This 2002 kit is the Version Katoki kit of the original RX-78-2 Gundam and while it looks nice, it's a barn find under the hood, with ball-in-socket hips and static shoulder joints. It's a kit that borrows from older Gundam kits and suffers for it.
Not just that, but the kit borrows heavily in design and parts from the GM Kai (Stardust Memory) released earlier same year, which is a bit cheap.
Aesthetic:
The Katoki redesign is actually very interesting, reminiscent of the Victory Gundam, and it's clear from the manual and the beautiful box cover, that Hajime Katoki put a lot of effort and thought into the concept art, even detailing a ton of opening hatches. His distinct style is what earned him an entire line named after him (Ver. Ka.) but the model itself is a compromise of what he put onto paper and what came out of the factory.
The model itself doesn't quite fulfill his vision and while it does have some of the lines that he drew, with its prominent chest and a chunky proportion, it's also missing a lot of color detail, especially on the head, where the vents and guns are all white. The primitive core fighter is also lacking in colors, with all red vents.
The kit comes with eye/camera foils, a decal sticker sheet and a dry-transfer sheet. It also uses cloth (nylon) pipe covers for the back of the knees - I recommend using a lighter to melt the ends so they don't fray.
Mechanics:
It has below average articulation, such as arms that don't raise above the shoulder, ball-in-socket hips that prevent the legs from lifting sideways and some pretty limited ankles. The usual Gundam core-block system prevents it from having any midsection and chest articulation and doesn't really swivel either. Even the head barely moves, on a single ball. The shoulders don't move at all.
What it does have, is a transforming Core Fighter, a core block and two pistons above/below the knee. That's it.
Equipment:
1 Beam Rifle with a transparent lens and a cute little linkage on the handle.
2 Beam Saber hilts with 2 pink effect parts
1 COMPLETELY GREY Bazooka... (they even show it as color separated in white, those cheeky bastards)
1 Core Block
1 Core Fighter
1 pilot mini-fig, suited up
Conclusion:
I have 14 versions of the RX-78-2, when I thought I'd never even have one, because I thought they looked boring.
The reason I ended up with so many, is that they're actually very interesting model kits to build, like little time capsules of what Bandai could do and what sort of effort they put into their "flagship" model across HG, MG, RG, PG and more.
The Ver.Ka. is not that, it feels even more outdated than other kits from the same period, primitive and half-measured.
However, it does look interesting compared to the others and stands out in its own way, it just needs some detailing and color correction for the details to stand out.
It's super rare I give out less than five star ratings for Bandai kits, but for the price, it's honestly a bit of a let down.
Personally I think of the 4 Master Grade versions I've built, the 2.0 is still the best MG, to the point that even the 3.0 borrowed parts from it.
