Kit Review

Straight build +
panel lining

The universal standard for size comparison worldwide — next to a cigarette pack.

Roughly 16~17 cm? A nice size.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - A shot of all the G-Armor kit contents laid out. It does look pretty packed with all sorts of

A shot of all the G-Armor kit contents laid out. It does look pretty packed with all sorts of stuff.
Since there are so many different sections to cover, I'll be going through the review part by part from here on down.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - The molded color on the core block and core fighter was pretty ugly, so I did some partial pa

The molded color on the core block and core fighter was pretty ugly, so I did some partial painting.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - The core fighter in particular... it's just as bad as the one from the HGUC First — really ro

The core fighter in particular... it's just as bad as the one from the HGUC First — really rough.
Left is before painting, right is after partial painting + panel lining.
The one on the left is the existing HGUC First's core fighter, placed there temporarily for comparison.
(The G-Armor kit only comes with one core fighter.)

Part 1 : RX-78-2

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - At first glance, the basic RX-78 configuration looks identical to the HGUC First kit on the o

At first glance, the basic RX-78 configuration looks identical to the HGUC First kit on the outside,
but there are actually quite a few differences on the inside.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - A comparison shot with HGUC #21 RX-78 (left). They look almost identical on the outside, but

A comparison shot with HGUC #21 RX-78 (left). They look almost identical on the outside, but there are three major differences.
The head, leg sections, arms, weapons, and main body exterior parts all use the same runners as the HGUC First.
Because of that, the articulation and overall appearance are essentially the same as the original First.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - First of all, since the G-Armor's RX-78 body is designed to split into three sections, a pane

First of all, since the G-Armor's RX-78 body is designed to split into three sections, a panel line appears across the chest area.
The outer shell is the same, but the internal assembly structure and inner parts are quite different.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - That's because the G-Armor's RX-78 splits into three sections just like this. The parts that

That's because the G-Armor's RX-78 splits into three sections just like this.
The parts that plug into the waist section vary depending on the transformation mode.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - The G-Armor's RX-78 backpack has a new hole added to it, which is used to lock the body in pl

The G-Armor's RX-78 backpack has a new hole added to it,
which is used to lock the body in place when combining with the G-Fighter's A part.

The G-Armor's RX-78 has its foot parts swapped out for feet that can fold in half.

Part 2 : G-FIGHTER

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - The core new addition to the HGUC G-Armor kit is ultimately the G-Fighter itself. There are e

The core new addition to the HGUC G-Armor kit is ultimately the G-Fighter itself.
There are extra core blocks and accessory parts included for the various transformation modes,
but calling all of this worth ¥1800 is a bit...

G-Fighter exterior

Front / Rear top view

Bottom. The caterpillar tracks can be either mounted or stowed away.

Open the bottom hatch and remove the hatch locking part.

Then just slide the caterpillar tracks right in!

Close the hatch and it's nice and clean~

Mounted on the dedicated stand.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - It can still be placed on the stand even with the caterpillar tracks extended and attached. T

It can still be placed on the stand even with the caterpillar tracks extended and attached.
There are quite a few different holes for the stand to plug into here and there.. ^^

The stand can be adjusted to three different angles like this.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - The G-Fighter splits into a front A part and a rear B part for the separation and transformat

The G-Fighter splits into a front A part and a rear B part for the separation and transformation.

The caterpillar tracks attached to the A part can be bent freely in any direction.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - The mega particle cannon mounted on top of the A part can be moved in multiple directions and

The mega particle cannon mounted on top of the A part can be moved in multiple directions and angles.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - The molded color of the pilot inside the cockpit is just solid yellow all over;; I did some p

The molded color of the pilot inside the cockpit is just solid yellow all over;;
I did some partial painting later with a darker color.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - Even just roughly running a Rotring pen over the caterpillar tracks for panel lining really b

Even just roughly running a Rotring pen over the caterpillar tracks for panel lining really brings out the volume.
Left wheel is before panel lining, right wheel is after. (Same as with the HGUC Guntank.)

