HGUniversal Century

RX-78-2 Gundam Ver.G30th Green Tokyo Gundam Project

A 30th anniversary souvenir that happens to be a genuinely good little kit.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

RX-78-2 Gundam · 1/144 · 2009

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2009

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit more than a random 2009 HG has any right to be liked.

It was built to commemorate the Gundam 30th anniversary and the 1/1 scale statue that stood in Odaiba's Shiokaze Park, and it carries that occasion well, better articulation than the HGUC RX-78-2 kits that came before it, real color separation on the yellow parts instead of stickers doing all the work, and it was the first 1/144 HG to ever include the Gundam Hammer. It is not a modern HG and I would not pretend otherwise, but as a piece of Gunpla history you can actually build, it earns its place.

Best for: Gundam history collectors and RX-78-2 completionists who want the kit tied to the Green Tokyo Gundam Project statue, not just another HGUC repaint

The full review

What it is

This is the HG that Bandai released alongside the full size 1/1 RX-78-2 statue built in Odaiba's Shiokaze Park for Gundam's 30th anniversary in 2009, and it was sold exclusively at that event. Building it feels like handling a piece of that celebration in miniature. It comes with the beam rifle, beam saber, hyper bazooka, shield, and a Gundam Hammer on a real metal chain, plus an 18 meter scale display base and a tiny 1/144 Amuro Ray figure that sell the illusion of the statue's actual size. For an HG from this era the yellow accents on the torso and skirts are molded in color rather than left to stickers, which was a real step up at the time.

The catch

The hip skirts are held on with simple ball pegs, so anything past a moderate leg pose will pop them right off, and you learn to live with that rather than fight it. There is no core block system here, this is a straightforward HG frame, not the more elaborate inner structure later RX-78-2 releases would get. It also has no beam saber blade molded in a proper color, the saber hilt is unpainted plastic like most kits of the period. Because it was an event exclusive, tracking one down now usually means paying collector prices on the secondary market rather than a normal retail tag, so go in knowing this is a nostalgia purchase as much as a build.

Who it's for

If you care about Gundam's anniversary history or want the kit that's actually tied to the real world Odaiba statue, this is worth hunting down, and the Gundam Hammer alone makes it stand out among 1/144 RX-78-2 releases from before and after it. If you just want the best building or posing experience for the money, skip this one and grab a current HGUC or RG RX-78-2 instead, they're cheaper, easier to find, and more refined in the joints. This kit rewards people who want the story behind the plastic, not people optimizing for pure build quality per dollar.

The build story

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

The build itself is simple and quick, this is an HG from 2009 so part count and runner complexity are modest by current standards. Gate placement is on the plain side and cleanup is easy, nothing fiddly or tiny to fight with. The frame goes together fast and the panel lines throughout the body are more numerous than earlier HGUC RX-78-2 kits managed, so it reads with more surface detail once assembled than its release date suggests.

Articulation held up better than I expected going in. The head swivels freely on its ball joint neck, shoulders swing forward, elbows bend close to 90 degrees, the waist rotates a full 360 (skirts allowing), and knees bend past 90 toward 120 degrees, enough to hold a real bent-knee pose rather than a stiff standing one. The weapon loadout is generous for an HG of this era, beam rifle, beam saber, hyper bazooka, shield, and that chained Gundam Hammer, which gives you more posing options than most HGs from the same year.

Lore & trivia

01This kit was sold exclusively at Taiyo no Hiroba in Odaiba's Shiokaze Park in July 2009, the site where the full size 1/1 scale RX-78-2 Gundam statue stood for Gundam's 30th anniversary.
02It was the first 1/144 scale HG kit ever to include the Gundam Hammer as an accessory.
03The set includes an 18 meter scale display base and a small 1/144 scale Amuro Ray figure, both meant to evoke the real world statue's true size next to its pilot.
04The kit retailed in Japan for 1,200 yen (1,260 with tax) at its original 2009 release.