~ This is a contributed review by David Bauer ~
minor editing by Gundam_Base

Model Specifications

Capsule
A HGUC Gundam!!! I was excited to say the least when I found that none other than the Rx-78 was finally going to get the HGUC treatment it deserved. For far too long we have had to make do with substandard kits of "the one that started it all".

A few years ago Bandai released the HG Gundam and it was a step in the right direction, but it left something to be desired in terms of proportions and fit. But enough about the past! We have a brand spankin' new Gundam now! So how is it? Excellent! The kit is very articulated and highly detailed. Extra effort was made in several areas to make the more interesting or easier to assemble. Most important of all once it is completed the proportions are dead on. This guy looks like the Rx-78 Gundam!

Kit Details
In General
The first thing you notice when you open the box are the colors! WOW! Are they ever vivid! This kit is a jaw dropper right in the box. The kit is molded in five colors excluding the clear beam saber blades on three sprues. There is a small sheet of sticker provided for the eyes. Bandai also includes a mini Gundam Weapons magazine and a HGUC catalog. Detail puts most other HGUCs to shame. Just check out the face, thruster nozzles on the Core Fighter and the Shield.

Articulation is among the very best. Heck, even the feet have two separate joints! Bandai is getting ever closer to the tiny master grade. The accessories while very good are missing a few bits, but more on that near the end.

Head Unit
The head is made up of seven pieces, the numbers of parts in the new HGUC kits are going up! Detail is great. The tiny head vulcans are sharply defined and the panel lines under the eyes are sharp, but not too deep-Nice stuff! Proportions are fantastic. It really captures the look of the Gundam very well. The center of the head fin and the chin beard are molded in separate colors to boot!

Body Unit
The upper torso is built like most HGUCs, a front and a back with a separate waist section, So what's so great? Well several things! The first things are the arm joints. Instead of the standard peg and poly-cap arm arrangement you get a separate swiveling peg on a detailed plate that is sandwiched in-between the two torso halves. This lets the joints move back and forth and gives the arms much greater freedom of movement. The head is attached to the body via the standard ball and socket joint. The head can look up and down pretty well. The stare down pose can be done very well. As you would expect the chest vents and the neck plate are molded as separate color pieces.

Probably the best part of the torso is the waist. A separate solid gray part is given to attach to the joint between the torso and the pelvis assembly. This lets the Gundam tilt from side to side. Cool! The waist can turn about 70% in each direction. The armored skirts really don’t interfere. Only the lip from the oxygen-cooling vent in the front keeps the kits wait from doing a 360.

The backpack/booster pack has nice detail. The beam saber hilts fit in snug on either side. That’s about it. Hey, it’s only made out of three pieces!

The Pelvis area is made up of fourteen pieces! The front and the side armored panels move to allow the legs extra motion and do too their rather short length never seem to get in the way much. There are four separate yellow panels that are attached to the front and back armored skirts. This is really going to help in painting and when adding the panel lines. A little trick would be to cut part B-15 in half at center point of the connecting rod. This allows a more realistic effect while increasing pose ability.

Bandai gives us two pieces to attach to the backside of the Gundam’s waist.. One is a white panel and the other is a C clip to attach the bazooka.

Arm Units
The arms, Hmmm…. Not much to say really. They are made up of six pieces minus poly caps. Three articulation points are available. All of the poly caps are hidden under plastic. They can’t be seen no matter how you twist them. The parts fit snug and have good freedom of movement. Simple but satisfying!

The hands are attached by the good old ball and socket joint. The peg that attached the ball joint is nice and long and the socket joint is deep. This lets you move the hand in and out to assist in posing the weapons.

When it comes to the hands detail is good, not great. There are three hands provided. Two open fists and a trigger hand. Fit of the parts is good as is the detail. So why did they get a mediocre rating? The hands are simple halves with pretty good size openings for the weapons leaving a big detail free space. After the great experience I had with the Dom Tropen it felt like Bandai dropped the ball here. Oh well, minor nit-pick.

Leg Units
I originally started working on the legs. I thought to myself" Assembling the legs is always pretty boring so I’ll get them out of the way first" Boy was I ever in for a surprise. I actually had fun assembling the legs! There are some neat details here to appreciate,

The first is detail; the panel lines are nicely done. This is best seen in the thighs. The panel lines on the inner thigh are crisp and once washed really stand out.

Moving on to the lower legs and calves these parts are simple left and right halves. What makes the cool is that the oversized kneepad is separate and once attached hides most on the seam on the front of the leg. The parts fit very snug and only a minimal seam needed sanding. A small vent is covered by the kneepad and can be seen through small openings in the pad itself. Gives it a nice 3D affect.

