OLD First Gundam 1/550 Elmeth

Release 1981.10

Price ¥300

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Runners

Parts diagram

Manual

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Various angles

To attach the landing gear, you need to split the cover in half and attach each piece separately.

Bottom view with the landing gear removed and cover closed.
Of course, you'll need to glue it together..

Comes with 10 bits, the Newtype-exclusive weapons.

The only part that moves is the Mega Particle Cannon.

The same-scale Gelgoog included in the box.

Standing next to the Elmeth.

OLD 1/550 Elmeth - To give the Gelgoog a rifle-holding hand, you need to cut off the existing hand and replace it.. (1/2)

OLD 1/550 Elmeth - To give the Gelgoog a rifle-holding hand, you need to cut off the existing hand and replace it.. (2/2)

To attach the rifle-holding hand to the Gelgoog,
you have to cut off the existing hand and glue on the new one.

OLD 1/550 Elmeth - You can recreate the scene from the show by attaching the right arm without a rifle and cutting away the l

You can recreate the scene from the show by attaching the right arm without a rifle and cutting away the lower left shoulder with a cutter.

The Gelgoog grabbing the Elmeth's tail and flying off.

Together with the predecessors, the Bygro and Grubro.

OLD 1/550 Elmeth - Together with the SD Elmeth that was re-released in 2001. The SD is way bigger and chunkier than the 1/550

Together with the SD Elmeth that was re-released back in 2001.
The SD is way bigger and bulkier compared to the 1/550 scale. ^^;

This is the 1/550 Elmeth, the Newtype-exclusive mobile armor piloted by Lalah. Its exterior has a simple, sleek spacecraft-like shape, and it attacks using 10 bit weapons controlled by the pilot's Newtype abilities.

Given the nature of the craft, the only moving part is the Mega Particle Cannon on top, so there aren't really any poses you can strike — though you do have the option of attaching the landing gear. That said, fitting the landing gear requires a bit of modding where you have to slice the landing gear cover with a knife. A 1/550 Gelgoog is included so you can recreate the scene from the show where it grabs onto the Elmeth and flies away, but doing that requires cutting off the Gelgoog's hand and shoulder depending on the situation, making this a kit that needs quite a bit of optional modding all around.

It's a mobile armor, but at 1/550 it's a pretty small scale, so the kit itself is tiny — it's actually even smaller and more compact than the SD Elmeth, so you could honestly say the 1/550 is even cuter than the SD. That said, the overall proportions and detail definitely have that scale model feel that sets it apart from the SD.

The biggest selling point is that this is the only official injection-molded Elmeth kit outside of the SD line. It's a craft that left quite an impression in the show, so it's definitely a nostalgic kit that'll hit right in the feels for old-school fans. :-)
[ Updated at 2016.5.20 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.