High Grade Universal Century

High Grade Universal Century (HGUC) (ハイグレード ユニバーサルセンチュリー) is a line of 1/144 scale Gunpla kits of the Mobile Suits from the Universal Century timeline in the Gundam meta series. First produced in 1999, the line supplanted normal HG kits such as the HG RX-78-2 Gundam. The kits are known for their ease of construction and generous use of polycaps and tinted plastic for details such as visual sensors, monoeyes and Beam Saber effect parts.

Starting in 2010, the HGUC line extended to the After Colony, After War, Future Century, Cosmic Era and Correct Century timelines with the HGAC, HGAW, HGFC, HGCE, and HGCC lines, respectively, as part of the "HG All Gundam" project. Whereas the HGUC box packaging uses a gold stripe on the side panels, the alternate timeline kits are distinguished by the silver stripe on their boxes.

In June 2015, Bandai initiated the "Revive" project to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Gunpla. Starting with the RX-77-2 Guncannon, previous HG releases are given a complete redesign using newer technology with improved detail, articulation, and proportions.

To prepare for the 40th anniversary of Gunpla in 2020, the "Gunpla Evolution Project" was initiated in April 2017. Showcasing improvements/innovations in specific areas, this project involves Gunpla from multiple lines, and the first kit released was the HGUC MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam [Gunpla Evolution Project].

List
1999 = 2000 = 2001 = 2002 = 2003 = 2004 = 2005 = 2006 = 2007 = 2008 = 2009 = 2010 = 2011 = 2012 = 2013 = 2014 = 2015 = 2016 = 2017 = 2018 = Special Editions = Exclusives = Other =

Yen price excluding 5% tax (8% tax from 2014 onwards)

Trivia

 * The colored square next to the MS name on each box cover denotes the specific series of that unit:
 * Yellow Orange: Mobile Suit Gundam, MSV, 08th MS Team, MS IGLOO, Harmony of Gundam, Blue Destiny, Battlefield Record U.C. 0081
 * Light Green: Gundam 0080
 * Blue: Gundam 0083
 * Green: Zeta Gundam, Zeta MSV, Advance of Zeta
 * Orange: Gundam ZZ
 * Cyan: Gundam Sentinel
 * Red: Char's Counterattack, Gundam UC, Gundam UC MSV, Twilight Axis, Gundam NT
 * Pale Blue: Gundam F91, Crossbone Gundam
 * Yellow: V Gundam
 * Red Orange: G Gundam
 * Purple: Gundam Wing
 * Sky Blue: Gundam X
 * White: Turn A Gundam
 * Dark Blue: Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny
 * Gloss Blue: Extreme Vs


 * HGUC-Chars-Zaku-II-US-release-instructions.jpg very first release of an HGUC Char's Zaku II was a recolor of the HG08 MS-06JC Zaku II kit (which was previously released as a JAF-CON exclusive set with the clear version of the RX-79[G] Gundam Ground Type) made for the U.S. market in 2001 before the new mold was released in 2002.
 * Mobile suits that are 15 meters tall such as the F91 Gundam F91 and XXXG-01W Wing Gundam are actually not molded in 1/144 scale; instead, they are at 1/132 scale.