Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining + Decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

The clear parts on the face are molded in transparent green.

MG Guncannon - Something opens up on the side of the legs. Inside, there's a small hand grenade that you can actually take o

Something opens up on the side of the legs.
Inside, there's a small hand grenade that you can actually take out.

Cockpit hatch open

MG Guncannon - The Guncannon also includes both a Core Fighter and a Core Block-only part, so you can choose which one to st

The Guncannon also includes both a Core Fighter and a Core Block-only part, so you can choose which one to store inside the body.

MG Guncannon - The Core Block for body storage and the Core Fighter. The Guncannon's Core Block and Core Fighter have been c

The Core Block for body storage and the Core Fighter.
The Guncannon's Core Block and Core Fighter have been completely redesigned compared to the earlier MG RX-78.

MG Guncannon - The one on the left is the Core Block from the MG RX-78 v1.0 (same as v1.5), and the one on the right is the

The one on the left is the Core Block from the MG RX-78 v1.0 (same as v1.5), and the one on the right is the Guncannon's Core Block.
Totally different, right?

The level of detail on the Core Block is worlds apart — and it looks familiar, doesn't it?

MG Guncannon - The MG Guncannon's Core Block is essentially a scaled-down version of the PG RX-78's Core Block detail. No wo

The MG Guncannon's Core Block is essentially a scaled-down version of the PG RX-78's Core Block detail.
No wonder the detail is so good.

The MG Guncannon's Core Fighter. Just like the Core Block, it's a fully revised version.

MG Guncannon - Comparing it to the RX-78 v1.0/1.5 Core Fighter on the left, you can see it's noticeably larger. The old RX-7

Comparing it to the RX-78 v1.0/1.5 Core Fighter on the left, you can see it's noticeably larger.
The old RX-78 Core Fighter was way too undersized due to body storage constraints,
but the Guncannon version has finally bulked up a bit.

MG Guncannon - Flipping it over makes the difference even more obvious. The landing gear style has been completely changed t

Flipping it over makes the difference even more obvious.
The landing gear style has been completely changed too.

Looking at the rear, you can also tell it's noticeably thicker.

MG Guncannon - The biggest change! The vertical tail fins have been switched from a removable type to an internal auto-foldi

The biggest change! The vertical tail fins have been switched from a removable type to an internal auto-folding mechanism.
Even the structure follows the PG Core Fighter's approach exactly.

MG Guncannon - Compared to the old MG RX-78 Core Fighter block where you had to detach the rear vertical tail fins, the Gunc

Compared to the old MG RX-78 Core Fighter block where you had to detach the rear vertical tail fins,
the Guncannon's Core Block is noticeably larger even when folded up.

MG Guncannon - Two pairs of hands are included — the typical rock-paper-scissors articulated hands, and a set with wrists th

Two pairs of hands are included — the typical rock-paper-scissors articulated hands,
and a set with wrists that bend 90 degrees specifically for the prone firing pose.

MG Guncannon - You can see the attention to detail — even the inside of the skirt armor has separate parts with detail molde

You can see the attention to detail — even the inside of the skirt armor has separate parts with detail molded in.

Armor removed. Quite a lot of armor panels can be taken off.

Inner frame shot. This is no ordinary kit!

The backpack mechanical detail... a bit flat, though.

The leg frame looks pretty awesome.

MG Guncannon - Arm articulation is just a straight 90 degrees, but the double-knee joint on the legs is quite good. It bends

Arm articulation is just a straight 90 degrees, but the double-knee joint on the legs is quite good.
It bends a lot more than you'd expect given how the kit looks.

Shoulder joint movement. A unique triple-folding joint structure.

MG Guncannon - Ooh... nice leg articulation. When you bend the double knee joint, the armor panel hidden inside is revealed.

Ooh... nice leg articulation.
When you bend the double knee joint, the armor panel hidden inside is revealed. It looks really cool~

MG Guncannon - The neck bends way back for the prone firing pose. Both the neck joint and the neck mount point bend together

The neck bends way back for the prone firing pose.
Both the neck joint and the neck mount point bend together at the same time.

Kneeling firing action pose. Pretty convincing, right?

The pose looks quite natural.

With the Spray Missile Launcher equipped...

MG Guncannon - The Guncannon's signature pose — prone firing. Swap in the double-bending neck joint and the included prone f

The Guncannon's signature pose — prone firing.
Swap in the double-bending neck joint and the included prone firing hand parts,
and the pose comes out looking really convincing.

Spray Missile Launcher prone firing pose.

Together with the RX-78 v1.5. The Guncannon's quality is a clear step up.

