Kit Review
Straight build
+ panel lining + decals
1. Basic Photos Basic
Size comparison with a cigarette pack
Close-up of the upper body and head.
The vents and side ducts are all rendered in full 3D detail.
The armor just has holes punched through it, with the inner frame slightly visible from behind..
The back and arms. Pretty simple..
Simple and sleek legs. Seems fairly faithful to the original..
The feet — controversial right from the start. They're incredibly small.. ;;
Looking back at the original, the feet weren't all that big, but these feel like they might've gone a bit too far.
Seems like a deliberate statement: if you're going to go retro, go all the way.
The sole detail is very good, though.
Either way, it's a return to the source.. Gundam ver.2.0, flying the flag for retro.
2. Weapons Weapons
Weapons shots. Faithful to the basics, but with some bonuses too.
Just look at that chunky secondary grip, straight out of the original.. Whoops.
Simple, yet with a certain refined elegance to it.
Interestingly, you can see the internal gimmick through the armor — remove the cover and the inner frame is sitting way back inside. That's the 2.0 for you.
One of the standout features of this Gundam ver.2.0 is..
...that nearly every part has been molded as a single piece to eliminate seam lines.
The rifle, which used to be a typical left-right split assembly, has been completely freed of seam lines through a combination of slide-molded parts
— seam lines eliminated completely.
Honestly, it must've been a real pain to engineer and cost a lot to produce, but it's genuinely impressive..
No seam lines, but there are some parting lines where the mold halves meet;
Compared to seam lines though... a few passes with sandpaper and they're gone.
The Super Napalm — a unique bonus exclusive to this Gundam ver.2.0.
It holds four missiles inside like this..
You remove the barrel of the beam rifle, attach the Super Napalm, then reassemble and mount it.
The bazooka — the showstopper weapon of Gundam ver.2.0, with perfect color separation and single-piece molding..
From the barrel to the magazine, every single part is a slide-molded single piece, and the color separation is excellent.. T_T)b
Simple yet restrained detail — so good...
The grip has a little up-and-down play so you can angle it.
The shield, with its appealingly simple look.
The inner detail has been cleaned up nicely overall. The older versions were a bit busy and cluttered.
There's a separate weapon-mounting piece on the inside of the shield that wasn't on older shields.
The peephole cover at the top of the shield is also reproduced.
The shield attachment method — a long-standing weak point of older MG Gundams — was already improved with the MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079.
The Gundam ver.2.0 adds a rotating lock mechanism that recent MG/HGUC kits have favored.
It grips the handle and locks onto the forearm, so it holds very securely..
But the shield sits so close to the arm that it does start to get a little awkward.
The shield grip section can also slide up and down.
The weapon that doesn't get much love (;;) — the beam Jabelin..
You have to plug a beam saber handle into the tip.
The spear tip rendered in a clear part..
The Gundam Hammer, which was also included with the MG Turn A Gundam.
Knew Bandai would recycle it..
All weapon grips have a hole in the palm for securing them in the hand.
The bazooka and beam rifle have retractable mounting pegs, so..
Just like the MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079, they can be stored on the backpack and rear skirt.
As you can see, there are quite a few different ways to attach them..
Just like the MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079, the bazooka and beam rifle can also be mounted on the weapon-mounting piece added to the shield —
though the narrow gap between the arm and shield makes it a bit fiddly to attach.
One fun little detail.
You can also lock the beam rifle/bazooka into the shield-mounting slot on the forearm.
Feels like there's something more planned with this setup..?
The 1/100 figure — a must-have accessory for any MG kit.
The foot stand is missing again this time.. it's better when it's included.
Maybe because it's the 2.0, but there are two Amuro figures included: one in a spacesuit and one in regular clothes.
The detail is pretty average though.. doesn't seem like much care went into the figures.
3. Core Fighter Core Fighter
The Core Fighter on the Gundam ver.2.0 has been upgraded in a big way — and I mean it.
For starters, the upper and lower body can be connected even without the core block.
The upper and lower connection points where the core block plugs in.. the connection is reasonably solid.
Here it is in core block form.
The Core Fighter's nose is linked to the rear vertical stabilizers, so..
