RX-0(N) Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee Norn
The Perfect Grade Unicorn formula, remixed with a lion mane of gold armor and a heavier punch.
MechaGrade Score
Unicorn Gundam · 1/60 · 2015
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This is the PG Unicorn experience with sharper teeth, and I came away impressed even knowing the base engineering.
The psycho-frame reveal still gets me every time the armor splits open for NT-D mode, and the Armed Armor XC backpack gives Banshee Norn a presence the original PG Unicorn doesn't have. It costs a lot and demands real assembly patience, but as a display centerpiece it earns the shelf space.
Best for: PG collectors who already love the Unicorn transformation gimmick and want the more aggressive, gold-trimmed Banshee variant as their showpiece build
What it is
This kit takes the proven PG Unicorn inner frame and re-skins it as Riddhe Marcenas's Banshee Norn, complete with the Armed Armor DE shield system and the big Armed Armor XC backpack that fans out into a lion-like mane in Destroy Mode. Building it, I kept catching myself just opening and closing the chest to watch the psycho-frame split apart. The double-jointed knees and ball-jointed wrists give it a pose range that actually holds, and the magnet-driven horn transformation still feels like a small magic trick every time I trigger it. At 1/60 scale it's a genuinely imposing piece once it's standing on the included display stand.
The catch
Bandai's gold plastic on the leg armor and the Armed Armor XC backpack reads flatter and more yellow-green than the elegant gold used on the collar pieces and V-fin, and more than one builder ends up repainting those parts to match. This is a Skill Level 2, high part count kit with a lot of small frame components, so gate marks need real cleanup if you want a clean finish, and it's marking-sticker reliant like the standard PG Unicorn. The backpack is heavy enough that the shoulder and back joints need a firm, correctly seated connection or the whole assembly droops. If you're planning the LED unit, you need to route wiring during the initial frame build, not after, or you risk cracking parts trying to retrofit it later.
Who it's for
Buy this if you've already built an HG or MG Gunpla and are ready to commit real bench time and real money to a display piece, especially if the Banshee's white-and-gold Destroy Mode silhouette is the one you actually want on your shelf over the standard PG Unicorn. Skip it as a first kit or an impulse buy. It is not fast, not cheap, and the gold color mismatch means you should budget for a little touch-up painting if you want it looking as sharp as the box art. For anyone who wants the transformation gimmick without the size and cost, the RG or HGUC Banshee Norn versions get you the same character for a fraction of the commitment.
The build story
What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.
The inner frame assembly is where this kit earns its Perfect Grade name. You're building an actual skeleton before any armor goes on, and the arm and leg joints have enough internal engineering that gate mark cleanup on the small frame parts takes real time if you want a clean result. The manipulators have fully articulated fingers, which is a nice touch but also a fiddly one when you're clipping tiny parts off dense runners. Transformation between Unicorn and Destroy Mode uses magnets for the horn and works smoothly once everything is seated, though several builders note the arms feel tight mid-transformation until the joints break in.
Where it pays off is articulation and presence. Shoulders raise and swing forward, elbows bend to roughly 120 degrees, hips swing and rotate independently, skirt armor lifts out of the way for deeper leg poses, and the ankles pivot and tilt enough to hold dynamic stances. Color separation on the frame and inner details is strong without needing paint, though the outer gold armor is the one spot where molded color falls short of the reference art. The Armed Armor DE and XC give you a real weapons and accessory loadout, and the optional LED unit (sold separately, 30 LEDs) lights the eyes and the full psycho-frame yellow, which is worth planning for if you're building this as a lit centerpiece.
Lore & trivia
- 01The Armed Armor XC backpack does double duty: it boosts generator output and uses the head antenna to detect Psycommu waves from enemy mobile suits, which is what lets a non-Newtype pilot like Riddhe Marcenas activate the NT-D system.
- 02In Destroy Mode, the Armed Armor XC opens and rotates upward, giving Banshee Norn the lion-maned look that distinguishes it from the standard PG Unicorn's Destroy Mode silhouette.
- 03The name pulls from two folklore traditions at once: banshee comes from Irish and Scottish myth as an omen-wailing fairy woman, while Norn refers to the female fate-deciding beings of Norse mythology, the rough equivalent of the Greek Moirai.
- 04The PG Banshee Norn released in Japan in September 2015 at 22,000 yen, reusing the Perfect Grade Unicorn's core frame engineering under a new armor set.
What other builders say
This write-up is grounded in real reviews and builder discussion, not just one opinion. A few worth reading:
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