… and after a little blip, it’s time to get back to some old builds.
This here is the High Grade Full Armor Gundam 7th:
I bought this kit in the summer of 2023, the same time I got the Darilbalde. I kept seeing it online, and I wondered how in the world it could cost only $18 when it looks so big and detailed. Just what was up with this kit?
As it turns out, the answer was painfully obvious. This Gunpla requires a ton of color correcting decals - as well as a ton of painting on top of that - in order to make it look like it does on the box. For some reason I was either unable or unwilling to see this truth when I bought it, and I’ve been stuck with it ever since.
Actually, no. That makes it sound like I bought it and then never touched it. In reality, I actually started building it immediately after the Darilbalde, and I got pretty far. But there came a point where I found all the detailing work overwhelming, so I put it on ice. And I continued to be afraid of picking it back up for months and months and months.
Until now.
About the Mobile Suit
We’ve talked about this before, but the original Grandaddy Gundam is called the RX78-2 because there are other numbered units in the RX78 line.
First there is the RX78-1:
Next, there’s the Grandaddy:
I don’t think it needs any introduction.
Then there’s the RX78-3 G3:
Its history is … complicated. Feel free to read more about it here if you’d like.
The RX78-4 and RX78-5 are sister units:
These were designed specifically for space use; depending on which version of their history you follow, the G4 was equipped with a massive beam cannon, while the G5 was a more standard unit intended to escort its sibling.
The RX78-6 is nicknamed the Mudrock:
It’s basically a cross between a Gundam and a Guncannon.
Lastly we have the RX78-7:
This 7th Gundam was a test bed for the “Federal Suit Weapon System”, which was an idea for coming up with removable sets of weapons and armor, not only to make the base unit more powerful, but also to adapt it to different situations.
The idea had been done previously with the original Full Armor Gundam, but in that case the optional parts made it slower. The idea with the 7th Gundam was to come up with a design that could use the Full Armor parts without losing performance.
Anyway, when combined with the FA-78-3 armor set, the 7th Gundam becomes the Full Armor Gundam 7th:
Weapons and Stuff
The Full Armor 7th has the same (or better) performance as any of the previous Gundams, and can use all the same standard weapons. But in addition to all of that, it has the following weapons and enhancements:
- A shoulder mounted Long Range Beam Cannon with twice the range as a standard Beam Rifle
- A Custom Beam Rifle with better range and a higher rate of fire
- Missile pods on its chest, shins, and back
- A thicker shield with anti beam coating
- Thicker armor on its body
- A tail stabilizer unit on its back that provides better AMBAC ability and thrust.
Appearances in Media
Many of these RX78 models - including units 4, 5, 6, and the Full Armor 7th - first appeared in the Missing Mobile Suit Variations collection of MS designs from 1990.
Coincidentally (or not?), many of these units would later make their in-universe debut in video games. In the case the Full Armor 7th, it made its debut in Mobile Suit Gundam: Battlefield Record UC 0081.
While I haven’t played the game myself, I believe this is one of, if not the most powerful unit in the game.
About the Model Kit
I recently remarked about how some of the High Grades from 2006 feel surprisingly advanced and modern despite their age. With the Full Armor Gundam 7th, the opposite is true. This is a 2009 kit that feels quite a bit older than that
It’s not just the fact that it uses so many color correcting decals, though that is definitely part of it. And it’s not just the fact that it also requires a lot of painting, though that is also a part of it.
It’s the fact that it has more (and more noticeable) seam lines. It’s the fact that it uses more polycaps. And it’s the fact that it’s missing one very standard accessory.
Put it all together, and it feels like a kit from 2003 more than one from 2009.
I don’t have enough data to try and claim that 2009 some particularly bad year for High Grades. As far as I know, it’s just a problem with this kit.
But why? Here’s my guess - The Full Armor 7th is an extremely intricate mobile suit, one that I think is too complex to replicate easily within the size, complexity, and price limitations of a standard High Grade model kit.
Now, you could argue that there was nothing stopping them from making it as a Master Grade instead, but keep in mind that this kit was released the same year as the Battlefield Record game. The former was clearly meant to promote the latter, and you can do that a lot easier with a sub-$20 kit than with a $50+ Master Grade.
About the Build
It turns out that I took zero Work In Progress photos during the summer. And since it wouldn’t make sense to only have WIP shots of the approximately 30% of the kit I built here in April, I decided it was better not to take any at all. Thankfully, there’s still plenty to discuss.
Also, while I did my absolute best to make this kit color accurate, this is far from my best work. Some of the painting is janky, and I didn’t bother with some of the seam lines. At a certain point it just wasn’t worth it.