The Mecha of The
War |
In Mobile Suit Gundam, the main weapon that
both the Federation and the Zeon employ are humanoid fighting vehicles called mobile
suits. Mobile suits were powered by Minovsky fusion reactors. Mobile suits were originally
developed by the Zeons to offset the numerical superiority of the Earth Federation. During the One Year War, the versatility of the
mobile suits became apparent. The Federation quickly tried to replicate the technology
that the Zeon fielded. By the end of the war, mobile suits will become an indispensable
part of both sides' military arsenal.
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Federal
Forces |
During the events of Mobile Suit Gundam, the
Federation had just started to research Mobile Suit technology to do battle against the
Zeon Mobile Suits. As the
mobile suits were experimental platforms and prototypes, they were all painted in
"display colors", hence the gaudy color schemes.
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RX-78-02 GUNDAM |
Overall
height : 18.5 m
Head height : 18.0 m
Base weight : 43.4 t
Full weight : 60.0 tArmor
materials:
Luna titanium alloy
Standard armament:
60mm vulcan gun x 2
beam saber x 2
beam rifle x 1
The Gundam was developed as a close
combat mobile suit, hence, it was equipped with a melee weapon, the beam saber. it was
also given a shield to further protect itself.
In Mobile Suit Gundam, the Gundam is
piloted by Amuro Ray.
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RX-77-02 GUNCANNON |
Overall
height : 18.1 m
Head height : 17.5 m
Base weight : 51.0 t
Full weight : 70.0 t
Armor materials:
Luna titanium alloy
Standard armament:
60mm vulcan gun x 2
240mm cannon x 2 (20 rounds)
beam rifle x 1The
Guncannon was developed after the Guntank as the first fully humanoid Mobile Suit. The
main mission for the Guncannon was mid-range support so no melee weapons were equipped on
the Guncannon.
In Mobile Suit Gundam, the Guncannon
is piloted by Kai Shiden. |
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RX-75 GUNTANK |
Overall
height : 15.6 m
Head height : 15.0 m
Base weight : 56.0 t
Full weight : 80.0 t
Armor materials:
Luna titanium alloy
Standard armament:
180mm cannon x 2
4 x missile launcher x 2The
original mobile suit designed by the Federation to go against the Zeon forces, the Guntank
requires two pilots, a driver who sits in the torso and a gunner who sits in the head. It
was later modified to require only one pilot.
In Mobile Suit Gundam, the Guntank is
piloted by Hayato Kobayashi. |
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RGM-79 GM |
Overall
height : 18.5 m
Head height : 18.0 m
Base weight : 41.2 t
Full weight : 58.8 t
Standard armament:
60mm vulcan x 2
beam saber x 1
beam spray gun x 1The GM (pronounced as Jim) is the mass production mobile
suit of the Federation. It's production was based on the results gathered from the data
gathered from the three experimental Mobile Suits.
The GM is a simplified version of the
Gundam, sharing it's humanoid form and close combat capabilities. Like all mass produced
units however, the GM's ability was greatly affected by the quality of it's pilot. |
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Zeon
Forces |
The Zeon has used used mobile suits years
before The Federation developed their own. As such, Zeon deploys a lot of different mobile
suits for different tasks. One
unique feature of Zeon mobile suits is that they only have one "eye". As to why
this is so, it's up to fans to think about and debate over.
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MS-06F ZAKU II |
Head height
: 18.0 m
Base weight : 58.1 t
Full weight : 73.3 tStandard
armament:
120mm machine gun x 1 (100 rounds)
Options:
280mm bazooka
heat hawk
The Zaku is the workhorse mobile suit
of the Zeon forces. Both space and land versions were developed with only cosmetic
differences.
Technology wise, the Zaku is far
behind the Gundam, as it doesn't employ energy weapons. But the sheer number of Zakus
available during the start of the War gave the Zeons a distinctive advantage with a weapon
that was both dangerous and versatile. |
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MS-06S ZAKU II |
Head height
: 18.0 m
Base weight : 56.5 t
Full weight : 75.2 t
Standard armament:
120mm machine gun x 1 (100 rounds)Options:
280mm bazooka
heat hawk
The MS-06S is a special mobile suit
that is assigned to commanders or aces. The only visible difference is the antenna array
on the head.
There are literally dozens of variants
of the Zaku, all adapted to the needs of the mission.
This specially colored Zaku II is
piloted by Zeon ace, Char Aznable, nicknamed the "Red Comet". |
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MS-07B GOUF |
Overall
height : 18.7 m
Base weight : 58.5 t
Full weight : 75.4 t
Standard armament:
5 x 75mm machine gun x 1
heat rod x 1Options:
heat saber
120mm machine gun (100 rounds)
The Gouf was an attempt by the
designers of the Zaku to create a land-use mobile suit. Unlike the Zaku, the Gouf was
designed with internal weapons.
Only a few dozen Goufs (the design
ultimately lost to the Dom) were constructed and these were
heavily sought by Zeon aces.
The Gouf in Mobile Suit Gundam is
piloted by ace Ranba Ral.
- info adapted from The Gundam Project - |
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MS-09 DOM |
Head height
: 18.6 m
Base weight : 62.6 t
Full weight : 81.8 t
Standard armament:
360mm giant bazooka x 1 (10 rounds)
scattering beam gun x 1
heat saber x 1Towards
the middle of The War, Zeon adopted the Dom as it's main land-use mobile suit.
What sets the Dom apart from other
mobile suits is that the Dom capable of hovering above the ground with speeds of up to 240
km/h, making it very fast and hard to target.
The Dom is also armed with a heat
saber, a sword version of the Zaku's heat hawk. |
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