Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers

Fully extended, it's quite long at around 40cm.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - The Kutan Type-III body on its own, without Barbat

The Kutan Type-III body on its own, without Barbatos.

Underside

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - This kit includes HG Gundam Barbatos bundled toget

This kit includes HG Gundam Barbatos bundled together with the Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III.

The bottom section opened up to load an MS

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - The four fixing pins on both arms can move at vari

The four fixing pins on both arms can move at various angles,
but they don't actually lock anything in place — they just loosely cover the MS once it's loaded.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - The fixing pins plug into Barbatos's stand mountin

The fixing pins plug into Barbatos's stand mounting holes to secure it.

Close the covers one by one like this..

And it stows away nice and clean.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - The stand included with the HG GN Arms from 00 is

The stand included with the HG GN Arms from 00 is reused here as-is.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - With Barbatos loaded. (1/6)

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - With Barbatos loaded. (2/6)

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - With Barbatos loaded. (3/6)

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - With Barbatos loaded. (4/6)

With Barbatos loaded.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - When the Kutan Type-III appears in episode 11, it

When the Kutan Type-III appears in episode 11, it comes with a new sword.
This kit also adds a new broadsword with a white handle (the one on the bottom).

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - Action poses with the new broadsword.. nothing too

Action poses with the new broadsword..
Nothing too exciting though.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - A special joint part is also included, allowing yo

A special joint part is also included,
allowing you to mount optional weapon parts as shown above.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - By the way, the glide cannon mounted on top of the

By the way, the glide cannon mounted on top of the Kutan Type-III
is the exact same sculpt as the one that came in the existing MS Option Set 1.
The only difference is that the white sticker isn't included this time.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - Barbatos ready to launch with the holding section

Barbatos ready to launch with the holding section open.
Note that it doesn't seem possible to stow the new broadsword inside the arm like in the show..

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - To combine it with Gundam Barbatos in attack weapo

To combine it with Gundam Barbatos in attack weapon mode, you first need to disassemble it as shown above.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - Use the joint parts to attach them to the Kutan Ty

Use the joint parts to attach them to the Kutan Type-III's core parts.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - Armed pose with the side arms combined with the co

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - Armed pose combined with the side arms and core. (

Armed pose combined with the side arms and core.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - Once you set this up, the parts above are what's l

Once you set this up, the parts above are what's left over.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - You can also remove the twin glide cannons on top

You can also remove the twin glide cannons on top and replace them with covers.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - The Kutan Type-III can also be combined with the G

The Kutan Type-III can also be combined with the Graze [Kai].

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - First, attach the separate vernier parts to the fr

First, attach the separate vernier parts to the front of the side arms, then remove the connector at the back.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - Next, remove the backpack from the HG Graze [Kai]

Next, remove the backpack from the HG Graze [Kai] and swap out the knee parts.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - Attach the Kutan Type-III's side arms to the front

Attach the Kutan Type-III's side arms to the front of the Graze [Kai]'s legs as shown above.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - Then use the separate joint parts for the Graze to

Then use the separate joint parts for the Graze to connect it to the core unit.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - Graze [Kai] combined with the Kutan Type-III. The

Graze [Kai] combined with the Kutan Type-III.
The stand isn't tall enough to properly raise the legs with the side arms attached.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - Alongside the 00 GN Arms, which has a similar conc

Alongside the 00 GN Arms, which has a similar concept.

In attack mode, the GN Arms is noticeably bigger.

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III - But in flight mode, the Kutan Type-III is actually

But in flight mode, the Kutan Type-III is actually longer and more elongated.

This kit is the Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III that appeared at the beginning of episode 11 of Iron-Blooded Orphans. It comes bundled with the complete runners and accessories from the HG Gundam Barbatos kit, and retails for ¥5000 — which means the Kutan Type-III portion effectively costs ¥4000. Honestly, the contents feel a little pricey for what you're getting at that price point.

This kind of large transport/weapon pack concept has shown up plenty of times before — it's similar to the Meteor Unit from Gundam SEED, the GN Arms from 00, and the Assault Pack from G-Reco. The GN Arms from 00 feels like the closest comparison, and in fact the dedicated stand that came with the GN Arms is reused here as well.

Being a large structure for 1/144 scale, there are plenty of big chunky parts that make the build feel satisfying and open, and the overall volume after assembly is quite impressive. Like the GN Arms, it supports its own flight mode and deployment mode transformation gimmick, plus various attack weapon modes through disassembly and recombination.

When configured into attack mode, you have to detach the large boosters, the mounting arms, the cockpit section, and so on — which shrinks the overall volume considerably, making it look much more compact compared to the GN Arms. It's a bit of a shame, since they could've kept more of it attached for a more imposing look. In terms of sheer presence in attack mode, the 00 + GN Arms combo is just way more overwhelming.

On top of Barbatos, it also supports combination with the Graze [Kai] — and interestingly, the side arms attach to the front of the legs rather than the back. The problem is the side arms are so long that you can't really angle the legs down properly, so it ends up displayed with them dragging along the ground. To get the legs at a proper angle for display, you'd probably need to raise the stand height by adding something underneath.

The included HG Gundam Barbatos is 100% identical to the existing release, but a newly shaped large-handled sword matching its in-show appearance has been added. New weapon-mounting joint parts are also included, allowing you to store the various weapons from the separately sold option sets.

One downside is that when storing Barbatos, there's nothing holding it in place other than the stand pin, so it feels a bit wobbly. The side arms have 8 fixing pins, but they don't actually lock anything — they just sit on top, so they're not much help. Also, there's a scene in the show where the new sword is stored inside the side arms and drawn out, but no matter how I look at it, there doesn't seem to be any obvious place to store the sword inside this kit. Hmm...

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III

There's also a durability issue to watch out for. As you can see in the photo above, there's a joint in the middle of the side arm that bends, and the fixing pin at that joint seems a bit fragile. In my case it snapped without me applying much force at all, which was quite a shock — though ironically, even broken and just pushed back in, it holds together surprisingly well. It's just nerve-wracking to move it again;;; Either way, please be careful with that part. T_T

To sum it up, honestly it feels a step below the 00 GN Arms in terms of overall quality. The GN Arms had clean transformation between flight and weapon modes, was packed with volume and presence, yet was easy to handle and looked stylish. The Kutan Type-III falls a bit short in terms of charisma as an attack weapon, the overall parts connection feels a little loose, and the durability seems a bit lacking too.

That said, it's still a large-scale mech with impressive presence that's rare for an accessory kit, so if episode 11 of Iron-Blooded Orphans got you hyped, this is definitely a fun build. The value proposition is a little iffy, but large option packs like this tend to draw you in on sheer size alone. :-)

HG Gunda m Barbatos & Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III | 2015.12 | ¥5,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.