Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers

Choryujin combined mode - size comparison with a cigarette pack

HG Choryujin - Choryujin from various angles (1/6)

HG Choryujin - Choryujin from various angles (2/6)

HG Choryujin - Choryujin from various angles (3/6)

HG Choryujin - Choryujin from various angles (4/6)

Choryujin from various angles

Detail shots

HYORYU & ENRYU

Separated into Hyoryu and Enryu

Hyoryu

Enryu

Weapons include the Freezing Gun, Melting Gun, and Mirror Shield.

Mirror Shield reverse side

The Freezing Rifle and Melting Rifle detach from the back, and each has two articulated handles.

HG Choryujin - Both Hyoryu and Enryu can swap to an open-mouth face, but it's a bit of a hassle since you can't just s

Both Hyoryu and Enryu can swap to an open-mouth face,
but it's a bit of a hassle since you can't just swap the mask — you have to fully disassemble and reassemble the entire head...

HG Choryujin - The chest thruster/warmer open gimmick, where the chest opens to release cold or heat, is also reproduc

The chest thruster/warmer open gimmick, where the chest opens to release cold or heat, is also reproduced here.

Hyoryu/Enryu limb articulation

The limbs spread out to the sides pretty well.

The shoulders are quite flexible.

Couple pose

HG Choryujin - Freezing Gun & Melting Gun poses (1/4)

HG Choryujin - Freezing Gun & Melting Gun poses (2/4)

Freezing Gun & Melting Gun poses

HG Choryujin - Freezing Rifle & Melting Rifle poses (1/4)

HG Choryujin - Freezing Rifle & Melting Rifle poses (2/4)

Freezing Rifle & Melting Rifle poses

VEHICLE MODE

Extra parts needed for vehicle mode transformation

First, disassemble as shown above, then

rotate the shoulder joint twice to point it upward.

Temporarily remove the front skirt, lower the lower body slightly, then reattach it...

Wrap the vehicle mode-specific parts around both sides of the body to attach them.

Transform the arms as shown above, then plug them into the body.

Remove the feet, fold the thighs and knees, then rotate the hip joint pin as shown on the far right —

then gather the legs together and plug them into the vehicle mode-specific parts.

HG Choryujin - After that, combine the legs with the torso+arms, then add the extra parts and Freezing Rifle section t

After that, combine the legs with the torso+arms, then add the extra parts and Freezing Rifle section to complete the transformation.
The transformation process for Hyoryu and Enryu is basically identical.

HG Choryujin - The only difference is that Hyoryu gets a head transformation section added to the side, while Enryu ha

The only difference is that Hyoryu gets a head transformation section added to the side, while Enryu has the Mirror Shield folded and plugged in on top.

HG Choryujin - Vehicle mode transformation complete. (1/4)

HG Choryujin - Vehicle mode transformation complete. (2/4)

Vehicle mode transformation complete.

Underside view

HG Choryujin - Hyoryu vehicle mode (1/3)

Hyoryu vehicle mode

Enryu vehicle mode

Both have a gimmick where the crane/ladder can be extended.

Parts left over from Hyoryu/Enryu after transforming to vehicle mode

COMBINE TO CHORYUJIN

HG Choryujin - Choryujin-exclusive parts needed separately when combining Hyoryu and Enryu. As you can see, it almost

Choryujin-exclusive parts needed separately when combining Hyoryu and Enryu.
As you can see, it almost feels like Choryujin's entire exterior is provided separately — minus the knee connectors.
(Without the knee connectors, you can't actually assemble it as-is.)

After separating from vehicle mode as shown above,

HG Choryujin - attach Hyoryu's legs to the separately included Choryujin-exclusive arms as shown to create the massive

attach Hyoryu's legs to the separately included Choryujin-exclusive arms as shown to create the massive shoulder armor.

Move the arm sections of Hyoryu's vehicle mode inward so the two arms lock together without any gaps.

Detach Hyoryu's back parts as shown, then combine them together with the arms + thigh sections.

Next, add the leg armor, feet, and cover parts included separately for Choryujin to complete the legs.

After detaching the extra parts used in Hyoryu's vehicle mode as shown above,

add them as Choryujin's backpack.

Remove the Mirror Shield's handle, add the armor, and attach it to the Choryujin-exclusive body.

Finally, unfold the connection sections of the Freezing Rifle and Melting Rifle as shown above, then...

HG Choryujin - Combine everything to complete the combination into Choryujin. The transformation process for combining

Combine everything to complete the combination into Choryujin.
The transformation process for combining is the same for both Hyoryu and Enryu — only the left/right orientation differs.

