There are a number of Gundams one could call the most
iconic in the franchise: The OG RX-78-2, the Unicorn, the Freedom from Gundam
Seed, or Wing Zero Custom from Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz. And that’s perfectly fine. All of those examples and more are remembered
for a reason, more so because their looks are timeless and eternal. In the entire pantheon of Gundam Mobile
Suits, however, one of my personal favs always feels underrated and deserving
of more recognition. That Gundam is the
NT-1 Alex from Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket. Cool design, excellent weaponry, and maybe
the biggest sell for me, a cute female pilot managed to wreck Zeon with it and
this suit was meant to be given to Amuro Ray before it got destroyed in
battle. It’s like Asemu Asuno from
Gundam AGE being a total bad ass when he didn’t have the enhanced abilities of
his father or his son. Needless to say,
I love this Gundam and hoped that this build would go better than last weeks
Full Burnen.
During the final months of the One Year War, the growing
Newtype abilities of White Base Pilot Amuro Ray began to surpass the
capabilities of the RX-78-2 Gundam.
Becoming aware of this, the Earth Federation began a secret new Gundam
project to deliver an upgraded model before the final push into Zeon
Territory.
Initially constructed in
Antarctica, the Alex’s components and parts were quickly launched into space
when a Zeon Spec Ops team, the Cyclops Unit, attacked its base.
The Alex was relocated to Libot, a colony located
in the neutral cluster of Side 6.
While
the Gundam was being constructed, test pilot Christina “Chris” Mackenzie was
assigned to test its capabilities.
The
Cyclops Team infiltrated Libot with the help of young Al Izuruha and made a
second attempt to destroy the Alex.
Chris activated and piloted the Alex into battle against the Cyclops’
Kampher Unit.
While the Kampher managed
to damage the Gundam’s exterior armor, the primary body was largely undamaged
and Chris was able to destroy the Kampher with ease.
Days later, Chris deployed in the Alex once
again, this time to face a lone Zaku piloted by Bernie Wiseman, the last
remaining member of the Cyclops unit.
After an intense duel, the Alex was ultimately destroyed by Bernie,
although he died in the process while Chris managed to survive.
Build Experience
From the get go, the Alex seemed pretty simple enough, it
made me think it was mistakenly designated as a High Grade when it sometimes
felt a bit basic with its build structure.
The all important blues and yellows are easily snapped into place,
though there are a couple of smaller points on the suit that lack decals to
bring out the true design potential you see on the box or in the Anime. That said, the decals situation is way better
with the Alex than the Full Burnen, for the most part. You have more smaller greens for various
sensors on the head as well as on the waits and knees. The Gunpla also includes transparent decals
that aren’t necessarily needed but any completionist would want the add them
all on somehow. These were more of a
pain to work with as its hard to place them without any real instruction and
they don’t come off their pad very easily.
Honestly, all I really needed was the “Alex” writing for the Shield and
that was all. I tried to apply a couple
of others but I don’t feel great about them to be honest.
There’s also the added bonus of having an entire rack
dedicated to the extra armor the Alex is initially equipped with when it
deploys in the OVA.
I was nervous about
these plates because I wasn’t sure whether to keep them on once applied or run
the risk of putting them on and never putting them back on again for fear of
snapping something.
Well good news: The
armor is one of the best parts of this entire build.
All components slip on and off like a glove
and the Alex is still plenty mobile and capable of posing with it on (though
you do have to pop off the forearms in order to have it use its arm cannons but
I guess that’s what the Beam Rifle is for…and maybe it’s just me but I cant
remember the Alex ever using that in the OVA).
The multiple pieces aspect also lead to probably one of my favorite
Gunpla photos ever: The Alex standing unscathed while its armor is on the
ground around it before it busts out its guns for the next round of a
fight.
The only thing that would make it
better and more authentic is if it came with a separate broken antenna like it
had in the OVA (ironically enough, I have an Alex action figure that suffered a
similar injury so it works out).
Conclusion/Rating
This is easily one of my favorite Gunpla I’ve built to
date.
It’s pretty easy but in a good way
and all of the colors and standard decals mix together perfectly.
The transparent decals are optional and I
wish i’d stuck to that mindset because of how sloppily I applied them.
Also why is this the second Gunpla in a row
without a properly colored Beam Saber?
Ignoring that, the Alex just looks amazing and the fact that its
external armor is easy to apply and remove is a huge bonus.
Finally, a Gundam I think is underrated gets
a Gunpla Build worthy of its awesomness.
Now how about bringing back Chris and another Alex in another UC OVA at
some point, huh Sunrise?
9/10
Next week, we’re still in Gundam 0080 territory as I
tackle the last of the Gunpla I got from Katsucon 2023.
And hey, if the Alex got a really good build
for itself, perhaps its eternal rival could as well (really excited for this
one).
See ya Next Thursday for more Gunpla
Builder Thursday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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