OLD First Gundam 1/100 Gouf

Release 1981.12

Price ¥800

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Note that some runners are not individually wrapped in plastic bags.

Parts diagram

Manual

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

OLD 1/100 Gouf - Just like the previous Char's Zaku, the eye background parts are split, and the mono-eye is handled with a s

Just like the previous Char's Zaku, the eye background parts are split, and the mono-eye is handled with a sticker.

The soles of the feet are completely plain~

The wrist joint uses a pipe-type part, allowing the hands to be swapped out.

OLD 1/100 Gouf - The forearm and shoulder joints use the same fixed pin and rotating plate glue-together construction as the

The forearm and shoulder joints use the same fixed pin and rotating plate glue-together construction as the 1/100 Zaku.

OLD 1/100 Gouf - The ankle uses a cross-shaped joint part that allows movement in four directions. This is actually a joint t

The ankle uses a cross-shaped joint part that allows movement in four directions. This is actually a joint that wasn't even on the Zaku — a nice new addition.

OLD 1/100 Gouf - Two different Heat Rod shapes are included along with a Heat Saber. The Heat Saber even has color separation

Two different Heat Rod shapes are included along with a Heat Saber. The Heat Saber even has color separation all the way down to the handle.

The articulation is quite a bit worse than the Zaku.

The shoulders and legs can spread out to the sides about this much.

Heat rod action pose

Finger Vulcan firing pose

OLD 1/100 Gouf - Heat Saber action pose (1/3)

Heat Saber action pose

Together with the 1/144 Gouf

Together with the 1/100 Char's Zaku.

Together with the MG Gouf v1.0 released in 2000.

Together with the MG Gouf v2.0 released in 2009.

The history of the 1/100 Gouf

Following the old 1/100 Char's Zaku, the 1/100 Gouf was released, and as you'd expect from a mobile suit that shares a similar platform with the Zaku, it's built with a very similar construction.

For starters, key areas like the chest plate, knees, and soles of the feet have color separation just like the Zaku, and the mono-eye setup — where you stick a mono-eye sticker onto a dark-colored part — is completely identical. That said, the sculpt feels a bit weaker than the Zaku somehow, and overall the 1/100 Zaku head just looks more polished.

The shoulder and forearm joints also use the same fixed pin and rotating plate glue-together construction as the 1/100 Zaku, but the ankle joint is actually a step up from the Zaku's design. Unlike the Zaku's feet, which were simply fixed on both sides and only moved forward and backward, the Gouf's feet have a separate cross-shaped joint part added, allowing the ankles to move in all four directions. The catch, though, is that the range of motion is so narrow that it's practically no different from the Zaku's.. (ahem)

It's nice to see new technical ideas being tried even if the results aren't that impressive, but the problem is that the range of motion on key joints like the elbows and knees is actually narrower than the Zaku's. So overall this kit is harder to pose than the Zaku — though the unique Heat Rod weapon does help make up for it to some extent.

The Heat Rod comes in two sizes and can be swapped out, but the attachment point feels a bit flimsy, so you'll probably want to glue it in place. The Heat Saber surprisingly has color separation all the way to the handle, which was a pleasant shock. And while the Heat Saber should technically be stored inside the shield, unfortunately that's not possible with this old 1/100 Gouf.

To sum it up — this kit carries over the structural strengths of the 1/100 Zaku and adds a few small upgrades, but the overall quality feels a notch below the 1/100 Zaku. The hip joint range of motion is especially frustrating, though to be fair that's a recurring issue with the Gouf design in general, and you'll see the same thing in later Gouf kits too.

Anyway, it's a step down in quality from the Zaku, but it's still one of the better old 1/100 kits out there and a pretty well-known mobile suit — so for old-school fans, it's definitely worth a build :-)
[ Updated at 2016.4.2 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.