RE100Universal Century

Type89 Base Jabber

A flying park bench for your Jegan, and I mean that as a compliment.

MechaGrade Score

3.6/5

Base Jabber · 1/100 · 2018

GradeRE100

Scale1/100

Released2018

Runnersn/a

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

I love this kit for what it honestly is: a display accessory, not a mobile suit.

The RE/100 Base Jabber is a P-Bandai exclusive sub-flight platform built to slot any MG 1/100 Jegan, Jesta, Jegan D Type, or Jesta Cannon onto its footrest and turn a static shelf into a scene. On its own it will never wow you the way a full MG does, but as the thing that makes your Jegan look like it is actually doing something, it earns its spot in the queue.

Best for: MG Jegan and Jesta owners who want a flight pose and a proper Londo Bell diorama moment

The full review

What it is

The Base Jabber is a sub-flight system from the Unicorn era, the kind of unglamorous federation workhorse that shuttled Jegans and Jestas into battle rather than fighting itself. Bandai's RE/100 render of it is small and simple next to an MG mobile suit, snap-fit with no glue needed, just a nipper to clear the runners. What got me was the footrest mechanism. It expands and slides forward and back to actually grip a Jegan's foot, so the mobile suit locks on instead of just balancing there. Building it took an evening, not a weekend, and that is exactly the pace I wanted for an accessory kit.

The catch

This is not a kit you buy for itself. It ships with no mobile suit included, so the whole point of owning it depends on already having (or planning to buy) an MG Jegan, Jesta, Jegan D Type, or Jesta Cannon, which roughly doubles the real cost of the display you are picturing. It is also a P-Bandai exclusive, so it comes and goes with reissues and secondary market pricing can run well past the original 3,300 yen or 39 dollar tag. Detail is light by MG standards since this line was never meant to compete with a full inner-frame kit, and there is not much pose variety once the mobile suit is clipped in.

Who it's for

Grab this if you already own or are planning an MG Jegan-family kit and want it to look like it is mid-mission instead of standing on a shelf. It is also a fun cheap add for anyone building out a Londo Bell or Unicorn-era display who wants variety beyond another standing MS. Skip it if you do not own a compatible MG, since the Base Jabber alone is a small, simple support piece with nothing to actually display on it, and skip it if you are hunting for engineering or articulation thrills, because that is not what this kit is selling.

The build story

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

Assembly is short and low-stress, snap-fit throughout with a hobby nipper doing all the work of clearing parts off the runners. There is no glue step and no painting required to get a presentable result straight out of the box, since the molded colors carry the look. The whole build is closer to an afternoon project than a serious sitting, which fits its role as a supporting accessory rather than a centerpiece.

The standout piece of engineering is the footrest, which expands to match the sole of a 1/100 scale mobile suit's foot and slides to hold it firmly rather than just resting it there. Bandai built dedicated connection points for the MG Jegan, Jesta, Jegan D Type, and Jesta Cannon specifically, so fit against those kits is tight and purposeful rather than a generic peg. It carries a mega particle cannon as its armament, keeping it visually consistent with its role as a Londo Bell transport rather than a combat unit in its own right.

Lore & trivia

01The Base Jabber sub-flight system first appeared in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, with the Type 89 variant seen later in Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.
02It was used extensively by Londo Bell of the Earth Federation Forces to shuttle RGM-89 Jegans into battle during the Unicorn era.
03Its overall design was inspired by the Principality of Zeon's YS-11 Dodai YS sub-flight system from the One Year War.
04The RE/100 release is a P-Bandai exclusive and does not include a mobile suit, it is designed to be paired with separately sold MG 1/100 kits like the Jegan, Jesta, Jegan D Type, or Jesta Cannon.