Just like the PG First's Core Fighter, there's a gimmick where raising the nose automatically brings up the vertical stabilizers!
Fold the nose back down and the stabilizers automatically retract and stow away.
This was already a premium feature on Core Fighters from the MG Guncannon onward, so it's only natural that the 2.0 would have it too, right?
The Core Fighter's wings hide a gimmick unique to the 2.0..
The wings fold out one extra time.
With the internal structure shown on the left.. you spread the wing out 90 degrees, then pull it out to extend it further.
So the wings are bigger than on a regular Core Fighter, right? (Just a little bit bigger!)
A premium touch worthy of the 2.0.
This kit also includes a clear triangular stand specifically for the Core Fighter. And the reason is..
Since the ver.2.0's Core Fighter has no landing gear storage or mounting gimmick,
they really should have at least included a stand.
Maybe it was the developer's pride — if they couldn't do it as a retractable/movable feature and had to settle for a simple detachable one, they'd rather just leave it out entirely..
Looking at the Core Fighter assembly process, just like the weapons, pretty much everything is made up of single-piece molded parts with color separation
It really feels like they went all out to eliminate every last seam line.
The ver.2.0 Core Fighter even recreates the weapon gimmicks found on the PG Core Fighter.. Wow..
But the real highlight of the Gundam ver.2.0's Core Fighter is the perfectly recreated cockpit section..
Just looking at the photo above, you might think it's just got nice color separation.. and that a canopy that opens is pretty standard fare.. but..
If you look at the underside of the nose cockpit, there's a strange rotation gimmick.
By adjusting the peg on the bottom, you can rotate the cockpit to face forward or upward as shown.
In other words, when it's in Core Fighter mode the pilot faces forward to fly,
and when stored as a Core Block the pilot needs to face front — so this gimmick satisfies both positions.
On top of that, when you push the nose in, the pilot who was facing forward automatically rotates to face upward.
To think they even accounted for this kind of linked gimmick..
To see the pilot in Core Block mode, you need to pull the nose section downward.
And as you can see, in Core Block form the canopy doesn't open upward — instead it slides upward
and retracts just like on the PG!!
The cockpit-open function in MS mode, which was previously only possible at PG scale, has been 100% recreated here in MG.
Personally, I think the Core Fighter is the best part of the Gundam ver.2.0.
It truly delivers beyond imagination at 1/100 scale..
Who would've thought it would pull off even more than the PG's gimmicks..
(You'll get to see the gimmick in action a bit more in the cockpit hatch open shots coming up later)
Looking at the Core Block connection point on the lower body, there's an empty space behind the crotch area.. No, it's not a bladder.. (-.-;)
It's actually where the extended nose section is stored when you open the cockpit in Core Block mode.
4. Inner Frame Frame
Outer armor removal shot.
Despite the simple exterior, the outer armor parts are actually broken up into quite a few pieces.
The inner frame. A truly complete full-body frame.
Upper body front and rear. Pretty intricate, isn't it?
The distinctive First Gundam head frame.
Note the separately molded vulcans at the top..
Upper body viewed from above.
Front torso frame. It holds its shape even without the Core Fighter.
Sure, the belly looks pretty bare without the Core Fighter, but hey, at least it's still there..
Backpack and rear end frame
Back frame with the backpack frame removed
Shoulder frame recreated with a mesh-like structure.
In most MGs the arm frame tends to be a bit lacking,
but the Gundam ver.2.0 arm frame feels really well done.
The leg frame is also top-tier — the best we've seen yet.
Thigh frame
Shin frame
Foot frame. The foot frame detail feels noticeably more intricate compared to other kits.
And interestingly, there's even a frame for the ankle cover..
Looking at the front detail of the knee cover frame, it really seems like the release of the Prototype Gundam is pretty much confirmed;
And.. the part that secures the Gundam ver.2.0's ankle cover frame is a little unique,
the ankle cover connector clicks into place with a small snapping sound.
It looks like they added an internal locking gimmick to the connection point to address the issue of ankle covers constantly falling off on Gundam-type kits.
It looks like they inserted an internal locking gimmick into that connection point.
