Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining

Size comparison with a cigarette pack — the universal standard for size reference

If you look closely, you can see the beam rifle's barrel snapped off and was glued back together. T_T

Just like the MG, you can store the bazooka on the rear by swapping out the hip parts.

Bazooka action pose

Befitting the main character's mobile suit, the beam sabers are rendered in high-quality soft clear parts.

Articulation is decent overall, but the skirts make dynamic poses pretty tricky.

HGUC Gundam - Upper body close-up. The face came out relatively well. The waist can rotate a little too. ^^ It's a bit of a s

Upper body close-up. The face came out relatively well. The waist can rotate a little too. ^^
It's a bit of a shame that the V-fin on the crotch area is just molded in plain red without any refinement.

The shoulder joints can be pulled out slightly to allow forward and backward movement.

HGUC Gundam - The shield attachment point is mounted on a ball joint that rotates 360 degrees in addition to the handle conne

The shield attachment point is mounted on a ball joint that rotates 360 degrees in addition to the handle connection, giving it an incredibly high range of freedom.

HGUC Gundam - A fixed-style core fighter (wings and all locked in place) is included, but as you can see, the molded colors a

A fixed-style core fighter (wings and all locked in place) is included,
but as you can see, the molded colors are way off so painting is a must... (which is why I didn't even bother with panel lining ^^;)

Together with the MG RX-78 v1.5, striking a somewhat arrogant pose.

HGUC Gundam - Together with the HGUC GM that served as its base. The RX-78 is an evolved design over the GM in quite a few ar

Together with the HGUC GM that served as its base. The RX-78 is an evolved design over the GM in quite a few areas.

HGUC Earth Federation V Operation Team, assembled!

The main character's mobile suit, the RX-78-2, has finally gotten the HGUC treatment. The HGUC line had originally focused on more minor suits that hadn't seen much plastic representation, so this also signals their intent to cover the mainstream market suits as well. The HG RX-78-2 released over ten years ago was quite a sensation in its day — especially for its full color accuracy — but even so, the quality of the new HGUC RX-78 is in a completely different league. The face in particular is remarkably well done for a 1/144 scale kit. There are even plenty of people who say it looks better than the MG.

At its core, it shares the same base as the HGUC GM released just before it. That makes sense given the in-universe lore, but quite a few parts — the arms, shield, and several leg sections — are completely identical to the HGUC GM. The key differences are that the shoulder joints have been upgraded to allow forward and backward movement (unlike the GM), and the beam sabers are rendered in soft clear parts.

The molded colors are almost fully accurate to the design specs, but... the yellow V-fin on the crotch area (-.-;) came out plain red. They could've at least done something with a sticker — a bit of a letdown there. Joint articulation is generally excellent, but the skirts significantly limit the range of motion, and the ankle guards restrict foot movement as well. On the plus side, the joints have a nice, firm resistance that makes holding poses really easy. One minor annoyance though — the beam sabers on the back tend to pop off as you move the kit around, since the attachment isn't the strongest.

Unlike the previous HG, the core fighter is not designed to be stored inside the kit — in the interest of better proportions and durability, no core fighter or core block mechanism was built into the RX-78 itself. This makes the main body more solid overall, but in exchange, a single fixed core fighter (with immovable wings) is included as a separate piece. The downside, if there is one, is that almost no attention was paid to the core fighter's molded colors, so it's basically unpaintable as-is — you really have to paint it.

For weapons, the RX-78's standard loadout is all here: beam rifle, bazooka, and beam sabers. The beam sabers are nicely done in MG-grade soft clear parts. The bazooka can also be mounted on the rear by swapping out the hip parts. As for the shield, the attachment point has a surprisingly high range of freedom, which is definitely worth giving credit for.

Above all, any Gundam fan is going to want at least one kit of the main character's mobile suit — and this one has more than enough quality to meet that expectation. Even at this small scale, the RX-78's charisma shines through in its excellent detail. ^^

HGUC Gundam | 2001.5 | ¥1,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.