MSiA RX78GP01 Gundam 'Zephyranthes' Japanese Version

Height: 10.5 cm to top of head, 11 cm to top of Beam Saber hilt.

Articulation: 26 total points of articulation: Ball jointed neck; 6 points in each arm - double jointed shoulder, pre-elbow swivel, double jointed elbow, ball joint wrist; ball-jointed waist; 6 points in each leg - ball jointed hip, double jointed knee, hinged ankle armor, double-jointed ankle.

Accessories: Beam Rifle, 90mm Machinegun, Long Rifle, Beam Saber x4(with two blades), Shield, Extra hands x4

Colors: Molded red, white, blue, translucent pink, medium gray and matte dark gray. Painted red, blue, yellow, black, green(eyes and sensors) and black ink (panel lines).

Release Data: Released September 20, 2003 in Japan at a price of ¥1500. This item is no longer in production as of this writing (February 8, 2005)

Gallery: 8 images.

Author: RAC

The Figure

First off, a note about this figure: while it's often referred to as the Second Version of the Gundam GP01, it's the first version to appear in Japan, and thus doesn't say "Second Version" on the box. Because of this, ExVee and I decided to refer to it as the "Japanese Version" rather than the Second Version.

This figure is, technically, the second version of the Gundam GP01, and it has the double-joints associated with Second Version MSiA. I don't have the US release, but I know for a fact that everything here is a completely new sculpt- and a new accessory is included, the Long Rifle. Unfortunately, the proportions seem off in a few key areas, and it doesn't really look quite like any version of the Zephyranthes- filmed or molded- that I've seen before.

The Head

The design alterations start from the top, as the head looks a good bit wider than it should. Mostly, this is due to the exaggerated vents on the sides of the GP01's helmet. The antenna is also a little thick, but that's hard to avoid at this scale. The neck seems set a bit deep into the torso, but the head has good clearance, with 360-degree swivel and a decent amount of tilt, too.

The Arms

The shoulder armor is pretty accurate, looking like an earlier version of the Gundam Mk.-II's. The shoulders swivel forward fairly well, and the arms can swing out to form a 45-degree angle, give or take, with the torso. Not the best, but I don't really see what else could be done with the extremely round upper arm without having it fall off constantly. The elbows close to a fairly tight "V," but can't quite manage the "U" of other double-jointed arms.

The Torso

This is the portion of the sculpt that's probably responsible for the biggest difference in appearance. It's a bit squatter than most versions of the GP01 torso, with larger vents and a smaller midsection that begins much lower. In addition, the neck is set deeper, as I mentioned before, and the shoulders are set higher. Coupled with the broader head, the overall effect is of a much bulkier, more brutish machine than I usually associate with the GP01 design. It always struck me as being somewhat more slender-looking.

On a technical level, though, the torso is fairly good. The waist has a minor amount of tilt, but a fairly good swivel range, stopped only by the backpack. The backpack is molded nicely- the thrusters and Beam Saber mounts are both nicely adjustable. The backpack is also removeable, being mounted on a large ball-joint. Surprisingly, the underside of the backpack, which most people will probably never see, has a nice level of detailing as well- namely, the wings of the GP01's Core Fighter!

The front skirt armor is short, and does a fairly good job of staying out of the way of the legs. The side skirt plates are ball-jointed and enjoy a good range. The sockets are deep-set too, and they're a struggle to pull off, so there's little to no danger of them falling off.

The Legs and Feet

The legs are pretty nice overall. The hips have a good range- and they'd better, with such minimal skirt armor!- and the thighs have been shaped specifically so that the calves can fold flat against them. Very nice.

The final proportioning problem is with the ankle armor, which is stupidly wide. I think the idea was to be sure that the ankles retained some decent side-to-side movement, and they do. The ankles are excellent, in fact- they're double-jointed in a manner similar to the Gundam SEED and SEED Destiny figures, and have almost as much range. The enlarged ankle armor that helps allow this, however, really interferes with the lines of the leg.

Paint and Detailing

The overall paint job is good- there's one spot of gray on the right knee that seems out of place, but other than that it's quite nice. The thing that baffles me, though, is that the panel lines are only inked on the forearms, and the lower legs and feet. I don't understand this at all- there are lines on the skirt, and especially on the thighs, that could use some ink. It's a bit of a cop-out. Still, it's an attractive figure overall, and the relatively low Sculpt and Deco figure is mainly due to the proportional problems outlined above.