But.. even so, the ankle cover still pops off pretty easily.. T_T
There's also a bit of a double-frame concept introduced,
so the back of the thighs and the calves have a two-layer frame structure.
The elbow section has linked cylinders both above and below.
The knees also have linked cylinders above and below..
There are also movable cylinders at the front and back of the ankles.
Look closely and there's even a cylinder at the front of the neck.
The cylinders alone are definitely PG-level.. (even if there's no chrome plating)
Even a squatting pose comes off cleanly. (Wait, can a squat ever really be "clean"?)
The articulation is hands-down the best of the best.
The forward range of motion on the shoulder joints in particular is just insane.
Now THAT'S a pose!
It handles all kinds of poses.
In frame-only state, the shoulders can even raise 90 degrees upward.
Once you put the body armor on there's no room so they barely move upward though..;
Despite the Core Block system, a little waist articulation is possible too!
Frame shot with the Core Fighter stored inside
Well, makes sense — the belly is completely hollow after all..
Even after removing the yellow front sections of the front and rear skirts, there's still a bit of frame underneath.
I guess recreating them as openable like on the PG would've been a bit much... ;;;
As expected, most of the outer armor panels also have molded detail on the inside.
5. Articulation & Gimmicks Gimmick
The arms and legs naturally fold up completely!
It's not quite as good as the bare frame, but it still pulls off a decent squatting pose.
A kneeling pose is no problem at all..
Even before release, they boldly claimed the waist would be articulated despite the Core Block system.
The waist.. it does move, just a tiny bit, through a rotation gimmick at the back.
It's not really that useful in practice, but I think we should appreciate it as a sign of how much effort went into this. ^^;
They also advertise forward and backward waist movement.. but honestly
it doesn't feel like it moves all that much.
It seems like the point is simply that it moves at all despite having a Core Block.
Horizontal waist rotation is possible about 10 degrees to each side. Actually comes in handy..
In frame mode, the shoulders can raise up quite high,
but once the armor is on, they don't go up quite as far.
The shoulder forward-swing gimmick is truly impressive..!
They swing out and pivot nearly 90 degrees.
Looking inside...
Just one shoulder joint connection uses 6 parts.
As shown above, the shoulder joint can raise up and swing forward...
And along with that, the movable cylinders at the back flex smoothly, while also clearly defining the range of motion.
Since a cover is placed over the shoulder joint after assembly, only part of the movable cylinders are visible once it's built.
Jiangshi pose is possible too..
Anyway, those shoulder joints are just insane..
Individual finger articulation — with each knuckle cut and movable separately — is also included as a standard feature.
The wrists also bend up and down through a 180-degree range.
The neck has a sort of double-joint setup too, so it moves quite a lot.
The chest ducts are of course movable. There's a connecting pin at the back so all three move together simultaneously.
One of the highlights of the Gundam ver.2.0 — the cockpit hatch open shot..
Thanks to the Core Fighter's excellent gimmick, with the pilot facing forward,
it even recreates the scene where the canopy slides open.
And this right here is the real ver.2.0-level bonus! With the sliding hatch-open function included,
the perfect design recreation that was only possible on the PG has finally made it to the MG as well.. T_T)/
The duct-open function in the crotch area is also reproduced.
The beam saber holders on the backpack can be pushed inward when the beam sabers are removed.
This was originally a feature on the Perfect Gundam base body to accommodate the Perfect armor add-on, and seeing it carried over to the ver.2.0 makes me wonder...
Surely they're not planning a Perfect Gundam ver.2.0, right? -.-;
I'd rather they just release a Full Armor Gundam...
Anyway, the Gundam ver.2.0 is packed with all kinds of forward-thinking design choices.
The hip joint, just like on the Zaku ver.2.0,
uses a simple structure with the fixing pin offset toward the front.
The sliding hip joint on the MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079 was a fresh idea, but honestly, the above approach feels simpler and more effective.
Looking at the inside of the skirt, it gives off a similar vibe to the Zaku ver.2.0's skirt gimmick.
If you look closely, the rear skirt armor is fixed together with the side armor onto an L-shaped piece, so they move in sync.
