RX-79［G］Ez-8 Gundam Ez8

RX-79[G]Ez-8 Gundam Ez8
As the One Year War continued to drag on, the Earth Federation Forces began to put the vast majority of their resources towards creating and maintaining the mass-produced GM line of mobile suits. This left many of the Federation's older units without the adequate supplies needed to undergo repairs and regular maintenance. This put more trouble to the RX-79[G] Gundam Ground Type since they were constructed primarily of spare parts left over from the RX-78 development project anyway. Due to such supply shortages, when 08th Mobile Suit Team pilot Ensign Shiro Amada's RX-79[G] Gundam Ground Type was all but destroyed during an ambush on the Zeon's prototype Apsalus II mobile armor, it had to be rebuilt from the ground up.

The resulting amalgama of spare parts was given the new model number RX-79[G]Ez8, code named the Gundam Ez8 (Ez8 standing for "Extra zero-8". The designation "Ez8" appears to be a reference to the M4A3E8 "Easy Eight" variant of the M4 Sherman medium tank of World War II). The Gundam Ez8, despite being constructed largely of spare parts, was actually capable of slightly higher performance then the RX-79[G] Gundam Ground Type. By removing the fixed weapons in the left side of the chest the Kojima Battalion engineers were able utilize the extra space to improve upon the engines and reactor, which gave the Gundam Ez8 higher generator output, better propulsion, greater thrust, and superior general performance. The Gundam Ez8's armor placement was also revised, giving it added protection around the cockpit block and chest, and around the ankles.

To compensate for the removal of the chest-based vulcan and the multi-launcher, the Gundam Ez8 had a 12.7mm anti-personnel machine gun placed in the mecha's abdominal region, as well as twin 35mm machine guns mounted in the head. The Ez8 still retained the two beam sabers stored in the compartments in the sides of the legs, and was still capable of using all of the armaments its predecessor could, although Shiro heavily favored the 100mm machine gun. The traditional Gundam "V-fin" communications array that was mounted on the forehead was also done away with, opting instead to replace it with a more durable rabbit-ear communications antenna on the right side of its head. The Gundam Ez8's backpack design was unchanged, which still allowed it to mount mission packs and field equipment options.

Shiro Amada's Gundam Ez8 would continue to see service in the South-eastern Asian theatre during the One Year War, until it was destroyed during the battle to overtake Zeon's mountain facility where the completed Apsalus III was about to emerge.