RGUniversal Century

FA-93HWS ν Gundam HWS

The already-great RG nu Gundam, strapped into a war rig.

MechaGrade Score

4.2/5

ν Gundam HWS · 1/144 · 2020

GradeRG

Scale1/144

Released2020

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I think this is the best version of the RG nu Gundam you can own, full stop.

Bandai took an already excellent 1/144 engineering showcase and bolted on a genuinely different silhouette, not just a few extra guns. It costs more, it demands more shelf space and more patience, and the P-Bandai exclusivity means you pay a premium for the privilege. None of that changes the fact that this is one of the smartest small-scale kits in the whole RG line.

Best for: RG builders who already love the base nu Gundam and want the full CCA loadout without stepping up to MG scale

The full review

What it is

This kit takes the regular RG nu Gundam, which was already one of the most celebrated releases in the Real Grade line, and layers in the Heavy Weapons System hardware from Char's Counterattack. That means a Hyper Mega Rifle, a High Mega Shield, a New Hyper Bazooka, and the fin funnels, all riding on reworked leg thrusters and a chest unit that opens to reveal an internal missile launcher. Building it feels like assembling two kits at once, the elegant inner-frame nu Gundam underneath, and a chunky external weapons platform on top of it. The moment I clipped the extended leg thrusters on and saw how much more grounded the whole silhouette became, I understood why this variant has such a following.

The catch

It is a P-Bandai exclusive, which means secondary market pricing and no guaranteed restock, and the retail ask (around 6,600 yen for the full kit at original release) is a real step up from the standard RG. The backpack and shield connection points get called out repeatedly by builders as looser than they should be for how much weight they are carrying, and I felt that too once the fin funnels and mega shield were mounted. Some of the HWS-specific parts are small and easy to lose during the extra assembly steps, and realistically you want an action base under this thing for display, because the extended thrusters and forward-heavy armament make it more prone to tipping on its own feet than the vanilla nu Gundam.

Who it's for

If you already own or plan to build the standard RG nu Gundam and want the complete Char's Counterattack loadout, this is worth chasing down, especially if you can find the cheaper HWS-only expansion set and already have the base kit. It is not the kit I would hand to someone building their first RG, the part count, the fiddly small HWS pieces, and the looser backpack fit reward patience you build through smaller kits first. For nu Gundam fans and UC completionists who want the definitive small-scale version of this suit, I would tell you to stop hesitating and just get it.

What works

The double-hinge torso and extendable swivel shoulders let it pull off aerial poses no other 1/144 nu Gundam can match
Full HWS loadout (Hyper Mega Rifle, High Mega Shield, New Hyper Bazooka, fin funnels) actually changes the kit's presence, not just its accessory count
Individually detachable, poseable fin funnels with a flip-out lock system for both standby and attack display

Worth knowing

P-Bandai exclusive pricing and availability, you are paying a premium and hunting the secondary market
Backpack and shield connection points feel loose under the added HWS weight, an action base is close to mandatory
Extra small HWS-specific parts raise the chance of losing something mid-build compared to the standard RG

Sold? Grab it.

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The build story

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

The build stacks the standard RG nu Gundam assembly, which is already dense with the line's signature inner-frame runners, on top of a second pass for the HWS add-ons: new leg thruster housings, the chest missile launcher gimmick, and the weapon set. Gate placement stays typical RG fiddly, small nubs on small parts, and I'd tell anyone going in to have a sharp side cutter and good light ready, because the HWS greebling adds detail you do not want to scar with a bad clip.

Where this kit earns its reputation is the engineering carried over from the base RG nu Gundam, that double-jointed elbow and torso crunch mechanism, combined with the added mass of the HWS gear actually staying largely poseable rather than dragging the kit down. Color separation is strong for the scale with molded plastic doing most of the work, stickers are still there for some of the smaller HWS panel details, and the accessory set (three ranged weapons, twin fin funnels, beam sabers) is genuinely generous for a 1/144 release.

Lore & trivia

01The FA-93HWS designation places this suit in the CCA-MSV (Char's Counterattack Mobile Suit Variations) design lineage, an official what-if expansion of the hardware seen in the 1988 film.
02The RG version reuses the acclaimed RG RX-93 nu Gundam frame as its base and adds new HWS-specific molds rather than being an entirely new tool from scratch.
03Bandai sold the HWS gear separately as a cheaper expansion set for builders who already owned the standard RG nu Gundam, alongside the full standalone HWS kit reviewed here.
04The kit moved the action base mounting point from the crotch, the RG line's usual spot, to the backpack, specifically so the large fin funnel array would not shake loose from action base handling.