And finally, on to the feet! Instead of the standard ball and socket we are used to Bandai gives use a small detailed inner ankle joint. This attaches the foot to the lower leg at two points! The top is a poly-cap to peg, where as the bottom in the ball and socket. The gives the leg a much great range of movement than ever before. The inner assembly even has small pistons molded on them. The bottoms of the feet have excellent detail. As you might have guessed there are no poly-caps to be seen once the legs are fully assembled.

Weapons & Accessories
Bandai provides a pretty good assortment in this department. First up is the famous Beam Rifle. Detail and proportions is spot on. Nice panel line details and sharp crisp casting are also quite noticeable. The scope as well as the forward grip can swing from side to side meaning all of your favorite poses can be pulled off. This is where those moveable shoulders really show their value!

The kit gives you two clear detachable beam sabers cast in a rich dark pink. First thing you will notice is that they are thicker than the average sabers we are used to. Man these guys look like they mean business! Put one in the twin fisted hold and the Gundam suddenly gains lots of attitude!

The 270mm Bazooka is built out of five parts and is again detailed very nicely. The weapon is solid dark gray. You could paint it white like in the series, but I painted mine all gray. The back of the clip has three exposed rounds and the barrel end is a single seamless casting. There is a moveable handlebar but darned is I know what its for. Much like the Beam Rifle the Gundam can hold the bazooka very well and posing it is a cinch.

Last on the list is the Shield. This is no simple one piece with a handle, No sir! The shield is made up of no less than five pieces without the poly cap! There is the white shield back (outstanding detail might I add!), a red outer shield and the yellow star sandwiched right in the middle. The gray handle has a ball and socket joint to attach it to the arm.

I do have a small complaint, in all of the 1/144 scale Gundams why is there no Beam Javelin of Gundam Hammer? These are really original and would have added a lot to this already excellent kit.

Bandai included a mini Gundam Weapons magazine and a HGUC catalog (cool!) The Gundam Weapons booklet shows four different Rx-78s and how to modify the standard kit to make them. This is quite neat and I admit it is little more that a hook to get us to buy more Rx-78s and Gundam Weapons books. But who am I to judge. It worked on me as I already bought two more to modify them as show ^_^

Core Fighter
As you know Bandai includes a separate Core Fighter in the kit. Unlike the HG kit, this one is completely independent from the Gundam (and extra reason to buy the kit!) The little fighter is made up of nine pieces and holds some of the best detail in the kit. The tiny landing gear will provide a challenge to painters. With this said, those who don’t like painting probably won’t like the Core. The kit comes molded in blue and red only. I must admit that the cockpit section should have been molded in white instead if blue for painting purposes. With that said I would have liked to see a clear canopy for the Core, they did it on the Guntank and it would have drastically improved it’s appearance.

The Good
Sharp Detail, man this kit is just loaded with panel lines and crisp casting.

Articulation, I could write on forever on how the kit excels in this area. The moveable shoulder pegs, swiveling waist and double-jointed ankles make this easily the most pose able kit I have aside from my Master Grades. The overall sleek and slender design of the Gundam helps in this area as well. There just isn’t really anything that gets in the way of movement. Bandai deserves some praise for their extra efforts to make this kit workable. I was able to position the Gundam in all of my favorite poses from the series! Topnotch stuff!

The selection and design of the weapons, The weapons have great detail and are designed to take advantage of the Gundam’s high level of articulation.

Ease of construction, Lots of parts, short build with no problems

Excellent Design and Proportions, The kit looks every inch of a Gundam and looks cool at any angle.

The Bad
Believe it or not I have a few nit-picks.

The Hands, After the Dom Tropen with it articulated trigger finger and interior palms the Gundam’s hand look plain. Seems strange after all the work that was put into the rest of the kit to make it so detailed to have missed out on these.

Where is the Gundam Hammer? Or the Beam Javelin for that matter? These were only showed a few times in the series, but they are very popular.

No clear canopy for the core fighter, I can pass over the tiny (very tiny!) omissions on the Gundam, but come on guys! This feature would have made the Core look 10 times better.

In Closing
Well worth your time and money! This is easily one of the most display worthy kits in the HGUC line. The selection of weapons and the high levels of articulation mean that there are loads of poses and positions to be done. The overall look of the Rx-78 is represented perfectly. This guy looks cool and tough no matter how he is posed. The included Core Fighter only sweetens the deal and with a little work and paint will be a great companion for the Gundam or any diorama

Go buy it and enjoy the experience.

~ This is a contributed review by David Bauer ~

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