PGUniversal Century

RX-0 Unicorn Gundam Bande Dessinee Ver.

The biggest, reddest, most theatrical Unicorn kit Bandai makes, dressed in manga colors and carrying an extra cannon.

MechaGrade Score

4.4/5

Unicorn Gundam · 1/60 · 2019

GradePG

Scale1/60

Released2019

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the standard PG Unicorn engineering wrapped in the punchier red and white palette from the Gundam Ace manga, and honestly that alone earns it a spot on the shelf next to the movie-accurate version.

It is not a new mold, it is a recolor with an added Armed Armor DE rifle, so do not expect a different build experience from the base PG. What you get instead is the same jaw-dropping transformation gimmick and psycho-frame light show, just louder.

Best for: PG collectors and Unicorn superfans who already know the base kit and want the manga colorway plus the extra weapon, not first-time PG builders on a budget

The full review

What it is

I will be straight with you, this is still the same PG Unicorn under the hood, the transformation from Unicorn to Destroy mode is manual with no part swapping, the horn splits when you rotate the head crown, the chest and limb armor panels slide outward, and the knee pistons extend to lock the pose. That gimmick alone is worth the price of admission on any PG Unicorn. The Bande Dessinee colorway pushes the red deeper and cleaner than the movie version, which suits the manga's punchier art style, and the bundled Armed Armor DE adds a second rifle that the standard release does not include. Building it feels like assembling a small transforming robot toy that happens to also be a hundred-percent-scale display piece.

The catch

This is a big, expensive, time-consuming kit and the Bande Dessinee version does not fix any of the base PG's known friction points. Builders report the transformation joints on the shoulders, chest, and legs are genuinely tight, tiring to work through repeatedly, and a few owners have had ankles that will not transform smoothly on certain copies. The kit ships in a suitcase-sized box with 45-plus runners and hundreds of parts, so this is a multi-session build, not a weekend project. Because it is a recolor of an existing mold rather than a new engineering pass, if you already own the standard PG Unicorn you are mostly paying for red plastic and one extra weapon.

Who it's for

Buy this if you are a Unicorn collector who wants the manga-accurate red and white scheme on your shelf, or if the Armed Armor DE rifle matters to your display setup and you do not already own a base PG Unicorn. Skip it if you already have the standard PG version and are not attached to the color difference, or if this would be your first Perfect Grade, the tight transformation joints and sheer part count make it a rough entry point. For a first PG Unicorn experience at lower cost, the standard non-BD release is the more sensible starting point.

What works

Manual, no-part-swap transformation into Destroy Mode is still the single best gimmick in the Unicorn lineup
Deep red psycho-frame parts glow convincingly under light and sell the NT-D activation moment
Bundled Armed Armor DE gives you a second weapon loadout the standard PG release lacks

Worth knowing

It is a recolor of the existing PG mold, not new engineering, so the price premium over the base kit buys color and one accessory
Transformation joints in the shoulders, chest, and legs are tight and can feel like a workout to cycle repeatedly
Some ankle joints reportedly resist smooth transformation on certain copies, and the sheer part count across 45-plus runners makes this a multi-day build

Sold? Grab it.

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The build story

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

Runner cleanup is standard PG fare, lots of small gate marks on frame parts that need attention before the transformation mechanism will move smoothly, and I would not rush this one, the inner frame assembly especially rewards patience. Fit on the panel armor is snug by design since it has to stay locked in both Unicorn and Destroy configurations, which means test-fitting before final assembly saves you from forcing anything.

The standout here is still the frame engineering, a fully poseable inner skeleton with real shoulder, hip, and ankle articulation that holds up even with all the transformation hardware built into it. Color separation is excellent, molded plastic handles nearly everything with minimal stickers, and between the extra Armed Armor DE and the beam saber, magnum, and shield carried over from the base kit, the accessory loadout is generous for a suit that already does most of its own visual work through the transformation.

Lore & trivia

01Bande Dessinee is French for comic, and this version's colors come from the Gundam Ace manga adaptation of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn illustrated by Kozo Omori, distinct from the anime's Ver. Ka look.
02The PG RX-0 Unicorn Gundam mold this kit is built from was the largest and most complex PG Bandai had released at the time, shipping in a suitcase-sized box across more than 45 runners.
03The kit's psycho-frame components use a light-diffusing resin so an inserted LED unit spreads illumination through the frame rather than just glowing at a single point.