HGUniversal Century

RX-78 Gundam (21st Century Real Type Ver.)

The same excellent Revive frame under a moody, battlefield-worn paint job that makes the whole kit feel new again.

MechaGrade Score

4.1/5

Gundam (21st Century Real Type Ver.) · 1/144 · 2016

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2016

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I think this is the best version of the HGUC Revive mold Bandai has put out, and the color scheme is the whole reason why.

Swapping the classic red, white, and blue for blue-grey, dark blue, crimson, and greenish-yellow does something I didn't expect, it makes an RX-78 I've built a dozen times over feel genuinely fresh on the shelf. Under the paint job it is still the same excellent Revive engineering, which is exactly what you want.

Best for: Revive-mold fans who already own a standard RX-78-2 and want a moodier, real-type repaint without the actual painting

The full review

What it is

This is the 2015 HGUC Revive RX-78-2 tooling recolored in a Real Type inspired palette, the kind of desaturated battlefield colors that trace back to Gundam's early 1980s MSV era reissues. I went in expecting a novelty and came out impressed. The molded plastic colors alone sell the look, blue-grey plating against dark blue joints and crimson red accents reads as far more serious and grounded than the primary-color original. Gate placement is small and considerate, so cleanup is quick, and the whole build moves fast because the frame is one I already know well from the base Revive kit.

The catch

The molded colors are so good that I actually held off using the included waterslide decals, since I worried they'd cover up detail I liked better bare. That is a nice problem to have, but it means the decal application step some builders expect to be essential feels optional here. This being a P-Bandai exclusive also means the price runs higher than a retail HG and it will not get restocked once it sells out, so secondary market prices can climb. Carried over from the base Revive mold, expect the well known quirks, a shoulder ball joint that can pop out past 90 degrees of rotation, slightly loose wrists and toe joints, and seam lines that show more on some panels than others.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already appreciate the Revive RX-78-2 as an engineering exercise and want a version that looks different enough to justify a second build, or if the Real Type color story appeals to you more than the classic hero paint scheme. Skip it if you have never built an RX-78-2 before, since a standard retail HGUC Revive gets you the same frame for less money and you can always repaint it yourself later. It is also not the pick if you specifically want the core fighter accessory, since this release drops it.

The build story

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

Assembly moves quickly because this is the well proven Revive frame, and the small gate placement means minimal nub scarring even on the visible blue-grey and crimson panels. The waterslide decal sheet includes unit numbers and caution markings, but I found the bare molded colors compelling enough that I built mine without applying most of them, which says a lot about how good the color separation is out of the bag.

The arm assembly uses a simplified version of the RG-style inner frame rather than the older HGUC shoulder block, and the legs pick up reinforced joints with extra articulation points, giving a range some builders compare favorably to MG Ver. 2.0. Just know the tradeoff for that range is a shoulder ball joint slightly undersized for its socket, so arms can pop free past 90 degrees of rotation until you address it.

Lore & trivia

01Real Type color schemes trace back to Bandai's early 1980s MSV-era kit reissues, which recolored existing Gunpla in muted, battlefield-plausible tones as a precursor to the Mobile Suit Variations line.
02This release is built on the 2015 HGUC Revive RX-78-2 tooling, the mold widely regarded as a major articulation upgrade over the original 1999 HGUC Gundam.
03It was sold as a Premium Bandai web exclusive, meaning once a production run sells out it is not reissued through normal retail channels.