The wing section of the B part rotates as a whole unit for the G-Armor transformation.

G-BULL

Assembly diagram for the G-BULL configuration.
You'll need the upper body of the RX-78, the G-Fighter's A part, a dedicated core block part, and two shields.

G-BULL complete.

G-BULL Easy

G-BULL Easy is a configuration where the core block in the G-BULL is simply swapped out for a separate waist-only exterior part.

Well... not much different, really ;;

G-SKY

The G-SKY combines the G-Fighter's B part with the RX-78's lower body, plus a separate core fighter and connecting parts.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - At this point, the front of the RX-78's feet are folded in and the crotch armor is lifted up

At this point, the front of the RX-78's feet are folded in and the crotch armor is lifted up so the lower body stows away neatly.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - Lifting up the crotch armor reveals a T-shaped slot, which is used to lock onto the T-shaped

Lifting up the crotch armor reveals a T-shaped slot,
which is used to lock onto the T-shaped peg fixture on the B part.
The round section at the top of the T-shaped peg part plugs into the polycap inside the G-Fighter B part container to lock it in place.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - The lower body stowed inside with the B part's bottom hatch open. Since it connects via the T

The lower body stowed inside with the B part's bottom hatch open. Via the T-shaped hook on the crotch section (keeps coming up;;),
it locks in nice and tight.

G-SKY complete.

G-SKY Easy

G-SKY Easy is the G-SKY configuration without the RX-78's lower body.
Instead, a separate blue part is added in the middle.

G-SKY Easy complete.

GUNDAM SKY

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - This time, the RX-78 is mounted whole onto the B part "alive" (?). Since the lower body goes

This time, the RX-78 is mounted whole onto the B part "alive" (?).
Since the lower body goes in the opposite direction compared to the G-SKY, the T-shaped fixture is a bit tricky to use,
but it's so tight that it holds just fine even if you just roughly plug it in. (The manual apparently has you just roughly plug it in too;;)

The Gundam Sky configuration... hmm... can't really say it looks all that cool...

G-Armor

And finally, the long-awaited G-Armor combination.
Just slot the RX-78 with two shields attached between the G-Fighter's A and B parts.

Lift up the caterpillar tracks, tuck in the lower body...

The caterpillar tracks lock into one of the stand mounting holes on the G-Fighter B part.

G-Armor complete!

Front / Rear

Bottom view. The combination is tight with no wobbling.

Size is roughly about 25 cm.

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam - The RX-78 striking a smug action pose on top of the G-Fighter. "Be grateful I was even releas

The RX-78 striking a smug action pose on top of the G-Fighter.
"Be grateful I was even released!"

Straight build

Yet another unexpected kit — the G-Armor has been released as an HGUC. It had been a while since we'd seen any One Year War mobile suits, and it was hard to predict that a strategic weapon rather than an MS would get released ahead of iconic units like the Dom and Gelgoog that still haven't gotten the HGUC treatment. Anyway, this kit consists of a new RX-78 that shares some runners with the existing HGUC #21 RX-78 First Gundam, along with the all-new G-Fighter parts.

The G-Armor's RX-78 has only the bare minimum changed to accommodate the various separation and stowage functions. The body, which was previously one piece, is now split into three sections — upper body, core block, and lower body — and the core block position in the middle can be swapped out with various parts to achieve different configurations. That said, these parts aren't freely interchangeable; each configuration simply has its own dedicated waist part. When assembling as the RX-78, the core block doesn't fit in, and a fixed waist part is used instead. A hole has been added to the backpack as a locking point for transformation and combination, and the front of the feet now fold 90 degrees to allow the lower body to be stowed in the G-Fighter's B part. Since all of these changes are internal, the overall appearance and articulation are nearly identical to the original First Gundam.

