MGUniversal Century

RX-0 Unicorn Gundam Beam Gatling Gun [x2] Set Ver.Animecolor

A cheap little magazine freebie that quietly finishes the anime look your Unicorn was missing.

MechaGrade Score

3.3/5

Unicorn Gundam · 1/100 · 2011

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2011

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this set for exactly what it is and nothing more: a pair of beam gatling guns that let your MG Unicorn Gundam match its on-screen loadout instead of the comic-toned Ver.Ka colors.

It has no frame, no articulation, no build of its own to speak of, so judge it as an accessory, not a kit. As an accessory it does its one job well and looks right in the hands.

Best for: Owners of the MG Unicorn Gundam Ver.Ka who want the anime-accurate gatling guns instead of the original comic-color pair

The full review

What it is

This is the Gundam UC ACE Vol.2 exclusive that came bundled with the limited edition of the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn novel Vol.4 back in March 2011, a recolor of the beam gatling gun accessory that ships with the MG Unicorn Gundam Ver.Ka. The original release used a comic-inspired grey scheme straight out of Hajime Katoki's design work, but this Ver.Animecolor version matches the darker, more muted tone the guns actually wear in the OVA. If you already own the base kit and watched the show, the mismatch bugs you the moment you notice it, and this set fixes it in about ten minutes of clipping and no painting required.

The catch

You are buying two guns, not a mobile suit. There is no body, no runner of joints, nothing to pose beyond what the Unicorn's hands already do, so anyone expecting kit-scale value for the price is going to be disappointed by the sheer smallness of the box. It was also a magazine and novel bundle exclusive rather than a retail shelf item, which means it went out of production fast and now trades mostly through secondary sellers and auction sites at prices well above its original 740 yen MSRP. Fit onto the Unicorn's 3mm wrist grips is snug but not universally guaranteed across every later MG Unicorn variant, so double check compatibility with your specific release before you chase one down.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already have an MG Unicorn Gundam Ver.Ka on the shelf and the comic-color gatling guns have been nagging at you every time you look at it, or if you are a completionist who wants the anime-correct loadout for display and photography. Skip it if you do not own a compatible Unicorn kit yet, since this set does nothing on its own, or if you are not the type to pay collector markup for what amounts to two small accessory runners. For most builders the better move is grabbing the base MG Unicorn Gundam Ver.Ka first and treating this recolor as an optional upgrade once you have found one at a fair price.

The build story

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

There is barely a build here in the traditional sense. You are clipping a small handful of parts per gatling gun off a limited runner, cleaning a few nub marks, and snapping them together the same way the original comic-color guns went together on the base Ver.Ka kit. Fit at the joints and onto the Unicorn's hand grips is tight and confident, no looseness to speak of, since it is reusing the same engineering as the kit it was designed to accompany.

The only thing that changes is the plastic color, and that is the entire point. The darker, more anime-faithful tone reads better under normal lighting than the original comic-grey guns did, and it closes the gap between your shelf piece and the Destroy Mode gunfights from the show. There is no extra articulation or gimmick beyond what the stock gatling guns already offered, so the value here is purely in screen accuracy, not in added play features.

Lore & trivia

01This anime-color gatling gun set was an exclusive bundled with the limited edition of the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn novel Vol.4 and distributed through Gundam UC ACE Vol.2, released in March 2011 with an original MSRP of 740 yen.
02It recolors the beam gatling gun accessory originally packed with the MG RX-0 Unicorn Gundam Ver.Ka, swapping the comic-inspired grey Hajime Katoki design tone for the darker shade the weapon actually wears in the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn OVA.
03The Unicorn Gundam wields its beam gatling guns handheld during its Destroy Mode combat sequences in the anime, which is the specific look this color variant was made to match.