OLD First Gundam 1/550 Grubro

Release 1981.10

Price ¥300

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Runners

Parts diagram

Manual

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

OLD 1/550 Grubro - Views from various angles (1/4)

OLD 1/550 Grubro - Views from various angles (2/4)

Various angles

OLD 1/550 Grubro - The fixing pin where the arms connect to the body is octagonal in shape, so the arms can be locked at set

The fixing pin where the arms connect to the body is octagonal in shape, so the arms can be locked at set angles as you rotate them.

Just like the Bygro, both a closed claw and an open claw are included.

Dedicated stand with the Grubro's name engraved on it

OLD 1/550 Grubro - View from the bottom. The arms can rotate 180°, but the multi-jointed arms themselves have no articulation

View from the bottom. The arms can rotate 180°, but the multi-jointed arms themselves have no articulation in the middle sections.

OLD 1/550 Grubro - Various poses with both arms extended (1/3)

Various poses with both arms extended

OLD 1/550 Grubro - Pose with one arm extended (1/4)

OLD 1/550 Grubro - Pose with one arm extended (2/4)

Pose with one arm extended

Together with its predecessor, the Bygro.

Together with the HGM 1/550 Vbaro, a mobile armor with a similar concept released in 2002.

This kit is the 1/550 Grubro. The name has various English spellings — Grublo, Grabro, Grubro, and so on — though Grubro seems to be the one most commonly used in official contexts these days.

Like the Bygro, the Grubro also sports two long arms, but while the Bygro is designed for space combat, the Grubro is a mobile armor developed for underwater use. Because of that, you can pose it with both arms rotated back as if stowed away for underwater navigation mode. And just like the Bygro, both a closed claw and an open claw are included, so you can choose which one to glue on.

The multi-jointed arms look like they might be articulated at each segment, but in reality there's no articulation beyond the large shoulder rotation. So the two arms can either be extended forward or rotated back to replicate an underwater navigation mode pose. To keep those long arms locked in place properly, octagonal fixing pins are used, allowing rotation and locking at 45° intervals — a nicely thought-out design. There's also a bit of rotation at the claw tips where the claws are attached.

It's not the most feature-packed kit out there, but it's a meaningful release just for the fact that this quirky One Year War Zeon mobile armor got the plastic model treatment. Honestly, it feels like one of those kits you just have to display alongside the Bygro as a pair. :-)
[ Updated at 2016.5.19 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.