[RX-78GP04G Gerbera]

Originally Posted by Nvis

After seeing the whole thing now, the GP01 displayed a rather tough armor that took a lot of beam hits and still in one piece.

The Gundams in Zeta have tinfoil armor.
I thought the Hyaku Shiki had an anti-beam coating, but that didn't really help at all.

And GP01 > MkII and maybe a little behind the Zeta in terms of firepower and speed.

I wonder what's the fate of GP03.

1.) Don't forget that the movable frame hadn't yet been developed, so the GP01 was essentially a better RX-78-2. The movable frame is one big reason why MS in Zeta seemed "weaker" defense-wise than OYW and 0083 MS; much thinner and less armor for greater speed rather than stronger and/or more numeral thrusters all over the body. There's also the fact that 0083 was made after Zeta, so things could end up different somehow.

2.) Anti-beam coating doesn't equal beam reflection ala Akatsuki in SEED Destiny. And it most likely wasn't used ALL the time (which could explain it's much more "dulled" appearance later on as opposed to its bright one earlier). Anti-beam coating in UC was only really was good for a few shots and more weaker shots too before it dissolved anyway and who knows how many shots a MS takes off-screen. Also, the joints would still remain vulnerable too. The movable frame armor being thin as it is wouldn't help matters either. You do get a much better show of anti-beam coating at work in Char's Counterattack with the Jegan's shield. At one point, you see it blocking shots from Gyunei's Jagd Doga's beam assault rifle, and another time you can see one block a shot from one of his funnels too.

3.) The Gundam Mark II's only real purpose was testing out the full movable frame and based on its weaker armor materials and such, probably wasn't meant to see a whole lot of use beyond research purposes, unlike the Gundam Development Project Gundams which could be used for combat AND double as research subjects while they're at it. So the Titans losing them wasn't really a huge blow to them, despite how desperately they seemed to want them back; they just didn't want the AEUG to get them and steal what they knew about them and make better MS (which helped lead to the Hyaku Shiki and Zeta and why the AEUG failing to get them would've been a huge blow for them earlier on).

4.) Most likely collected and, subsequent to the data deletion of the Gundam Development Project afterwards, dismantled.