OLD First Gundam 1/250 G-Armor

Release 1984.8

Price ¥600

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Runners

True to its Iropla roots, it uses system injection runners.

The caterpillar tracks are made of soft material.

Includes a black-and-white assembly manual along with one collectible mechanical file card.

Parts diagram

Manual

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

OLD 1/250 G-Armor - G-Armor from various angles. (1/4)

OLD 1/250 G-Armor - G-Armor from various angles. (2/4)

G-Armor from various angles.

Underside

The central body joint is quite solid.

G-Armor fully broken down into pieces. It can be recombined into various different configurations.

Even the side wing rotation gimmick for the G-Armor configuration is faithfully reproduced.

1/250 RX-78 Gundam - Size comparison with a cigarette pack

1/250 RX-78 Gundam

Only the shoulders can rotate.

Even at that tiny size, the Core Block separates.

Small but surprisingly solid and colorful Core Block

OLD 1/250 G-Armor - It also transforms into a Core Fighter. (1/3)

It also transforms into a Core Fighter.

Core Fighter size comparison with a cigarette pack. Can you believe how tiny it is..

Configuration for combining into G-Fighter.

G-Fighter - Size comparison with a cigarette pack

G-Fighter

Only the gun barrel section moves.

Displayed together with the 1/250 RX-78.

Configuration for combining into G-Bull.

G-Bull

Configuration for combining into G-Sky full size.

OLD 1/250 G-Armor - G-Sky Full Size (1/3)

G-Sky Full Size

Configuration for combining into G-Sky Easy.

G-Sky Easy

OLD 1/250 G-Armor - Together with the 1/144 G-Fighter (1/3)

Together with the 1/144 G-Fighter

OLD 1/250 G-Armor - Together with the Core Fighter from the 1/144 G-Armor, which had a very off scale. The difference between

Together with the Core Fighter from the 1/144 G-Armor, which had a very off scale. The difference between 1/144 and 1/250 is massive ;;

Together with the 1/144 RX-78.

OLD 1/250 G-Armor - A commemorative shot together with the fixed-pose RX-78 that came in the same-scale 1/250 diorama model s

A commemorative shot together with the fixed-pose RX-78 that came in the same-scale 1/250 diorama model set.

This kit is the 1/250 G-Armor released in 1984 as part of the Iropla lineup. The Iropla series — the very first system injection lineup — had a total of five kits released, and among them only the G-Armor got a reprint and made it into the official catalog. The Iropla Gundam, Zaku, Char's Zaku, and Gouf released in 1983 were all discontinued and became legendary rare finds. (See the Iropla review for more details.)

As you can see, there are only two runners, yet the color separation is actually better than the 1/144 kits. On top of that, despite the small scale, every single one of the G-Armor's unique transformation gimmicks has been perfectly reproduced without missing a thing.

What's especially impressive is that the Core Block system on the finger-sized 1/250 RX-78 — complete with color separation and transformation functionality — is executed at an MG level of quality. The fact that a Core Block-to-Core Fighter transformation system, something even recent 1/144 HGUC kits haven't bothered to include, was pulled off in a 1/250 scale kit back in 1984... it honestly feels like a smack to the back of the head.

Sure, it doesn't have the clean, polished feel of modern kits, but the overall gimmick execution and structural integrity are well above expectations. You can really feel the developers' burning passion in this thing — it's genuinely surprising that Gunpla had reached this level of quality just four years after it all began...

If I had to nitpick, the Core Block transformation gimmick is so tiny that if you're not careful, the wing sections keep coming apart. Also, the section where you attach and detach the lower caterpillar tracks is a bit stiff, so you'll want to clean it up a little before transforming. But honestly, these are pretty minor things compared to the overall quality of the kit.

Anyway, even though it's a kit from over 30 years ago, it's still genuinely impressive to build today — a true masterpiece in Gunpla history. Color separation and transformation gimmicks at this level, and not even in 1/144 but in the tiny 1/250 scale... If someone asked me to recommend just one kit from the original vintage lineup, I'd pick this 1/250 G-Armor without a second thought. :-)
[ Updated at 2016.7.2 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.