Normally it holds a boxy, squared-off skirt shape like the old First...
but when it moves, it spreads out wide like in the photo on the right.
Thanks to the L-shaped linked gimmick, the rear skirt armor can do that odd downward-dropping movement...
But the problem is that this L-shaped gimmick doesn't actually improve articulation.
It can just move that way — it doesn't increase the range of motion at all. -.-;
Interestingly, the ver.2.0 adds an armor piece in the center of the knee joint.
It's just like the one on the recently released HGUC Zaku II FZ.
The ankle range of motion is quite flexible.
It seems even more flexible because the rear ankle armor is attached to the ankle guard rather than the sole of the foot.
The feet may be small — like bound feet (;) — but the range of motion is the best we've ever seen..
Unusually, the toe section has one extra joint, and the range of motion for both the front and rear of the sole is very large.
The feet look like some kind of snake head. lol
The movable cylinders on the elbows, knees, and ankles are nicely visible during posing..
They look so much cooler when you can see them from the outside.. ^^
6. Action Poses Action
Alright.. starting with the basics — beam rifle firing stance..
Kneeling draw pose. Very natural-looking poses are achievable.
Kneeling sword draw
Splits pose~
More natural than any First we've seen so far~~
Splits pose in a slightly different stance.
Excellent as always..
More beam saber action shots.. ;;;
There were oddly a lot of splits + beam saber action photos in the sample shots and manual poses, so I tried copying them.
Thanks to the excellent shoulder joints, natural beam saber swinging poses come together nicely.
Twisted firing stance.
Airborne firing pose using Action Base 1.
Given the nature of the kit.. it doesn't feel like it goes super amazingly perfectly with the stand.
ver.2.0 bonus — Super Napalm action.
Bazooka action
Combination action
The First's weapon — the beam Jabelin.
Gundam coat hanger... ;;; (composite artwork by Zeta Gundam)
Beam Jabelin throwing pose.
Out of all the weapons in this ver.2.0, the bazooka is my favorite!
The Gundam Hammer — nothing too special..
The Gundam Hammer doesn't really lend itself to many action poses worth striking.
Last Shooting perfectly recreated!
That unique shoulder gimmick seems like it was developed specifically to pull off this pose.
Real-type Last Shooting action with the head and arms removed, just like in the actual scene!
If you think the leg pose looks a bit awkwardly demure, go rewatch the original..
The legs look even weirder in the anime lol;;
7. Comparison / Group Shots Compare
First, let's take a look at the history of the official version upgrades.
v1.0 came out in 1995, v1.5 in 2000, and v2.0 was released in 2008.
They were 5 and 8 years apart respectively, and it took 13 years to go from 1.0 to 2.0..
The evolution of articulation across versions. It's like watching the progression of human evolution.
The evolution of the foot soles. Sure, the detail keeps improving — but..
The ver.2.0 feet are seriously like bound feet -_-
Are those feet or hands..
Comparison with the 1995 Gundam v1.0.
So much time has passed, and it went through so many changes along the way,
that the gap in years really hits you hard..
The 1.0.. even so, it'll always hold a special place as the kit that carries the excitement of when MG first launched.
Comparison with the 2000 Gundam v1.5, which snuck in a half-baked version upgrade.
It was only a half-upgrade since major parts like the weapons and arms weren't changed,
but I still can't forget the thrill of that solid one-piece articulation frame the v1.5 showed off..
The MG Perfect Gundam base body and Ver. Ka. Gundam, which could be considered bonus versions.
Comparison with Ver. Ka.
Honestly, since Ver. Ka. is a completely different design rather than a proper RX-78-2 lineup kit,
a detailed comparison doesn't seem to mean much.
Comparison with the MG Perfect Gundam base body.
In many ways, ver.2.0 shares a lot in common with the Perfect Gundam base body.
The overall detail style, the retro-flavored simple design — it's all very similar.
Even just looking at the backpack, it's nearly identical in shape — that simple, animation-accurate backpack style.
Even the feature of pulling out the beam sabers and tucking the storage section inward is the same.
I guess it's hard to ignore the fact that the Perfect Gundam base body design had earned its own following..
