OLD Gundam 0080 1/144 Kampfer

Release 1989.7

Price ¥800

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Box side view

Runners

Dedicated polycaps

Stickers and clear runners.

Parts diagram

Manual

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

OLD 1/144 Kampfer - View from below. The vernier detail feels a bit lacking compared to the previous Rick Dom II and Gelgoog

View from below. The vernier detail feels a bit lacking compared to the previous Rick Dom II and Gelgoog J kits.

Back view with weapons removed.

The weapon accessories are the most plentiful of the bunch.

Shotgun, spare shotgun, Giant Bazooka, Sturm Faust.

OLD 1/144 Kampfer - The chain mine is assembled by threading the round mine parts onto a soft frame part to link them togethe

The chain mine is assembled by threading the round mine parts onto a soft frame part to link them together.

Top and bottom views of the chain mine. The connecting parts are soft, but they don't bend all that much.

A total of 4 hands are included.

Arm and leg articulation. Since there's no skirt armor, the hip joints have quite a good range of motion.

OLD 1/144 Kampfer - Shotgun action pose (1/3)

Shotgun action pose

Double Bazooka action

Chain mine action

Together with the 1/144 Zaku FZ and Gelgoog J.

Together with the HGUC Kampfer released in 2008.

The 8th kit in the old 0080 series is the 1/144 Kampfer, and true to its origins as a design by Patlabor mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, it honestly looks more like it belongs in Patlabor than in Gundam.

The overall design and characteristics are quite different from other Gunpla of the time, and the kit's contents reflect that — it's quite different from the other 0080 series kits. The Kampfer is canonically loaded down with weapons all over its body, and the kit faithfully recreates the wide variety of armaments that make it so distinctive.

Weapons-wise, you get the shotgun, spare shotgun, Giant Bazooka, and Sturm Faust — the full loadout. The chain mine, which is basically the Kampfer's mascot weapon, is put together by linking multiple soft parts, and it looks pretty decent. That said, while the chain links are connected with soft parts, the material is actually a bit stiff when it comes to actually bending them. It's not really built to be coiled up the way it is in the show.

The biggest issue with this kit is how the weapons attach. The main body's joint strength is solid enough, but the various weapons don't stay put very well, making it hard to get a clean pose. The bazooka that mounts on the back is especially bad — the attachment point is so flimsy that it keeps falling off constantly, and the hand parts don't grip the weapons tightly either. The skirt-less design does give the hip joints great articulation, but the frustrating weapon attachment issues make posing this kit a real pain. The proportions also have that chunky old-kit feel, and compared to the sleek proportions of the HGUC version, it really shows its age.

So while it's great that the kit includes the full range of Kampfer's impressive arsenal, the molded colors and weapon attachment leave a lot to be desired, making this the weakest kit overall in the 0080 series in terms of quality. It doesn't help that the HGUC Kampfer released in 2008 is an absolute masterpiece by comparison. Given how structurally lacking this kit is, it's hard to recommend unless you're an adventurous customizer. :-)
[ Updated at 2017.9.6]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.