OLD First Gundam 1/144 Acguy

Release 1981.8

Price ¥300

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Runners

Parts diagram

Manual

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

OLD 1/144 Acguy - A unique ball joint design is used here — the male ball is sandwiched between two female socket parts, then

A unique ball joint design is used here — the male ball is sandwiched between two female socket parts, then a round ring is slipped over the top to lock it in place.

OLD 1/144 Acguy - This assembly is then inserted into the inner forearm to serve as the shoulder joint. As you can see, the e

This assembly is then inserted into the inner forearm to serve as the shoulder joint. As you can see, the elbow joint has no articulation at all — the entire arm is one solid piece.

The hip joints use the same ball joint structure — two of them assembled and fixed inside the upper thigh.

Cross-section of the leg.

The head is molded as one piece with the torso.

All the claws on one hand are assembled as movable parts.

OLD 1/144 Acguy - As shown, all 6 claws can be opened and closed — though they're not linked together, each of the 6 moves in

As shown, all 6 claws can be opened and closed — though they're not linked together, each of the 6 moves independently.

OLD 1/144 Acguy - Even at 1/144 scale, the cockpit hatch can be opened~ Though it's not a moving part — you have to choose be

Even at 1/144 scale, the cockpit hatch can be opened~ Though it's not a moving part — you have to choose between open or closed and glue it in place.

Pretty awkward articulation.. the elbows don't bend and the leg range of motion is barely there.

On the plus side, even when the legs are spread apart, both feet stay flat on the ground~

Also, since the hip joints are independent left and right, you can spread and close the legs.

Rawr~ Action pose with all claws spread wide open

OLD 1/144 Acguy - Thrusting pose. Since the neck is fixed and can't turn, it ends up looking like some kind of cool, stoic at

Thrusting pose. Since the neck is fixed and can't turn, it ends up looking like some kind of cool, stoic attack pose..

Together with the HGUC Acguy.

1/144 Seafood Trio collection

This kit is the Zeon's adorable mecha, the 1/144 Acguy. The molded color is a single dark brown, which gives it a bit of a cockroach (-_-) vibe. Compared to the HGUC Acguy — widely regarded as a legendary masterpiece — it's smaller and the upper/lower body proportions are a bit off..

The highlight of the 1/144 Acguy is definitely the movable claw on the right hand. A whopping 20 parts go into just that one hand, allowing all 6 claws to move individually. The parts are small so assembly is on the tricky side, but for an old-school kit the joints hold up reasonably well and the claw movement feels pretty fresh. The trade-off is that the elbow joint itself is omitted entirely, so arm articulation isn't great — though to be fair, a lot of old 1/144 kits have poor range of motion even when they do have joints, so it's kind of par for the course.

Structurally, a new type of ball joint is used at the shoulders and hips — you can really see the experimental spirit of Bandai's early developers here. The male ball part is wrapped by two female parts and then locked in with a ring, which is actually a pretty decent joint setup. That said, it seems like this approach wasn't used much afterward, probably because the assembly is complicated and requires a lot of parts.

Also, this is one of the first 1/144 kits to feature an openable cockpit hatch. It's not a moving part — you choose between open or closed and glue it down. A cockpit hatch gimmick is a premium feature that's rarely seen even on HGUC kits, so it's pretty meaningful that they pulled it off at 1/144 scale.

Overall the articulation isn't great, so striking a cool pose is tough — but the movable claws alone are enough to pull off a decent look. It's a shame the neck is fixed to the body and can't rotate; if it could turn, you'd be able to get a proper thrusting pose out of it.

Anyway, the Acguy comes across as more bizarre than cute in person, but it's still a solid old-school kit that shows off a lot of the fresh ideas Bandai was experimenting with in the early days of Gunpla. :-) [ Updated at 2016.1.31 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.