OLD Gundam 0083 1/144 Gundam GP01-fb

Release 1991.12

Price ¥1,000

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

OLD 1/144 Gundam GP01-fb - Box side view (1/3)

Box side view

OLD 1/144 Gundam GP01-fb - Runners (1/3)

Runners

Newly added runners for the GP01-fb. The rest are the same GP01 runners included as-is.

A runner with system injection applied.

The number of seals has increased too.

OLD 1/144 Gundam GP01-fb - Parts diagram (1/3)

Parts diagram

Manual

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

All the GP01 runners are included as-is, so you can build it as a GP01 if you want.

The chest duct can be swapped out for an open type.

Remove the backpack and attach the separately included nose piece to form the Core Fighter.

The Core Fighter detached from the main body.

Full Burnern Core Fighter

Bottom view. Landing gear can be attached as well.

The arms are the same, but the legs have slightly better articulation than the GP01.

The backpack verniers move freely.

Beam rifle pose

Beam saber pose

Together with the 1/144 Gundam GP01.

Together with the HGUC Gundam GP01-fb released in 2001.

The third kit in the 0083 series is the 1/144 GP01Fb, and it looks like they made quite a few improvements — probably because the previous GP01 got absolutely hammered with complaints. The GP01Fb is the space-use conversion of the originally ground-use GP01, and in addition to the new parts, all the runners from the original GP01 kit are included, so you can technically build it as a GP01 too. Of course, nobody's really going to buy the more expensive GP01Fb just to build a GP01 — it honestly feels like they just threw everything in because separating the shared parts was too much of a hassle.

First off, one system injection runner has been added that wasn't in the GP01. This means more aggressive color separation has been applied, and it definitely looks a lot better visually than the GP01 or GP02. That said, the shield is still bare with no seals, just like the GP01.

On top of that, the proportions have been upgraded to around the 0080 series level, giving it a look that's quite decent, and extra features like the Core Fighter separation and chest duct swap are reproduced fairly well. The leg articulation is somewhat improved over the GP01, though the joint strength feels subtly worse. It's not loose by any means, but it doesn't feel as solid as the GP01.

Anyway, this kit is notable for the fact that after all the massive complaints about the GP01/GP02, they clearly buckled down and put out something that matched the quality standards of the time. It's an old-school kit that's perfectly fine to pick up cheap and build for fun. :-)
[ Updated at 2017.10.8]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.