MGUniversal Century

RX-78-2 Gundam Ver.3.0 [Recirculation Color / Neon Green]

The best-engineered MG RX-78-2 ever made, wearing a neon green and black costume instead of its classic colors.

MechaGrade Score

3.9/5

RX-78-2 Gundam · 1/100 · 2021

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2021

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the same phenomenal MG Ver.3.0 engineering underneath, reskinned in an ECOPLA neon green and black colorway that trades the original's celebrated multi-tone molding for a novelty finish.

If you already know the Ver.3.0 mold, you know the frame and articulation are still some of the best an RX-78-2 has ever gotten. What changes here is the reason you buy it, and it is not accuracy anymore, it is the look.

Best for: Ver.3.0 fans who want a second RX-78-2 as a stylized display piece rather than a straight rebuild

The full review

What it is

Underneath the neon green and black, this is the exact same Ver.3.0 that builders have called the best-articulating MG RX-78-2 ever released. The movable armor system on the shoulders and backpack covers still frees up arm movement most MG suits can't match, and the shin back armor still opens up to extend ankle range. Assembly is the same 19-runner, roughly 400-plus part build the original kit is known for, so the hands are busy the whole way through. What is different is the material and the palette. This is an ECOPLA release, built from Bandai's recirculated plastic, molded in a bold neon green and black scheme for the Gundam World Contrast tie-in rather than the classic eight-tone color separation.

The catch

The whole appeal of the original Ver.3.0 was that the multi-tone molded plastic nailed the RX-78-2's colors without paint. This recolor throws that away on purpose, so straight out of the runners you get a green and black Gundam, not a red, white, blue, and yellow one. If you want the classic look, you are painting or panel-lining hard, and the ECOPLA plastic has a reputation among builders for being a little less consistent to work with than Bandai's standard ABS/PS blends. The known Ver.3.0 mechanical quirks carry over too, the hip joints can be shallow enough that legs pop off during rough posing, and the shoulder armor can work loose around the elbow gap over time.

Who it's for

Get this one if you already love the Ver.3.0 mold and want it again as a genuinely different-looking display piece, or if the neon green and black scheme is exactly the aesthetic you are chasing for a shelf full of stock-color Gundams. Skip it if you want the definitive-look RX-78-2 in MG scale, that is the standard-color Ver.3.0, not this variant, and skip it if ECOPLA's recycled-plastic feel is a dealbreaker for you. Newer builders should still treat this as an MG-level build, the part count and small connector work have not gotten any easier just because the colors changed.

The build story

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

The build itself is unchanged from the original Ver.3.0, a full evening-or-more MG project across roughly 19 runners with the part count and small connecting pieces that come with any high-end 1/100 RX-78-2. Gate placement and cleanup are on par with a modern Bandai MG, nothing unusually brutal, though the ECOPLA plastic reportedly needs a slightly gentler touch when clipping parts off the runner.

The engineering payoff is real, the movable armor system at the shoulders and backpack still delivers arm poses most MG kits can't touch, and the opening shin back armor still frees up the ankles for deep stances. Weapon loadout matches the standard Ver.3.0, beam rifle, hyper bazooka, shield, and two beam sabers, so accessory value is unchanged even though the color story is not.

Lore & trivia

01The MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver.3.0 originally released in 2013 as a D1 box kit prized for molding the suit's classic colors across roughly eight distinct plastic tones without paint.
02This Recirculation Color / Neon Green release is part of Bandai's ECOPLA initiative, which reuses recirculated leftover plastic from runners to mold new kits as a sustainability effort.
03The neon green and black colorway was released to coincide with the Gundam World Contrast exhibition event, showcasing works from the Gundam and Gundam SEED franchises.
04Ver.3.0's shoulder and backpack cover movable armor system, plus its opening shin back armor for ankle range, are still widely cited by builders as some of the best articulation solutions ever engineered into an MG RX-78-2.