Comparison with the most recently released First, ver. O.Y.W. (a.k.a. MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079).
When MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079 first came out, it was considered the de facto v2.0, but in the end it remained just a side-story kit.
MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079 and v2.0 are vastly different kits in terms of panel lines and design style.
Limb articulation is roughly on par,
but in the finer details like the ankles, shoulders, and hip joints, the v2.0's articulation is clearly superior.
Six officially released MG versions of the First Gundam, all gathered in one place.
Lineup shot of all 6 Gundam variants.
Gathering all the First variants together like this is quite a sight in itself.
Excluding the completely different Ver. Ka. design,
a group shot of the 5 pure RX-78-2 design units.
You can see the general differences at a glance.
Now for the beam rifle comparison..
The 1.0/1.5 share the same design, while the 2.0's is a very similar concept to the one from MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079.
Compared to the MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079 rifle, the exterior is simpler, but the internal detail is more refined.
Truly tough on the inside, understated on the outside...
Shield comparison.
True to the ver.2.0 concept, the surface detail is completely stripped away and the length is longer.
The shield also has a similar feel to the Perfect Gundam's.
Though the Perfect Gundam can't actually mount the shield when it's in base body form.. -.-;
Bazooka comparison.
The ver.2.0 bazooka is massively different from the previous ones.
The ver.2.0 bazooka with its perfect color separation and solid single-piece construction is more impressive every time you look at it T_T
Beam saber comparison.
They each have their own subtle differences.
Now for the Core Fighter comparison. MG Core Fighters can be broadly divided into 3 types.
First, the 1.0 and 1.5 share the same early-type Core Fighter configuration..
With the MG Guncannon, the Core Fighter got bigger and the gimmick was improved.
The Ver. Ka. Core Fighter shown above is a slightly tweaked version of that improved Guncannon Core Fighter's detail.
And then there's the v2.0 Core Fighter we have now.. So there are 3 distinct structural types in total.
Over the years, the Core Fighter got a little bigger and then shrank back down..
When it comes to Core Fighter detail and internal gimmicks, the v2.0 is hands down the best.
It shows off gimmicks that surpass even the PG.
Core Block form comparison.
A commemorative shot together with the v1.0 / v1.5 / MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079 plated parts versions.
Commemorative shot with all 7 MG Gundam v1.0 color variants/limited editions
Commemorative shot with the MG Gundam v1.5 color variants/limited editions
Commemorative shot with the MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079 color variants/limited editions
Excluding limited editions and bonus releases, within the pure MG mainline lineup,
the First Gundam comes to 8 kits total, as shown above.
First v1.0 (1995, MG #1)
G3 v1.0 (1996, MG #4)
First v1.5 (2000, MG #29)
Casval's First : v1.5 (2002, MG #52)
Ver. Ka. (2002, MG #57)
Perfect Gundam base body (2003, MG #67)
MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079 (2005, MG #78)
v 2.0 (2008, MG #111)
All MG official releases / bonus editions / limited editions assembled!
A total of 17 MG First Gundams..
Core Fighter mass shot!
(You have no idea how hard it was to get this one photo T_T Searching, digging through boxes, pulling them all out..)
Together with the very first ver.2.0 kits, the Gundam Mk-II ver.2.0s.
Together with the Zeta Gundam ver.2.0, the second ver.2.0 kit.
At long last, the dream trio — First-Mk-II-Zeta — have all gotten their version upgrades.
These three were the ones that got old-school fans the most hyped back in the original/Academy kit days.
You could really call this a landmark moment in Gunpla history.
Together with the kit that blew everyone away — the Zaku ver.2.0.
Honestly, the First ver.2.0 gets a little overshadowed by the Zaku ver.2.0...
But they're both masterpieces!
The Zaku 2.0 already has 5 releases out there, and the First is only just now getting its 2.0...
Wasn't that a bit too long to wait?
Together with the Gelgoog 2.0s.
A commemorative shot with Amuro's rival — Char's Zaku 2.0 and Gelgoog 2.0.
Every ver.2.0 released so far, all in one place!
I only realized after gathering them all — there are already 12 releases out there...
