MGMobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny AstrayP-Bandai

RGX-00 Testament Gundam

A stolen ZAFT prototype rebuilt in plastic, and the reddest MG on anyone's shelf.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

Testament Gundam · 1/100 · 2020

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2020

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the first official model kit of the Testament Gundam, and it's a Strike-frame build that spends its budget on color rather than gimmicks, and it mostly works.

The kit reuses the proven GAT-X-derived MG inner frame, this time molded in KPS rather than the usual plastic, so the finished model reads with far more depth than a straight recolor would. It's not the most technically ambitious MG Bandai has made, but as a display piece built around one suit's signature red palette, it earns its place.

Best for: SEED Astray fans and MG collectors who want a striking all-red display piece with a genuine gimmick attached, not just a recolored Strike

The full review

What it is

The Testament takes the reliable Strike Gundam skeleton, wraps it in a new shell, and lets the color separation do the heavy lifting, the kit is molded almost entirely in shaded reds rather than one flat tone, so the finished model looks richer than the parts on the runner suggest. It includes a sitting 1/100 Ash Gray figurine for the cockpit, swappable finger digits across four grip styles, twin Beam Sabers, and the signature "Trikeros Kai" offensive shield system with a pair of Beam Handguns that dock into it for storage. The Divine Striker backpack is the other headline piece, it converts between an Aile Striker-like flight configuration and a deployed grappling-claw mode, and the whole kit ships with an Action Base 1 and adapter.

The catch

This was a Bandai Hobby Online Shop exclusive, so anyone picking it up after the fact is buying secondhand or import stock rather than a fresh retail run. One real build account (a painting-focused retrospective, not a stock-color review) flagged that the Trikeros claw has some genuinely hollow interior spaces that need filling or painting to look finished, and that the backpack connector and the pistols show visible seam lines if you leave them unsealed. That same account also noted the kit reuses GAT-X frame parts cast in PS rather than the ABS Bandai sometimes uses for stress points, worth knowing if you pose it often. The instruction booklet is a plain color pamphlet without the background material Bandai sometimes includes on flagship releases.

Who it's for

Pick this up if you already like the SEED Astray side stories and want a genuinely striking all-red suit that doesn't look like a simple repaint, or if you collect Strike-frame variants and want one with a real gimmick attached, the Trikeros claw and the Divine Striker's dual configurations both do real work. Skip it if you only want kits that are easy to find at general retail, since this is a closed-window online exclusive now. It's also not the pick if you want the newest MG joint engineering, this is a well-proven frame dressed up well rather than a showcase of the latest refinements.

The build story

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

The shell is molded in KPS rather than the frame's usual plastic, and that swap is what lets the color separation carry so much of the kit's visual weight, shaded reds straight off the runners instead of one flat tone. Assembly follows the well-worn SEED MG playbook, so nothing about the build feels risky, though the instruction manual itself is a plain color pamphlet with no lore or technical notes attached.

Articulation carries over the SEED frame's proven double-jointed elbows and knees plus a ball-socket neck, waist, and ankle setup, so the suit holds action poses without much fuss. The Trikeros Kai's side panels unfold and its claw sections pose independently, which is the kit's real standout feature, and the accessory count (Beam Sabers, Beam Handguns, spare fingers, the Ash Gray figurine, and a screw-free Action Base) makes this feel like a complete package rather than a bare recolor.

Lore & trivia

01Not counting unofficial resin kits, this MG is the first and, for years, only official plastic model of the Testament Gundam.
02The Testament was originally a ZAFT unit developed to study captured Earth Alliance Striker Pack technology, and it was stolen before ZAFT ever fielded it in combat.
03After the theft, an Earth Alliance intelligence unit refit the suit with Variable Phase Shift armor, which shifts its color between white and red depending on activation state.
04Its Quantum Computer Virus Transmission System is housed in the two large head antennae, letting it hack and jam the sensors of nearby mobile suits.