RX-121 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel]

Model number: RX-121
Code name: Gundam TR-1 [Hazel]
Unit type: prototype mobile suit
Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces
Operator: Titans
First deployment: UC 0084
Accommodation: pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso
Dimensions: head height 18.1 meters
Weight: empty 42.0 metric tons; max gross 63.5 metric tons
Armor materials: unknown
Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor, power output rating unknown
Propulsion: rocket thrusters: total output unknown
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown; movable booster pod
Fixed armaments: beam saber, mounted on backpack storage rack, hand-carried in use; shield booster, mounted on right arm; shield, mounted on left arm
Optional fixed armaments: multipurpose launchers
Optional hand armaments: XBR-M84a beam rifle

The RX-121 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel] was a functional test machine assigned to veteran pilot Wes Murphy, commander of the Murphy team. Although it was a test machine, it was developed for use in real combat, so its basic movement systems were the same highly reliable ones used in the GM series mobile suits. Its beam rifle was a prototype version of the energy pack type which the next generation of machines were expected to carry, and this machine was also used in the development and testing of other devices such as the shield booster. The support actuator units on the Hazel’s shoulders could be fitted with either multipurpose launchers, or holding grips to help stabilize its arms while in High Mobility Form. Its skirt armor was usually fitted with energy pack holders which stored two energy packs apiece. Unlike the RX-121-1 TR-1 [Hazel Custom], the original Hazel had no panoramic monitor, linear seat, or chest/waist latches. The Hazel’s most distinctive equipment was the shield booster, which contained propellant tanks and a single thruster with an output of 22,000 kg. This device was a further evolution of the sturm boosters used by earlier mobile suits, but unlike its ancestors the shield booster was retained as a shield after its propellant supply was exhausted, rather than being discarded when empty. The Hazel’s Assault Form was equipped with a shield booster and shield, one on each arm, and its High Mobility Form also carried one on its movable booster pod.

Although the original Hazel’s specs were unknown, some inferences can be made based on the Hazel Custom. Since its head and movable booster pod were identical, its overall height and generator output should be the same as those of the Hazel Custom. The original Hazel had roughly 10 percent lower acceleration than the Hazel Custom, due to its greater weight and lower thrust. Since the Hazel Custom’s foot and backpack thrusters were identical to those of the RGM-79Q GM Quel, and the movable booster pod was unchanged from the original Hazel, its higher thrust was due to improvements in its leg thrusters. As for the original Hazel, its overall specs were probably quite similar to those of the RX-78GP01 Gundam GP01 Zephyranthes. The Hazel was equipped with a Gundam head in order to test its psychological effectiveness against Zeon remnants. Although it had the head of the legendary RX-78-2 Gundam, the mobile suit itself was based on the GM Quel rather than being newly constructed as an RX type. While this machine used the basic frame of the GM Quel, many of its parts were replaced with enhancement parts like the new backpack, the movable booster pod attached to it, and the improved thrusters in its legs. As a result, its potential rivaled that of an RX type.

Pilot: Wes Murphy
First appearance: Advance of Zeta: The Flag of Titans
Original mechanical designer: Kenki Fujioka

Head

Rear view

Shield booster