Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Detail shots (1/5)

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Detail shots (2/5)

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Detail shots (3/5)

Detail shots

Outer armor removed

Pre-assembled inner frame

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Frame detail shots (1/5)

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Frame detail shots (2/5)

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Frame detail shots (3/5)

Frame detail shots

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Most of the frame is plastic, but metal parts are used in certain areas. (red circles) (1/6)

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Most of the frame is plastic, but metal parts are used in certain areas. (red circles) (2/6)

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Most of the frame is plastic, but metal parts are used in certain areas. (red circles) (3/6)

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Most of the frame is plastic, but metal parts are used in certain areas. (red circles) (4/6)

Most of the frame is plastic, but metal parts are used in certain areas. (red circles)

The shoulder has movable cylinders and gimmicks in 3 directions.

The gimmick where all 3 cylinders move in sync with the shoulder rotation is pretty impressive.

There are 2 cylinders visible at the back of the neck, but only the top one is movable.

The movable cylinders on both sides of the waist are the same as the 1/100.

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - There are also movable cylinders at the elbows, but as you can see in the photo on the right, if you b

There are also movable cylinders at the elbows,
but as you can see in the photo on the right, if you bend the arm too far they pop right out, which makes handling it a pain.. T_T

There are movable cylinders behind the knees and ankles as well.

The frame's articulation is worse than you'd expect.

Still, the frame can at least manage a kneeling pose.

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Comparison shot with the 1/100 frame — the basic shape is similar, but look closely and it's a complet

Comparison shot with the 1/100 frame —
the basic shape is similar, but look closely and it's a completely different sculpt.

The 1/100 seems to have better frame articulation.

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - It works by inserting a silver-plated part behind the clear pink piece. When light comes in from outsi

It works by inserting a silver-plated part behind the clear pink piece.
When light comes in from outside, the pink pattern reflects slightly and looks gorgeous —
but you really need very strong light to even notice it..;;

The knee section uses the same construction.

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Same goes for the shoulders — any parts with that pink band pattern all use clear pink parts with a co

Same goes for the shoulders — any parts with that pink band pattern
all use clear pink parts with a coated back.

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - The backpack's weapon sub-arms are fully articulated rather than being swappable like on the 1/100, an

The backpack's weapon sub-arms are fully articulated rather than being swappable like on the 1/100, and they're done really well.

Likewise, the weapon claw section that was swappable on the 1/100 now slides open and closed.

Backpack verniers articulation

Gliding cannon in folded state

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - The way the gliding cannon deploys is similar to the 1/100, but it looks a lot more refined. (1/3)

The way the gliding cannon deploys is similar to the 1/100, but it looks a lot more refined.

Gliding cannon grip articulation.

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Comparison with the 1/100 gliding cannon. It's larger than the 1/100 when deployed, and smaller when s

Comparison with the 1/100 gliding cannon.
It's larger than the 1/100 when deployed, and smaller when stowed.
In short, the folding gimmick seems more efficiently engineered.

The Tachi is noticeably bigger than the 1/100 version.

A total of 4 hand parts are included.

A dedicated joint part for mounting on an Action Base is also included.

Articulation feels worse than the HG or 1/100.

Even with the cylinder linkage gimmick, the ankle range of motion is pretty good.

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Striking a pose~ (1/3)

Striking a pose~

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Gliding cannon firing pose — better stability than the 1/100 and poses come out nicer too. (1/4)

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Gliding cannon firing pose — better stability than the 1/100 and poses come out nicer too. (2/4)

Gliding cannon firing pose
Better stability than the 1/100 and poses come out nicer too.

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Especially impressive is how the backpack's sub-arms — now 100% fully articulated — connect with the g

Especially impressive is how the backpack's sub-arms — now 100% fully articulated — connect with the gliding cannon.

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Tachi action (1/4)

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Tachi action (2/4)

Tachi action

Aerial pose

HiRM Gundam Barbatos - Comparison with the 1/100 Barbatos (left) (1/3)

Comparison with the 1/100 Barbatos (left)

Gundam Barbatos, which everyone expected to get an RG or MG release after the HG and 1/100, has instead come back in a completely unexpected new lineup. It's called the Hi-Resolution Model — HiRM for short — a brand new lineup that sits somewhere between a Metal Build finished product and an MG, as a semi-assembled injection plastic model.

