RGUniversal Century

RX-78-2 Gundam (2.0)

The original hero suit gets the inner frame it always deserved.

MechaGrade Score

4.4/5

RX-78-2 Gundam · 1/144 · 2024

GradeRG

Scale1/144

Released2024

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the RG that finally builds like it looks.

Bandai took the 2010 original, the kit that basically invented the modern Real Grade line, and rebuilt it around a new inner frame that bends and holds a pose instead of threatening to snap. I came away genuinely impressed that a 1/144 suit this small can extend its shoulders, double-joint its elbows, and still stand there looking like the RX-78-2 from the poster.

Best for: RG collectors and returning builders who want the definitive small-scale RX-78-2, not a first-ever kit

The full review

What it is

This is Bandai's from-scratch redo of the very first Real Grade kit, and you can feel the fourteen years of line development in every joint. The proportions lean closer to the PG Let looseed take on the suit, a little more heroic through the chest and shoulders, and the frame underneath is genuinely intricate, not the fragile skeleton the 2010 version was known for. I built mine expecting a nostalgia piece and ended up with a kit that poses like something twice its price. The part separation is thorough enough that the eyes, the vents, the chest vulcans all come molded in color rather than relying on the sticker sheet, and that alone makes the finished suit look sharper on the shelf than most kits in this scale.

The catch

The head armor on early production runs has a known tolerance problem: the red eyelid piece sits slightly proud and can stop the side head parts from seating flush, which means light sanding before you can call the head finished. There is also a torso quirk worth knowing about going in, pull the chest back too far while posing and the internal A-block frame piece can pop loose, so the forward bend has a locking mechanism you need to respect rather than force. The Core Fighter's landing gear is a little loose at its contact points too. None of this is a dealbreaker, but it is not the flawless plug-and-pose experience the box implies.

Who it's for

If you already own the original 2010 RG and remember the ankle and knee joints stripping out under normal posing, this is the fix, buy it and don't look back. It is also a strong pick for anyone who wants a proper inner-frame Gundam without stepping up to MG scale and cost. I would not point a total first-timer here though. The frame has real part count for a 1/144 kit and the small pieces demand patience, so if you have never built a runner in your life, an Entry Grade or a standard HG will treat you better before you take this one on.

The build story

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

The runners drop the old "double-hitting" molding process and the Advanced MS Joint insert-molded parts that made the original RG confusing to sort, so this build reads cleaner on the sprue and the nub placement is easier to clean up. Plastic quality on both the frame and armor runners is noticeably good, easy to trim without stress-whitening, and a lot of the small frame parts are undergated so cleanup barely shows.

The frame is where this kit earns its price. It is more mechanically detailed than any earlier RG, with a rebuilt hip and shoulder assembly that lets the suit hold dynamic weapon poses instead of drooping. Color separation on the armor is close to MG-level for a 1/144 kit, and the accessory set (rifle, bazooka, shield, sabers, swappable hands) gives you real options for a display pose rather than one default stance.

Lore & trivia

01The RG RX-78-2 Gundam (Ver. 2.0) released in Japan on August 10, 2024, at a list price of 3,850 yen, fourteen years after the original RG line launched with the same suit in 2010.
02The new inner frame moves the proportions closer to the PG RX-78-2 Let looseed rather than the original 2010 RG sculpt.
03The kit is built from nine runners, one fewer than the 2010 original, after Bandai eliminated the insert-molded Advanced MS Joint parts and the double-hit molding process used on the first release.