Kit Review

Straight build
+ panel lining + decals

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version (1/6)

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version (2/6)

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version (3/6)

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version (4/6)

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version (5/6)

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version (6/6)

Upper body front and back

Leg section

Shoulder decals

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version - Viewed from above, the shoulders appear completely black — they're originally

Viewed from above, the shoulders appear completely black —
they're originally white, but the decals are designed to cover them entirely in black.
It's a fairly intensive decal job, but the quality of the decals is quite good, so they go on smoothly.

Knee decals

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version - The highlight of this kit has to be the shield decals. Layering on all those

The highlight of this kit has to be the shield decals.
Layering on all those decals gives it a real camouflage paint scheme vibe.
The waterslide decals are large, but they're not particularly difficult to apply.

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version - The rear leg hatch open shot — a signature 1.5 feature. The hatch still only

The rear leg hatch open shot — a signature 1.5 feature.
The hatch still only opens a narrow range, and it falls off pretty easily...;

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version - The solid one-piece frame in the leg section is molded in two colors, which g

The solid one-piece frame in the leg section is molded in two colors,
which gives the frame a bit more depth and dimension.
The old single-piece frames used to come out in a single color, so they didn't really feel like multi-color molding —
makes me think it would've been more effective if they'd done two-color multi-molding from the start.

The 1.5's quite impressive arsenal.

Full armament shot

Leftover parts from the half-hearted version upgrade..

The Core Fighter in its distinctive monochrome color scheme

Core Block form

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version - Action pose (1/3)

Action pose

Bazooka action

Beam saber action

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version - The leg articulation is pretty good, so getting into a kneeling pose is a bre

The leg articulation is pretty good, so getting into a kneeling pose is a breeze.

Gundam Hammer pose

Beam Jabelin pose.

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version - With the color scheme being monochrome, this kit somehow just looks right in

With the color scheme being monochrome, this kit somehow just looks right in black-and-white photos.

Together with the standard MG Gundam ver.1.5.

The overall color scheme has shifted to a gray tone.

Together with the ver.1.5 plated limited edition.

Four MG Gundams that make use of the ver.1.5 structure..

Straight build

This kit is a Pro Shop limited edition released in 2007.
A Pro Shop refers to a model shop in Japan staffed by an employee
who holds the "Gundam Meister" certification recognized by Bandai —
think of it as a system where Bandai designates and operates
certain shops as specialist retailers for marketing purposes.

There are limited edition kits released exclusively for these Pro Shops,
and the official name is the "Kawaguchi Produce Version" —
a kit whose coloring concept was personally designed by
Kawaguchi-meister, the father of Bandai's Gunpla.
Unlike other limited editions, it comes with an additional
4-page color manual.
Since it was distributed through a specific shop chain,
the quantity released was actually quite substantial for a limited edition.

The contents are of course basically the same as the existing MG ver.1.5,
but the overall molded colors have been changed to a monochrome/gray tone,
and one sheet of waterslide decals is included to complete
Kawaguchi-meister's coloring scheme. These waterslide decals are
concentrated mainly on the shoulders and shield areas, and since
the surface area to cover is large, a bit of care is needed.
That said, the quality of the waterslide decals is quite good —
they don't tear easily and go on well, so even beginners
with waterslide decals should be able to apply them without too much trouble.

Aside from the color change, there's nothing particularly special about this limited edition,
but the unique monotone coloring does give it a rather attractive look.
It's a bit of a shame that it's based on the ver.1.5, which is starting
to show its age, but it was a kit that had its moment of quality back in the day,
so it doesn't feel all that bad as a limited edition. :-)

MG Gundam ver.1.5 ~ Kawaguchi produce version

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.