OLD IROPLA 1/250 RX-78-2 Gundam

Release 1983.7

Price ¥200

It's a small, thin box that slides open from the side.

OLD 1/250 RX-78-2 Gundam - Iropla group box shot, all 4 kits (1/4)

OLD 1/250 RX-78-2 Gundam - Iropla group box shot, all 4 kits (2/4)

Iropla group box shot, all 4 kits

Runners

Comes with a black-and-white manual along with an Iropla flyer.

OLD 1/250 RX-78-2 Gundam - There's a packet of glue included, sealed in a little plastic pouch just like a ramen seasoning pa

There's a packet of glue included, sealed in a little plastic pouch just like a ramen seasoning packet. You snip one end off to squeeze it out — now THAT'S old-school.

Parts diagram

Manual

Iropla idea submission flyer

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

The beam rifle is molded together with the hand as one piece, but the shield is removable.

Articulation is better than expected, but the joint strength is extremely stiff.

OLD 1/250 RX-78-2 Gundam - Action pose (1/4)

OLD 1/250 RX-78-2 Gundam - Action pose (2/4)

Action pose

Together with the old 1/144 RX-78 Gundam.

Together with the First Gundam included in the 1/250 G-Armor.

OLD 1/250 RX-78-2 Gundam - Comparison with various small-scale injection First Gundams. Cup-pla, Gunpla Collection, Speed Gra

Comparison with various small-scale injection First Gundams. Cup-pla, Gunpla Collection, Speed Grade — they all had tiny little scales like these back in the day.

--- Iropla — General Notes -----------------
The Iropla line was an experimental series of four 1/250 mini Gunpla kits released in 1983, and they were the very first kits to use system injection (multi-color molding). Tiny as they are, each kit was molded in multiple colors on a single runner, which caused quite a sensation at the time. The line was eventually discontinued and dropped from Bandai's official catalog — making it a true piece of Gunpla history.

The lineup consisted of four kits: Gundam, Zaku, Char's Zaku, and Gouf. Then in 1984, a fifth Iropla kit — the 1/250 G-Armor — was released, and that one has been reprinted and remains listed in the official catalog to this day. As you can see, the color separation achieved at such a tiny scale was genuinely impressive for the time. That said, old-kit is old-kit — the proportions and detail are pretty rough. Articulation is decent enough for the size, but the joints are so stiff you'd genuinely worry about breaking something while posing it.

Inside the box you'll also find a wonderfully retro glue packet in a plastic pouch — you snip one end and squeeze it out. Given the era, every single part has to be glued together, making this about as old-school as old-school gets.
------------------------------------------------------

This is the 1/250 RX-78 First Gundam, released as Iropla No. 1. As mentioned in the general notes, it's one of those discontinued rare finds, and it's the very first Bandai kit to use system injection (multi-color molding) runners. Thanks to that, the straight build looks surprisingly good for such a small scale — though those droopy, slumped shoulders do give it a certain rustic charm. The downside is that you have to glue every tiny part one by one, so getting a clean build without glue marks is pretty tough.

Still, it's pretty amazing that a color-separated mini Gunpla like this existed all the way back in the early '80s. You can't really judge a kit like this by today's standards, and it's not easy to get your hands on one anyway — so just sit back and appreciate that something like this once existed. Either way, it feels like the starting point of Bandai's new-technology spirit in Gunpla, and that experimental boldness really shines through. :-)
[ Updated at 2021.12.1 ]

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.