The G-Fighter faithfully recreates the separation and combination of the front A part and rear B part as per the lore, and it's equipped with all the essential locking mechanisms and moving parts right where you need them. Color separation is almost perfectly executed, though the cockpit's color separation is lacking, which looked a bit off, so I did some partial painting there. The core fighter in particular has almost no color separation, just like the old HGUC First. Since the core fighter is fully exposed in the G-SKY configuration, it looked too rough as-is, so I painted it up, and the separate core block newly added for the G-Armor also had questionable color separation, so I painted that too. From a review standpoint it would've been better not to paint anything, but the colors were just too rough to leave alone.

Using the RX-78 and G-Fighter together, you can achieve a surprisingly wide — almost overwhelming — variety of configurations. Here's a rough summary:

1. G-Armor: Full RX-78 + G-Fighter A and B parts
2. G-BULL: A part + RX-78 upper body + core block
3. G-BULL Easy: A part + RX-78 upper body
4. G-SKY: B part + RX-78 lower body + core fighter
5. G-SKY Easy: B part + core fighter
6. Gundam Sky: Full RX-78 + B part

All 6 configurations from the lore can be reproduced. As a result, the number of photos I had to take was quite substantial — this review ended up with the most completed photos of any HGUC/MG review I've done so far. (52 shots;;)

With all the mixing and matching of upper body, lower body, various core blocks, waist parts, and so on, you might worry about durability — but thankfully, plenty of locking points have been built into the various combinations, so everything holds together solidly overall.

When attaching the lower body to the B part, it locks in using a T-shaped peg as shown in the photo, so it holds together really solidly. When fitting the upper body into the A part, the shoulder tension works together with the caterpillar's special locking points and the RX-78's backpack to all clip together at once. The caterpillar section has multiple locking tabs that allow it to hold various poses with its multi-jointed design, so no matter what position you put it in, nothing rattles around. The waist parts and Core Block that sit between the RX-78's upper and lower body are also quite stiff and don't pop out easily. Either way, you can really see the effort that went into making sure all those countless combinations lock together firmly.

The included stand can be fixed at 3 different angles, and stand holes are placed at multiple points on the kit so it can support any of the G-Fighter's transformation modes.

The real strength of the HGUC G-Armor kit seems to lie in its faithful recreation of the source material and its solid construction. Having so many extra parts flying around is a bit chaotic, but thanks to all that, all 6 transformation modes are well realized. The Core Fighter, which in the HGUC First was basically just a throwaway option part, takes center stage in the G-SKY/Easy configurations — and that's where the rough molded color combination becomes a pretty noticeable issue. If you're not planning on at least some partial painting or a full repaint, you should go in knowing that a straight build alone isn't going to look great. Alternatively, you could just display it in the fully combined G-Armor mode where the Core Fighter is hidden — that works too.

That said, while the base RX-78 does have some minor modifications, bumping the price up by ¥1800 just for the addition of the G-Fighter feels a bit much. Looking at the kit on its own, it does feel like a pretty generous package compared to other HGUC releases, but ¥2800 still feels steep for what you get. I think somewhere around ¥2200–2500 would've been a fairer price for the volume. Maybe they priced it with the logic that it'd only sell to a specific crowd anyway (people who want it are going to buy it regardless...), but then again, you could also look at it the other way — just having the G-Armor released this nicely is something to be grateful for. :-)

For One Year War fans, this is obviously a must-buy... and since it offers a decent level of quality, molded colors (Core Fighter excluded!), and solid construction, it's easy enough to recommend even to folks who just want to try building something a little different. The one tag that'll keep following it around though — wish it were just a bit cheaper~;;

Either way, the fact that non-MS units are starting to get the HGUC treatment feels pretty significant in a lot of ways. Sure, there was that wild HGUC Den'an Zon MA-class weapon thing before, but the HGUC G-Armor arriving alongside the announcement of the MG Ball has me feeling a strange sense of anticipation for where the Gunpla lineup is headed from here. ^^

HGUC G-fighter+RX-78-2 Gundam | 2004. 10 | ¥3,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.