Bandai Hobby RG#13 RX-78 GP01 Gundam GP-01Fb

I had done a lot of High grade and one or two Master grade kits as a kid but I wanted more detail in a smaller space. This fit the bill perfectly, was a fun kit to put together and the level of detail is amazing. Keep in mind it is a 1/144 scale so some of the smaller pieces I could barely pick up with my fingers. A pair of fine forceps and a hobby knife will benefit you well with the RG kits. The only complaints I have about this kit is the top half/bust does not attach well to the core base (the folded jet plane part). Mine sort of teeters on it but if I wanted I could glue it on. As well, some of the decals were not cut well, leaving overhanging edges on the corresponding pieces, but a little hobby knife work cleared that up. Overall, a very fun, detailed, and labor-intensive build with worthwhile results.

I loved this build. It's been a few years since I last built one of these models and I felt it was time to try and get back into it. I'm not gonna lie, it was dumb of me to just right into these real grade builds because of how complicated they CAN be. And by that I mean, it was complicated to me because I tried to rush it, but like with any model build, you have to take your time and focus. Once I did that, it was no problem. I actually enjoyed it and it reminded me how much joy building these Gundams used to bring me. Ok, what you really want to know. I received the packaged in perfect condition. My models were wrapped in bubble wrap and had plastic bubble cushions inside to keep everything in place. The box the model parts came in were in great condition and were taped on all 4 sides. The model itself took about 8 hours for me to build but I think that was mostly me getting back into the groove of things. Anyone with a steady hand and patience can probably build it faster lol. All the pieces of the model are strong and sturdy but still it helps to treat every piece as if it was fragile. There are some pieces that bend and twist so when cutting them out, be careful and pay attention to what you are cutting. As far as the Gundam its self, it can stand on its own and looks absolutely great. Even without paint or all the decals is looks amazing. The decals really add more detail to it. All in all, this was a fun build and a real good one. Can't wait to work on the others and I would definitely recommend this to others.

The Real Grade GP01Fb is an excellent kit overall with a few minor issues. First off, this is a awesome looking kit once completed and detailed. It really stand out in the details, even compared to it's PG version. Articulation is great overall with some looseness in the upper body(more on that in a bit). Colors look good and it won't require any additional painting, although if you want to go the extra mile and have it match the artwork you should paint the inside of all the rocket bells red and the beam rifle scope red(weirdly enough Bandai never provides a colored part for this on any kit of the GP01, not even a sticker). For accessories you get the beam rifle with four e-pacs, the beam "jitte" effect part, a pair of beam sabers with blades, folding shield with swappable handles, a pair of fists, pair of RG hands, and a trigger hand for the rifle. And a tiny Kou Uraki figure. The shield of note comes with a fixed hand/handle to swap in so the GP01Fb can hold it's shield out right. There are a few tiny transformation gimmicks on this kit that you will have to handle with care. There are tiny thrusters in the shoulders that slide in and out and open up. Take care building these as the parts are very tiny. The other thrusters of note are the ones in the chest that slide out from the core fighter, but are normally covered by vent covers. Keep an eye on these covers as they like to fall out and can be very easy to loose. I just keep mine with the thrusters out so as not to worry about it. Besides those, the cockpit has a double opening with the outside parts flipping open and the inner core fighter canopy flipping up. Have a toothpick handy. The other big gimmick is the Core Fighter II that comprises most of the torso. It transforms easy enough and comes with swappable landing gears for ground posing or an action base adapter for up in the air. Now about the upper body looseness. This comes from the connection between the core fighter and the upper torso not having a secure connection. The connecting pegs are far too loose and any posing of the arms will pop off the upper torso. This might be remedied with bulking up the pegs with some glue. Besides that, of slight interest I noticed when building is that the feet(as big as they are) are not actually the correct size. The Fb parts are fitted on top the original GP01's parts but for whatever reason Bandai designed the RG GP01Fb to be slimmer than it actually should be. Just go to Dalong's gunpla gallery and compare the two RGs next to each other and then the PG versions. The RG GP01Fb's size is skewed to look slimmer and it's original feet inside the Fb parts are way smaller. This may not be a big deal to most but for those looking for accuracy it might be. Overall, this is still an excellent RG kit IMO. It is more complicated than the average RG fare due to several moveable gimmicks but if you're experienced with RG kits already this shouldn't be too much of an issue to work with.

This is a great kit. The level of detail is amazing for this scale. And the gp01fb is an awesome and fun build. with it being so small and still haveing the core fighter it is truly impressive.

Why did you pick this product vs others?: I’ve never written a review for a product but this kit hands down is the WORST Real Grade kit I’ve built. It has this transformation gimmick where the upper body turns into a fighter jet but it’s so fragile you can’t really do much of anything with the kit other than stand it up and never touch it again. Comparing this to a very similar kit being the RX-178 AUEG it makes this one look like its entry grade based on the way it puts itself together and how it holds itself. Also this kit is not that detailed when it comes to decals and other customization work. Panel lining it wasn’t an issue but again compared to the 178 this kit comes with around 50 decals while the 178 comes with nearly 200. Overall it makes the kit look and feel like it’s more of a High grade and even then high grade kits I’ve built look and pose way better than this. I’m only giving it 2 stars since of course building any gundam kit is enjoyable and in some cases therapeutic this one once you get done with the legs you might as well stop.

Ok so let me start by saying that glue is required to assemble this thing if you don't want it to come apart by just looking at it. Also connection between Upper & lower body is loose. But if you overcome its downfalls it does look amazing. It is very detail and fun to build. With that been said it has alot and I do mean ALOT of very very tiny parts that if you don't pay attention or are organize you will loose. This was my first RG and now I know what to expect on the next one.

The RG series is great if you remember that they are tiny models PACKED with tons of small detail. It's like a pocket sized perfect grade which is great but comes with some issues. Small details mean small hard to assemble parts that don't always stay together securely.

I finally opened this one, I thought I was buying a HG model, but when it came in the mail realized it was a RG, so built a HG before this one. Nonetheless, this being my third Gunpla I built it was sure a good challenge. A lot of pieces here and this took me around 8 hours, 2 hours just to build the Core Fighter, but I am still just starting out. The one problem I have is the Antenna on the head is a little fragile, I bent it many times when just putting the head on, wish they would have gave us more just in case we accidentally snap it. This is a model, not a toy, so I suggest pose it not play it. The three pieces don't really snap together so they are just sitting on top of each other, so moving it I have to be careful so it doesn't fall apart. Nonetheless this was a fun build and a great introduction to what higher grade models are like. If you are just starting out with Gunpla pick this one up after a for HGs, then you'll get a good taste of the next level.