HGUniversal Century

RX-78-2 Gundam G30th ANA Original Color Ver.

A 30th anniversary souvenir that turned out to be a genuinely good kit, not just a nice box.

MechaGrade Score

3.5/5

RX-78-2 Gundam · 1/144 · 2010

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2010

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this one more than its origin story suggests I should.

It was handed out on ANA flights during the Gundam Sky Project in the summer of 2010, so on paper it is a promo trinket, but the mold underneath is the Ver.G30th sculpt with real panel lining and a finish that photographs like a much pricier kit. It will not out-pose anything built in the last five years. What it will do is sit on a shelf and look like the RX-78-2 you remember from the show.

Best for: Gunpla collectors chasing the 30th anniversary line who want the classic anime color scheme, not the statue-inspired metallics

The full review

What it is

This is the HG Ver.G30th RX-78-2 mold dressed in the original 1979 anime color scheme instead of the titanium finish used on the standard G30th release, and it was a one-per-passenger giveaway on ANA's Gundam-branded flights, not a retail shelf kit. Pulling it out of the bag, the plastic itself feels a step above a normal 2010-era HG. The joints are snug right out of the runners, the nub marks clean up fast with a simple side cutter, and the decal sheet is restrained, no airline branding fighting the Gundam for attention. It is a small kit that clearly got extra attention paid to it.

The catch

This is pre-Revive engineering, so the articulation ceiling is real. Elbows and knees are single-jointed, arms top out around 90 degrees of bend, and the torso does not lean forward or back at all, so dynamic poses are mostly off the table. The joints being tight is a blessing for a decade-old kit but it also means test-fitting before final assembly matters more than usual. And because this was a flight giveaway rather than a store release, the copy you find will likely be secondhand and priced like the collectible it has become, not like a 2,000 yen HG.

Who it's for

This is for the collector building out the Gundam 30th anniversary lineup or anyone who wants the RX-78-2 in its proper anime colors with better detail than the era's other HG releases offered. It rewards patience with tight joints and light nub cleanup, and it looks sharp still and unposed on a shelf. Skip it if pose range is what you actually care about, a modern HGUC Revive RX-78-2 will out-articulate this several times over for a fraction of the cost and hassle of hunting one down. Buy this one for what it is, a handsome, historically interesting snapshot, not a poseable action figure.

The build story

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

The runners cut clean with an ordinary side cutter and nub marks barely register once trimmed, which is not something I'd expect from an HG this old. Parts seat with a firmness that made me double check fit before committing to final assembly, better tight than loose, but it is worth doing carefully rather than rushing.

Detail-wise the G30th mold carries real panel lining across the chest and limbs that most same-era HG kits skipped, and the anime color scheme on this version means almost no reliance on stickers for the main color blocking. Articulation is the tradeoff: single hinge elbows and knees, roughly 90 degrees of arm bend, and a torso that only rotates rather than leans, so treat this as a display piece more than a poser.

Lore & trivia

01This version was distributed exclusively to passengers on ANA's Gundam-themed flights during the Gundam Sky Project, which ran between July 1 and August 31, 2010, limited to one kit per passenger while supplies lasted.
02It shares its mold with the standard HG Ver.G30th RX-78-2 released for Gundam's 30th anniversary, but swaps the statue-inspired metallic finish for the character's original 1979 anime color scheme, hence the Original Color Ver. name.
03Because it was never sold at retail, Bandai Spirits has never reissued it, making it one of the harder G30th-era variants to track down today.