It feels like every other Ensemble figure that has landed on my desk recently has been some sort of RX-93 mutation. Today's item is I am sad to say, more of the same, but let's make the best out of it...
The basic Nu Gundam premiered early in Ensemble in 2017 together with parts to build the full armour HWS variant. About half a year later the Fin Funnel expansion set arrived (with the symmetric wings that we have been discussing in the recent Converge #21 review) and then it was quiet for a while. In April 2020 it was time to drag the figure out of hiding again, with a simple marking plus variant which netted me another pair. And then the Hi-Nu Gundam finally arrived in January 2021 in the 16th retail set (which was just up on the reviewing table recently). Not content with this however, Bandai decided to a premium variant which was delivered in March and so here we are again.
The new EX figure - simply called the Hi-Nu Gundam set - may at first peak appear to be quite complicated but there isn't really a whole lot of news under the hood. Does it warrant a price increase from ¥500 (well, technically ¥500+¥500 if you wanted the fin funnels from the equipment pack) to ¥4400 which is the asking price for this box? Well, that's a tall order, let's see what is delivered.
Ok, so here is the basic Hi-Nu figure, looking really familiar. With the fresh review of Part 16 still in mind I could sleepwalk trough this build, knowing full well where each component was meant to go. You will notice some minor changes such as the increased size of the Fin Funnels and the slightly different shade of blue in use. Let's move on.
I have to say, the new translucent beam sabers included with this figure are my favourite parts of the entire kit. You get two sabers, one traditional type and one which has the little extra blade coming out of the end of the hilt. I have to say I really think the designers could have afforded to throw in the white Hyper Bazooka as well. A simple re-colouring of the bazooka they chucked in with the basic RX-93 would have done it for me. For a Hi-Nu "set" this seems a strange overlook.
Here is a side by side with the basic 500 yen retail figure, can you tell which is which? I'll give you a hint - look for the one with the larger Fin Funnels. You can also see that the EX figure as a deeper blue colour. I should point out that my EX figure is using an expressive open left hand that I stole from one of the Gundam F90 variants, no such hands are present in this set (that would have been another cheap way to add some extra value to this expensive box).
Apart from a whole slew of action base components, here is what the main difference between the retail figure and the EX figure comes down to. You have the two previously mentioned beam saber options, four remote Fin Funnels and the massive Hyper Mega Bazooka Launcher which is the main centerpiece of this box set. Let's see them in action.
Here we have propped up the Hi-Nu Gundam on its base which has a couple of preset slots for the smaller support beam to slot into the larger one, which you can use to alter its distance from the base itself. This of course also means that the figure must look straight forward so you won't be doing any dynamic poses, par for the course with Ensemble's very rudimentary stands. The launcher gets a separate flexible support but since the basic Gundam figure sits where it sits you won't be doing many interesting poses with this either.
Ok, so here is where things go from bad to worse. Granted I am not sold on Fin Funnel displays in general (as they tend to look cluttered) but this is really an eye-sore. While you have a bit more creative freedom to position these, the bulkiness of the main figure and the many supporting arms means it will get messy fast. I just put these up here dutifully to give you an idea of what is in the box, there is no way I would even consider using them, so back in the box they go.
It is certainly possible to equip the launcher without the cumbersome base and you can probably invent your own base that would look just as good. Personally I am all in favour of the standing to attention pose kind of like the Z Gundam or the Zeta Plus are often depicted with their gigantic launchers.
My final criticism against this kit is that there are no Heavy Weapon System components included. I mean, Bandai already released them in wave 16, all they had to do was stick a couple of extra parts in this box. The figure you see above is the retail Hi-Nu in its FA-93-v2HWS configuration, something you cannot pull off with what is supplied here.
Conclusion
I can only really think of two reasons for anyone wanting to get this figure over the retail one. The first reason is the availability of the basic figure and its equipment pack themselves, and the second is you really, really like the Mega Bazooka Launcher. Beyond that I would say don't bother with this figure.
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