This is a fun kit to build.
It's a little different from other kits, since you need to cut the vinyl tubing and wire into different lengths to make cabling for the legs and backpack. I recommend a lighter to singe the ends of the cut vinyl pieces so they melt and stop from fraying.
This kit differs from the AEUG version (in the more traditional Gundam colors) a little bit in equipment and optional part choices.
You have 2 options for the chest vents, 2 for the top shoulder plates and vents, and 2 vents for the outer calves of the lower legs. Additionally, despite coming out before the AEUG version, this kit has an additional sandwich style trigger finger hand that the AEUG doesn't.
The optional parts are to make the kit a test model version.
Aesthetics:
The kit comes in 2 blue colors to give the exterior some color play, but unless it's in direct light the whole thing looks almost black. These are not vivid blue colors, they are dark blues with dark grey trim.
In the light, it looks nice however. It's not my favourite color scheme by a long shot, but I very much like the Mk II Gundam, enough to essentially buy and build it twice (one of each version).
There is, however, a mammoth in the room to discuss and that's the decal sticker sheet.
It's huge and it looks good with a bunch of foil stickers that help light up the model kit a ton, but those aren't the problem. The problem is the very dark plastic and various non-foil decals which have a small border around them which is normally hard to see unless you hold a model up to your face, but on dark plastics this border is very obvious. What's worse is that some of these have a ton of 'empty space' around the decal which shows up like a large sheet on the plastic.
You know, that when even Bandai doesn't manage to hide these in their promotional images, that it's an eye sore.
On the positive note, you can buy a water slide decal sheet separately (be sure to get it for the Titans version!!) on this very site, so you have options. It won't eliminate the issue entirely, because even waterslides have small borders, it's just a fact of reality, but it'll look a lot better.
Mechanics:
This is an early Real Grade and the second RG Gundam to come out. It is a HUGE improvement on the RG #01 in every way. The tolerances are much better, the articulation is much better and even the MS Joint inner frame is improved, although it will weaken with time.
The Mk II was an intermediate protagonist mobile suit in the show, so it didn't really *do* anything besides look good, since the Zeta Gundam was the big reveal and super sleek new mecha for the main character.
You have sliding thigh panels, a double opening cockpit hatch, pistons in the feet that extend with the articulation and a backpack with artilated thrusters and vents with a couple of beam saber hilts on them.
Equipment:
The Mk II comes with a decent amount of equipment.
1 Shield that slides open/shut with a solid attachment point for either forearm (MUCH better than the RG #01) and on the inside you have two spare magazines/power packs and a rocket pod at the end of the shield
1 Beam rifle with a sight that opens/closes and a side handle (storable on the side skirts)
1 Bazooka with detachable magazine and an extra magazine (both can be placed on either side skirt) - It can be stored in the opening hatch on the back skirt
2 Beam Saber Hilts in blue, stored on the vents on the top of the backpack (2 pink beam saber effect parts included)
1 Head mounted machinegun (looks like headphones)
2 closed fists, 2 articulated early Real Grade hands, 1 spread open hand and 1 sandwich style trigger finger holding hand
1 non-descript random pilot figure of a Titans soldier
Conclusion:
It's a huge upgrade over the first Real Grade, the details are really great and so are the tolerances. The articulation is very good. Not only is it an upgrade on the first RG, it's also a huge upgrade on the Master Grade 2.0 versions of the Mk II with more detail, more color separation and all of it just better (granted, this is also 7 years younger).
I think if you're serious about making this kit look nice, you need to buy water slide decals and top coat the kit, preferably twice (once to begin with, then apply water slides and then another coat on top).
Decals on dark plastic never look good, but this entire kit is dark, so you have no choices.
The Mk II is my personal favourite Gundam of them all and while I don't much like the colors, the kit itself is good enough to buy and build twice, which is what I did.
