If you have not already listened to the podcast of this category, this is the final results, so this will spoil the course of the discussion on that podcast! Be warned!
Ok, ok, let me run this by you. So they make these models, right? And they come in pieces that are out of a single mold- we call it a “runner.” You clip the pieces out of the runner and then for the most part they snap together. Sometimes they fit together other ways but no glue’s involved unless you either fucked up and broke something or are trying to do some weird customization. It’s fun to build. And when you’re done you have a sick model of a mecha. That’s gunpla. It’s a big business. I love it, Dylan loves it. And we’re gonna tell you the best ones that came out in 2021.
The Winner
Real Grade (RG) MSN-02 Zeong
It’s hard to overstate the shadow the Zeong casts over Gundam. The original Gundam show, sometimes called 0079, has an art style that quickly got left behind in subsequent shows. The simplicity of its art led to simple mecha designs, and sometimes attempts to add detail fall short. In addition, many of these designs fall into two categories: basic and simple, or strange and hard to work with.
The Zeong exists outside of these categories. It’s a little strange, having no legs, horn-like antenna, and arms that shoot off on wires. But it epitomizes the harmony of weird and cool. What’s more, its inhumane design allows for fascinating details to be added when making something like the RG, giving it the same look from a distance but a world of mechanical artistry up close. If you don’t own a Zeong, you don’t own anything like a Zeong. It’s one of a kind, it’s beautiful, and it’s so damn fun to build. It comes with our highest recommendation.
Also it’s the only one of these top 4 I’ve actually built because I’m slow.
The Runners-Up
High Grade Universal Century (HGUC) MSN-04II Nightingale
I just realized Char got two machines on this list. You greedy bastard! Well, I suppose I’ll forgive you this time. It’s very strange to be putting a High Grade so high (ha) on our list, but don’t let the label mislead you. While High Grades are usually fast, low-complexity builds, the HGUC Nightingale is actually kind of a beast.
The machine is so big that even a lower-scale, lower-detail model like an HG has lots of room to explore. And though there is already a larger scale model of the Nightingale in the form of a RE/100, the detail on this newer mold blows the RE/100 out of the damn water. It is a stunner and a half, and this winged beast of a mobile suit rendered in full glory with verniers and funnels everywhere is a sight to behold.
Master Grade (MG) MVF-X08 Eclipse Gundam
It’s pretty unusual for one of Gundam’s mobile suits to be announced as a gunpla, but that’s exactly the case with the Eclipse. This pointy lad is part of a new Gundam Seed sidestory they’re making, and the fact that its manga was announced day-and-date with the gunpla shows you how much the design was built to be a model kit. And damn, it’s a sick one.
Great use of colors. Great shape and silhouette. Wrist beam blades. It can transform into a dope mobile armor mode. And the build itself is a great time (I’m told T.T it’s in my backlog), both fun and intuitive. Plus, there’s something extra going on for an MG as opposed to the others on this list: MGs are the perfect level of complexity and work for an experienced builder. There’s a lot of room for fun mechanical detail, and a lot to build, but it avoids being fiddly in a way that can plague RGs.
Real Grade (RG) RX-93ν2 Hi-ν Gundam
And Amuro got on the list too! What the hell! We gotta fix this next year, I’m not even that big of a Char v Amuro person! Dylan might be though. Hmmm. Maybe this is Dylan’s fault. Certainly, I haven’t built this one yet (again, backlog) but watching a bunch of friends and compatriots share their progress on the build was more than enough to convince me. Amazing flexibility. A great compromise on the iconic fin funnel gradienting. Beautiful mechanical detail poking out of joints, hidden from harm but revealed to the admiring eye. And though the colors are so simple, it’s brilliantly striking.
Wait both this and the Nightingale are from Beltorchika’s Children! This whole category is rigged, I demand a retrial!
—-
Not as many new gunpla were released in 2021 as some years past- the pandemic be hittin’ all sorts of production hard. Still, the number of ones that came out that were absolute bangers is something to behold. May 2022 also bring us some real winners. I’ve got my eye on that MG Rick Dom….
That’s our first category for today! Next up, we’re going to be talking the Best New Character!
A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!