HG Choryujin - Parts left over from Hyoryu/Enryu vehicle mode after combining into Choryujin. Even for a parts-swappin

Parts left over from Hyoryu/Enryu vehicle mode after combining into Choryujin.
Even for a parts-swapping transformation, it does feel like an awful lot is left behind.

HG Choryujin - An extra set of hands with holes is included exclusively for Choryujin, but it's a bit of a shame they

An extra set of hands with holes is included exclusively for Choryujin,
but it's a bit of a shame they didn't throw in at least one open hand for better proportions...

Only 2 leftover parts

Choryujin limb articulation

You can pull the shoulders out slightly to get a bit more forward/backward range of motion.

On the flip side, the shoulders do raise upward a little.

HG Choryujin - Crane Tonfa & Ladder Tonfa poses (1/3)

Crane Tonfa & Ladder Tonfa poses

HG Choryujin - Freezing Rifle and Melting Rifle attack poses (1/3)

Freezing Rifle and Melting Rifle attack poses

HG Choryujin - Poses with the Freezing Rifle and Melting Rifle extended (1/3)

Poses with the Freezing Rifle and Melting Rifle extended

Together with the RG GaoGaiGar.
Different grades, but the size works really well together.

Choryujin from GaoGaiGar has been released as an HG. It's a mech with a huge fanbase thanks to its unique style and transformation, and now it's gotten an official Bandai HG plastic model following the Shumi-P release. As expected, it uses a thorough parts-swapping transformation to ensure good proportions and stability.

First off, Hyoryu and Enryu share the same base sculpt as per the source material, differing only in color. The only physical differences are the head armor and the rifles on their backs — every structural feature and design element is identical. Both are small in size but boast solid joint strength and excellent articulation, with particularly flexible shoulders that really help with posing. Weapons include the Freezing Gun, Melting Gun, and Mirror Shield, and you can also detach and use the Freezing Rifle/Melting Rifle from their backs.

The transformation to vehicle mode is done via parts-swapping with dedicated transformation parts. It's not as satisfying as a full transformation, but the proportions and stability after transforming are excellent. And hey — the sheer fact that it transforms into a fire truck is the whole appeal of Choryujin, the ultimate guy fantasy!!! ^^;

The process of combining Hyoryu and Enryu into Choryujin is also done through parts-swapping. Choryujin-exclusive parts are provided separately for nearly everything — head, torso, arms, and legs. At first glance it looks like you could almost build a standalone Choryujin body from just these parts, but in reality the knee connectors are missing, so you can't fully assemble all four limbs. As shown in the transformation process review above, Hyoryu and Enryu's legs become the shoulders, and the arm sections go into the legs, giving it a partial-combination feel.

This transformation process may be controversial. A large number of Hyoryu and Enryu's main parts get removed, making it feel like the combination is only superficial. Only parts of the arms and legs are added to the Choryujin-exclusive body, while most of the framework feels like it's provided separately. Sure, that gives you stable proportions and solid joint strength in return — but then again, the articulation on the Choryujin-exclusive body isn't exactly great either.

Anyway, both full transformation and parts-swapping have their pros and cons, but the direction Bandai has been going with HG-class transformations lately is clearly parts-swapping. After getting burned badly with the fully transforming Macross kits that became a black mark in their history, all the Macross HG kits now use parts-swapping transformation across the board. The overall trend is toward playing it safe with transformations, and the result is a definite win in terms of proportions and durability.

As for the downsides — first of all, the parts layout on the runners is an absolute mess (-_-). Early Kotobukiya kits used to be like that, but this kit is way worse. Whenever you want to assemble something, you have to lay out every single runner and hunt through them one by one, and having to build two nearly identical kits at the same time makes it even more chaotic. I wish they'd put more thought into an efficient parts layout for assembly — it feels like they only considered production efficiency. A lot of people are probably going to get seriously frustrated hunting for parts during the build. Also, while alternate face expressions are included for Hyoryu and Enryu, swapping them isn't a simple face swap — you have to completely disassemble and reassemble the entire head. With just a little more effort they could've made it as easy to swap as other kits, and that's a bit disappointing.

Despite these shortcomings, the biggest strength of this kit is that it pulls off all the various forms — Hyoryu, Enryu, Choryujin, and vehicle mode — with clean proportions and solid durability. On top of that, Bandai plastic's characteristically top-tier molded color quality and smooth, clean assembly feel are definite advantages over the SMP. In the end, it's a kit where the transformation fun takes a hit, but the benefits that come from that trade-off are real. Personally, I'm just grateful it got an HG release at all — so if you've always loved the Choryujin design, I'd say don't overthink it and just grab one :-)

HG Choryujin | 2025. 1 | ¥6,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.