RGM-79[G] GM Ground Type Gundam 08th MS Team, Bandai MG 1/100

Phenomenal first Master Grade kit. Not too hard not too easy just challenging enough and looks beautiful when fully constructed.

Awesome model!

If your a Gundam fan and love the OG classics like the 8th Ms team this must be on your buy list haven’t got around to building this just yet but love this kit

I got this kit to add to my MG collection. I have almost 30 HGs and other similar 1/144 size kits including simple ones like EG and G-Frame and complicated like 4 RGs. I have only built 5 MG before this, but they have all been excellent. I chose this one because I don’t have any GM Units in my collection, and no model kit with a yellow paint job. Also this kit was the cheapest MG of the bunch that I could find at the time. little did I know it was also the oldest kit of the bunch.Before I get into the kit, let me do a bit of a preface of the evolution of Gunpla technology. I often hear people point out the age of kits when they talk about them, and this is something I’ve noticed as well. The level of overall quality in articulation and detail generally goes up with modern kits, yeah - but on a finer scale it has to do with the engineering of the kits themselves and how that evolves with injection plastic technology. Polycaps were introduced as a good innovation, but held drawbacks. They were introduced, phased out of MGs for more intricate joints, and saw decades of use for HGs before being finally -seemingly- phased out for new HG releases in exchange for hard plastic ball joints and clips. This kit not only uses Polycaps but screws as well. So yeah if you’ve got no screwdrivers, you’re “screwed” with this kit. They’re only used in the elbows to compensate for bad design and shoulders for some reason. It’s not so bad.That’s just one example, but the point is the “standard of quality” for this hobby has quickly gone up. This kit was released in 2001. I’ve built kits from 2004-2008 before and have been happy with the result, but you start to notice trends in design with older kits that have been replaced. Such as ball-joint hips. I’ve only started building for a few years so it’s interesting to me. Seeing the new WFM kits and how they are taking HG in a new direction of engineering now. Modern HGs are starting to overshadow RGs and make them seem like an experiment - which they were actually, trying to be mini-MG with an internal frame. Now having internal frame is standard at least for body + legs in modern HG.I’m sure you can see what I’m getting at. This model kit is a great result, but with the evolution of Plamo, even HG quickly evolved to make this seem like an obsolete large HG and less like other MGs I have. The box this kit comes in is the same size as the HG Sinanju Stein and the finished product is head and shoulders taller despite being 1/100 compared to 1/144. The body on that HG has an internal frame with shoulders that pull away to swivel and armor that attached to the front side and back. This is just one example but even in 2018, the technology of even HG has exceeded the technology of MG in 2001. I wonder how the creators of this model kit would react to HG Gundam Aerial at that time in 2001. They would have probably said “ That’s impossible to be a model kit. It must be an action figure.”So yeah, it feels like a large simple HG with a simple internal frame. There are cool gimmicks that I will get into later though. First let me get into some of that age showing that I was talking about. Certain gimmicks that have become standards of even HG have been omitted from this kit. We have no bend forward at the waist, limited waist rotation, static feet w/ no turn, no shoulders that pull out, single-ball neck, and ball-joint hips that are very limited. Aspects like the chest are large parts that sandwich together front and back. Just like most simple HG, just slap a cockpit on the front. Having a cockpit is a staple of MG, so it’s a good inclusion. In terms of good gimmicks, besides the cockpit, you also have opening hatches on the legs to store the beam sabers. There are faux pistons built into the ankle which feel super solid. The ammo caps can be taken off of the side skirts and swapped with the energy pistol’s ammo cap. I like that feature. The shield can be attached to either arm and can also extend forward. One secret gimmick is that you can use a HG beam saber effect in the barrel of the beam pistol as an added shooting effect part.My build process was fast and enjoyable. I build the main unit and some basic accessories in one evening as well as doing panel lining. Like I said it’s simple, but it’s a GM. Like Zaku units, they tend to be simple even with modern ones. I was scared by the screws but I luckily had the right tool on hand. They are easy to apply and only used in the arm joints. The head visor looks really great when some silver paint has been applied behind it on the gray plastic. The “ear“ sections of mine caused the seam line to open up on the head when I put them in though. Notably I had to use blue tack to keep some parts secure, which I also had to do on another MG I’ve built from 2006. Unlike that one though which had trouble holding up its weapons with weak palm tabs on the articulated finger hands - this kit had trouble holding its weapons with the same hands and NO tab! So you will need to find a way to stick the weapons in the hands. Luckily the giant rifle this kit comes with has a dedicated holding hand. There are also fists and opened hands.Speaking of accessories this kit comes with a great deal. You’ve got 3 sizes of gun; the small one has exchangeable clips and a fold-out stock, the middle one is your basic Gundam’s beam rifle and then we also have an impressive GM Sniper style laser rifle which is huge and has a jewel seal sticker for the scope. There’s also impressively a 6-cell handheld rocket launcher with included missiles to build and load. Getting the accessories to hold in the hand can sometimes be annoying, but despite this being a Polycaps build, since the arms use screws they can hold the weapons fine. The kit can also pose onto one knee for firing poses. The articulation is fine but limited in many ways. You can still get cool poses though. You also get sticker decals and dry apply decals and scale pilot figures.I overall like this kit. If I didn’t have a screwdriver I would have been frustrated though. It’s simple but is also a retro kit of a background MS. I got this kit for under 35 which is what flashy HGs can run you here nowadays. I got a MG which is like a big HG but better in some ways worse in others. I love the weapon choices, finished product look and feel. I disliked the holding hands and other limited options for articulation. I like that no parts feel loose, but I don’t like how the PC joints flop sometimes. Finally I wish the share of yellow was slightly darker.In the end I’m glad I got this kit though just know what you’re getting into with older kits. The end result can look great with some effort just watch it for certain things. This GM looks great and is a good addition to my collection of MG Gunpla.

Super cool model kit I was very excited to build. One of my favorite mobile suits, but didn't come with required screws and nuts. This is the first kit I have bought that needs screws and it didn't come with any and I can't find what kind it needs, and the manual doesn't say.