(The video version of this review can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DQOqxj4xP0 Please note the quality is nowhere near as good as later reviews, this being my very first.)
The Gundam RX-78 is a prototype close combat mobile suit hailing from the original "Mobile Suit Gundam" TV series, which aired in Japan in 1979, and in the US in 2001. This unit was piloted by the series' main hero, Amuro Ray.
Since this is the American release, it lacks the filled in panel lines the Japanese toys sport. This is simply done to add more detail, but personally, I feel the toy looks fine without them. Some parts, including the feet armor and the vents on the torso, have been filled in, but this doesn't bother me, nor does it please me. I'm honestly indifferent. What is nice is that the Earth Federation logo is tampographed on the right shoulder, while the left shoulder bares the White Base insignia (that being a pegasus, which makes sense since the White Base is a "pegasus" class ship). The paint job is fairly clean, no paint errors, no smudging, no scratches. A common sight on many MSiA toys, or Gundam toys all together.
One of the best things about the MSiA toyline is the large amount of articulation. Since this is one of the first toys in the line, it's number of movable joints isn't as high as later releases, but it's still rivals many toys you see on the market today. This toy has a total of 16 points of articulation, including:
-Swiveling head, which can rotate 360 degrees.
-Ball-jointed shoulders
-Swiveling biceps
-Hinged elbows, which can bend a full 90 degrees.
-Swiveling wrists
-Hinged thrusters
-Swiveling waist
-Ball-jointed hips
-Hinged knees, which can bend almost 90 degrees
-Ball-jointed ankles
The toy makes good use of most of it's articulation, allowing you to pose it in a number of cool poses. There is nothing hindering the rotation of the head, the wrists, or the biceps. The waist has virtually no movement however, a problem that plagues many early MSiA toys. The same for the hips, their movement being restricted by the skirt armor, preventing you from raising the leg all the way up. The thrusters on the backpack are movable, but are removable, so be careful not to lose them! And the ankle joints are mostly useless, due to how stiff the ball-joint is and how little room it has to move. An important thing to note here is that none of the joints are loose, nor are they prone to simply fall off.
Unlike the Japanese releases, many of the early MSiA toys lack the extra hand sets and usually leave you with two hands: an open hand for holding fire arms on the right, and an open hand for holding other items such as shields and close-range weapons on the left. However, what this toy lacks in hand sets, it makes up for with a sheer number of weaponry. The Gundam includes the following accessories:
-a beam rifle
-a hyper bazooka
-a shield w/ removable handle
-two beam sabers
-a beam javelin
The beam rifle can be held in the right hand and is fairly secure. It is painted in two colors: a dark gray covering most of the item, and yellow for the scope. Just like the figure, the rifle (as well as the other accessories) has plenty of detail all over and it looks nice overall. The shield can be held in the left hand, but due to it's wait, it flops forward in it's hand, causing the Gundam to hold it like a shopping bag, which just looks silly. The shield can be stored on the Gundam's back using a peg, which inserts into a hole on the back pack.
The hyper bazooka is colored in the same gray as the beam beam rifle and also sports a lot of detail, however, it's not that accurate compared to the TV show. Also, it's tough to get the toy to hold it right, and when you do get him to hold it, it just doesn't look right. The bazooka can also clip onto the rear with one of the pegs on its sides. The beam javelin is long and white, and the very top is a clear pink. It's a nice looking weapon and all, but it can't be held in the right hand very well unless the toy uses both hands to hold it.
The two beam sabers the Gundam comes with can be held in either hand, but like the javelin, has some problems staying in the right hand. Neither of the blades can be removed like later Gundam toys, and even if they could, there is no place to store them, considering there are already two hilts on Gundam's backpack.
So, overall, would I recommend this toy? Yes, but only if you're a completist or this is the only version of the Gundam you can find. It's not a horrible toy by any means, but there are much better versions of the Gundam released throughout the MSiA series that put this to shame (especially the Ver. 2 and the Extended toys). Still, this piece of history should be welcome in any Gundam fan's collection.
Hope you enjoyed this review and found it to be very helpful! I'll be posting more reviews, both text-based and video-based, in the future, so keep an eye out!
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