Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Detail shots

You can attach two types of beam sabers to the integrated saber-grip hands.

HG A.Taul - There are also swap-out parts included to build the A.Taul V Mactomin build. The yellow mono-eye part looks s

There are swap-out parts included to build the A.Taul V Mactomin build.
The yellow mono-eye part looks similar to the normal version at first glance, but if you look closely, there's a horizontal line added across the middle of the mono-eye.

HG A.Taul - On top of that, you'll need to borrow several parts from the 1/144 A-Class Heavy Metal Set and combine them t

On top of that, you'll need to borrow several parts from the 1/144 A-Class Heavy Metal Set and combine them together.
The manual guides you to borrow Auge's round binder, Grün's long spear, and two of Ashura Temple's circus binders
as directed in the instructions.
You'd normally need to borrow the binder on Vashu's left arm as well, but since this kit provides it on its own, there's no need to grab that one.

A.Taul V Mactomin build.

Leftover parts from the 2001 runners

The knees bend the most out of any kit in the series.

The forward/backward range of motion at the shoulders is on the narrow side.

Backpack articulation

Action pose

A.Taul V Mactomin build action pose

Together with the HG L-Gaim released at the same time.

In March 2021, the L-Gaim plastic model series was rebooted with the release of the HG A.Taul. It came out simultaneously with the 1/144 A-Class Heavy Metal Set and the HG L-Gaim/Auge, and like the HG L-Gaim, it's a version with select parts renewed from the kit originally released in 2001. The renewed parts include the internal leg joints (hip, knee, and ankle) and a material change for the shoulder rubber pipes, with the main focus being improved leg articulation. As a bonus, seals for building the A.Taul V Mactomin build have also been newly added. (For detailed renewal points, see the L-Gaim page on Bandai's development blogfor reference.)

So unlike the HG L-Gaim where the external armor was the main focus of renewal, here it's the leg joints that got the concentrated upgrade treatment. Thanks to that, the hip articulation range has increased, and the knees now bend the most out of any kit in the series — a solid improvement. The toe and heel articulation has also been improved, so the legs as a whole definitely feel like a step up. That said, the middle section of the improved hip joint parts has a tendency to come apart during posing, so you might want to glue them in place. On top of that, the shoulder rubber pipes have been changed to a new material, making them sit more naturally and curve more smoothly, and just like the HG L-Gaim, the ABS joint parts have been swapped to KPS, which makes painting a lot more convenient.

The highlight of this kit is probably the A.Taul V Mactomin build. All the swap-out parts needed for it are included, and by borrowing additional parts from the 1/144 A-Class Heavy Metal Set, you can fully recreate the A.Taul V. Newly added seals specifically for the A.Taul V also help push the visual finish up a notch. L-Gaim fans might very well end up picking up the 1/144 A-Class Heavy Metal Set — a reissue of the 1984 original — just for this reason alone.

So it's an HG kit that delivers improved leg articulation, decent color separation, and solid joint strength — but somehow it doesn't quite feel like it reaches the same level of quality as the HG L-Gaim. The verniers on both sides of the backpack are a bit wobbly and hard to keep at the right angle, and the shoulder rubber pipes have so much spring to them that they can actually get in the way of arm movement. It's a perfectly decent HG kit to build even now, but the HG L-Gaim set such a high bar that this one ends up feeling a little lacking by comparison.

Either way, for L-Gaim fans, just having this renewed release is something to be grateful for — and if you've ever dreamed of recreating Mactomin's A.Taul V from the show, this is definitely a must-get kit. :-)

HG A.Taul | 2021.3 | ¥2,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.