HGUniversal Century

RCX-76 Guncannon First Type (Rollout Unit 1)

A prototype tank that grew legs, molded in the plain white of a machine that hasn't seen a real battle yet.

MechaGrade Score

3.6/5

Guncannon First Type (Rollout Unit 1) · 1/144 · 2017

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2017

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit more for what it represents than for what's in the box.

It's the same solid HG Origin engineering that made the standard Guncannon First Type a sleeper favorite, just dressed in the flat rollout white Anaheim Electronics actually tested the thing in before anyone painted a unit number on it. The articulation holds up, the claw-hand gimmick is genuinely fun, and the plain colors mean panel lining does almost all the visual work. It's a niche P-Bandai pickup, not a kit I'd point a beginner toward first.

Best for: Origin-era completionists and Guncannon fans who already have the standard release and want the prototype variant

The full review

What it is

This is the all-white 'as-tested' version of the early Guncannon, the humanoid answer to the Guntank that Dr. Tem Ray's team put legs on so it could actually cross a battlefield instead of rolling through one. Bandai built it off the same HG Origin frame used for the later camo-painted Iron Cavalry release, so the bones are proven: double-jointed elbows and knees, a neck that both swivels on a ball joint and hinges back, and a waist that spins the full 360 degrees. Building it feels like assembling a familiar HG with a fresh coat of primer, which is honestly a compliment. The prototype claw manipulators are the detail that got me, they're not the standard five-finger Gunpla hand and they change how the kit reads on the shelf.

The catch

It's molded almost entirely in flat white and gray, which looks like an unfinished test mule until you commit to panel lining it, and the Anaheim Electronics markings and body-line details are stickers rather than printed or molded color. Skip the lining step and it reads flat and toylike on a shelf next to anything with real color separation. This was a Bandai Hobby Online Shop exclusive, so it isn't sitting on store pegs, expect to pay above a standard HG price and to hunt secondary markets or resellers if you missed the 2017 or 2020 runs. The shield and weapon loadout also match the rifle-and-cannon prototype look rather than the more varied arsenal later Guncannon releases carry.

Who it's for

Buy this if you're already invested in the Origin manga and OVA era and want the Guncannon's origin story literally sitting next to the finished production models, or if the claw-hand prototype look is what pulled you in over the standard release. Skip it if you want a first Gunpla, a display-ready kit straight from the sprue, or an easy eBay grab, this one takes both painting effort and a bit of searching to land at a fair price. For most builders the standard HG Guncannon First Type or the Iron Cavalry colorway will scratch the itch with less hassle.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

The build itself is a comfortable HG experience, gates are placed where you'd expect on a modern Bandai kit and nub cleanup is minor. Because most of the kit shares its frame with the standard HG Origin Guncannon First Type, fit is tight and confident rather than loose, the shoulders and hip joints in particular hold weight well.

The standout engineering here is the neck, which both ball-joints for aim and hinges back separately, letting the head tilt further than a lot of HG kits allow. The prototype claw hands swap in cleanly and give you a different silhouette for holding the rifle and shield than a standard five-finger grip. Weapon loadout is simple, a shoulder-mounted cannon, a beam or solid rifle, and a matching shield, which fits the early-prototype story but leaves less to fiddle with than a fully kitted-out later release.

Lore & trivia

01The Guncannon First Type was designed by Dr. Tem Ray's team at Anaheim Electronics as a humanoid evolution of the RTX-65 Guntank, trading treads for legs to handle uneven terrain.
02This 'Rollout Unit 1' colorway depicts the suit in its plain white test livery, before the green and tan camouflage worn later by the Iron Cavalry Squadron in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin.
03The kit was released twice as a Bandai Hobby Online Shop (P-Bandai) exclusive, first in May 2017 and again in a 2020 reissue, and was never sold through general retail.