Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) (1/6)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) (2/6)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) (3/6)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) (4/6)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) (5/6)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) (6/6)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Detail shots (1/4)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Outer armor removed (1/2)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Outer armor removed (2/2)

Outer armor removal shot

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Inner frame shots. Looks like the Iron-Blooded Orphans HGs all come with a full-b

Inner frame shots.
Looks like the Iron-Blooded Orphans HGs all come with a full-body frame as standard....

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Alongside Gundam Barbatos's frame. Just looking at the frame quality on its own,

Alongside Gundam Barbatos's frame.
Just looking at the frame quality on its own, the Graze seems to have the edge.

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Frame detail shots (1/6)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Frame detail shots (2/6)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Frame detail shots (3/6)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Frame detail shots (4/6)

Frame detail shots

Excellent frame articulation as expected

Shoulder and waist frame articulation structure

Two booster units are included for the rear.

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - You get two types: a space-use version that mounts on the back, and a ground-use

You get two types: a space-use version that mounts on the back, and a ground-use version that mounts on the rear skirt.
Normally kits share the same parts to cut costs, but this kit includes both complete sets.

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Just like the Zaku, you get two head options: a standard type and a commander typ

Just like the Zaku, you get two head options: a standard type and a commander type with a horn antenna.

Weapons include a rifle and a battle axe (hatchet).

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Just like in the show, you can open the head cover to expose the large mono-eye.

Just like in the show, you can open the head cover to expose the large mono-eye.
Though rather than a proper open gimmick, it's more like... you just prop the head lid up slightly and rest it on something(?)
— a bit of an awkward feel, honestly.

Great articulation even with the armor on!

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Rifle shooting pose (1/3)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Rifle shooting pose (2/3)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Rifle shooting pose (3/3)

Rifle firing pose

Battle axe pose

More dynamic battle axe pose with the mono-eye open too

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - By removing the middle parts from the Graze's shoulder armor and attaching them t

By removing the middle parts from the Graze's shoulder armor and attaching them to the HG Gundam Barbatos Form 1,
you can recreate Barbatos Form 2.

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) - Together with HG Gundam Barbatos. The quality on these Iron-Blooded Orphans HGs i

Together with HG Gundam Barbatos.
The quality on these Iron-Blooded Orphans HGs is just insane..

If there's a Gundam, there's gotta be a Zaku! And it just wouldn't feel right unless it shows up in episode 1 and gets wrecked by the Gundam ^^;

The second Iron-Blooded Orphans HG kit is the Graze, the enemy's mass-production MS. The green color scheme, the commander type with a horn antenna, and the plain-headed standard type — it's basically the same setup as the Zaku. But the overall design is very different from Barbatos, with a lot more angular shapes that give it a totally different vibe.

Most notably, just like the HG Barbatos, this kit features a full-body inner frame — which is worth paying attention to. With Barbatos I figured, well, it's the main character's Gundam so of course it gets that treatment, but seeing a mass-production kit done the same way is actually a little surprising. It seems like the Iron-Blooded Orphans HG line is going for a premium, frame-based build style similar to MG/RG as a baseline.

The Graze's frame construction, like Barbatos, is efficiently put together with relatively few parts. The fact that all the joints hold up solidly even without the outer armor gives it an overall sense of quality that feels a step above Barbatos. With Barbatos, stripping the armor off left the ankle polycaps only half-inserted, which felt a bit iffy.

The overall build feel is very smooth, just like Barbatos — the gates clean up nicely and everything snaps together with a satisfying click. Articulation is also great, bending as far as the design allows, though it's not quite at the same level as Barbatos's almost-cheating ankle joints. Still, whether you're going for ground or aerial poses, it holds natural-looking stances across the board.

As a bonus gimmick, you can prop the head cover open slightly to expose the large mono-eye, just like in the show. Also noteworthy is that both booster unit types are included simultaneously — the space-use version for the back and the ground-use version for the rear skirt. Why is that noteworthy? Because normally Gunpla kits only include one copy of shared parts, but the HG Graze throws in two full sets of the large vernier parts (four total). It might sound like a small thing, but there have been times when kits felt a bit stingy about this sort of thing — so having both sets included for easy swapping is a really nice touch ^^;

One thing to note: most recent Gunpla kits use small gates where the runners connect to the parts. The HG Graze, however, has noticeably thicker gates compared to recent releases, which means depending on how you clean them up, the gate marks could end up looking pretty prominent — so it's worth being careful there.

Just like Barbatos, it's a bit of a shame that only one hand option is included, but overall this kit feels even more solid and clean than Barbatos. The matte-like molded colors in particular look really nice. At the very least, it's probably the highest-quality mass-production HG kit we've seen so far :-)

HG Graze (Standard Type / Commander Type) | 2015.10 | ¥1,200

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.