HGUniversal Century

RX-78-2 Gundam HAWKS Ver.

The same legendary frame in a colorway that makes you look twice on the shelf.

MechaGrade Score

3.9/5

RX-78-2 Gundam · 1/144 · 2019

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2019

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this one a lot, and I like it for the same reason I like most of the modern HG RX-78-2 family: the engineering underneath the paint job is genuinely good.

This is a themed recolor of the same excellent HG lineage that gave us Beyond Global and Revive, so the shield, ankles, and hip swing all still work the way they should. The HAWKS scheme is the reason to buy it over a standard release, not a reason to expect a different build. If you already own another HG RX-78-2, this is a shelf-presence purchase more than a discovery.

Best for: collectors who already love the RX-78-2 silhouette and want a distinct colorway next to their standard build

The full review

What it is

This is the classic RX-78-2, Amuro's Gundam from the original 1979 series, dressed in a special commemorative color scheme rather than the familiar white, blue, and red animation colors. Snapping it together felt exactly as satisfying as I remembered from the modern HG RX-78-2 line: the frame clicks with real confidence, the proportions read as heroic without being bulky, and the parts fit tight enough that I never worried about anything popping loose mid-pose. Popping the shield onto the forearm and locking the head into the neck joint are the two moments that always sell me on this kit family, and they land just as well here.

The catch

Because this is a themed recolor rather than a from-scratch mold, you are paying a premium over a standard-release HG for a different paint job on the same engineering, so go in knowing that up front. Stickers still carry some of the finer color separation, particularly on the vents and small accent panels, since molded plastic can only carry so much of a nonstandard scheme. A couple of the nub locations sit on visibly curved surfaces, which means a little extra care with a hobby knife if you want clean panel lines. None of this is unique to the HAWKS release, it is the same short list of gripes builders raise about the RX-78-2 HG family generally.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already have a soft spot for the RX-78-2 and want a version that stands apart from every other white-and-blue Gundam on your shelf, or if the specific colorway itself is what drew you in. Skip it if you do not already own a modern HG RX-78-2 and want the most economical way into the mold, since a standard release gets you the identical build experience for less money. First-time builders will have a perfectly good time with this kit, but they will not be missing anything by starting with the cheaper standard version instead.

The build story

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

Assembly moves fast and feels satisfying step to step, the kind of build where you can knock out the torso and limbs in one sitting without ever fighting a part. Most joints snap in with a confident click rather than a mushy fit, and I did not run into any parts that felt loose or ready to pop off during posing. The one thing to watch is gate placement on a few of the more rounded surfaces, like the helmet and shoulder curves, where cleanup takes a slower hand if you want the seam invisible.

The standout engineering is in the lower body: the hips and groin armor swing together to let the Gundam get low into a stance, and the ankle assembly uses multiple hinge points instead of a single ball joint, so it holds a deep lunge without the foot rolling out from under it. Shoulder armor floats to cover the joint through the full range of arm motion, and the forearm blocks rotate so the shield never looks bolted on. Color separation on the main armor comes through in molded plastic, with stickers reserved mostly for smaller accent details and any emblem work specific to the scheme.

Lore & trivia

01The RX-78-2 first appeared in Mobile Suit Gundam in 1979, the anime that created the real-robot genre and the entire Gunpla hobby that followed.
02The designation reflects that this is the second RX-78 prototype built, since the RX-78-1 was destroyed before Amuro Ray ever piloted a Gundam.
03Modern HG RX-78-2 releases trace their inner-frame engineering back to the 2014 Revive line, which reworked the classic silhouette with the hinge-based ankle and hip articulation that later HG versions, including themed recolors like this one, still use.