The RX-93-V2 Hi-ν (Hi-Nu) Gundam is an alternative version of the ν (Nu) Gundam, from a novel called "Beltorchika's Children".
This version of the Hi-Nu is significantly larger than what it's meant to be, likely to match the Nu Gundam in size. If you compare it to the High Grade Hi-Nu, this one is larger and as tall as a small Master Grade.
It is fair to call it a redesign and it features a far more aggressive head (unlike the RG Nu Gundam).
Aesthetics:
The colors come in one shade of white, a saturated blue, a subdued lilac, a dark gray inner frame, a metallic injection gold and a metallic injection silver/bright metal.
The latter two are a disappointment and quite ugly, due to the nature of the material. I've painted both colors with an airbrush and color corrected the chest vents from metal to gold.
This may seem subjective, but these particular kinds of plastics have always been undesireable in the toy world not only for how they look, but because they become more brittle and break easier with time than other plastics. That being said, painting gunpla has always been part of the hobby, so if you don't like it, you can just paint it.
All the colors come together nicely and break up the model which it needs, as there's not a lot of panel lines and especially the two wing binders holding the fin funnels looks like a chunk of blue plastic, which could've used a couple more parts to really make it look good.
The shield and fin funnels themselves (the six wing tips) are for the first time entirely color separated in plastic, whereas the MG Ver Ka version and High Grade version use waterslides/stickers. They look incredible and give the whole build a lot of character.
There are little ridges from the inner frame that shows through which are meant to be the psycommu frame. These are dark gray, but you can opt to paint them green to reflect their purpose.
There is a sheet of stickers, with decals and foil stickers as is usual for RG. Due to the large amount of blue plastic, the sticker edges are quite visible and don't look as nice.
Mechanics:
The articulation is very good and allows for a large range of motion for all limbs, though the head is somewhat limited by the surrounding collar.
The arms turn not just around the peg they're connected to, but just below the elbow too. The right arm has a built in machinegun which extends when the wrist is pushed down and the left arm contains a hidden beam saber hilt inside and allows the shield to mount. The shoulders extend and open up.
There are hatches and panels that move and/or open on the legs and when they bend, the whole thing segments beautifully.
The entire midsection opens up to allow the model to bend more forwards. The front and side skirts can swing out to the sides to allow the legs to lift all the way up.
The chest has a sliding hatch and the front section also opens to reveal the cockpit door.
The wing binders have three slots each for a fin funnel, which can swing and the outer ones are connected to the vent on top, which makes it go up or down. Each binder has a beam saber hilt hidden away under a hatch near the shoulder.
The 'tail' between the binders can extend and has a few points of articulation to make the model look more expressive.
The included base adapter plugs in between the back and the backpack, which is very secure!
Equipment:
1 Backpack with 1 tail, 2 fuel cannisters and 2 wing binders with 3 funnels each for a total of 6.
1 Beam Rifle which has a folding tab for mounting on the back skirt.
1 Hyper Bazooka Launcher which is extendable and mountable on the backpack.
1 Shield which mounts on the left forearm.
3 Beam Sabers, two of which are in the binders and the last one is in the left forearm. The kit comes with 2 blue beam saber effect parts.
There are 7 hands, 2 fists, 2 holding hands, 2 wide spread open hands and 1 trigger finger holding hand.
Conclusion:
Every RG kit that comes out gets better and better. I feel this one could've used a few more panels to split up the blue on the binders, but everything has a super tight fit, so tight that even a thin layer of airbrush paint makes them take some effort to push them together.
The two metallic plastics really look gross and those alone take the kit from a Nr. 1 spot down a few steps.
Everything else is flawless, I have no complaints. You can balance the kit on its fuel cannisters, but I recommend getting a base for this (made for the Action Base Nr. 5 - I've used a knife and nipper to alter the adapter so I can mount it on an Action Base Nr. 1).
