Kit Review

Straight build + Partial paint + Panel lining + Decals

MG Gundam - The universal standard for size comparison — a cigarette box. Standing at 18cm, it's right in line with the stand

The universal standard for size comparison — a cigarette box. Standing at 18cm, it's right in line with the standard Gundam height.

The parts behind the knees need some partial painting..

The foot top parts also come out plain white, so partial painting is needed there too.

MG Gundam - The MG RX-78 has a lot of weird seal business going on — as you can see, you're supposed to stick slightly thick

The MG RX-78 has a lot of weird seal business going on — as you can see,
you're supposed to stick slightly thick blue and white seals on various parts of the body.
They seem to be there to represent hatch panels or cover up seam lines, but they don't look all that useful..
(Which is probably why this approach was dropped in later kits.)

Foil seals go on the duct areas. Not really feeling it.. -_-

Some hatch-open features are included~

MG Gundam - Whoa~ the top opens up. The head hatch opens to reveal a bit of the internal mechanics — though it's not exactly

Whoa~ the top opens up. The head hatch opens to reveal a bit of the internal mechanics —
though it's not exactly a hinged design; you lift the head cover off and then plug it back in at the rear.

Forearm hatch open. Well, there's not a whole lot to see in there..

Shin hatch open. Fairly packed with various molded details.

Remove the backpack cover and you'll find a pretty decent-looking internal mechanics recreation underneath.

The cockpit hatch open would go on to become a standard feature of later MG kits.

MG Gundam - You can fold the Core Fighter down into a Core Block, and there's also a dedicated Core Block part included separ

You can fold the Core Fighter down into a Core Block, and there's also a dedicated Core Block part included separately.

You can choose either the Core Fighter or the Core Block and connect it to the middle of the body.

Core Fighter — front view

Core Fighter — rear view

Underside.

MG Gundam - It's a bit of a shame that the vertical tail fins are detachable rather than foldable. I get why the landing gear

It's a bit of a shame that the vertical tail fins are detachable rather than foldable.
I get why the landing gear would be detachable, but it would've been nice if at least the vertical fins were built-in fold-away types.

The rear skirt moves to create a storage slot for the bazooka.

Bazooka in stored position.

The RX-78 in full-armed configuration, alongside the Core Fighter.

The weapons and extra manipulators (hands) laid out.

MG Gundam - A total of 3 hand sets are included: one set of the classic rock-paper-scissors articulated hands, one set of fla

A total of 3 hand sets are included.
One set of the classic rock-paper-scissors articulated hands, one set of flat fixed hands, and one set of fist fixed hands.

MG Gundam - The chest ducts feature some seriously detailed mesh inserts on the inside — but once you put the yellow duct cov

The chest ducts feature some seriously detailed mesh inserts on the inside —
but once you put the yellow duct covers on, you can't see the interior at a~ll. What a waste.. -_-;;;

MG Gundam - The way the shield attaches is pretty old-school.. It doesn't plug into the forearm or anything like that — you j

The way the shield attaches is pretty old-school.. It doesn't plug into the forearm or anything like that —
you just force the handle into the hand and that's it.
So if the grip is even slightly loose, it'll pop right off or tilt outward. Tsk tsk.

Despite having double joints in both the arms and legs, the articulation still won't bend past 90 degrees. OTL

Action po~se

The shield can be mounted on the backpack, and the beam rifle can be holstered on the side.

Bazooka shot

Drawing the sword. The limited range of motion in the legs makes the pose look pretty awkward..

Beam saber action shot

There are loads of detail-up parts scattered throughout the runners.

Straight build photos.

In the summer of 1995, a landmark kit was released that announced the grand revival of Gunpla. The first entry in Bandai's ultimate lineup — the Master Grade series — was naturally the main character himself, the RX-78-2. Looking back from 2004 when this review was updated, the first MG RX-78 falls short in quite a few areas. But when it launched in 1995, it caused quite a sensation.

First of all, the high price of ¥2500 (by the standards of the time) and the sheer number of runners and parts was more than enough to get Gunpla fans excited. The standout features that everyone was talking about back then were:

- Partial internal frame and hatch-open features
- Color separation that achieved a level of accuracy to the design specs that was on a completely different level from previous kits
- Introduction of four different types of seals and dry decals
- Relatively good articulation (compared to what came before)
- Highly detailed Core Fighter representation, plus the addition of a separate Core Block, giving the whole thing a very luxurious feel
- A very high-quality manual
- Excellent detail
- Greatly improved proportions

And so on — it was a sensation in many ways. The most obviously striking change compared to the old kits is probably the proportions. The introduction of double joints in the arms and legs, and the overall stance, were on a completely different level from the old kits — no comparison whatsoever. This style of proportioning would go on to become the foundation for future MG lineup proportions, eventually refined into what became known as the Katoki Hajime stance.

