HG RX-78 NT-1 Gundam NT1 1/144

I'm not a huge fan of the boxy, classic RX-78-2 look... But this kit, this kit charmed me. Canonically being an upgraded iteration of the grandpa gundam, this kit reflects it, & has a LOT of detail to panel line. It also has the benefit of being from the completely goated "0080: War In the Pocket" miniseries, which has fantastic suit designs that are shown off in meticulous detail with the higher quality animation allowed by the shorter runtime. Looks even better than the Gundam MK II, in my opinion.

It's color seperation is okay by modern standards, but I can imagine was exceptional for the time. Being a kit that is older than me, I really thought it'd be a difficult experience that needed alot of tools and care, but it holds up really well and looks excellent. The arsenal it includes is about everything you'd expect, except for an all-white beam saber which is very disappointing but the beam saber isn't really used in the anime so if you're trying to recreate the battle with the Kämpfer it's not an issue. The shield is a bit wonky, the arm miniguns are seperate parts but look fine. They are not completely accurate to the anime, in that a little white piece of the arm are supposed to stick to the cannon when it extends but it remains part of the arm on the HG. This is a tiny nitpick and does not actually matter. The entire chobham armor is included, and looks good too, but I choose not to use it as it covers up the really nice detail underneath which is always a shame. Looks great for pictures, though.

Overall, a dope ass kit. I can highly recommend it, even if you are a beginner, though you will probably enjoy it more if you are more experienced and willing to spend a bit of extra time working out the imperfections.