I’m so sorry it took me so long to shoot these G Gundam models. First it was Dragon Gundam and now it’s God Gundam.

Though interestingly, the reasons for both delays are different. For Dragon, ultimately the problem was that it was too much of a pain in the ass to properly pose. In the case of God Gundam, the problem is that it’s so pretty that I was too afraid I might break something.

This embodies everything I look for in a Real Grade model. All the extra details, the armor separation, the decals - it’s just perfect. It takes an already good design and creates a highly technical, highly interesting alternative take on it.

In a way, it’s kind of the opposite of the Real Grade Shining. That’s also a great (better?) design, but (in my opinion) was made worse when given the Real Grade treatment.

I previously thought that they had half-assed the Real Grade Shining, but looking at them side by side I’m no longer convinced that that’s the case. It seems the level of effort is roughly the same. But there’s still something … off about it.

It doesn’t feel like it’s better, or even just different (in an interesting way) by being a Real Grade. Whereas God Gundam looks like straight fire.

Articulation and Posing

I assumed that God Gundam and Shining would have roughly the same level of articulation, but I’m not sure that’s actually true. All I know for sure now is that I had a hell of an easier time working with this thing than I ever did with Shining, and got much better results.

Case in point - this is the best split I could get with Shining:

Now compare that with this:

What’s even crazier is that I probably could have done an even better one if I tried to push it.

Or remember how I tried to get Shining to stand up on one hand? This is how it turned out:

Meanwhile, God Gundam can do it for real:

This is truly the articulation that everyone’s been hyping up, and it really does meet and exceed expectations. I’m stunned at what Bandai was able to pull off here (while feeling equally baffled, confused, and let down that they seemingly couldn’t replicate it in Shining for whatever reason)

Everything just bends and moves easily, and everything stays in place without parts falling off:

(Okay, so a few parts fell off here and there, but it was rare and easy to fix)

I’m just going to go all out for a bit with poses.

And of course, we have to look at the God Finger transformation. First, the “wings” easily flip outward like so:

Of course the chest opens up to reveal the reactor, though this isn’t quite as simple. I’m not actually sure what the “right” way of opening it is, but I found that I had to fiddle with the head a bit in order to get the chest compartment to flip open all the way up:

Lastly we add the rings to the back, and swap in the God Finger hand(s), making sure to bring the blue gauntlets forward (which I didn’t do in the photo below, though I did remember to do it elsewhere):

It’s worth noting that the rings mount directly into the backpack, and do not touch the wings. That means that the wings can move out of place if you accidentally disturb them, but it also means that transforming into God Finger mode is much easier. If you had to somehow connect the rings to the wings, it would become a much more fiddly operation (even if it did ensure that the wings stayed in place)

One more note - I kept forgetting to open up the backs of the legs during the transformation, though I don’t feel like it’s that big of a loss. I didn’t even notice it until after the photoshoot, which just goes to show how little I even cared about it.

Anyway, God Finger mode works surprisingly well. I suppose the rings make it a little off balance, but that’s what Action Bases were made for. The important thing is that it’s not at all fiddly, so you can pose it as needed without having to stop much to fix anything.

Poses with Friends

And now we get to the grand finale, where I’m going to pose it with all sorts of friend and rivals.

With Blazing Gundam

Hey look, it’s Blazing Gundam! That cool custom build from Gundam Breaker Battlelogue that was meant to look like the “sister unit” to God Gundam.

Well, if it’s supposed to be his sister, then let’s make her act like it.

(Side Note - Blazing Gundam is still an amazing model. Even after being on the shelf for years, she looks great, and her joints are sturdy. Highly recommended)

With Nobel Gundam

I already posted these before, but I’ll put them here again for the sake of completion:

With Gundam Rose

I couldn’t figure out how to photograph the whole Rose Tornado attack, so I just did the final clash

With Dragon Gundam

With Gundam Maxter

And now for one of my favorite scenes in the entire show

With Bolt Gundam

Sadly, I have no photos to show you, because the HG Bolt Gundam doesn’t exist yet. I’m not sure what Bandai is waiting for, but I’m hoping it’s sooner rather than later.

Conclusion

I’m actually kind of glad I waited until now to do this photoshoot, as this was a great way to end the year. Between the build experience, the look of the final model, and the sheer joy I had in doing all these poses, I’m ready to declare the Real Grade God Gundam my build of the year. It really is as good as they say it is, and I’m so happy to have it in my collection.

And with that, I’m ready to wrap things up for 2025. I hope you all have a wonderful 2026, and I’ll see you next time for the end of year recap.