Let’s take a look at how Gundam Unit 04 specifically was portrayed in M-MSV
Unit 04’s M-MSV Page
Here’s the mobile suit’s single-page entry from Issue 9 of SD Club:
You’ll notice that there isn’t a paragraph containing additional lore. This is because Gundam Unit 05 is featured on the next page, and it has a few paragraph about both units together.
Here is a machine translation of Unit 04’s specs:
RX-78-4 (Gundam Unit 4)
Affiliation Federation Forces
Specifications / Specs List
Head Height: 18.0m
Body Weight: 42.6 tons
Full Weight: 80.2 tons (86.5 tons when Mega Beam Launcher is equipped)
Generator Output: 1,550kW
Total Thruster Thrust: 70,500kg
Sensor Effective Radius: 6,190m
Armor Material: Luna Titanium
Armament:
- 60mm Vulcan Gun x 2
- Hand Beam Gun x 2
- Beam Saber x 2
- Hyper Bazooka
- Hyper Beam Rifle
- Mega Beam Launcher
(Note: there’s also a bit of text that emphasizes that the Mega Beam Launcer was conceptual only)
Here is a machine translation of the lore from the other page:
The Federation decided to modify the Gundam Unit 4 and Unit 5—which were already under development—into space combat specifications to use them as the core strike force for their offensives against Solomon and A Baoa Qu.Naturally based on the RX-78-2, the mobile suits had their backpacks replaced, and thrusters and propellant tanks increased, boosting mobility by roughly 40%. Operating time was also extended, raising expectations for major results in prolonged combat, particularly in fortress-assault warfare.
However, the most significant change was the removal of the escape system's core block. By using the resulting open space for a cooling system, the generator output was also boosted, making it possible to use more powerful beam weapons. Consequently, the armament was strengthened into a Hyper Beam Rifle, with Hand Beam Guns equipped one on each side, making them even more powerful.
Furthermore, Unit 4 was scheduled to be equipped with a Mega Beam Launcher. To accommodate this, Unit 4's generator output was further increased, and its cooling system was similarly reinforced, resulting in a different shape for the chest cooling fins. However, due to issues with energy CAP capacity shortages being left unresolved, it ended up being nothing more than a planned concept.
So there you go. It’s basically a Grandaddy Gundam without the Core Block system, so that it can wield better beam weaponry for space combat.
Short Story in the Back of the Magazine
Most SD Club issues that had M-MSV designs also included a short story near the back. In Issue 9, it just so happens to be a story about Unit 04 and 05:
I tried a couple of different methods of translating this story, and suffice to say that none of them were what I would consider entertaining to read. However, they were readable enough for me to get the gist of things, so allow me to at least give you an overview.
One thing to note before we begin is that this story was actually used for the basis of Unit 04’s updated story for its videogame debut. I’m going to go over that in a later post, and if you’re wondering why that version seems so similar, now you know.
As for this story, it tells us that Unit 04 and 05 took longer to upgrade and re-outfit than anticipated, hence why they were unable to show up until the final battle at A Baoa Qu. They show up and take a whole Zeon squad by surprise, killing them all save for the squadron leader. Said leader limps back to base, and desperate to get revenge against the Gundams, he bullies a mechanic to give him something new to sortie with. As it turns out, the only thing that’s left to use is the Bigro Kai, an even bigger and badder version of the Bigro:
Dragging a young man along with him as copilot, the squadron leader heads back out for a rematch. The pilot of Unit 4 carefully attempts to engage, but is hit rather hard. Unit 5, whose pilot is depicted as being more hot headed, rushes in for the save, and while he succeeds, it comes at a great cost. The poor Gundam loses all of its limbs and its head to the Bigro’s close-range weapons, though ultimately it provides enough of a distraction for Unit 4 to finish it off.
At the very end, it is said that “only one Gundam came back from that encounter”, implying Unit 5 was ultimately KIA.
(One more thing - the pilot of Unit 5 is referred to as Romfellow, and the pilot of Unit 4 as Cassell. These names, along with the general personalities of the pilots, were preserved later on when the story was revised)
For the next post, we’ll look into that videogame adaptation to see what did (and didn’t) change. Personally, I’m impressed with just how much of the groundwork was laid down here in the pages of SD Club.