RX-78GP01 Gundam "Zephyranthes" is the first machine of Anaheim Electronics' Gundam Development Project, a ground-use general-purpose prototype from Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (1991, U.C. 0083). It is shipped to Torrington Base in Australia for testing under gravity, and test pilot Kou Uraki ends up as its pilot.
What it does in the story
The GP01 is still being tested when Zeon remnants raid Torrington Base and steal its sister unit, the GP02A, and Uraki boards the GP01 to go after it. He fights the stolen machine across Australia and then in Africa, and the suit's mobility is what carries him through those running battles. Sent into space before its space-use tuning is finished, it is badly damaged there, and Anaheim rebuilds the same airframe into the Full Burnern form.
What makes it different
-
The Core Fighter is part of the machine, not just an escape craft.
The GP01 keeps the Core Block System, but the block sits horizontally inside the body rather than vertically as on the RX-78, which answers the earlier suit's weak midsection. Its generator, main thrusters and control instruments all live in the FF-XII Core Fighter II, and once the fighter is docked its beam guns serve as the suit's beam sabers, so nothing aboard is dead weight.
-
A jutte hangs under the beam rifle.
The XBR·BOWA M-82-05H runs on e-pacs of twenty shots each. A small beam saber called a jutte is mounted under the barrel, named for the Edo-period police weapon, and it lets the suit parry a melee attack without putting the rifle down.
-
The shield is built to eat beam fire.
Its anti-beam coating is rated to take two or three direct hits from a beam cannon. The top of the shield retracts to cut inertia when it is stowed, and the inside carries two spare e-pacs for the rifle.
-
The Full Burnern is a reconfiguration of this airframe.
The space-use parts were planned from the start and rolled out with the suit on 29 September U.C. 0083. After the GP01 is wrecked in space it returns to Von Braun and comes back out as the Full Burnern, so the two names describe one machine in two forms rather than two machines.
How big is it?
- Overall height: 18.5 m, with a head height of 18.0 m and a base weight of 39.7 t, according to Bandai's official spec
- 1/144: roughly 12.8 cm
- 1/100: roughly 18.5 cm
Why buy from P-Rex Hobby
P-Rex Hobby is a Bandai Recommended Hobby Store with 20,000+ customers served and 1800+ five-star reviews. US orders ship duties prepaid with no import fees, and Route Package Protection is available at checkout.
Frequently asked questions
1. Is the GP01 the same machine as the GP01 Full Burnern?
Yes. The Full Burnern is the space-use configuration of this airframe, not a separate unit: the optional parts rolled out with the suit in September U.C. 0083, and Anaheim rebuilt the damaged GP01 into that form at Von Braun in November.
2. Why does the GP01 carry a Core Fighter?
To keep the pilot and the combat data alive. The core block holds the cockpit, the generator and the main thrusters, and ejects as the FF-XII Core Fighter II if the suit is lost.
3. What is the jutte on the beam rifle?
A small beam saber fixed under the rifle barrel. It was named after the short weapon carried by Edo-period police, and its purpose is to let the pilot block or parry while still holding the rifle.
4. Does the GP01 only appear in Stardust Memory?
The OVA is where it originates. It also appears in the 0083 Rebellion manga, where Chobham armour plates and an Aqua Equipment set are added to it, and in a number of games.
Background sources: RX-78GP01 Gundam "Zephyranthes" — Gundam Wiki · 宇宙世紀の登場機動兵器一覧（0083 スターダストメモリー）— 日本語版 Wikipedia
