HGUniversal Century

RGM-89S Stark Jegan (CCA-MSV Ver.)

A special-forces Jegan variant that rewards a little paint and elbow grease more than it rewards straight-out-of-the-box excitement.

MechaGrade Score

3.4/5

Stark Jegan (CCA-MSV Ver.) · 1/144 · 2015

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2015

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a solid, slightly underdressed HGUC that needs your help to look as good as it should.

The proportions and detailing are as tight as any modern Bandai HG, but the molded mint green is dull enough on its own that the kit can read as a wall of one color if you build it straight from the runners. Once you add a little panel lining or a quick brush of gray and silver on the gun and vents, it turns into a genuinely handsome anti-ship trooper. I like it, but it takes a bit of extra effort to get there.

Best for: UC Jegan-line collectors and builders who don't mind doing some paint work to bring flat molded colors to life

The full review

What it is

The Stark Jegan is Bandai's HGUC take on the anti-ship special forces variant of the Jegan D-Type from Char's Counterattack Mobile Suit Variations, later folded into Gundam Unicorn canon. It comes in around the same footprint as the Jesta and other late-80s UC-era Jegan kits, with the same crisp panel lines and clean part fit you expect from a modern HGUC mold. Assembly is straightforward and quick, which actually became my favorite part of the build because it left me plenty of leftover time to detail the parts that needed it. The shoulder-mounted missile pods and the shorter D-Type beam rifle give it a distinct anti-ship silhouette that stands apart from the standard Jegan.

The catch

The big compromise here is color. The main body is molded in a dull, flat mint green with almost no color separation and no stickers to break it up, so out of the box the suit can look monochrome and a little boring. The leg armor is also a known weak point, the shin pieces sit loosely against the leg and can pop off during posing or handling. Articulation is decent but not fantastic, the shoulder missile pods restrict elbow bend to roughly 90 degrees unless you swing the shoulder armor out of the way first. None of this ruins the kit, but it does mean you're signing up for some extra work if you want it to look and pose its best.

Who it's for

Grab this one if you already like the Jegan family and want a lesser-seen anti-ship variant in your UC lineup, especially if you're willing to panel line or paint the gray and silver accents that the molded plastic skips. It rewards builders who treat an HG as a canvas rather than a finished product. Skip it if you want a kit that looks great straight off the runners with zero extra effort, or if loose-fitting leg armor is a dealbreaker for you. As a P-Bandai exclusive it's also not always easy to find, so patience shopping is part of the deal too.

The build story

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

Runners go together fast with the fit and gate placement you'd expect from a current-tooling HGUC, nothing here felt fragile or fiddly, and cleanup is minimal. Because the build itself moves quickly, I found myself with real spare time to touch up the parts Bandai left plain, which is unusual for an HG at this price point.

The waist rotates a full 360 degrees and the side skirt armor lifts to clear the hip joint, so the lower body poses better than the upper. The shoulder missile pods look great but fight the elbow, and swinging the shoulder armor out of the way is the workaround. The new short-barrel D-Type beam rifle is a nice unique accessory that separates this from a standard Jegan loadout.

Lore & trivia

01The Stark Jegan first appeared in Char's Counterattack Mobile Suit Variations (MSV) in 1989 as an anti-ship special forces development of the RGM-89D Jegan D-Type.
02It later got a modern redesign by mechanical designer Hajime Katoki for the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn novel and OVA, which is the version this HGUC kit is tooled after.
03The kit uses the Jegan D-Type's shorter beam rifle, which trades range for a faster rate of fire and is paired with a composite sensor for close and mid-range combat.
04This HGUC release is a P-Bandai exclusive under the CCA-MSV Ver. banner, so it isn't sold through general retail the way standard HGUC Jegan kits are.