As for the Core Fighter — it was made considerably smaller than the design specs in order to fit inside the body, but the color separation is solid and the detail is decent enough. The vertical tail fins are still detachable rather than fold-away, which is a bit of a letdown. (They would later switch to an internal fold-away design with the MG Guncannon.) Including a separate Core Block for storage inside the body was a genuinely fresh and welcome idea — it meant you could have the body fully assembled while still displaying the Core Fighter separately.

The weapons are limited to the basics — beam saber, bazooka, and beam rifle. Each weapon still looks far better than its old-kit counterpart, though. Nice touches include the ability to store the bazooka on the rear skirt, holster the beam rifle on the side, and mount the shield on the backpack — a lot of thoughtful little details.

One distinctive feature of this first MG kit is the elaborate seal treatment. On top of the standard semi-transparent seals and dry decals, there are also foil seals and one more unique type of seal included. The foil seals go on the various duct areas, while the slightly opaque blue and white seals seem to be meant for covering seam lines on various parts of the body — or maybe they were trying to give the hatches a three-dimensional look. Either way, the purpose is a bit ambiguous, and they don't look great either. Probably for that reason, these seals were only used in the early MG kits and never appeared again.

The high-quality dry decals that would go on to become a staple of later MG kits were genuinely cool when the kit first came out — I remember that clearly. Interestingly, the shoulder parts even came with decals already applied straight out of the box. It was a neat surprise at first, but since the same markings were already included in the dry decal sheet anyway, it was completely pointless for anyone who paints their kits. Whether for that reason or not, pre-applied decals on parts only appeared in a handful of early MG kits before disappearing entirely. Just one of Bandai's quirky experiments that didn't really pan out.

Early MG kits (the RX-78 & Zaku series) came with a peculiar addition: dozens of detail-up parts packed tightly into the spare corners of the runners. Most of them are various types of tie-down rings and attachment loops (see photos) — handy enough if you find a use for them — but again, whether due to poor reception or cost concerns, they were dropped from later MG kits. Seems like a shame since they weren't hurting anyone.

There are plenty of quirks, but being an early MG, there are also a ton of shortcomings. (^^;) The color separation isn't perfect — the backs of the knees and the ankle areas come out plain white, so I added some partial painting there. The articulation is also pretty disappointing for a kit that supposedly has double joints; it barely manages 90 degrees, which looks pretty rough by today's standards. On top of that, the joint strength is generally on the loose side, and the elbow joints in particular pop out way too easily. The body is also covered in way too many panel lines, which makes it look cluttered. It feels like the developers were experimenting with all sorts of panel line layouts — and judging by how restrained later kits became, it sounds like the feedback wasn't great. There's almost no consideration for seam lines either, and the gaps between parts are on the larger side. Classic early MG stuff..

In terms of quality, this is clearly one of the lower-tier MG kits — and with the v1.5 released later, its value as a purchase dropped significantly. If there's any reason to own it, it's the prestige of being the very first MG. That said, being the kit that kicked off the Master Grade line, some of its experimental touches actually feel surprisingly fresh in hindsight, even if they look a bit rough by today's standards.

If you're trying to decide which First Gundam kit to get, the answer is simple — skip this v1.0 and go straight for the later v1.5. That said, if you're a die-hard First Gundam fan and a serious MG collector, this is probably a kit worth having out of respect (?) for the line. The quality may not be up to par, but there's something about it — you can feel the effort, the deliberation, the experimentation and pioneering spirit that went into launching a whole new series. It's like a kit where the technology isn't quite there yet, but the developers' enthusiasm is absolutely palpable. Whatever you think of it, it's definitely a kit that stirs something in you. ^^

MG RX-78-2 Gundam
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★	Almost no consideration for seam lines. Only the shoulders and knees get any attention. Part gaps are also on the larger side.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★	Molded colors are decent overall; the backs of the knees and ankle areas are just molded plain white.
Proportions	★★★	Average level
Articulation	★	Arms and legs won't bend past 90 degrees. Limited ankle range of motion. Slight waist articulation.
Joint Strength	★★	Not particularly tight. Waist connection is flimsy. Elbow joints pop out very easily.
Internal Frame	★★	Head, forearms, shins. Hatch-open features included.
Detail	★★	Excessive panel lines. But there's a genuine effort put into the detail.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★	Beam rifle, bazooka, beam saber. Separate Core Fighter included. Fairly well-equipped.
Parts Count / Price	★★★	214 parts total (+ 31 detail-up parts). Parts per ¥1000: 85.6
Uniqueness	★★★★★	Carries enormous significance as the very first MG kit.
Dalong's Point : 52 pts.

MG Gundam | 1995. 7 | ¥2,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.