| GFF #0015 RX-78-1 Prototype Gundam (no picture available)
Series: Gundam Fix Figuration (GFF) Title: RX-78-1 Prototype Gundam Release Date: 06/2003 Suggested Price: ¥ 3680 No. of Parts: 30+ Plastic colors: gray, dark brown, white, red, black Gimmicks: Prototype Gundam, various "prototype" weapons, Heavy Gundam armor
Contributor: Winn Sevilla Date: July 4, 2004 I'm not exactly a fan of MSV (Mobile Suit Variations) designs, but I am a fan of Katoki Hajime's design styles. Simply put, Katoki's blockish, detailed redesigns of the original lineart looks good to me all the time. I've always been wanting to acquire a fix figuration of the RX-78 Gundam, as I've always made choices between the RX-78-2 or RX-78-3 that comes bundled with the G-Armor support craft system but never went on with the plan because of the expensive price. When the RX-78-1 Prototype Gundam + Heavy Gundam armor system was scheduled for release, I was in doubt because I've read complaints of the fix's armor systems for the RX-78 series were horrible, along with my annoyingly irritating experience with Richie Ramos' Perfect Gundam. Still, I've managed to order it via a local supplier and after a few days after its release, I was quite pleased with it. The RX-78-1 Gundam was the first unit under the RX-78 series under the Earth Federation's attempt in producing Mobile Suits through the top-secret "Project V." Manufactured on their headquarters in Jaburo, it featured beam weaponry that was supposedly exclusive to battleships and luna-titanium armor. Pleased with its capabilities and performance, research was approved on Side 7. The "Heavy Gundam" type was the improved version of the "Full Armor Gundam", where engineers managed to lay out possible upgrades and performance boosts to the impressive RX-78-2 Gundam. Previously the Full Armor Gundam design concept was superior in firepower, but lagged the performance tremendously that it was scrapped. The Heavy Gundam's new design sported thicker armor and added verniers to compensate for the weight, a shell firing cannon, a beam saber for close combat and a "heavy launcher" that consists of a Gatling gun & missile launchers. Despite the success of researchers on the massive improvement, the plan was never put into action since the RX-78-2 Gundam managed to defeat Zeon's latest weapons successfully. Box art- The figure is displayed in the same concept as all fix figurations, with the RX-78-1 figure in front and the Heavy Gundam components on its side and rear. The rear shows images of the Prototype Gundam & the Heavy Gundam's arsenal and features.Prototype Gundam- Simply a design variant of the Ver.Ka. Gundam that was featured in the RX-78-2, RX-78-3 & G-Armor fix figurations, I am both pleased and unpleased with it. The figure itself is marvelous in design and articulation, but it is a sign that shows that Bandai has evidently recast the molds originally meant for the G-Armor set to ease production costs.
Ver.Ka. to be precise. Details are good and articulation is as well.
The torso itself has great details & decals all over it, for a fix figuration. The crotch's side skirt armors are ball jointed, giving the legs some extra articulation while the front skirts are sadly, not. Now, this is one major reason why I'm quite pissed at Bandai... As an RX-78 Gundam figure that was assigned on both G-2 & G-3 G-Armor fix figurations, the torso has a feature that enables the upper & lower to be separated and join with the G-Armor system producing different variations. The upper torso can be separated from the lower, where there is no form of a secure connection! ADD the stiffness of the arms when playing/posing with it, you eventually end up separating the upper torso from the lower! - be it basic Gundam or heavy Gundam! The least Bandai should've done is to glue the upper & lower torso DURING THE PRODUCTION LINES SINCE THIS IS NOT A G-ARMOR FIGURE! I plan to eventually glue the torso as one permanently. Typically a standard Ver.Ka. backpack padded with details galore, the sockets for both beam sabers can be removed as a requirement for the Heavy Gundam conversion.
The arms are rather impressive in terms of design since it does reflect the prototype version's arm design. Stiffly jointed, the shoulder-torso connection is good but too good, that it will eventually lead to problems, which I will discuss further. The elbow isn't exactly a 90-degree articulation too. The hands are connected via stiff ball joints and comes in 4 different sets: a pair closed, a pair for the sabers, a pair for the prototype beam rifle, prototype beam spray gun and hyper bazooka. Details are extremely good.
Jointed in a way wherein you can pose both legs sideways to a particular angle is something for this fix. The knee articulation isn't double jointed, but the ankle is - since it is based from the G-Armor RX-78, the foot articulation is good. Details-wise, it's excellent as well.
Prototype beam rifle with grenade launcher- Impressive. By the looks of it, it really does look like a typical prototype beam rifle, I'll be damned if Bandai recast a basic beam rifle to lessen production costs. What makes this more impressive is the grenade launcher that can be attached to it! Lovely! Prototype beam spray gun- Another impressive design. The beam spray gun looks good and really looks a prototype version. It looks somewhat piddly too. Beam sabers- FINALLY! The beam saber blades are well molded and look cool! The figure itself holds them firmly as well. Beam javelin- The Javelin is long, detailed and pointy. G-Hammer- What a bonus! The G-Hammer itself is nicely chained and provided that you have a grudge against someone, you can kill that person because the spikes in this weapon are quite pointy. Hyper bazooka- Eventually based from the G-3 G-Armor set, the Hyper Bazooka looks good with its detailed sensor. Only concern here is that its somewhat awkward when held. Bandai should've at least provided a special hand for it. Shield- Based from the G-Armor bundle, the set comes in two types of shields, one without the star and one with it. Supplied with an arm brace with hugs the contours of the arms, connection is perfect. One less thing though, they should've at least articulated the brace like the MSiA ver.2.0.
For those who acquired the Full Armor Gundam & Perfect Gundam fix figurations, don't expect the same mistakes on this armor conversion. For the record, I'm proud to say Bandai eventually learned and applied various problems involving armor conversion systems. Head- Simply swap the prototype head with the Heavy Gundam head. The details on the HG head is very impressive and well articulated as well.
Comparing the previous Fix Figurations of armor conversions (Full Armor Gundam, Perfect Gundam), I would be proud to say that this one finally learned its lesson. The fine engineering and application of new ideas incorporated in the armor conversion are wholly impressive and admirable, since it does cancel out the previous "armored gundam" releases' issues. But still, seeing that Bandai utilized a previous design's feature (G-Armor RX-78's detachable upper & lower torso) which was not taken care of is somewhat a disappointment since it doesn't necessarily need that feature anymore. Of course, it can be remedied with a little gluing, so I wont really it make that much of a negative point for this review. ^_^ If you're afraid of the previous incarnations of the armored gundams, then don't be afraid this time - this one is reincarnated to perfection and well worth having! |