Articulation gets 8/10

Sculpt and Deco get 5/10

Accessories

-Beam Rifle

A pretty good representation of the GP01's primary weapon, with hinged camera and secondary handgrip, as well as a removeable E-pack. The camera and handgrip are attached securely- many of the swiveling handgrips have a tendency to fall off, but not here. The problem is that, even with the competent shoulders, it's hard to hold the rifle two-handed because of the protruding cockpit section of the chest and how close the handgrips are to one another. The E-Pack is a nice touch, but it's far looser than I'd like, so it's probably best to keep a close eye on it. This is a molding problem- I tried all three of the included E-packs, and there was no variation in how they fit the rifle.

-90mm Machinegun

This is a new sculpt of the MG that came with the US GP01 and both versions of the 0083 GM variants, as well as the original GM and Ball figure set. The only differences of note are the barrel, which is a tiny bit longer, and a matte finish in keeping with the rest of the weaponry. The magazine is still non-removeable, which is kinda cheap, considering both of the other weapons have removeable clips. Still, considering the other removeable clips, I'll call it a lucky break.

-Long Rifle

This is an all-new accessory, essentially an MSV piece, seen in the Gundam Fix Figuration version of the GP01 and the Playstation2 game "Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space." It reminds me of a longer version of the 180mm cannon used by the Gundam Ground Type, though it's clearly intended as a Beam weapon. There is a fixed secondary handgrip on the left side of the weapon, but there is no, I repeat, no way to get the GP01 to hold the weapon two-handed in a satisfactory manner. This owes to a combination of three factors: the hands, the torso, and the fact that the removeable magazine falls off constantly. In fact, the hands make it difficult enough to hold one-handed that it's pretty worthless as an accessory.

-Beam Sabers

A very simple design, even compared to the RX-78's Beam Sabers, four are included here, two on the backpack, and two with blades attached in the package. The blades are removeable as always, though of course they're soft plastic, so their straightness is a matter of how careful, and how just plain lucky, you are.

-Shield

Easily the most annoying shield I've ever owned. It starts out well enough- the mounting bracket is nearly identical to the one found on the Strike Gundams, which allows the shield to be mounted on the back or the side of the arms. The handgrip is fairly secure, and folds in nicely. Heck, the E-packs hold to the shield better than they do to the Beam Rifle!

The problem is a simple one, and it's the same problem with the magazines for both Rifles- tabs. The folding gimmick of the shield is reproduced with a pair of tabs- in its folded configuration when both tabs are used, it fits so tightly that it's hard to put together and even harder to get back apart. In the full-length configuration, the bottom half falls off. Constantly. If you press it in really, really firmly it'll stay until you try and move the figure. Usually. It's a pity, too- the rest of the shield works well, but the tabs mean I either have to use the folded version, which I don't really like, or no shield at all.

-Extra Hands

The usual three pair of Fists, "Trigger-finger" hands, and open hands are present. The sculpting is sharp, but baffling- the hands all have thick palms and thin, spidery fingers. The general idea seems to be to wedge the accessories between the tips of the fingers and the palms- the thumb doesn't really come into it all that much. Try holding something this way for yourself- you'll see how pitifully ineffective it is. This makes for an okay grip on the smaller guns and the shield and saber if you position the accessories just so, but the weight of the Long Rifle is too much for the fingers, and it's all but unusable.

These are the kind of hands that make you wonder if the sculptor has ever seen hands before. They're the worst I've seen in a long while, and there's no reasonable excuse for it.

Accessories get 3/10

Closing Remarks:

The GP01 figure is well-articulated, and sharply-sculpted. However, it has various minor-to-medium problems with the head, the torso, the ankles, the Beam Rifle, and the hands. It has severe problems that result in practically unusable accessories with the Shield and the Long Rifle. The only potentially okay accessories are the Beam Sabers, which are pretty generic, and the machinegun, which has been included in practically identical form in a couple of swell GM variants.

I would recommend the US version of this figure over this figure sight unseen. If you really have to own it for yourself, look for a sale- I paid $12 or so for it shipped, and I feel that money could've been put to far better use.

Rating it is difficult. The articulation is Very Good, and key aspects were applied to the superb Strike Gundam later on. But the proportions are way off for the design, and the accessories, the Shield and Long Rifle in particular, are just plain horrible. Weighed down by these factors, the Gundam GP01 is simply Not Worth Owning.

-RAC 2/08/2005