lubrication first.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already own or are planning to grab the Nepteight Unit armor kit, or if you just want a distinctive backpack and arm unit to bolt onto a spare Core Gundam II or similar frame for a custom look. Build Divers completionists chasing the full Neptune Armor setup should treat the two kits as a package deal rather than picking up Weapons alone. Skip it if you want a self-contained kit that looks finished straight out of the box, or if stickers instead of molded gold are a dealbreaker for you.

The build story

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

The build itself is short and simple, snap-fit with no cement required, which is standard for this HGBD:R support-unit line. Gate placement is unremarkable and cleanup is minimal since there just aren't that many parts to clip. The backpack folds and swings on a couple of small joints that some builders describe as thin, so I'd go slow and add a touch of joint grease before you start posing it aggressively.

The best part of the design is the transport-mode gimmick, the folding backpack panels reference the Voiture Lumiere look from Stargazer Gundam, and it's a neat bit of engineering packed into such a small accessory set. Color separation is otherwise fine on the plastic itself, it's just the gold accents that fall to stickers. There isn't much of an articulation story here since it's not a standalone figure, the value is entirely in what it adds to whatever suit you dock it onto.

Lore & trivia

01The Nepteight Weapons set (HGBD:R #32) was released in July 2020 alongside the Nepteight Unit armor for Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE.
02Combining the Nepteight Unit and Nepteight Weapons with a Core Gundam II forms the Nepteight Gundam (PFF-X7II/N8), piloted by Hiroto Kuga.
03The Nepteight Gundam's cruising form uses the PLANETS System to dock the Neptune Armor, unfolding wing units to activate the Voiture Lumiere propulsion system first seen on Stargazer Gundam, used to launch the Build Divers into space to fight the AI Alus.