OLD First Gundam 1/100 Guncannon

Release 1981.3

Price ¥700

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

The red runners are not wrapped in plastic bags.

Parts diagram

Manual

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Just like the 1/100 First Gundam, the Core Block can be separated.

Unlike the First Gundam, the upper and lower body can be joined together even without the Core Block.

OLD 1/100 Guncannon - Same as before — you still need to attach the vertical tail fin and landing gear separately for the Co

Same as before — you still need to attach the vertical tail fin and landing gear separately for the Core Fighter.

Transformed into Core Fighter mode

Bottom view. Look closely and you'll notice it's a bit different from the First Gundam's.

OLD 1/100 Guncannon - Alongside the 1/100 First Gundam's Core Fighter (left). At first glance it looks like reused parts, bu

Alongside the 1/100 First Gundam's Core Fighter (left). At first glance it looks like reused parts, but it's actually a different sculpt.

The nose section is clearly different, and even the rear verniers have different molding.

OLD 1/100 Guncannon - Most tellingly, the underside shows different treatment around the nose bottom, and the landing gear p

Most tellingly, the underside shows different treatment around the nose bottom, and the landing gear positions are different too — it's an entirely new design overall.

OLD 1/100 Guncannon - Unlike the 1/100 First Gundam, you can pull the Core Block/Core Fighter out of the body cleanly, which

Unlike the 1/100 First Gundam, you can pull the Core Block/Core Fighter out of the body cleanly, which is nice. ^^

The rifle is molded together with the hand as a single piece.

The cannon can also be swapped out for a missile launcher.

The basic bend articulation on the arms and legs is not great..

Still, those round shoulders do raise out to the side by about that much.

OLD 1/100 Guncannon - The internal joint structure of the limbs is unusual — it uses a kind of skeletal joint system. It fee

The internal joint structure of the limbs is unusual — it uses a kind of skeletal joint system. It feels like a bold new attempt, but... the range of motion ends up being narrower than expected, and the joint strength tuning seems to have missed the mark..

OLD 1/100 Guncannon - The shoulder connection structure is particularly unique — you can pop them in and out just like plugg

The shoulder connection structure is particularly unique — you can pop them in and out just like plugging and unplugging an earphone jack.

The beam cannons can articulate about 90 degrees.

Separate hip joint pins are used, so the legs can spread apart ever so slightly ..;;;

Some action poses

OLD 1/100 Guncannon - Rifle shooting pose (1/2)

OLD 1/100 Guncannon - Rifle shooting pose (2/2)

Rifle firing pose

OLD 1/100 Guncannon - Missile launcher firing pose (1/3)

Missile launcher firing pose

Together with the 1/100 First Gundam.

Together with the 1/144 Guncannon

Together with the MG Guncannon.

The old 1/100 Guncannon released in 1981 shows the typical old-kit proportions — wide-set shoulders and straight, stiff legs. It's an old-school attention stance, but there's something charming about it.

Compared to the 1/144 Guncannon which came out as a plain single red color, the 1/100 has quite a bit more color separation going on. For some reason though, the beam cannons on the shoulders — which should be gray — are molded in the same white as the head. I wondered why they'd mold them in such an odd color when there's already a gray runner, and then it hit me: the swappable rocket launchers are originally white, so they probably just lumped everything together onto one runner.

That said, even in a straight straight build the color separation does make it look decent enough — but this kit has some real issues in the joints department. The bend articulation on the arms and legs is barely any better than the 1/144, with each joint feeling like it moves maybe 15 degrees rather than anywhere near 90. That's actually even less range of motion than the chubby Dom that came before it.

Joint strength is honestly the worst of any old 1/100 kit — the lower body is so loose from the hips all the way down through the knees and ankles that it's hard to even keep it standing upright. On the flip side, the elbows are stiffer than they need to be, to the point where you worry the internal skeletal joints might snap during posing. The joint strength balance is just all over the place. Without doing some serious joint rework, this kit is going to leave you frustrated in a lot of ways with a straight build.

The one standout feature of the 1/100 Guncannon is that it recreates the Core Block/Core Fighter, just like the 1/100 First Gundam — and what's mildly surprising is that rather than reusing the First Gundam's Core Block, they actually designed a brand new one. It doesn't look drastically different at first glance, but look closely and the nose, landing gear, verniers and so on are all completely different sculpts. The color separation is actually less than on the 1/100 First Gundam though, so it comes out looking pretty plain and washed-out, which is a bit of a letdown.. Still, you could say it's at least a subtle, slight upgrade over the previous Core Fighter.

Most importantly, unlike the 1/100 First Gundam where removing the Core Block left you unable to put together a proper-looking MS on its own, the 1/100 Guncannon lets you join the upper and lower body directly even without the Core Block, so you can display it looking perfectly normal. Honestly, this is how it should work — the Core Block handling on the 1/100 First Gundam was the weird one, if you ask me...

On top of that, the kit does put some effort into recreating the lore with features like the swappable beam cannons and rocket launchers. But in terms of joint structure — articulation and joint strength — this is about as bad as it gets, and it's an old kit I really can't recommend to anyone who isn't into serious modding and painting. :-)
[ Updated at 2016.3.25 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.