Gundam HGUC RX-78-2 Gundam Revive: Gunpla Beginning!

 This time around I'll be taking a look at my first Mobile Suit Gundam model kit based on the grandfather of all Gundams, the High Grade RX-78-2 Gundam Revive version!

Aesthetics:

This figure perfectly captures the essence of the Gundam's appearance, while also streamlining the shape and giving the Gundam a more heroic shape, with the narrow waste, flaring shoulders and long legs also adding to his anime aesthetic. The bright primary colours of blue, yellow and red also pop extremely well on the white base and add to the retro cartoon look. Although the majority of the figure is made up of basic colours with flat surfaces, there are some nice sculpted details in various places which adds to the feel that this is meant to be a gigantic mecha. The colours are also broken up by some nice dark grey in the various joints, which makes it feel more technical than organic. Like previously mentioned the feel of the Gundam captures its iconicity perfectly.

Articulation:

The articulation on this guy is very good, partially due to the use of well integrated ball joints and other tricks, here's the rundown:

• 
  
  Head is on a ball joint which can hinge backwards and forwards
• Ball joint shoulders go out 90', an the shoulder pads move up further for more natural upward movement.
• Double jointed elbows
• Wrist can turn, and the ball joint can be pulled out further for additional tilt
• Slight ab crunch
• Waist swivel that is somewhat prohibited by the waist parts
• Outward leg movement is restricted by the hip skirt, allowing it to only go to 45' of its full range
• Over 90' forward leg movement, although the front skirt is connected so both sides lift up at the same time.
• Thigh swivel
• Extreme knee joint, can kick his back (although not his robutt due to the length of his legs)
• Ankle shifts back and forth, with some slight side to side

Accessories and Features:

The Gundam comes with practically all of the basic accessories necessary for cool poses, although it's not every weapon it used in the series, which I'm still fine with. The HG RX-78-2 includes a pair of open hands, a pair of closed hands with a hole for holding the beam sabers and shield and a right gun-holding hand for the beam rifle and bazooka. He also includes two beam saber handles, two beam saber beams, a beam rifle which has a molded yellow scope and flip out handle for two handed wielding, the shield which attaches to the Gundam's forearm and has a handle that slots into the hand., the bazooka and a bracket for attaching the bazooka to the Gundam's back.

Features-wise, there isn't much aside from the great articulation, aside from a few cool uses of weapon storage. The beam saber handles can slot into the top of the backpack, the shield attaches to a hole on his back and the bazooka can attach to his back skirt by replacing the back with a special bracket piece.

Comparisons:

The HG RX-78-2 Gundam stands at about 5 1/18 inches or 13 centimetres tall which right size for an 18 metre mecha in the 1/144 scale and is about the average size of most mobile suits (partly because this one is the original).

Here it is with some other figures from Japan in my collection, Shodo-X Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and Figure-Rise Standard Kamen Rider Ex-Aid:

And here's the Gundam with some other figures of robots, including Transformers Earthrise Leader Class Optimus Prime (which is around 1/35 scale) and Jazwares Fortnite Legendary Series Sentinel (which is a roughly 6" figure in 1/12 scale):

Final Verdict:

Overall I very much like this guy and would recommend him as an entry point into the world of Gunpla (Gundam Plastic Models) unless someone really doesn't want to buy nippers, in which case go for the Entry Grade version. While some pieces such as the headcrest, beam saber handles and the bazooka brackets are quite loose, this is still a great figure and model kit, with a great balance between complexity and build difficulty, especially for it's price.

Score: 8/10