MGUniversal Century

RX-0 Unicorn Gundam HD Color + MS Cage

The same brilliant transforming frame, dressed in the darker screen-accurate colors and given its own display cage to live in.

MechaGrade Score

4.2/5

Unicorn Gundam · 1/100 · 2010

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2010

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the MG Unicorn at its best packaged form, and I'd point most builders here before the plain original release.

The HD Color update pulls the white down a shade and adds cooler grays so it reads like the OVA on screen instead of the flatter early box art, and the included MS Cage turns a shelf kit into a diorama piece. The transformation gimmick is still the star of the show and it still occasionally fights you. I came away impressed more than annoyed.

Best for: MG builders who already know they want the Unicorn transformation gimmick and want the nicer colorway plus a display base bundled in one box

The full review

What it is

This is the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam done the way Katoki Hajime originally envisioned the OVA palette, a touch darker and cooler than the standard release, paired with an accessory MS Cage that doubles as a weapon rack and a posing stand. The main event hasn't changed: flip the head, pull the horns, and the whole kit opens up into Destroy Mode, exposing a psycho frame built from translucent pink and clear parts that catches light beautifully once it's on a shelf. Snapping the horn mechanism the first time and watching the chest split open is genuinely one of the best gimmick payoffs in the Master Grade line. Building it feels like solving a small puzzle before you even get to painting or panel lining.

The catch

The transformation is a headline feature and also the source of most of the complaints. Builders consistently report the mode change is fiddly to trigger cleanly, especially the chest and shoulder armor, which doesn't always seat flush when you're back in Unicorn Mode. The ball joints used to allow the transform are also prone to popping loose during handling, so parts can pop off mid-pose if you're not careful. None of this is unique to the HD Color release, it's baked into the Ver.Ka engineering the kit is built on, but it's worth knowing going in. The MS Cage itself is large and needs shelf space you may not have budgeted for.

Who it's for

Buy this one if you want the Unicorn's transformation gimmick and like the idea of a built-in display stand rather than sourcing one separately, or if the HD Color scheme's darker, more film-accurate tones appeal to you over the standard release. Skip it if you just want a static Gundam to pose and paint without fussing over a mode-change mechanism, an RG or HG Unicorn will get you there with far less fiddling. If you've built an MG before and want a kit that rewards patience with a genuinely satisfying gimmick, this is one of the better ways to get it.

The build story

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

The build itself is standard MG fare on gate placement and cleanup, nothing unusual there, but the engineering underneath is doing a lot of work. Every joint doubles as a hinge for the transformation sequence, so panel lines and hidden hinges take priority over some of the polish you'd expect on a static-only kit. Assembly rewards going slow, especially around the chest and shoulder blocks where the destroy-mode armor needs to tuck away cleanly.

The standout here is the transformation itself, flipping the antennae, releasing the chest, and watching the whole silhouette change shape without a single tool. Color separation is strong for an older-generation MG, with the psycho frame molded in that signature clear pink rather than relying on stickers or paint. The MS Cage adds real value for the price band, giving you a proper display base and a place to rack the beam saber and shield instead of leaving them loose on the shelf.

Lore & trivia

01The HD Color release adjusts the Unicorn's palette to be darker and cooler than the original Ver.Ka release, intended to better match how the suit actually reads on screen in the OVA.
02The kit's psycho frame is represented with translucent pink and clear plastic parts that are exposed only when the suit is shifted into Destroy Mode.
03The included MS Cage functions as both a weapons rack for the Unicorn's beam saber and shield and as a display base with articulated catwalks that can encase the finished figure.