MGUniversal Century

MSR-00100S M.P.T.Hyakushiki-Kai

The famous gold suit's plain-clothes cousin, and it still moves like a dream.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

M.P.T.Hyakushiki-Kai · 1/100 · 2015

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2015

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit a lot more than its obscure backstory suggests I should.

It is basically the acclaimed MG Hyaku Shiki Ver.2.0 engineering wearing a cheaper uniform, and that engineering was excellent to begin with. The double-jointed elbows and knees, the ball-and-socket head, the shoulder articulation that actually lifts and swings forward, none of that got watered down for the budget mass-production version. What changed is the presentation, and that is where I have mixed feelings.

Best for: Zeta-era completionists and Hyaku Shiki fans who want the same great frame in a different colorway without hunting a Ver.2.0

The full review

What it is

This kit reuses the celebrated MG Hyaku Shiki Ver.2.0 skeleton and reskins it as the in-fiction mass-production model from the Mobile Suit Variations side material, the one that dropped the wing binders for a cheaper 6-tube multi-purpose launcher and simplified beam gatling guns on the shoulders. Building it feels exactly like building the original Hyaku Shiki, which is to say satisfying. The elbows and knees are double-jointed, the head swivels on a ball-and-clip joint, and the shoulders pull out and swing forward with none of the stiffness you sometimes get on older MG molds. If you have built the ver.2.0 before, your hands already know this kit.

The catch

The gold is bare, uncoated plastic this time instead of the shinier treatment the original Hyaku Shiki got, so it reads flatter and scuffs more visibly if you are not careful with tools around it. Bandai undergated most of the armor to hide nub marks, which helps a lot, but the non-gold parts (the blue torso bits, the red foot) still show visible nub scarring like the ver.2.0 did before it. This was also a P-Bandai exclusive, so pricing runs at a premium over a general-release MG and you are hunting secondary market or reissue windows rather than a shelf pickup. And the mobile suit itself is a deep-cut Mobile Suit Variations unit, not a screen-accurate one, so the accessory loadout leans utilitarian rather than flashy.

Who it's for

If you already love the Hyaku Shiki Ver.2.0 frame and want a second one in a different finish for a display lineup, or you are chasing UC Mobile Suit Variations kits specifically, this is worth tracking down. The build quality and articulation are genuinely MG-flagship level, not a watered-down variant kit. Skip it if you are looking for the iconic screen Hyaku Shiki look, since the wing binders and beam sabers-forward loadout of the original are gone here in favor of the launcher and gatling setup. New builders should start with the ver.2.0 itself, which is easier to find and comes with the more famous color scheme and accessories.

The build story

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

Assembly follows the Hyaku Shiki Ver.2.0 playbook closely: the inner frame goes together fast and cleanly, and the armor snaps over it with good, confident fit rather than the loose click you get on cheaper kits. The gold parts are undergated so most nubs are hidden once assembled, but that also means you have to work carefully when trimming them since a slip is more visible on gold plastic than on a darker color. The blue and red accent parts are conventionally gated and need the usual nipper-and-file routine to keep seams clean.

Where this kit earns its keep is articulation. The double-jointed elbows and knees let it hold dynamic gun poses without the joints looking strained, the shoulders pull out and rotate forward for overhead poses, and the head's ball-and-clip mount gives natural-looking tilts. Weapon loadout is more workmanlike than the original Hyaku Shiki, with the 6-tube multi-purpose launcher and shoulder-mounted beam gatling guns standing in for the wing binders, plus a beam rifle and twin beam sabers stored on the waist. It is not a huge accessory set, but everything included has a clear pose or use.

Lore & trivia

01The MSR-00100S is a fictional mass-production variant of the AEUG's MSR-00100 Hyaku Shiki Kai, introduced through the Mobile Suit Variations (MSV) side material rather than a mainline Gundam anime.
02In the manga Mobile Suit Gundam U.C. 0094: Across the Sky, a unit of this type was kept at the Earth Federation Forces' Mariana base for testing alongside the MSN-001X Gundam Delta Kai and was piloted by Fresberg Corps pilot Martin Murtaugh.
03The mass-production redesign strips the wing binders from the original Hyaku Shiki Kai and replaces the shoulder armaments with a cheaper 6-tube multi-purpose launcher, reflecting its in-universe role as a cost-reduced version of a suit whose full production run was ultimately cancelled.
04This MG was released in December 2015 as a Premium Bandai online-exclusive kit, reusing the acclaimed MG Hyaku Shiki Ver.2.0 frame in bare gold plastic rather than the coated finish of the original release.