Series: High Grade Universal Century (HGUC) 1/144
Title: RX-79[G] Gundam Mass Production Ground Type
Release Date: 06/2007
Suggested Price: ¥ 1575
No. of Parts: 135 plastic + 27 polycaps + 2 sticker sheets
Plastic colors: white, dark blue, red, yellow, dark gray, gray
Gimmicks: opening calf panels for saber handle storage, opening container for 180mm cannon storage, transforming backpack for carrying weapon container, removable panel under skirt armor for placing on display base (SOLD SEPERATELY)

Introduction

Contributor: Devasia Studios
Date: September 27, 2009

I bought an HGUC RX-79BD-2 for the specific purpose of converting into a BD-3. That didn't go well at all, and now I find that they released a BD-3 model. Well, even though the chance to get that set and redeem myself for the sucky job I did on the previous one stood before me, I changed my mind at the last minute and went for something I actually like a bit better. I already also owned a standard HG Ground Gundam model and my disappointment in that made finding an HGUC version quite a relief. Does it stand a chance against it's old counterpart though?

Head

Eight parts are what this head is made of, and that's actually a good thing. It eliminates the need to paint the Gundam's "goatee" and the center part of the V fin. The eye section, however, is also already red and requires either a sticker or paint to make it's eyes green...I chose paint because of my bad history with gundam eye stickers. The head fits nicely onto a ball joint polycap that can also bend back and forth inside the torso for extra movement.

Torso

Nine parts and four polycaps make the top half and 12 parts and two polycaps make the skirt armor. I must say I'm impressed at the simple yet effective way the shoulder attachments are assembled for added articulation. They can swing back and fourth to a small degree, and up and down to a slightly greater extent. The waist is connected by a polycap and peg that can allow it to rotate to an extent, though the skirt armor gets in the way of a complete rotation. The skirt armor itself is wondrous, with individually moving front and side panels, hardpoints with spare clips for the 100mm, and the section that attaches the legs able to move a little bit as well!

Arms

Eleven parts and two polycaps per arm and pretty much three parts per hand. When I first assembled the BD-2 I made a mistake when I tried to disassemble one of the elbow joints and ended up breaking it...a mistake I can never take back, but fortunately they were double jointed, so gluing it in place didn't completely wreck it's poseability. I was afraid the same thing might happen with this model, but it seems I managed to avoid any destruction or deterioration of parts.

The shoulders are mounted on single polycaps that go over the mounts on the torso I mentioned above, and also allow the arm to move up and down further. The shoulder pads also move up and down a bit and are rather stiffly mounted. The upper arm connects to the shoulder via a hole and peg so it can rotate from side to side. If all that wasn't exciting enough the shoulders are, as I mentioned above, double jointed and since I managed to assemble them pretty much perfectly, they are pretty stiff as well. To top it all off the hands are ball jointed and are attached to the arm via another polycap. There are actually two different hands for the right arm and required to interchange the knuckle panel for either one to look right. One of the hands is meant for holding either the 100mm or 180mm guns, while the other is for holding the beam sabers or just as a semi-closed fist I guess.

Legs

I never thought I'd get to this part! Nineteen parts and three polycaps each make a leg. Ball peg PCs attach these baby's to the body and the knees are double jointed as well. The outer sides of each lower leg have opening panels for storing the saber handles, and can be left in an open position for posing if you so wish. The feet are attached (how many times am I gonna have to say that?) at the upper ankles via another ball joint and polycap and have a pretty good range of movement. Additionally the 'toe' section can also move up and down independently from the heel of the foot thanks to yet another PC. Finally the ankle armor can also move independently as well, which was something I was definitely glad about considering that part of the old HG was molded into the rest of the leg.

Weapons and Accessories

100mm machine gun- Without a doubt this is my favorite feddy weapon! 6 parts make this baby perfect! It has the folding stock, movable side handle, and removable cartridge. If so desired, the cartridge can also be replaced by either of the spares mounted on the skirt armor.

180mm cannon- 13 pieces in this thing, all divided into 5 sections; front barrel, mid barrel, midsection, cartridge, and the stock and trigger. Altogether it's a well balanced weapon for this model and had a great assembly.

Beam sabers- 2 parts each, which is a very welcome change for HG model kits. Simple little things can be held in either hand and can have the beams removed for storage in the legs.

Shield- 6 or 7 parts and 1 PC, depending on which parts you actually consider part of the shield. There are 2 different mounts in this set, both of which are nearly the same and can allow the shield to be mounted on either the sides or bottom of each forearm. The part that keeps the shield on the mount is placed inside a PC and can therefore rotate. Additionally the shield has a special built in prop for holding it up in a standing position to pose with the 180mm cannon. There are 4 stickers to put on the shield that can designate it as part of the 01, 04, 06, or 08 MS teams.

Backpack and storage container- 10 parts on the backpack and 6 in the container. This is something I'd never imagined was possible at this scale, but having put it together myself I am amazed that the pack can actually CORRECTLY transform to accommodate the container perfectly! The container itself is also perfect in that it can store all the parts of the 180mm cannon within, pretty snugly.

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Whist this figure only came with the machine gun and cannon, I already had a beam rifle from the BD-2 figure and it also works pretty well with this figure. Following up on further curiosity I also found out that the BD-2's backpack(s) can also fit on this guy, but not vice-versa.

Conclusion

Just typing up the review for this thing made me drool! This model is one awesome piece of plastic and highly recommended to just about everyone. If I could, I'd give this thing a 50 or more points rating!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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