It’s the third Entry Grade Gundam kit review on Robotic Drift! And so, what with three being the magic number and all, there’s no better time to finally tackle Grandpa – the EG RX-78-2 Mobile Suit Gundam.
This review is for the standard RX-78-2 with beam rifle and shield. There is another version of this EG kit with a bigger weapons build out; keep your eyes peeled for that review as soon as I get round to building it.
I purchased this kit via click and collect from Hobbycraft.
Inside the box you get two baggies, each containing two runners in five different colours. The off-white pieces, which make up the bulk of the Mobile Suit’s armour, get their own separate runners from the other colours. Then there’s the instructions as well – full colour one side, greyscale on the other.
As with the other Entry Grade kits the box suggests that you don’t need to use nippers, but it’s gonna be quicker and cleaner if you do.
“Quicker” and “cleaner” are the operative words for how I’m tackling this build. Firstly I’ve seen people online saying that they’re building these Entry Grade Gundam kits in 30-odd minutes. That seems bonkers to me, but then again I’m literally owning being a noob at this. So for one thing, I’m aiming to bring the build time down from my usual 1-2 hours.
Secondly, because I have another copy of this kit ready to build with the full weapons load out version, I’m going to be a little more laissez-faire with cleaning up the nub marks on this one. Rather than leave a bigger gate and trimming down with a knife, as I have been, I’m going to cut close to the part and tidy up any excess with a combo of the knife and my file.
Let’s see how that goes.
The Build
First things first, I’ve learned from experience and started with the legs.
These are straightforward enough. I did find that the floating ankle guard seemed out of position on the left leg, so I took that off its ball peg and put it back on upside down to how I originally had it. There’s no specific way to put these shown in the instructions, so it may have made no difference… but it looks better to me.
The rest of the legs were very easy. The lines where the thigh armour pieces meet seems a little rough to me, but that’s down to the unfortunate nub placement and my heavy-handed filing. More on that later… 😓
The waist is where we see our first examples of the clean colour separation the Entry Grade line has shown so far, with the yellow and red pieces fitting together cleanly within the hip structure.
The torso continues this layered approach, with the blue armour plates fitting over the yellow vents and red abdomen.
The backpack is very neat. This has the Gundam’s jets, working beam saber storage, and a peg hole for the shield. When cleaning up the nub mark I saw that this grey plastic is more rubbery than the rest of the build and more prone to scratching with even a light filing.
Duly noted, right? 😬
After this it was time to tackle the head. More great colour separation, but what really struck me was how small some of these instantly-recognisable parts are in isolation.
As it was, I was really happy with the way the head came together. It was worth waiting for!
The last bit of the main build was the arms. These are super straightforward, very much like the legs but without the added “complexity” of the feet.
The hands are simple single pieces in a gripping pose. As such, they look a little bit weird when empty.
With the addition of the shoulder guards, the main build is done.
Next up: weapons!
This may be the lightweight EG RX-78-2 release, but that doesn’t mean it’s unarmed.
The shield is three colour separated parts that clip together, with an additional grey adjustable handle on a peg.
The beam rifle is three grey parts: the two halves of the rifle, and the sight.
Unfortunately this was the last part I built, and it’s where I came the most unstuck. The nub marks on the top of the rifle were very obvious, and needed some work. However, I forgot about my experience with the backpack, and how soft this grey plastic is. I got a *touch* overzealous with the filing and, well, this happened:
That’s some serious localised texturing. Ah well. It’s something to get right next time.
Anyway, let’s stop the clock. Excluding time spent taking photos and a misadventure with panel liners (which I’ll revisit at a later point), this build probably took me about 50 minutes from start to finish. So not quite a 30 minute mission, but not a HG build either.
The Model
The completed build looks phenomenal. The proportions are superb, the colours are wonderful.
The articulation is really impressive for the grade, with shoulders, elbows and knees that bend well over 90 degrees, free moving hips thanks to the articulated hip plates, and solid ankle tilts. The neck articulation is superb as well, allowing a full tilted-back flying pose.
One of my favourite moves is the fact that the Gundam can actually reach – and hold – the beam saber handle in its backpack.
Speaking of weapons storage, the shield can be mounted on the Gundam’s arm using the removable handle, giving it a fixed position, or the handle can be removed to provide some rotation from the peg joint.
However, to my mind it looks best when stored on the Gundam’s back, using the peg hole in the backpack. That gives it a mighty-looking silhouette.
The beam rifle doesn’t provide the same options; the EG RX-78-2 can hold it one-handed and that’s about it. The articulation doesn’t allow for a comfortable two-handed weapon grip, and even if it did, then the inarticulate hands would work against that anyway.
Regardless, overall this kit gives you some fantastic posing options.
Final Thoughts
Honestly I overthought tackling this kit, just a little, because of the significance of the RX-78-2 Mobile Suit. But I really should have just jumped straight in.
This build is quick, fun, and leaves you with a great, highly-playable model action figure at the end of it. And ultimately, even though there are one or two bits I would do again a bit differently… at £10 a pop, that’s an opportunity I’m going to take.
If anything, this build has reminded me to focus on technique first, and speed second. And while I’m still really happy with the output, that’s a good lesson to learn at this stage of my Gunpla journey.
The EG RX-78-2 Mobile Suit Gundam is widely available. Buy one – heck, buy three – and get stuck in for yourself!
Next Up In NBG04: EG RX-78-2 Gundam (+ Full Weapon Set)
