RX-78AN-01 Gundam AN-01 Tristan
Custom Newtype use mobile suit developed by Buffo Junk Inc.
The RX-78AN-01 Gundam AN-01 Tristan was a custom Newtype use mobile suit created by combining new and salvaged parts. The Tristan was a refurbished version of the RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 Alex, an Earth Federation Forces Newtype-use mobile suit from the One Year War in UC 0079. The Tristan was deployed by Birnam, the private army of Scharnhorst Buffo, founder of the Buffo Concern conglomerate.
The “R” in the model code meant it was a Federation model1 and the “X” indicated that it was an experimental mobile suit. The “78” denoted its relation to the RX-78 series, whilst “AN” indicated its connection to the Alex Newtype variant. The “01” suggested it was the first unit in this particular configuration.
The Tristan’s name was inspired by the mythological tale Tristan and Iseult, which also lent its name to another Birnam unit, the RX-160G Byarlant Isolde.
Development
The unit is based on the RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1, which was a Newtype-use mobile suit. It is made up of junk parts from various other mobile suits, including Gundam-type units; the head, backpack, chest, waist, and sole thrusters however are brand new. The combination of old and new parts was made possible by Buch Junk Inc.’s technology.
How the Alex was obtained and details of Tristan’s development as well as its manufacturer remain undisclosed. However, there is a rumour that after the One Year War, the damaged Alex was sent to a research facility operated by the Earth Federation Forces and subsequently transferred to the Buch Junk Inc.
Its subsidiary company Buffo Junk Inc salvaged space debris and had acquired mobile suits and mobile suit parts through illegal and illicit methods.
Design
The Tristan’s head, backpack, chest and waist were new parts. Its backpack design and the placement of its beam sabers were similar to the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II. This gave it a distinctive appearance that differentiated it from the original Alex whilst maintaining the recognisable Gundam aesthetic.
The Tristan was equipped with a Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor that generated an output of 1,520 kW. Its rocket thrusters provided a total thrust output of 114,000 kg, giving it considerable mobility despite its hybrid construction.
The mobile suit had a panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in its torso, providing the pilot with enhanced battlefield awareness. The Luna Titanium alloy armour provided protection equivalent to other high-performance mobile suits of the era.
Armaments
The Tristan’s armaments included a pair of vulcan guns, two beam sabers, the arm-mounted Gatling guns from the Gundam Alex, and a beam rifle and shield.
Vulcan guns
A pair of fire-linked 60 mm vulcan guns were mounted in the Tristan’s head. These rapid-fire weapons were primarily used against light-armoured targets and as a defence against incoming missiles.
Gatling guns
The Tristan’s armaments included a pair of vulcan guns, two beam sabers, the arm-mounted Gatling guns from the Gundam Alex, and a beam rifle and shield. Two 90 mm Gatling guns were mounted in the mobile suit’s forearms, inherited from the original Alex design. These provided additional close-range firepower and could be used in conjunction with the head-mounted vulcans for concentrated fire.
Beam sabers
The Tristan carried two beam sabers stored in recharge racks in the backpack. These beam weapons used an I-field to contain Minovsky particles within the shape of a blade, allowing them to cut through almost any material.
Beam rifle
Instead of a replaceable e-pac, the beam rifle’s power source was built into the weapon. A long-barreled beam rifle, an energy source is built into the rifle itself rather than relying on an external E-pac energy supply. The appearance of this beam rifle is highly similar to the RX-93 ν Gundam’s, but in different colours.
Shield
A shield created exclusively for the Tristan. Used for defence in close combat, and for protection from long-range beam attacks. The shield provided protection against both physical and beam attacks, featuring anti-beam coating on its surface.
Service history
In UC 0096, Cyber Newtype Quentin Fermo piloted the Tristan and attacked the EFF special unit Mastema, which had traveled to the Axis asteroid on a mission to secure psychoframe research data following the Laplace Incident.
Fermo clashed with several Neo Zeon mobile suits pulled out of storage before docking with the support platform RX-78KU-01 Kurwenal to face off against Arlette Almage’s mobile armor AMA-X4 Ahava Azieru. The Tristan demonstrated considerable combat capability during these engagements, proving that the hybrid construction approach could produce an effective fighting machine.
The battle ended when Arlette triggered a Newtype event using a psychoframe sample recovered from the wreckage of Char Aznable’s MSN-04 Sazabi.
Known pilots
- Quentin Fermo
Behind the scenes
The Tristan was designed as part of the Mobile Suit Gundam Twilight Axis project. The Tristan, along with its partner unit the Byarlant Isolde, are named after the eponymous characters from the 19th century music drama Tristan und Isolde.
Appearances
Anime
- Mobile Suit Gundam Twilight Axis
Movie
- Mobile Suit Gundam Twilight Axis: Red Trace
See also
External links
- RX-78AN-01 Gundam AN-01 Tristan on the Gundam Wiki
- RX-78AN-01 Gundam AN-01 Tristan on MAHQ
Footnotes
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Federation in Japanese is renpou, hence the use of “R”. ↩