Gunpla Build - Master Grade Gundam (Origin Ver.)

This was on sale at a price I couldn’t say no to:

It’s Gramps. In Master Grade form!

About the Mobile Suit

This kit is a model of the Grandaddy Gundam as it is supposed to look in the Gundam: The Origin manga, a retelling of the original Mobile Suit Gundam that makes a number of changes, not only to the story and characters, but also to the mobile suit designs.

In the case of Gramps, here are the main things that have changed:

• It has more guns. Lots more guns. It’s got vulcan cannons in its left wrist, a “shoulder magnum” in its left shoulder, another small machine gun in its right shoulder, and a big cannon mounted to the left side of its backpack
• It has some extra thrusters in its legs
• It can mount its shield upside down (which you can see on the box art)
• It’s model number was changed from “RX-78-2” to “RX-78-02”, presumably to make it easier to refer to each version separate from one another
• It can’t use the Beam Javelin or the Gundam Hammer, as neither weapon exists in The Origin
• It begins the story with its classic Beam Rifle, but it is eventually replaced with a bigger, meaner looking version called the “Middle Type Rifle”
• It doesn’t initially have the Core Block System or the Core Fighter. Instead, the Core Block is treated as a midstory upgrade
  • As part of this upgrade, it also ditches all of its new onboard guns in favor of more thrusters - presumably this was to optimize it for use in space. This version of the MS is called the “Middle/Late Type”

The Shoulder Cannon

The big shoulder mounted cannon is the exact same kind seen on the Gundam Local Type (North American) which I built some years ago: The Local Type variant is also from The Origin, so I think it's safe to say that this cannon is a semi-standard armament for Gundams in that timeline.

Appearances in Media

Obviously this is one of the stars of the Origin manga, but what about onscreen appearances? Sadly, there aren’t many to speak of!

Prior to releasing the Origin OVA, Sunrise put out a 30 second teaser which reinterprets one of the iconic moments from the original show in the Origin style:

This is one if, if not the only animated depiction of the Early Type design.

Then there is the feature film Cucuruz Doan’s Island, which depicts the Middle Type/Late Type design:

I’m not going to say those are the only onscreen appearances, considering the Gundam Wiki has some images that sure do look like animation, but which are not attributed to any particular project (like this one):

But these are certainly the most notable examples.

About the Visual Design

The best way I can think of to describe this redesign is that it’s like a remaster of an old video game. It looks like how most people probably imagine the Gundam in their heads, versus how it actually looked back in the 80’s.

What I think makes it work is that it updates the OG design without going too far.

• There’s lots more surface detail on the legs, but the upper half of the body is largely plain and classic looking.
• The body is a very light grey, and lacks the ever-so-slightly-minty-green hue of the original design. Again, I think this is more in line with how people remember the Gundam looking.
• The other colors are also tweaked slightly, but they remain very bright and cartoonish (which in my opinion is how they should look on Gramps)
• It’s still boxy as hell (which, again, it should be)
• The proportions are relatively similar

There are a lot of reinterpretations of the Grandaddy Gundam that make it so much more complex and mechanical, and while I certainly like those quite a bit, there’s something to be said for a design like this, one that’s more concerned with cleaning up the OG design without obliterating it.

About the Kit

As far as I can tell this kit comes with all the parts you need to build either the Early Type or the Middle Type, including the Middle Type Beam Rifle. I’ve already decided I’m going to go with the Early Type design on account of all the extra guns (and just because it looks different than the norm).

It also comes with a bunch of different clear Effect Parts to use with those guns, which is pretty cool.

I’ve also read some reviews that claim that this is one of the best Master Grade Grandaddies in regards to articulation.

And sadly, on a negative note, this MG does not come with any waterslide or dry rub decals. It’s all regular stickers. I decided I’m only going to use a few; in fact, the only ones I feel like it really needs are the ones on its shoulders. This is such a simple, classic looking design, and I don’t think it would benefit much from other, smaller markings.