The universal standard — size comparison with a cigarette pack

One of the biggest features of the MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079 is the incredibly complex panel lines..
The panel lines on the shoulders are intricate too..

Panel lines on the legs. There are so many that I kept the panel lining thin.

The backpack is a bit complex too. The beam saber is quite complex.

The inside of the shield, on the other hand, isn't nearly as complex as you might expect compared to before.

The weapon set. Compared to v1.5, it's missing just the beam Jabelin.

Cockpit hatch open.
Since there's no Core Fighter, they've included something roughly similar in its place.

Just like the v1.5, the three chest ducts each move independently.

One of the fun parts of the MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079 is the hands.
It only comes with the typical two sets of rock-paper-scissors articulated hands..
The three fingers that are joined together are each connected with individual ball joints.

Look closely and you'll see — they're only barely attached. So that means..?

You're supposed to cut them apart with a knife depending on your preference!

Once you cut them, you end up with five individually ball-jointed fingers like this.

And there you have it — five individually articulated fingers!

The beam rifle, bazooka, and beam saber all have grooves cut into them, so they can be locked onto the peg on the palm.
The grip is a little on the weak side, but the peg at least keeps things from falling apart.

The rifle and bazooka have hidden pegs for attaching to the body, so they can be folded in and out.

There are four spots in total where those pegs can be attached.
The backpack, the rear skirt, and two spots on the shield.

You can hang them all over the place like this..

You can also mount them vertically on the backpack.

Though to be fair, the hole on the backpack is really meant for attaching the shield;;

You can also mount the bazooka and rifle in the two holes on the inside of the shield.

I doubt anyone would actually walk around with both of them attached like that, but..

The shield's forearm attachment can be fixed at three different positions.

The shoddy shield attachment system from the old RX-78 has been massively upgraded.
It locks onto the arm securely, and it's been made foldable so it's easy to plug onto the back.

Outer armor removed. Almost all of the exterior armor is detachable.

This is hands-down the best kit for panel lining the exterior armor..

The full-body internal mechanical frame.
(The photo has been slightly color-corrected so the dark-colored mechanics are easier to see.)

With the frame exposed, the articulation is even more impressive.

The legs, which use the v1.5 frame, have four working cylinders in total — two at the knee and two at the ankle.

Just like the v1.5, the hatch on the back of the legs can open too.
But the hatch still falls off easily, and it barely opens so you can't really see much;;

If you force it open and shine some light in, you can see about this much.

Whoa;; It's almost like a Wing Zero pose. Insane articulation.

The neck joint is also a double ball joint, which is unusual.. but the range of motion is very limited;;;
Also, the neck feels a bit too thick..

The shoulders move back and forth with some play.
Looking from above, you can see the shoulder armor on the torso is split in the same way as the MG Strike.
And the reason for that is..

Because it uses the same joint that bends 90 degrees upward like this.
I never expected to see it on the RX-78, but thanks to it, the shoulder articulation is absolutely incredible.
(I'm trying to do a peace sign, but since the fingers are bent, it ends up being a shy little V;;)

The waist is also a double ball joint.. but the range of motion is very limited.

It only moves about this much to the side.
Still, it's clearly more flexible than the old RX-78, which was stiff because of the Core Block/Fighter.

The foot is split into front and rear sections that move independently, each going up and down about 45 degrees.
It really helps with getting more natural poses, though the front section feels a little loose..

The wrists also bend 90 degrees.

Here's another fun feature!
Just like the PG Strike, the leg connection points can slide forward and backward. Which means..

This tricky kneeling pose comes out incredibly naturally. *o*
Alright, let's move on to action poses~

Thanks to the split sole, more natural poses are possible.

Bazooka action pose.

Thanks to the flexible shoulders, the bazooka-holding pose looks natural too.

A quick-draw beam saber pose is pulled off with no trouble at all.

Since one of the v1.5's runners is reused as-is, a few leftover parts are left over.

One more thing worth noting. The small 1/100 scale pilot figure that used to be included
now comes with a base attached. That means it actually stands up properly.
Should've done this from the start..