Mega Size RX-78-2 Gundam (Gunpla 30th Anniversary)

Review by Shogundan

It's almost hard to believe that the hobby of building Gundam model kits have been around for 30 years. Especially when you consider that it has only been popular in the US for the last 10 or 15 years. Thirty years is a long time... so how do you commemorate such an event?

Simple, you build a huge model kit of the robot that started it all! Today, I will be reviewing Bandai's 1/48 scale Mega Size Gundam RX-78-2 model kit.

This model was released to commemorate the 30th anniversary of "Gunpla" or Gundam plastic model building.

Todays 1/48 Mega Size RX-78-2 Gundam arrives courtesy of HobbyLink Japan  

THE BOX

Ah, the box, the first thing you see when making almost any purchase. Let just say that this particular box does not disappoint! It is HUGE! The dimensions are 4.5" deep X 12.5" high X 23" long. The box is beautifully decorated with eye-catching, colorful photos of the finished model kit.

So, whats inside?

Upon opening this massive box you will find three separate compartments with all parts molded in color. Since the parts are molded in color, the kit doesn't require painting to enjoy. As if this kit wasn't user-friendly enough, it also doesn't require glue!

Another nice feature is that this kits directions are full color and very easy to follow because of the clear, concise pictures. I know I said that this kit doesn't require paint but, If you feel the need you can take tips from the included issue of Dengeki Hobby that is completely dedicated to the building and detailing of this particular model.

The build

I took the minimalist approach of building this figure. I wanted to let the readers see how cool this kit is without any decals or paint detail. The building of this kit is easy enough for the novice builder but still challenging enough that a professional Gunpla model builder will still have fun. The kit's build is basically broken down into components, feet, legs, waist, torso and so on. All the sprues are clearly marked, making it very easy to find your way around. The kit also included a special tool used for breaking the parts from the sprue (not shown). The tool is actually kinda redundant and hardly worth mentioning as the parts are very easily detached from their sprues. You can expect this build to take about an hour and a half of your time if you take the minimalist build approach (again, no decals or paint) Here is what you get when you put together all the components but not assemble the figure. You can get the feel of the build looking at this break down of the figure. You can see that it has 2 sets of hands, two beam sabers, rifle, and shield. Unfortunately no mace or bazooka.

The completed model, or is it a toy?

Once you put all the separate pieces together you are left with a very impressive figure. The completed RX-78-2 stands a full 15" tall and weighs in at a hefty 1lbs. 7oz. The plastic feels very sturdy and most joints have a slight detent from the cogged polycaps that are used in the joints. The polycap joints are nice and tight, making the figure feels very solid and toy like. You can actually play with this model and pose it in some pretty cool dynamic poses. The great pose-ability is a direct result of this figure having no less than 22 points of articulation. I've heard people compare this kit to being a large MG Gundam kit. I have to disagree, I have built MG models before and this thing is way better! The plastic quality is better and the level of detail is better, plus the finished model is much more toy like.

I love the ease of posing this figure for the pictures. It looks fantastic holding its beam rifle. I really liked the look of the head on, two handed rifle holding pose.

The RX-78-2 also looks pretty bad-ass when he wields his beam saber and shield.

What's better than one beam saber? how about the RX-78-2 wielding two beam sabers!

Check out these heads shots, Note the detail and the yellow translucent eyes. Too bad the eyes don't have a light-up feature.

In these next three photos, I took pictures looking up at the figure to give you a sense of the RX-78-2's impressive size. I have to say that this toy loves the camera. I found it very easy to take cool pictures of this Gundam.

So, how does this Gundam compare in size with other toys?

As you can clearly see, Yamato's 1/12 Red Shoulder Scope Dog comes up short next to the Mega Size Gundam RX-78-2.

Toynami's 1/100 Battlepod wouldn't even stand a chance!

Conclusion

I would have to say that I absolutely love this model/toy. I had a great time building it and even more fun fiddling around with it when taking the pictures. I encourage anyone to get this if you are hardcore or even a casual Gundam fan like myself. you really get the best of both worlds, a fun build, and a great toy to display in your collection.

You can get you very own 1/48 Mega Size RX-78-2 Gundam at HobbyLink Japan!