Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body and head

HG Gundam AGE-3 Normal - Back, arms, and weapons (1/3)

Back, arms, and weapons

Legs

Dedicated stand

The Sigmax Rifle's grip section can be folded and unfolded in various configurations.

Articulation is pretty good.

HG Gundam AGE-3 Normal - Action poses with the Sigmax Rifle on the dedicated stand (1/4)

HG Gundam AGE-3 Normal - Action poses with the Sigmax Rifle on the dedicated stand (2/4)

Action poses with the Sigmax Rifle on the dedicated stand

The beam saber is stored inside the forearm armor.

HG Gundam AGE-3 Normal - Beam saber action poses (1/3)

Beam saber action pose

You can also plug the beam saber directly into the forearm armor itself.

HG Gundam AGE-3 Normal - Double beam saber action poses (1/3)

Double beam saber action poses

Transformation

After removing the backpack and head unit

First, unfold the head and center chest section, then fit them inside the backpack.

Then rotate the small wings on the sides up 90 degrees and the Core Fighter is complete!

Core Fighter

Detach the arms and lower body, then swap out the torso for the transformation version.

After reattaching the lower body and arms to the new torso

Fold the arms and legs to get the shape shown above.

Fold in the feet..

HG Gundam AGE-3 Normal - Rotate the Sigmax Rifle's grip section out like a peg and plug it into the back of the body to compl

Rotate the Sigmax Rifle's grip section out like a peg and plug it into the back of the body to complete the G-Xiphos transformation.

Bottom view after transformation

After transformation, the MS torso is left over.

There's a gimmick on the underside of the dedicated stand for storing the extra hand parts.

You can display both the G-Xiphos and the Core Fighter on the dedicated stand at the same time.

HG Gundam AGE-3 Normal - G-Xiphos and Core Fighter from various angles (1/4)

HG Gundam AGE-3 Normal - G-Xiphos and Core Fighter from various angles (2/4)

G-Xiphos and Core Fighter from various angles

Together with the HG Gundam AGE-1 Normal

Together with the HG Gundam AGE-2 Normal

AGE-1, 2, and 3 together!
You can really feel how they keep getting bigger with each one.

The main protagonist's mobile suit keeps getting upgraded, and this time it's the Gundam AGE-3 Normal in HG form. Usually the main hero's unit is just one per generation — two at most if you're lucky — but we're already on the third one, which feels a little off to me. Setting aside the anime's popularity, it almost makes you wonder if Bandai is just pushing things along to pad out the Gunpla lineup... but anyway. ^^

The AGE-3 Normal is a bit bulkier than the AGE-2 Normal, and it sports two vertical fin-like wings on its shoulders that work as shields — very reminiscent of the Double Zeta. The overall design is just a touch thicker, but it carries on the AGE series' design language pretty well. And as you'd expect from a modern HG kit, the joint strength is solid, articulation is excellent, and the color separation is on point, giving you a satisfying build experience.

The AGE-3 Normal comes with a large weapon called the Sigmax Rifle, whose grip section can be configured in multiple ways for different holding positions. On top of that, the beam sabers are stored in the forearms, and you can also plug beam parts directly into the forearm armor itself.

The kit also includes a simple separation/transformation feature — you can form a Core Fighter by combining the backpack and head unit, and the G-Xiphos is achieved by just folding up the arms and legs. Since it's an HG, it's not a full transformation but rather a torso-swap style, though that does mean the proportions and stability are excellent. Both aircraft can be displayed simultaneously on the included dedicated stand, so you get a pretty clean and stable display setup.

As is typical for AGE HG kits, the kit itself is very clean and well-made. It does a decent job of differentiating itself from the AGE-1 and AGE-2, and there's really nothing to complain about — though it's not exactly the kind of kit that grabs you by the heart either. Even if you're not a fan of the AGE series, this is a solid, quality kit worth recommending to anyone who just wants a fun, clean build. :-)

HG Gundam AGE-3 Normal | 2012.5 | ¥1,600

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.