Gunpla Build - Nu Gundam Ver Ka (Part 2)

Alright, let’s finish the build. But first, here’s an image to give you an idea of the scale of this thing:

The Real Grade Nu - which is already pretty tall compared to most ¹⁄₁₄₄ scale models - is almost dwarfed by the just the lower half of this Ver Ka. Pretty crazy stuff.

Upper Torso

We start with the cockpit:

But there’s more than meets the eye here. You don’t just build the cockpit and drop it in that grey cradle. No, you assemble the cradle, then swing the front half downward, and then fasten the cockpit:

I’ve probably built something like this before, but my memory is flaky, so I still found it pretty cool.

Furthermore, Amuro doesn’t fit that snugly in there, so if you’re not careful he’ll break free and rattle around inside the sphere.

Once he’s safe and secure though, you can continue to attach more and more of the inner frame, including some Psychoframe:

Hey look, it has those little fin thingies sticking out from the top of the chest, just like the Zeta Gundam:

In terms of detailing and all that, I’ve got a couple of notes:

• Sometimes, on larger models (or really high quality small models), there will be some actual space between the grilling on the yellow chest vents. This is not one of those models. You’ll have to panel line if you want that look
• There are no seamlines or color correction to speak of
• However, there are quite a lot of decals to apply, moreso than you might think for this part of the body

And here it is all done up:

I’m still not used to this thing being blue instead of black, but otherwise it looks really sharp. The decals add a whole lot to the presentation.

And now we attach it to the body:

Alternate Armor

You can swap out this blue armor plate in the front with an alternate white one. According to the manual, this is how it looks in the G-DOME promotional video they made for the Gundam Front back in the day.

Backpack

The Nu Gundam’s backpack is interesting. It’s really big overall, but there’s a lot of empty space right in the center. It’s also asymmetrical, so it can be a bit of a trip when you’re building it.

We start by attaching the thrusters to the main “chassis”:

Once again I didn’t paint the thrusters, though I may add some gunmetal weathering compound when all is said and done. I love that there’s a bit of color in there, but they still look a little bit too plain.

Now we start to add the outer armor and other accouterments:

Including the (asymmetrical) holsters for the funnels and the beam sabers:

And, just for good measure, you can build a second funnel clamp in case you want to go for the “Double Fin Funnel” look, with three funnels per side (rather than attaching all six together).

While I prefer the normal look, it’s nice to have the option.

And here it is all done:

And now attached to the body:

To me, the torso (plus backpack) is the most crucial part of the Nu Gundam. You absolutely have to get this part right if you want to nail the look. And while I wish you didn’t have to panel line the chest vents, overall I’m really happy with how this appears.

Head

This is one area of the build where the model shows its age (but we’ll get to that in a minute)

It’s interesting how the head is made out of so many individual little parts (particularly the outer armor). And yet it doesn’t look any more intricate or detailed than any other Gundam head:

But the bigger problem is that it doesn’t quite look right. In the original lineart, the Nu’s head is a bit more squished, and it’s V-Fins are a bit spikier and more vertically aligned.

To be fair, this is still more accurate than the Real Grade’s head (though I must admit that I personally like how that one looks, even if it isn’t correct). And it doesn’t necessarily look bad. But it’s still lacking that really menacing look that the Nu is supposed to have.

Now, let’s go back and address why this part of the build feels aged. First, there are tiny little seamlines, and even on a ¹⁄₁₀₀ scale kit, they’re not easy to remove:

Second, you have to color in the vulcan cannons yourself, which is weird considering they’re made out of their own separate piece that they could have easily molded in grey:

Arguably these are little things, but they’re also things that most modern builds (especially Master Grades) have done away with, so to see them pop up in this (admittedly older) build was a bit disappointing.

Comparison with Real Grade

I figured it’d be easier to do the comparison once everything is put together. First, from the front:

The Real Grade doesn’t have the Zeta Gundam-esque fin thingies on the top of the chest. Guess that was a special addition just for the Ver. Ka.

I’m also surprised to see that it looks like the Ver. Ka has more decals on it.

And then there’s the head. I understand and acknowledge that the RG head is a bit weird and squished, but I still like it for what it is. Though I also acknowledge that as much as I like it, the Ver. Ka is still better.

Now from the side:

The chests and backpacks are about even for complexity, though I am struck by how much more panel lining there is on the Real Grade’s head.

And finally, from the rear:

In retrospect, it’s a bit lame that the Real Grade tries to get color separation on the Beam Saber holster through a metallic sticker, which as you can see is peeling off of mine. But on the other hand, I love those little grey vents in the back of its head.

End of Part 2

The build is almost complete, but I feel like I’ve written so much already, so I’m going to call this Part 2 and wrap it all up in Part 3.

But before I sign off, I wanted to show you this silly photo I took, as an homage to a famous still from Char’s Counterattack: