RX-78GP01 Gundam "Zephyranthes"

The RX-78GP01 Gundam "Zephyranthes" (aka Gundam Zephyranthes, GP01, Unit 1) is a Prototype Multipurpose mobile suit from the OVA series Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory. The unit is piloted by Kou Uraki.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
As described in the Master Grade model manual and MS Encyclopedia, at the conclusion of the One Year War, the Federation opened the Gundam Development Project, aimed at creating mobile suits superior to those that Zeon had developed. The RX-78GP01 Gundam "Zephyranthes" was the second of five Gundam type mobile suit prototypes completed under this plan.

The RX-78GP01 was designed to be an adaptable mobile suit, able to operate under any condition on earth or in space; to that end its design is superficially similar to the other RX series Gundams. Unlike previous suits, this was one of the first to re-introduce the core fighter concept in its design, utilizing the recently developed FF-XII Core Fighter II as the cockpit.

One major innovation in the RX-78GP01's arsenal was the addition of a beam rifle that used removable energy capacitor clips called e-pacs. Previous beam rifle designs had the energy capacitor integrated into the rifle directly, resulting in the rifle becoming dead weight once the capacitor was depleted. With e-pacs, beam rifles can be used indefinitely as long as the pilot has a ready supply of replacement e-pacs. The RX-78GP01 has three e-pacs (one mounted on the rifle, two held in reserve on the shield) in its normal deployment configuration.

Though the GP01 is operable in both Earth and outer space, it needs to be configured for each environment before battle by swapping out the different Core Fighters. Otherwise, the GP01 will suffer from a lack of balance and will become near impossible to pilot.

Armaments

 * 60mm Vulcan Gun
 * A standard armament of the Earth Federation Forces' mobile suits is a pair of head mounted 60mm vulcan guns. These shell firing weapons have a high-rate of fire but have little power.


 * A.E.Blash·XBR-L-83d/Du.02 Beam Saber
 * 2 beam sabers stored in the recharge recks of the backpack, fixed with the Core Fighter II, can be served as beam cannon in core fighter form and hand carried in-use.


 * BOWA XBR-M-82-05H Beam Rifle w/ mounted "Jitte"
 * The BOWA XBR-M-82A-05H beam rifle is the standard rifle for the Zephyranthes, power rated at 1.5MW, charged by replaceable e-caps. This is the first rifle applying a new technology "e-pacs", which is a replaceable container of mega-particles, able to let the pilot change the e-pac in the battle when running off ammunition of the beam rifle. The beam jitte attached to the Zephyranthes' beam rifle is a specialized beam saber designed to catch enemy beam sabers, allowing the pilot to quickly counter when there is no time to draw out his main beam saber.


 * HFW-GMG・MG79-90mm Machine Gun
 * The bullpup machine gun is a simple shell-firing machine gun that is based on older technologies, making it a weapon that can be cheaply produced and can be used by just about any mobile suit.


 * RX·VSh-023F/S-04712 Shield
 * As with most other mobile suits, the Zephyranthes carries a single physical shield for defense on its left arm. 2 e-pacs could be stored in the shield.

Special Equipment & Features

 * Core Block System

History
The RX-78GP01 was taken to Australia's Torrington Base for terrestrial testing, where it was commandeered by (and later assigned to) Federation ENS (later LTJG) Kou Uraki in his effort to retrieve the RX-78GP02A Gundam "Physalis". The GP01 was heavily damaged while defending the Albion from an attack by Cima Garahau's marine corp., the Cima Fleet. The Gundam was recovered and sent to Anaheim Electronics to undergo a massive upgrade into the RX-78GP01-Fb Gundam "Zephyranthes" Full Burnern.

Variants

 * RX-78GP01-Fb Gundam Full Vernian "Zephyranthes"
 * RX-78GP01-St Strike GP01

Notes & Trivia

 * The name Zephyranthes means "pure love"
 * There are no GP01 Zephyranthes and Zephyranthes Full Vernian in Super Robot Wars 64 even though there are Stardust Memories storylines in the game. Thus, Kou Uraki pilots a common RGM-79 GM before using the RX-78GP03D Gundam "Dendrobium Orchis".
 * Like the RX-78GP02A Gundam "Physalis," the RX-78GP01 Gundam "Zephyranthes" was designed by accomplished anime creator and mechanical designer, Shoji Kawamori, creator of the Macross series.