HGUniversal Century

RX-78-2 Gundam Lions Ver.

A genuinely excellent HG frame wearing a Saitama Seibu Lions jersey.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

RX-78-2 Gundam · 1/144 · 2019

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2019

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the outstanding 2019 HG RX-78-2 sculpt underneath a baseball team paint job, and that combination is exactly as strange and charming as it sounds.

I'd buy it for the engineering alone, the team branding is a bonus for the right person. If you already love the Beyond Global era RX-78-2 mold, you already know this kit builds beautifully, this version just asks you to enjoy it in Lions colors and decals instead of the classic tricolor scheme.

Best for: Gundam 40th anniversary collectors and Saitama Seibu Lions fans who want a genuinely good HG on the shelf, not just a novelty box

The full review

What it is

Strip away the team branding and this is the same HG RX-78-2 that came out of Gundam's 40th anniversary push, the one builders still point to as one of the best entry level kits Bandai has made. It was one of twelve reboxes done for all of Japan's pro baseball teams in 2019, so instead of the usual white, blue, red and yellow, this one arrives dressed in Saitama Seibu Lions team colors with a small sheet of team decals. Snapping it together felt exactly like I hoped, crisp gate cleanup, tight joints, and a helmet that goes together as one clean piece with no ugly seam running across the face.

The catch

The catch is honesty about what you're paying for. This isn't a new sculpt or a new engineering pass, it's a licensed rebox, so if you already own the standard 40th anniversary HG RX-78-2 you're buying the same build experience twice with different colors and a logo decal. It was also a Lions Online Shop limited release, so tracking one down years later usually means paying secondary market prices well above what the base kit costs new. The decal sheet is thin too, the original kit leaned on molded color instead of stickers, and this version's team branding rides on decals that can silver or lift if you rush application.

Who it's for

Buy this one if you're a Seibu Lions fan, a Gundam 40th anniversary completionist, or someone who just likes oddball sports crossover merchandise done with real engineering behind it. Skip it if you only want the best possible RX-78-2 for the least money, the standard HG version gets you the identical build for a fraction of the collector markup. I'd also skip it if team-specific branding does nothing for you, because that's the entire reason this variant exists over the regular release.

What works

Inherits the excellent 2019 HG RX-78-2 engineering, including a multi-hinge ankle system and hip joints that let it hold deep dynamic poses and even stand on one leg
Helmet is molded as a single clean piece with no visible head seam, and the eyes are molded in the correct yellow so there's barely any sticker work needed there
A genuinely fun novelty for baseball and Gundam crossover fans, one of only twelve team-specific reboxes made for the anniversary promotion

Worth knowing

Being a licensed shop-exclusive rebox, secondary market pricing runs well above the standard HG RX-78-2 for the same core build
Thin decal sheet for the team branding, careful application matters since silvering or lifting will show on the flat team-color panels
No new accessories over the base kit, still just the beam rifle, shield, two beam sabers and a single gripping hand, no second open palm or spare weapon

Sold? Grab it.

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The build story

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

The parts fit is tight and clean the whole way through, with minimal seam lines and gate placement that mostly stays out of visible areas, though the helmet's third gate connection lands somewhere you have to clean up carefully rather than tucking it under hair or a vent like better-placed HG heads manage. Shoulder joint disassembly is snug enough that separating it for painting or maintenance takes a bit of patience, but nothing snapped or stress-whitened on me.

The articulation is the real standout, a five-point ankle rotation system, swinging hip joints, an extra upper-thigh hinge, and side skirts that flip a full 180 degrees combine to let the legs split past 180 degrees and hold single-leg poses without a stand. Color separation on the base sculpt is outstanding for an HG, molded plastic does almost all the work instead of stickers, and here that same molded precision just gets reapplied in Lions red, navy and gold with a small decal sheet finishing the team logos.

Lore & trivia

01This kit is one of twelve reboxes Bandai produced in 2019 for Mobile Suit Gundam's 40th anniversary, one for each team in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league, each recolored in that team's uniform palette.
02The base sculpt is the acclaimed HG RX-78-2 Gundam (Beyond Global) release, the same mold widely praised by builders for its ankle articulation, clean color separation, and near sticker-free eye detailing.
03It was sold as a Lions Online Shop limited exclusive tied to the Saitama Seibu Lions baseball club rather than through general Gunpla retail channels.