OLD First Gundam 1/100 RX-78 Gundam

Release 1980.7

Price ¥700

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Ooh~ the box art for the 1/100 Gundam that brings back all the memories T_T

OLD 1/100 RX-78 Gundam - The bazooka parts are molded in a way that almost looks like you could just snap the whole runner to

The bazooka parts are molded in a way that almost looks like you could just snap the whole runner together as-is.

A clear cellophane sheet to attach to the shield, and a spring part for the rocket cannon.

Parts diagram

Manual

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

The face is a bit off-model, but it's got a certain charming, old-school feel to it.

The vernier detail on the bottom of the feet.

True to the 1/100 scale, the Core Block separates.

Inside the upper and lower body there are internal plates with holes punched through them.

OLD 1/100 RX-78 Gundam - You can plug in a separate peg(?) part to connect the upper and lower body when the Core Block is re

You can plug in a separate peg(?) part to connect the upper and lower body when the Core Block is removed.

That said.. the middle of the waist just floats in the air, so it looks pretty rough T_T

Core Block

OLD 1/100 RX-78 Gundam - The nose and wings can be deployed, but the vertical tail fins and landing gear have to be attached

The nose and wings can be deployed,
but the vertical tail fins and landing gear have to be attached separately.

Transformed into Core Fighter mode

Underside

OLD 1/100 RX-78 Gundam - The pins on the wing hinge are extremely thin, so they break easily if you're not careful during ass

The pins on the wing hinge are extremely thin, so they break easily if you're not careful during assembly.
Back when I built the 1/100 Gundam ages ago, these were the parts I snapped multiple times..

OLD 1/100 RX-78 Gundam - Anyway, I think the real value here is that the Core Block separation and combination gimmick — the

Anyway, I think the real value here is that the Core Block separation and combination gimmick — the Gundam's signature feature — has actually been pulled off.

The weapons included.

The hole at the top of the shield is designed so you attach a clear cellophane sheet on the inside.

Using a separate joint part, you can also mount it on the backpack.

OLD 1/100 RX-78 Gundam - Even looking at it again now, the beam saber storage method is something else.. you have to slide th

Even looking at it again now, the beam saber storage method is something else..
You have to slide the long beam saber part all the way through and pull it out at the vernier position.
Basically giving itself a self-inflicted poke with its own beam saber.. -_-

The bazooka even comes with separate shells that you can load inside.

The rocket cannon — an original weapon exclusive to the 1/100 First Gundam.

OLD 1/100 RX-78 Gundam - There's a spring inside, so you can press the switch to fire the elongated shell. When you actually

There's a spring inside, so you can press the switch to fire the elongated shell.
When you actually shoot it, it flies surprisingly far.

Articulation is, well.. about that level.
The hip joints and ankles don't move at all.

OLD 1/100 RX-78 Gundam - It seems like it might be due to fitting the Core Block in — there are simply no hip joints at all,

It seems like it might be due to fitting the Core Block in — there are simply no hip joints at all.
The thighs have to be glued directly to the lower body..
It was a bit of a head-scratcher when I first built it over 30 years ago, and honestly it still is now.

OLD 1/100 RX-78 Gundam - The connection point where the shoulder meets the arm has an internal locking mechanism, so even whe

The connection point where the shoulder meets the arm has an internal locking mechanism,
so even when you raise the arm out to the side, it holds its position better than you'd expect.

OLD 1/100 RX-78 Gundam - The shoulder-to-torso connection uses an octagonal shoulder pin design, which lets the arm click and

The shoulder-to-torso connection uses an octagonal shoulder pin design,
which lets the arm click and hold at various angles when rotated.

Inside the hand there's a cylindrical structure to help grip weapons securely.

Cross-section of the arm and leg joints.

OLD 1/100 RX-78 Gundam - Beam rifle firing pose (1/3)

Beam rifle firing pose

Beam saber action pose

Bazooka pose.
No matter what you try, you just can't get a decent-looking stance out of it.. T_T

Rocket cannon firing pose

Together with the 1/144 original RX-78 Gundam.

Together with the MG First Gundam v1.0, released 15 years later in 1995.

Together with the First Gundam v2.0, released in 2008.

Together with the First Gundam v3.0, released in 2013.

OLD 1/100 RX-78 Gundam - The evolution of the 1/100 First Gundam through the years. A truly iconic photo showing how Gunpla h

The evolution of the 1/100 First Gundam through the years.
A truly iconic photo showing how Gunpla has changed over time..

The very first Gunpla was released in July 1980 — the 1/144 First Gundam and the 1/100 First Gundam. The 1/100 First Gundam holds a special place in history as the very first Gunpla, one that aimed to recreate various design gimmicks at a larger scale than the 1/144.

On January 1st, 1982, I was an elementary school kid who grabbed my New Year's money and ran straight to the corner stationery shop to buy and build the Academy version of the "1/100 Mobile Suit Gundam." That was my very first Gunpla. I think it cost around 1,000 won at the time — I still vividly remember staring at it through the shop window every single day, telling myself: someday, I'm gonna buy that thing!!

Anyway, as someone who's been building Bandai Gunpla for over 30 years, this kit holds a special place for me — and here in 2016, 34 years later, I finally got to build the original Bandai 1/100 First Gundam and take a proper nostalgic trip down memory lane. Back when I first built it, I was already thrown off by having to glue the thighs directly to the lower body with no hip joint, and the whole awkward peg connecting the upper and lower body after removing the Core Block was pretty baffling too.. but even so, compared to all the other goofy robot kits of the time, this thing was remembered as an incredibly cool mech.

Being the very first Gunpla, the color separation is almost nonexistent, so once assembled it just looks plain white all over. The white base color does make it easy to paint, but compared to most of the other 1/100 old-kit Gunpla released afterward — which actually had decent color separation — it's a little disappointing.

Still, the fact that it pulled off Core Block combination and Core Fighter transformation — something the 1/144 couldn't even attempt — was pretty groundbreaking at the time. And one of the old-kit's unique charms (???) is that when combined with the upper and lower body, the Core Fighter is just fully exposed on the side. Then there's the whole thing where after removing the Core Block, you connect the upper and lower body with that weird peg — honestly, there are no words for how that looks.. ^^;;

In trying to fit the Core Block in, it seems like there just wasn't enough room inside the body — which is why this kit is also notorious for having you glue the thighs directly to the lower body with no hip joint whatsoever. The 1/144 First Gundam actually had movable hip joints, so I guess even at 1/100 scale, the technology of the time just couldn't accommodate both joints and the Core Block. On top of that, the ankles are also molded as one piece with the legs with no joint at all, so leg articulation basically comes down to just a slight bend at the knee.

The arms, on the other hand, do have at least some movement — and it's actually pretty clever how they used the octagonal pin and internal locking pins to achieve shoulder joint stability. Without polycaps, getting the right friction balance with just plastic-on-plastic joints must have been really tricky, but they found a pretty smart solution.

Beyond that, there's also the fun detail of the beam saber storage going all the way through the backpack and out the bottom, and the clear cellophane-like material stuck over the hole at the top of the shield to represent a window — both pretty unique touches. There's even a rocket cannon that wasn't in the original show, complete with a spring-loaded missile-firing gimmick that feels like something straight out of an SD kit. All in all, there are plenty of old-kit quirks to enjoy here.

At this point, critiquing the quality of the very first Gunpla in history feels beside the point — this is something I'd recommend any old-school Gunpla fan build at least once, just for the nostalgia. It really drives home what it means for memories to come flooding back, and it was a genuinely happy time getting to step back into the romance of the 80s, even just for a little while. :-)
[ Updated at 2016.3.23 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.