MSN-04II Nightingale

MSN-04II Nightingale
Rear
MSN-04II Nightingale
Unit Type
Prototype Newtype-use Psycoframe Heavy Assault Mobile Suit
Profile
First Seen	March, 0093 U.C.
Last Seen	March, 0093 U.C.
Manufacturer	Anaheim Electronics
Operator	Neo Zeon
Known Pilots	Char Aznable
General Characteristics
Overall Height	27.8 meters91.207 ft <br />1,094.488 in <br />
Head Height	22.5 meters73.819 ft <br />885.827 in <br />
Max Weight	105.7 metric tons
Empty Weight	48.2 metric tons
Power-plant	Minovsky Ultracompact Fusion Reactor
Power Output	6760 kW9,065.309 hp <br />
Sensor Range	23420 meters76,837.27 ft <br />
Pilot Accommodations	Pilot only (in panoramic monitor/linear seat ejectable Psyco-frame cockpit in head)
Armor	Luna Titanium
Movement
Vernier Thrusters	42
Real World
Appearances*
Novel	Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack - Beltorchika's Children

The MSN-04II Nightingale is an alternate interpretation of the MSN-04 Sazabi featured in Mobile Suit Gundam: Beltorchika's Children. The unit is piloted by Char Aznable.

Technology & Combat Characteristics

In many ways the MSN-04II Nightingale can be considered as the "big brother" of the MSN-04 Sazabi, and although it is a MS, its specifications are comparable to that of a newtype-used MA. Aside from being larger, this psycoframe equipped MS also featured more weapons, including 10 funnels, a mega beam rifle, a pair of vulcan cannons, a beam cannon, two beam sabers and a shield which carries a beam tomahawk and several micro missiles. The Nightingale also has a pair of hidden arms mounted behind the front skirt armor, a pair of back-mounted vernier binders to ensure the large suit's high mobility, and five propellant tanks (three on the backpack and two underneath the rear skirt armor) to fuel its large number of thrusters. This monstrous masterpiece of Mobile Suit technology represented the pinnacle of Char's personal combat style, and was a perfect match for the also extremely powerful RX-93-ν2 Hi-ν Gundam.

Armaments

• Beam Saber

The MSN-04II Nightingale is equipped with a pair of beam sabers, one stored in a recharge rack in each forearm. Because of their position the beam sabers can be quickly deployed in combat. The beam sabers serve as one of the two close range combat weaponry of the Nightingale, and is a beam of plasma contained by an I-field that can cut through any metal alloy.

• Funnel

One of the most powerful features of any psycommu-equipped mobile suit is the use of remote weapons, funnels in the case of the Nightingale. Because the psycoframe amplifies the psycowave of Newtypes, the funnels can be remote controlled from the mobile suit without guide wires and without the threat of being jammed by Minovsky particles or other electronic counter measures. Because of their small size funnels are difficult to see and detect, making them extremely difficult to avoid for even skilled pilots. Funnels are typically powered by a energy capacitor which holds a limited charge, once the charge runs out, the funnel must return to a recharge rack or else it becomes useless. Similarly the funnel holds its own propellant, which once it runs out renders a funnel as a useless piece of drifting debris. Of course because of the funnel's low mass its propellant use is relatively efficient. The MSN-04II Nightingale is equipped with ten funnels that are smaller versions of those used by NZ-333 α Azieru. Compared with the funnels used by NZ-222 Psyco Doga, these funnels are stronger and have a longer operating time. The ten funnels are stored on the recharge racks on top of the back-mounted vernier binders, five per binder, where they can recharge their energy and propellant. Despite this feature, the funnels are still treated as disposable weapons.

• Mega Beam Rifle

One of the MSN-04II Nightingale's standard optional hand armaments is a large mega beam rifle. This powerful rifle is exceptionally large, being at least as long as the Nightingale is tall (22.5 meters) if not longer. The mega beam rifle has a power rating of 8.8 MW, and can fire three types of beam, the standard tightly focused beam, a high output beam that is comparable in power to one from a mega bazooka launcher, and a scattershot-like beam blast that has a high rate of fire and is useful during close to mid-range combat. The foldable bipod at the front of the rifle is used during precise, long range attacks.

• Shield

As with most mobile suits, the MSN-04II Nightingale can mount a shield on its left forearm. The Nightingale's shield is a custom piece of equipment and is made of gundarium alloy. The shield serves partially as an offensive weapon as it mounts three micro missiles that can heavily damage a mobile suit but not a battleship. The shield also holds the recharge rack for the Nightingale's beam tomahawk.

• Micro Missile

Stored on the shield, the micro missiles' targets can be programmed by the pilot during firing. The micro missiles can then recognize their targets using optical means and be guided towards them.