A lot of people probably thought it was a bit late for the Guncannon to show up as the 45th MG release. Given that it was the first kit in the HGUC line, a fellow Operation V member alongside the RX-78, and a major character from the One Year War, yeah — it was overdue. (Of course, the Guntank, which took even longer to come out, is an even more extreme case.)

But thanks to the wait! The MG Guncannon was born with seriously high quality. The molded colors and color separation are nearly perfect, seam lines are perfectly handled, the proportions are spot-on, and the articulation is impressive given the kit's chunky design. Overall, it's one of the hardest MG kits to find fault with. You can clearly tell a lot of care went into it from the very early stages of development.

This kit really shines when it comes to the inner frame. The arms and legs faithfully reproduce the internal frame structure as per the design specs — not too cluttered, not too simple, just right. The backpack's mechanical frame is well done too, and removing the outer armor is relatively easy. From the inner frame all the way to the exterior detail, it feels like every bit of detail that could possibly be realized on the Guncannon has been executed to perfection — and then some.

The Guncannon's signature prone firing pose is pulled off naturally thanks to the separate hand set with 90-degree bending wrists and the double neck joint. On top of the 240mm Guncannon cannons, a white Spray Missile Launcher is also included, so you can swap between them as you like.

The leg articulation is quite good, making it easy to get action poses going, but the ankle joints feel a bit less flexible by comparison, which makes pulling off a wide variety of poses trickier than you'd expect. When you bend the double knee joints, the inner armor panel is revealed — and that's honestly one of the Guncannon's biggest charm points. The arms only bend to 90 degrees, but they're surprisingly flexible and can pull off quite a few poses. The triple-folding shoulder joints slide on separate parts as they move, giving it that real MG-level authenticity. The grip strength on the fingers is decent enough that the rifle doesn't fall out easily.

One standout feature of the MG Guncannon — it's none other than the upgraded Core Block and Core Fighter.The MG RX-78 got a lot of improvements when it was updated to v1.5, but the core system was left completely unchanged, which was a bit disappointing. The MG Guncannon uses the same core system as the RX-78 per the design specs, but both the Core Block and Core Fighter have been upgraded to PG style. The body storage Core Block, instead of being a plain boxy rectangle like the RX-78's, has been redesigned with precise mechanical framing just like the PG — the detail is basically lifted straight from the PG. The Core Fighter has also been scaled up overall to be closer to the design specs, and most importantly, the vertical tail fins have been changed from the clunky removable type to an auto-folding mechanism. This transformation style is also taken directly from the PG Core Fighter's structure. Either way, the core system upgrade on the MG Guncannon is an absolute home run. ^_^ b

The overall build quality is so high that it's hard to find any real flaws, but if I'm going to nitpick... the ball joint connection at the wrist is a little weak, so the hands tend to pop off fairly easily. Also, the ankle structure limits the range of motion, which means the excellent double knee joints can't always be used to their full potential. That said, there's no single area that's seriously lacking, and the overall quality of this kit is something everyone — fans and critics alike — can agree on.

For old-school fans who've been watching Gundam since the One Year War, the MG Guncannon must feel like an incredible gift. It came out with quality well beyond expectations and moved a lot of fans deeply. On the flip side, newer fans who've been working their way backwards from more recent Gundam series to the One Year War era might not find the unit itself all that cool-looking — it's not exactly a modern, sleek design. They might be drawn to it more for the kit's quality than anything else. But for the old-school crowd, the Guncannon is one seriously nostalgic, charm-packed kit. ^^

Honestly, just looking at the Guncannon itself, its chunky style might make you think the quality would be mediocre. But once you actually build the MG Guncannon, you'll realize that couldn't be further from the truth. Even the HGUC version came out with quality way beyond what you'd expect for its size, getting a lot of people excited and raising the bar for the whole HGUC line. And once you build the MG Guncannon on top of that, you'll naturally start thinking — Bandai's developers must really, truly love the Guncannon. ^^

MG RX-77-2 Guncannon
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	Perfect in every way except the head and cannon barrels.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★★	Molded colors and color separation: perfect.
Proportions	★★★★★	A brilliant blend of the original's feel and modern refinement.
Articulation	★★★★	Arms are a slight letdown, but leg articulation is excellent. The neck moves too.
Joint Strength	★★★★	Overall joint strength is just right. If only the wrists didn't pop off so easily...
Internal Frame	★★★★★	For an MG, this level of detail is almost too much~
Detail	★★★★★	The ultimate Guncannon kit!
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★	Everything you'd want is here. The Core Block/Fighter upgrades are a huge win.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★	261 parts total. Parts per ¥1,000: 87. Volume feels about right.
Uniqueness	★★★★★	It's an Operation V member, after all~ Uniqueness is off the charts!
Dalong's Point : 94 pts.

MG Guncannon | 2001.12 | ¥3,600

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.