HGMobile Suits Gundam: Red Giant 03rd MS Team (Universal Century 0079, Gundam Ace manga)

Red Giant 03rd MS Team Set

Three Ground Type veterans in fresh red paint, all in one box.

MechaGrade Score

4.1/5

Red Giant 03rd MS Team Set · 1/144 · 2022

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2022

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is one of the best value plays P-Bandai has put out in years, three full HG kits sharing the proven HGUC Ground Type Gundam and GM engineering for the price most companies charge for one MG.

I went in expecting a cash grab reskin and came out genuinely impressed by how much suit you get per dollar. The new head and visor tooling actually changes the read on these mobile suits instead of just slapping on a decal, and the inner frame underneath is the same trustworthy Ground Type chassis Bandai nailed years ago.

Best for: One Year War completionists and Ground Type fans who want an instant three-suit diorama without buying and repainting three separate boxes

The full review

What it is

You get one RX-79[G]RR Gundam RR (nicknamed Re-Rage) and two RGM-79[G]RR GM RR (Reds), all built on the HGUC 1/144 Ground Type Gundam and GM tooling that Bandai has been refining since the mid 2010s. That base is a genuinely good HG platform, ball jointed hips, a real polycap inner frame under the armor, and shoulders that rotate instead of just swinging on a hinge. What makes this specific release worth talking about is the new head and visor parts molded just for this set, a proper opening visor on the Gundam and a blacked out faced mask on the GMs, so these don't read as simple palette swaps of suits you already own.

The catch

This came out through Premium Bandai, so it was never a shelf kit, you're hunting secondary market listings or waiting on a reissue (it's had a few, 2022, 2023, and again in 2024, which at least tells you demand keeps bringing it back). The set uses waterslide decals rather than stickers for the unit markings and Zeon or Federation emblems, which look sharper once applied but take real patience and water and tweezers compared to peeling a sticker sheet. And because it's tied to a niche Gundam Ace side manga most Western fans have never read, the story hook behind these three suits won't land for everyone the way an RX-78-2 or a Zaku would.

Who it's for

If you already like the Ground Type Gundam and GM as kits and want three variants for the price of one MG, this is a genuinely smart buy, the engineering underneath is proven and the new heads earn their keep. It's also a natural fit for anyone building a One Year War Federation diorama who wants a Gundam and a matched pair of GMs without kitbashing three separate releases into a matching color scheme. Skip it if you don't want to deal with waterslide decals, don't care about the manga tie in at all, or you're only after a single hero unit, since two thirds of this box is GM Reds you'll need a use for.

The build story

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

The build itself leans on Bandai's Ground Type era tooling, which means clean gate placement, minimal visible nub scarring on the armor faces, and snug part fit without the looseness that plagues some older HG lines. The new head sculpts are the standout assembly moment, the Gundam RR's visor has an actual opening and closing gimmick and the GM RR faces got a redesigned blacked out mask, both small enough parts to need careful nipper work but satisfying once seated.

Articulation carries over the Ground Type Gundam and GM's real polycap inner frame, so you get ball jointed hips, rotating shoulder armor, and knees that hold a bent pose, well above what most HGs from that era manage. Loadout is generous for a triple set: the Gundam RR carries a Gatling revolver and a double rocket launcher bazooka, while the GM RR pair each get a heat spike melee weapon and an iron bunker, giving you enough hardware to pose all three suits doing different jobs rather than three identical stances.

Lore & trivia

01The set is based on the manga Mobile Suits Gundam: Red Giant 03rd MS Team by Ryouji Kansai with art by Tatsuma Eijiri, serialized in Kadokawa's Gundam Ace magazine and set during the final weeks of the One Year War in UC 0079
02It was released to tie in with a collaboration between the arcade game Mobile Suit Gundam Battlefield Bonds II and Gundam Ace magazine
03The RGM-79[G]RR GM RR (Reds) are depicted in story as two standard RGM-79[G] GM Ground Types locally remodeled in the field to fight alongside the RX-79[G]RR Gundam RR (Re-Rage)
04The set has been popular enough to see multiple Premium Bandai release windows, including a 2022 reissue, a January 2023 preorder run, and another release in 2024