Gold armour that fires the beam back at you
The Akatsuki is Orb's answer to being outgunned. Orb Union leader Uzumi Nara Athha commissioned it before his death, to serve as the nation's final defence, and Morgenroete built it covered in Yata-no-Kagami, a mirror armour that does not just shrug off beam fire but reflects it back at whatever shot it. Cagalli Yula Athha flies it in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY, and later hands it to Neo Roanoke. It is the most conspicuous machine in the Cosmic Era and it is meant to be.
Bandai reproduced that with a gold mirror coating over the entire outer armour, so this one arrives shiny straight out of the box. There is nothing subtle about it, and that is exactly the point.
Build difficulty
Bandai print 8 and over on the box, so do not be put off by the size of it. This is a snap-fit 1/100 with no glue and no paint required, and because the gold parts are plated the kit is engineered to keep seam lines out of sight in the first place. Two independent Japanese builder reviews say the same thing: the colour separation is good enough that a straight build already looks the part. Two things to know going in. Those same two reviewers both name the plating as the main difficulty, because a damaged plated surface is hard to touch up invisibly, so take the nub clean-up slowly and cut clear of the part rather than flush. And the hip joints are ball joints that do not spread far, which limits how wide you can pose the legs. Neither is hard, but they shape how you approach it.
Technical highlights
The whole gold armour is mirror-plated, with a separate orange plating used on some parts, so out of the box you get two different metallic finishes rather than one flat gold. Both equipment packs are in the box and swap on the same back mount. The Oowashi is the atmospheric flight pack: the main wings fold and deploy, and its high-energy beam cannon is on a two-point articulated arm, extends, and has a grip that pulls out so the Akatsuki can hold it in its hand. The Shiranui is the space pack, carrying a guided mobile beam turret system whose seven turrets detach individually so you can spread them out behind the model. Elbows are double-jointed and one review measures them past 160 degrees, shoulders come up close to vertical, knees bend to about 90, and the waist turns roughly 45 degrees. Knee joints run on polycaps. Hand weapons are the 72D5 beam rifle, a pair of twin-blade beam sabers that join into a double-ended blade, and the shield, and the rifle mounts on the side armour when it is not in use. A dedicated display stand is included so you can put it in the air, which is where the Oowashi belongs.
What makes this kit special
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Fully mirror-plated gold armour: Yata-no-Kagami reproduced as a gold mirror coating across the whole outer shell, plus separate orange plating on some parts.
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Both packs in one box: the atmospheric Oowashi and the space-combat Shiranui, interchangeable on the same back mount, so it is two display builds from one purchase.
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Folding Oowashi wings: the main wings fold and deploy as they do in the show.
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Seven detachable beam turrets on the Shiranui: the guided turret system comes apart so you can fan them out.
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A beam cannon you can actually hold: the Oowashi's high-energy cannon extends and its grip pulls out so it goes into the hand.
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Twin-blade beam sabers: two sabers that join to make the Akatsuki's double-ended blade.
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Display stand included: a dedicated base is in the box, so no separate stand is needed to put it in flight.
What's in the box
- ORB-01 Akatsuki Gundam, snap-fit, gold mirror-plated outer armour
- Oowashi Pack, atmospheric flight equipment, with folding main wings and high-energy beam cannon
- Shiranui Pack, space combat equipment, with seven detachable beam turrets
- 72D5 beam rifle
- Twin-blade beam saber hilts x 2, joinable into a double-ended blade
- Two clear beam blade parts for the sabers
- Shield
- A pair of fist hand parts
- Dedicated display stand
- Decal sheet
- Instruction manual
Compatible accessories
A dedicated display stand is included with the kit, so no separate base is needed. Both equipment packs mount to the same back connector, so swapping between the Oowashi and Shiranui configurations needs no extra parts.
Build your Cosmic Era collection
The Akatsuki is the machine everything else in the Cosmic Era has to shoot around. These are the ones that share the shelf with it, and all of them are in stock now:
Build specifications
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Series: Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY
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Timeline: Cosmic Era
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Grade: 1/100 No Grade, SEED DESTINY kit number 15
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Scale: 1/100
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Mobile suit: ORB-01 Akatsuki Gundam, 18.74 m in the setting
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Faction: Orb Union, later the Three Ships Alliance. Built by Morgenroete, Inc.
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Pilots: Cagalli Yula Athha, then Neo Roanoke (Mu La Flaga)
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Original mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara
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Manufacturer: Bandai, Japan
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First released: March 2007
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Kit packaged weight: approximately 840 g, retail box approximately 39 x 31 x 8.4 cm
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Barcode: 4573102568168
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Skill level: Skill Level 2, rated 8 and over on the box
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Assembly method: snap-fit, nippers needed to remove parts from the runners
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Paint required: no
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Display base included: yes
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Special features: full gold mirror plating, two interchangeable equipment packs, folding Oowashi wings, seven detachable Shiranui beam turrets, hand-holdable high-energy beam cannon
Perfect for
- Cosmic Era collectors who want the Orb machine rather than another ZAFT or Earth Alliance suit
- Builders who like a plated finish and do not want to paint
- Anyone who wants two display configurations out of one box
- Newer builders stepping up to 1/100 for the first time, since Bandai rate it 8 and over
- Collectors after a shelf centrepiece that does not need a light on it to stand out
- Gift buyers looking for something that reads as impressive on sight
Fast Australian shipping
Dispatched same day from Brisbane if ordered before 2pm AEST on weekdays. Free shipping Australia-wide on orders over $199. Packed securely in a sturdy outer box with water-soluble cornstarch void fill that dissolves cleanly in the sink.
What to watch for
This is a 2007 kit and it shows in a couple of places. These are the points that came up repeatedly across independent Japanese builder reviews.
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The legs do not spread far. Two reviewers raise this independently. The hips are ball joints with limited travel, so wide action stances are off the table and posing is more restricted than the articulation elsewhere would suggest. The included stand helps a lot, because flight poses do not need the legs open.
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Plated parts are awkward to paint or touch up. Two reviewers independently name the plating as the main difficulty with the kit. One of them adds the detail: the unplated parts take paint normally, but the plated ones are a decision you make deliberately, and gold touch-up markers will not match a mirror finish exactly. The practical consequence is that damage to a plated surface is hard to undo, so take your time getting parts off the runners.
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The torso does not tilt. One reviewer notes the body is an axis connection, so it turns but does not lean forward or back.
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Head movement is limited side to side. One reviewer reports the collar gets in the way, though it looks up and down fine.
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There are a few seam lines. One reviewer maps them to part of the shoulder armour, the head, the top of the torso, part of the Oowashi's beam cannon and the Shiranui's connection point, and describes the head and torso ones as barely visible.
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One pair of hands only. The kit includes fists, and that is the full set.
Builder tips. Handle the plated parts with clean hands or gloves, because fingerprints show on mirror finish in a way they never do on matte plastic. Cut every plated part with a few millimetres of runner still attached and pare it back with a sharp blade rather than nipping flush. Build the Oowashi configuration first and get it on the stand, because that is the pose the kit is engineered around. And if the leg spread frustrates you, lean into flight poses instead of ground stances, which is what the included base is there for.
Build notes
No glue and no paint needed. Bring nippers and a sharp hobby knife, and take the nub clean-up slowly on plated parts. Rated 8 and over by Bandai. Both packs build separately and swap on the same mount, so you can assemble one, display it, and come back to the other later.
Last updated: 30 July 2026 (AEST)
