MG Gundam RX-78-2 VER. 3.0 1/100

The 3.0 Gundam is the most detailed Master Grade RX-78-2 to date, only outdone by Fat Cat's upscaled RG 2.0 kit, though the 3.0 has the most panel and color separation.

It is essentially a scaled up version of the RG#01, both kits based on the statue(s) that were in Tokyo, with multi-color panels and "innie" chest vents. Its construction is very similar to the RG with the biggest difference being that the RG has a pre-molded inner frame and the MG has plastic-on-plastic joints and polycaps.

Aesthetics:
Since it's based on the Real Grade principle of what a "real" Gundam would look like, it features multiple shades of the same colors.
Most notably the arms and legs have three shades of grey (with the inner frame being a fourth, much darker grey). The chest is a saturated blue with baby-blue almost lilac colored sides and hatches.
The red is darker than usual, but not quite as dark as the RG (I prefer the RG red, personally).
There aren't a lot of panel lines, but instead you have a ton of tick marks everywhere that are deep enough to fill.
Since the hands are the same as the Ver.Ka. Nu Gundam, they are somewhat large (nicknamed 'gorilla hands' by Mecha Gaikotsu).
Overall the aesthetic is a cross between realism and anime accuracy.
The kit comes with an RG style sticker sheet with decals and foil stickers. I've opted not to use the foils, due to them having a reputation of peeling and getting very worn. They weren't great on the RG either.
There are no eye stickers, only a black border, leaving the eyes transparent.

Mechanics:
The 3.0 has separating knees and panels on its thighs and upper arms, which okay. The RG was impressive in this sense, but the 3.0 is 3 years younger, almost four.
The articulation is very standard, the complex build does nothing for it. There are a couple of lifting panels on the chest's shoulders and the shoulder pads, but the practicality of this is for the visual result, not to make a really good shoulder - in fact that shoulders suck, they tend to pop out and they're counter intuitive in how they work.
The front skirt panels take some finagling to get out of the way and the hip joints don't move at all, so you can't do anything fancy with the legs. HG kits do better than this.
No ab crunch, but the waist plate tilts a little bit backwards and forwards. It does turn slightly side to side and rotate maybe 8 degrees, almost nothing. There is an opening crotch hatch, just like the anime. It has a transforming core fighter, as well as a core block, so both can be displayed. It can also be assembled without either block inside of it.
All this being said, what's impressive is that it stays together and moves in SPITE of its highly detailed build - You don't get this for acrobatics.
The head and neck comes off to reveal a compartment for a not included LED unit - There is light piping up to the cameras and eyes. The Origin version reuses this gimmick.

Equipment:
I honestly don't want to write out the usual list of stuff, it has everything that most RX-78-2 kits have, rifle, shield, two sabers and effects, and a bazooka, as well as aforementioned transforming core flyer and core block. 2 seated pilots missing their legs and one standing Amuro Ray with helmet on.
Most notable are the hands, just the one pair, but they're the pre-molded fully articulate hands that the Nu Gundam Ver.Ka. uses, so they look oversized. The grip is good enough for the weapons, but just like the RG, it's incapable of holding the shield by hand.

Conclusion:
It's a great looking kit, definitely one of the most impressive looking grandpappy gundams and the decal sheet is very decent - I often advise against using sticker decals, but the ones for this one, are mostly shaped to fit the panels, so they look okay. I might just use them instead of waiting for waterslides to be restocked.
Funny enough, I think the waist is entirely reused from the 2.0 Gundam, they share the same mechanics and same lack of hip lift/sink. It's a bit of a cheap-skate move honestly, since this is the "three point oh" super advanced model kit!
The reception of it was mediocre, people are split on the design, but a lot of it is reused in the PGU and RG 2.0 designs, they both have this multi-colored, color separation design with plenty of little details.
As model kits go, I recommend the MG 2.0 over this for a much more solid build and the MG Origin for a more modern and better armed version - Less colors but more panel lines. But for detail? This is the one.

Et fantastisk build. Grandpa har fantastisk artikulation du kan få den i en masse dynamiske positioner. der er mange stickers men det er det værd for en realistisk version af den klassiske gundam. vær opmærksom om at dens kobber farvet stickers har en tildens til at blive slidte hurtigt da der er på dens joints.

denne gundam er en stjerne i min samling især med den gule led kit som jeg købte til den

Overall, it feels pretty solid. It does come with all the weapons you'd need with a grandpa kit, those being the beam sabers, beam rifle, hyper bazooka and shield. It looks great with just the decals and some panel lining. The build is not really that complicated and is pretty fun. There's a lot of moving parts. I like the multitone look of it, I think it looks good.
The gripes I have about this kit though. The shoulder pauldrons do tend to come loose if handled without care, the shield has problems staying in the Gundam's hand and the shield is pretty hefty on the back when accompanied by the hyper bazooka, so it can be difficult to pose in a way that doesn't look akward when the equipment is on the back. In other words, it's somewhat back heavy. Another one is the gold decals on the elbow joint parts which you might just want to replace with some paint. Not to that say it's a bad kit, but it's not perfect.
Best service I've had with an online store, shoutout to Jesper :D I always look forward to reading the cards.

Den bedste og hurtigste service. Kom dagen efter, så kan klart anbefales!

Et formidabelt flot kit, med masser af bevægelse dele og tilbehør, der gør kit'et mere badass.

Du får ikke hurtigere eller bedre personlig service end hos Jesper.
MG RX-78-2 ver. 3 er en lille MG, men synes nu han er cool ved siden af min nyere HG Messer.

Som nybegynder til hobbyen var den ikke svær at samle.