Entry Grade RX-78-2 Gundam Gunpla Unboxing & Review

The Gundam that started it all!

My first written Gunpla Review EVER!
*Ahem* Hmmm. Alright, let's get to the unboxing. But, first, let's take a look at the box.

Jump past the break for the full unboxing and review details!

Unboxing:

Front Cover

For the front cover, we have the "White Devil" in outer space here in a cool and dynamic pose. The Gundam's name, model number, and the scale of the figure (which is 1:144) is located just below that. On the upper left portion of the box, we can see that this is from the "Entry Grade" series of Gundam Model Kits.

The first Gundam that gets to be reviewed by me!

The Entry Grade series is somewhat similar to non-graded Gunpla Kits (usually referred to as "No Grade" Kits, as far as I know) in that it has limited articulation and considerably less detail when compared to High Grade [HG] and Master Grade [MG] Kits. However, these kits are more inferior to No Grade Kits. But, we'll get into that in just a moment.

It costs around ₱230. Very Cheap.

You probably also noticed the price tag that I wasn't able to remove. I bought this for ₱230 in our country, which is around $3-5 or ¥400-500. I actually wanted to remove the price tag before the review, but it just doesn't want to come off. So, I left it there because I also don't want to damage the box. I love boxes.

Other kits from the Entry Grade kit series.

Checking the left side of the box, you'll see pictures of other kits from the Entry Grade series that you can purchase, which is quite helpful for Gunpla collectors.

From left to right, we have:

1. GN-0000 00 Gundam
2. GN-001 Gundam Exia
3. RX-78-2 Gundam
4. GAT-X105 Strike Gundam

Take note that the kits pictured here were already painted. Usually, when you assemble Gundam Model Kits right out of the box, they won't have any paint, which is also the case for Entry Grade Kits.

Right Side Cover

OOB pictures and Gundam informations.

Gundam series information.

The "Separator"

Flipping the box over to its right side, however, we'll see front and back pictures of the Model Kit after being assembled out-of-the-box. Now, you should pretty much know how the figure will look like without any other modifications to its body. So... If you bought this kit based on how cool the front cover is, you're in for a big surprise. Hah! Painting the Model Kit should help a lot, though. Unfortunately, I suck at that. There are also a few texts here to give you information about the Gundam where this kit is based from and from which Gundam series it came.

Back Cover

A few warning notes.

At the back of the box, you can find more information and texts. Unfortunately, most of it is written in languages that I don't understand. Fortunately, there are a few texts written in English unlike most Gunpla Kits' packaging out in the market.

Top Cover

Bottom Cover

The top and bottom part of the box just replicates the box cover art, so nothing particularly new there.

Ok. That's enough of the box. Let's take a look inside.

Runner A3: 6 Parts ("Separator" Included)

Runner B3: 4 Parts

Runner C3-1: 12 Parts

Runner C3-2: 5 Parts

There are a total of 4 runners. 27 parts in total with the "Separator" part included, which is not really part of the model kit itself.

Seals

Let's not forget the seals. If you suck at painting like I do, you're gonna need the seals to make the kit look decent.

Some advertising stuff about the other line of kits.

Some survey questions at the back.

Also, there's a piece of paper inside the box. But it's just advertising stuff. Just check the pics above if you'd like to check that as well, for some reason.

It's finally time to assemble the Gunpla!

But, wait a minute...  Where the hell is the Construction Manual?! Well...
 

"Tear Here".

Tear this box open (there should be a guide at the back of the box) and the Construction Manual is actually printed inside the box, on the reverse side of its cardboard.

Construction Manual

Here's the picture of the Construction Manual for your perusal.

Ok. First, remove the parts from their runners.

Parts are now separated from the runners.

The "Separator". Again.

By the way, here is the picture of the "Separator". It's supposed to help you remove (or "separate". Hah!) the parts from the runners more easily. But, honestly, if you're gonna use this, you might as well just rip the parts off the runners with your hands. And since I've already separated all the parts from their runners, I won't be needing this. Although it was thoughtful of Bandai to include this in the kit. You can check the Construction Manual for instructions on how to use this. There's a cool gimmick to the other side of the Separator so that you can use it as a guide for placing the sticker of the Gundam's eyes.

Then, piece the parts together!
After that, it's time for the actual review!

Review:

I must say that, even though this kit is quite limited, it looks better than what I thought before assembling it. First off, here are a few OOB pictures:

Front View

Rear View

Side View

Height Measurement

...and here are a few "dynamic" poses. This is the best that I could do since the articulation is very, VERY limited.

Generic "watchya lookin' at?" pose.

Locked on target.

RX-78-2 Gundam only has 2 accessories, its signature Beam Rifle and Shield.

Now, let's check the overall features of the Model Kit. I think it would be best for me to just post the pictures so you can see them. I'll just put some captions here and there.

The inside part of the arm is hollow and the arm (elbow) doesn't bend, too.

There are peg holes on both arms for the shield.

Arms can only spread this much sideways.

The inner part of the thighs are hollow as well, similar to the arm.

The knees doesn't bend, just like the elbows. But there are a lot of panel lining opportunities here.

Legs can only spread this far out sideways.

Legs can go forward and back only this much.

Ball joint in the leg parts (ankles) connect to the feet.

A lot of painting is required to make the colors match the original's. Like the thrusters here that are supposed to be grey and the square parts on the skirt armor that should be yellow.

I'm planning on painting this kit in the future, that's why none of the stickers/seals were attached. I'll post the pictures of the painted kit once I'm done.

And now, for some final thoughts..

I guess I really underestimated this kit because of its price. Took me around 2 hours to build this kit, by the way. I thought it was going to be easy since the kit is only 1:144 and only had a few parts. I don't know if I just have big hands but, apparently, what made it hard for me to assemble the kit was due to the fact that it was small and difficult to hold. I found it hard to remove the nub marks when I was separating the parts from the runners. Or maybe I'm not just used to it yet, since this is basically the first time that I used a side cutter and a hobby knife. Back then I just ripped the parts right out of their runners.

Overall, this is kit is alright. The articulation might be very limited, but the detail on its parts are better than a No Grade kit and is almost reaching High Grade quality (surprisingly). But you just need to paint most of the parts to make the kit match the original colors of the Gundam that it's based on, which is a bummer for fans that don't really know how to paint well.

We all know this pose, right? I you don't, you should probably watch "Mobile Suit Gundam".

Thank you for reading my first Gunpla review EVER! ...and I'll see you on the next post!