GBT#8-RX 78-2 Gundam

You know how the old saying goes, “Every Legend has a Beginning.”  Before the times of transformations, super forms, and brooding bad boys, there was just one Giant Robot that stood a chance at ending a year long war that devastated humanity.  Last Thursday we looked at the newest iteration of one of the most famous mecha in Anime history.  Today, we take a look at the model all Gundams, and Gunpla, have come from.  And this isn’t just any particular Gunpla build.  This is a special, simple kind, one of the few non High Grades I’ve worked on.  Did I know that at the time? No I didn’t but it was still a learning experience nonetheless.

 
Suit History

During the One Year War of UC0079, the Earth Federation found itself in a stalemate with the Principality of Zeon thanks to Zeon’s use of new Mobile Weapons called Mobile Suits.  At the colony of Side 7, the Federation used the lull in battle to create a trio of prototype Mobile Suits of their own.  Of these three, it would be the RX-78-2 Gundam that would become the most infamous.  While the Gundam was equipped with firepower and armor to rival that of a battleship, it was its pairing with a young civilian named Amuro Ray that would change the course of the war for the Federation.  Thanks to Amuro’s slowly developing abilities as a Newtype, he was able to use the Gundam as a one weapon army against many of Zeon’s best pilots, including Zeon’s greatest Ace: Char Aznable, the Red Comet.  The Gundam would become one of the most feared adversaries of Zeon and take part in several key battles of the One Year Wars final act, including the Battle of Odessa, the Battle of Jaburo and the Battle of Solomon.  The Gundam would meet its end during the final battle of the One Year War, the Battle of A Boa A Qu, where Amuro and his rival, Char, would engage in a duel so ferocious, it resulted in the destruction of both of their Mobile Suits within the bowels of the falling Zeon Fortress.  Both pilots would survive and the RX-78-2 would become a template for several successor Gundam models to follow throughout the next several decades of the Universal Century. 

Build Experience

Back in the Summer of 2022, I was so keen to build any Gunpla I could get my hands on, I never thought to take a look at what kind of Grade I was working on.  There are five major Grade of Gunpla: Beginner/First Grade, High Grade, Master Grade, Real Grade and Perfect Grade.  The higher up you go, the more intricate and difficult the build.  Naturally, as the name might imply, the Beginner Grade as this model is marked is the easiest build one could work on, pretty sure I got this one done in under an hour.  All of the parts can easily be snipped off of their racks and put together.  There weren’t even any decals because all of the colors and smaller details like the eyes were factored into the assembly.  It’s actually kind of crazy how well this one comes together.  The Gunpla looks simply and defininitley not as articulate as higher grades.  You could even say this is the most Kids Toy ish of Gunpla but that’s a little unfair.  The RX-78-2 looks great when put together and has enough pose and flexibility to pull off some nice posing, even the most iconic the Gundam made back in the original series.  Sure it doesn’t look as flashy and pristine as the others I’ve built.  But sometimes you need to go back to basics to test yourself and remember how much fun it is to build Gunpla.  It certainly looks better that some of the ones I worked on in the early 2000’s when I briefly touched Gunpla after Gundam Wing arrived in the States. 

Conclusion/Rating
Call it Baby’s First Gundam or a Gunpla not worth touching because it’s grade is so low, the RX-78-2 Gundam is still a pretty good spot to start building ones Gunpla experience or refining already sharpened skills.  It comes together nice and quick and has enough of the Gundam’s iconic weaponry and pose ability to be more than just an arms at its side basic Mobile Suit.  Standing this up against the Aerial from last week, you can tell this Gunpla isn’t a super advanced one.  But building this one nice and quick and still having fun makes me think I might have to look into advancing a grade with this classic…maybe even jumping to Master Grade, it’s probably not that hard to find.
 
8.5/10

 Next week, we’re taking another break from Gundam Gunpla and looking at a fierce looking son of a gun.  This is a textbook definition of a Final Boss Mobile Suit and one that actually won its final duel with the its rival even if it went down in the process.  What suit am I talking about?  Find out on the next Gunpla Builder Thursday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.