Review: Bandai Metal Structure RX-93 Nu Gundam

Bandai’s been the king of Gundam products for decades and the Metal Structure Nu Gundam is arguably their biggest venture yet. Check out the article to see if it makes the cut!

Producer: Bandai Tamashii

Price: Approx. $930

Release Date: Jan. 2020

Item Height: approx. 14.5″

Item Weight: N/A

Batteries: 3x LR44 Cell and 2x AAA batteries

WHERE TO BUY: Nate’s Toys & Collectibles (Sold Out)

The Gundam franchise has had nearly 40 years of quality toy homages through a variety of lines and styles (model kits at various scales, plastic figures, diecast, statues, etc.) and as time has progressed they’ve naturally increased in quality. Recently, Bandai decided to “up the ante” by launching a large (1/60th) scale, diecast figure called “Metal Structure” with the first item being the RX-93 Nu Gundam. I think it’s one that can either deliver or disappoint in an extreme manner depending on what your collecting preferences are. I’m on the half that came out disappointed but I also don’t feel like I’m the kind of collector that this is made for. Regardless, I try to break it down as objectively as possible so please check out my thoughts here and let me know what you think of this one in the comments.

Presentation: The box style of this is incredible and very fitting of a higher-end piece. It has an case-styled outer box with a handle that opens and houses two additional boxes that house the Metal Structure Nu and its accessories. All boxes are a nice, thick cardboard with impressive graphics with the items well protected in plastic/styrofoam clam shells.

Build: The Metal Structure Nu is a plastic figure with a diecast frame. With its size it has a naturally weighty feel but it’s certainly not overbearing or intimidating. In fact, I’d say the feel of it is absolutely perfect in my opinion. Even the finish of the plastic and paints going back and forth between matte and gloss is just superb in that it’s done in a matter that accentuates the colors with each finish. It’s just a very well made piece.

Accessories: Here’s a list of the accessories taken from the product listing;

– Beam Rifle
– Shield
– Newtype Hyper Bazooka
– Beam Saber (Large)
– Beam Saber (Small)
– Beam Saber effect (Set)
– Base set
– Light unit set
– Catwalk set
– Maintenance figure set
– Amuro Ray figure set

The accessories are decently made and solid but I wish the way that the weapons attached to the inner palms was different as the tab-on-tab method (see video) is a hassle to get put in correctly and doesn’t stay tabbed in as well as it should. I think that the standout pieces for most will be the display base which converts into a hangar with a number of modular, moving pieces, spot lights, and miniature figures to display around it. I feel that this figure is at it’s “best” when displayed on it. The stand on the base does also have the ability to extend and act as a flight stand for the Nu Gundam however I advise against it as in my experience the figure is too heavy for the extension locks on the stand to hold up.

Articulation: The articulation is where this product falls flat. I can understand not necessarily having advanced articulation but this doesn’t even have the articulation of a $20 retail toy. Outright disappointing.

Overall Score: 6.5/10 – The Bandai Metal Structure RX-93 is a very unapologetic display piece with just enough articulation to keep it from being considered a statue but personally comes out to be a big disappointment in this area. Ultimately it appeals to a particular crowd who are it seems are ultimately just looking for a big, pretty Nu Gundam to have displayed in the hangar which is more than fine but in my opinion this didn’t need to have any diecast or articulation in general. With that, I feel it’s a piece with features that are ultimately “fluff” for the sake of having driven up the price for a piece that could have been an extremely nice statue at an even larger scale for half of the price. Unless the next release in this line really shows that it’s bringing more to the table, I’ll be sticking to the Bandai Metal Build and Fix Figuartion Metal Composite lines going forward.