As for what's in the box: the frame comes pre-assembled, while the weapons and outer armor are made up of injection plastic runners. The frame has metal parts applied throughout, giving it a solid, hefty feel — similar in concept to one of the limited releases, the Metal in Gundam. ( See that review for reference.)

The pre-assembled Gundam frame feels weighty thanks to the metal joints, and the overall sculpt quality and detail level are quite good. In particular, the various cylinder linkage gimmicks — which set it apart from the 1/100 — give it an incredibly premium feel. The metal parts are used at key joint locations to keep joint strength solid, and the frame parts themselves use multi-color molding, making for a flashy, elaborate visual that the 1/100 simply can't match.

That said, while it completely blows the 1/100 out of the water in terms of gimmicks and visuals, the articulation actually feels worse than the HG or 1/100. That's probably the trade-off for fitting in all those gimmicks and metal parts — though you can still pull off reasonably dynamic poses.

Joint strength feels stiff overall, likely thanks to the metal joints, which does give it a sense of stability — but some joints are comparatively quite loose, so the balance of joint strength is pretty problematic. For example, the hip joints, which are 100% metal, are so stiff that if you force them to rotate you risk snapping or disassembling other parts. And while the limbs are stiff, the waist joint is so loose it feels like it'd spin in a light breeze — it's a really unbalanced feel overall, with some parts being absurdly stiff and others being laughably loose coexisting in the same kit....

In particular, some of the movable cylinders — especially the ones behind the elbows — tend to pop out whenever you bend the joint too far, which is a constant source of stress during posing. And when you're forcing stiff joints to move, there are quite a few parts that come loose and fall off due to weak attachment. The most common offenders are the head antenna, the round parts under the shoulders, the front skirts, the foot armor, and the shoulder armor — they keep popping off during posing and really crank up the frustration meter.

Still, probably because the core joints are so stiff, the stability and pose-holding after posing is far better than the 1/100 Barbatos, which always felt like it lacked joint strength and struggled to hold poses. The problem is that this is the kind of kit that puts you on edge while you're actually bending and positioning the joints to get there..

The under-gate coated armor parts show top-tier quality — the semi-gloss coating has an Extra Finish-like feel that looks incredibly premium. With that gorgeous coated armor sitting on top of the elaborate, detailed frame, there's really no arguing that the overall feel of the kit is, in a word, "luxurious."

On top of that, I really appreciate how all the weapon-holding and stowing gimmicks on the backpack — which were swappable parts on the 1/100 — are now fully articulated. The gliding cannon has also gotten a more striking color combination, deploys larger than the 1/100, and folds up smaller — it all feels like an efficient improvement overall.

So it's an upgrade over the same-scale 1/100 in every way — and honestly, it makes me wonder if this was originally developed as an MG. As we know, the 1/100 no-grade kits already feature full-body frames and impressive articulation, blurring the line with the traditional MG concept. So maybe they started developing it as an MG, added all sorts of MG-level features like various cylinders, a more elaborate frame, and fully articulated backpack — but felt it still wasn't differentiated enough. And so they ended up adding metal materials for a pre-assembled frame, threw in coated armor, and packaged the whole thing as an ultra-premium lineup one step above MG, like some kind of final boss tier release.

What's clear is that this is a 1/100 kit with a far more premium package than any existing MG — and at least in terms of appearance, it looks incredibly expensive and luxurious. That said, the iffy joint strength balance, some parts with weak attachment, and articulation that's actually worse than the 1/100 or HG make it hard to wholeheartedly rave about. The biggest issue is the PG-level price tag of ¥16,000. Sure, when you look at what's included it's understandable — but whether it's worth dropping that kind of money is something you'll want to think carefully about.

To sum it up... if you're a huge fan of Iron-Blooded Orphans or love Gundam Barbatos, this ultimate kit is definitely worth building. But if you're not that into it and just thinking "hmm, the setup looks interesting, maybe I'll pick one up?" — it's honestly not great value for money. That said, for folks who collect Metal Build, the price might actually feel like a bargain, so even those who usually prefer finished products might find it worth trying as a light semi-assembly build.

Anyway, even though it's pricey, the premium package really does justify the cost, and I have to say I'm genuinely looking forward to whatever comes next. Or hey — swap out the metal parts for plastic, make the frame a build-it-yourself type instead of pre-assembled, replace the plated parts with regular ones, and release it under the "MG" label — that honestly wouldn't seem strange at all. :-)

HiRM Gundam Barbatos | 2016. 3 | ¥16,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.