• Beam Tomahawk

The MSN-04II Nightingale can be equipped with an optional hand-held beam tomahawk, stored in a recharge rack in the mobile suit's shield. The beam tomahawk is the Nightingale's most powerful melee weapon and mounts two beam emitters. Taking advantage of the flexibility of the I-field, and its ability to shape plasma, the beam tomahawk can either emit a pair of beam axe blades, or combine its output to form a single large beam saber.

• Vulcan Cannon

Mounted on either side of the chest, these pair of vulcan cannons are shell firing mid to close range weapons added to boost the suit's defensive capabilities.

• Beam Cannon

The MSN-04II Nightingale has a hidden beam cannon mounted in the center of its chest. This beam cannon is revealed when the lower chest armor is lowered.

Special Equipment & Features

• External Propellant Tank (Non-ejectable)

Hidden within the Nightingale's rear skirt armor are a pair of large external propellant tanks. These tanks hold a large amount of propellant used to fuel the suit's massive array of thrusters for an extended period of time. These tanks can not be ejected once emptied.

• External Propellant Tank (Ejectable)

The MSN-04II Nightingale can mount three propellant tanks between its primary backpack thrusters to extend its operational flight time. Each one of these external propellant tanks are not even half of the size of the tanks hidden in the rear skirt armor, however once emptied they can be ejected so as not to weigh the mobile suit down.

• Psycoframe Cockpit

The Psycoframe is a technology that builds the brainwave-to-machine code translator known as Psycommu into the atom-level of the metal frame of a Mobile Suit. This allows a Newtype pilot to control the mobile suit as if it were his/her own body.

• Sub-Arms

The concept of sub-arms is to add additional fully functional arms, hidden within the mobile suit's armor when not in use, that allows the mobile suit to use additional hand-held weapon up to the number of sub-arms its possesses. As mobile suits are complicated machines to operate, therefore adding sub-arms only adds to that complexity, and thus far sub-arms have only been seen on Newtype use mobile suits that have some sort of system similar to a psycommu. The MSN-04II Nightingale has two sub-arms hidden behind its front skirt armor.

History

After Char Aznable, the legendary Zeon ace, reappears in the early UC 0090s and establishes the second Neo Zeon movement, Char commissioned Anaheim Electronics to produce a custom-designed mobile suit specifically for his Newtype abilities and superb piloting skills. Painted in his trademark red color scheme and insignia. (In the novel Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack - Beltorchika's Children) This mobile suit produced was the MSN-004II Nightingale.

As is Char's fighting style, he lead's his forces from the front with his personal mobile suit, as opposed to the rear. Char's strategy for the Second Neo Zeon War was to force humanity into space by dropping asteroids onto the Earth to create a nuclear winter. The Earth Federation's Londo Bell task force would lead the fight against Neo Zeon, deploying mobile suits and nuclear missiles to destroy the asteroids. However Char used his Nightingale and force of AMS-119 Geara Doga mobile suits to guard the asteroids until they reach the point where nothing can stop them.

During the war, Char in his MSN-04II Nightingale would duel Londo Bell Captain Amuro Ray in his RX-93-ν-2 Hi-ν Gundam. The battle would be fierce, but the outcome is the same as in Char's Counterattack. The psychoframe of the Hi-Nu resonated with high emotions, pushing Amuro's already amazing Newtype powers to new heights, and manages to actually push Axis away from the Earth. The resonance creates a light that could be seen from Earth. The fate of both pilots is unknown, and remains a big mystery even to this day.

Picture Gallery

Yutaka Izubuchi's illustration of Nightingale.

Variation of angles of view of the Nightingale.

Nightingale (Char's Counterattack: Beltorchika's Children manga)

RE 1/100 Nightingale built model kit

RE 1/100 release date and price

RE 1/100 magazine ad

RE 1/100 head and back detail

RE 1/100 back detail

Notes & Trivia

• While the novel text simply swaps out the name "Sazabi" with "Nightingale," mechanical designer Yutaka Izubuchi created new illustrations to differentiate it from the Sazabi design used in the Char's Counterattack movie. The Nightingale's model number (MSN-04II) is nearly identical to the Sazabi's (MSN-04) and so can be seen as simply an alternate interpretation of Char's final mobile suit as opposed to a technological evolution.
• The Nightingale also appears in the Super Robot Wars series.
  • However, it has only been available as a playable unit one time - in Super Robot Wars D, which depicted Char and the Neo Zeon movement in a more positive light. Every other time it has been seen (for example, Super Robot Wars Alpha 2) it has been exclusively as an enemy unit.
• Both Sazabi's and Nightingale's design were submitted for the movie, however the Nightingale was ultimately rejected.
• The Nightingale has a marking on its pelvis area with "NZ99" written on it.

External Links

• Nightingale on MAHQ.net
• [1]

Template:Early Universal Century Mobile weapons