Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.
This is the beefiest kit in the Linebarrel lineup.

Upper body front and back

Body color separation...

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - The uniquely designed "bird head" — the head section.

Uniquely designed ~~Bird head~~ Head section.

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - Due to the joint structure, the neck itself doesn't move — instead, the entire base of the neck moves.

Due to the joint structure, the neck itself doesn't move —
Instead, the entire base of the neck moves. Pretty unusual, right?

Close-up of the back.

Shoulders and arms.

Those chunky legs that would put most gym bros to shame...

Only the front of the legs has large armor panels,
The back is pretty bare...;

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - Articulation... Unfortunately the arms and legs only bend about 90 degrees, but the shoulders do raise

Articulation... Unfortunately the arms and legs only bend about 90 degrees,
But the shoulders raise up quite a bit.

The neck pivots from the base like this...

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - The heel adjustment feature — one of the signature gimmicks of the Linebarrel kits — works as shown ab

The heel adjustment feature — one of the signature gimmicks of the Linebarrel kits — works as shown above.
The left is the heel position for hovering, and the right is for standing on the ground.
It's a simple pull-out-and-reattach system, but when the heel is raised, the fit is a bit loose and it tends to fall off easily...

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - Hands that somehow look big and nicely detailed. Comes as 3 sets: fists, finger-thrust hands, and open

Hands that somehow look big and nicely detailed.
Comes as 3 sets: fists, finger-thrust hands, and open hands.

Hind-Kind's signature arm extension gimmick is recreated here as a swap-out assembly.

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - The stand is the same as the ones included with other Linebarrel kits, but since Hind-Kind is so much

The stand is the same as the ones included with other Linebarrel kits,
But since Hind-Kind is so much bigger, an extra piece with a longer mounting section has been added.

Two stands — one large and one small — are included for displaying the Reflector Core.

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - The white disc-shaped Reflector Core is attached to the wrist area, so you need to detach just the whi

The white disc-shaped Reflector Core is attached to the wrist area, so you need to detach just the white disc
And connect it separately to the back piece.

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - Reflector Core action! (1/3)

Reflector Core action!

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - Jump pose on the stand. The gorilla-like long arms make it surprisingly dynamic... (1/3)

Jump pose on the stand.
The gorilla-like long arms make it surprisingly dynamic...

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - Contrary to how it looks, the kneeling pose comes out quite naturally. (1/4)

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - Contrary to how it looks, the kneeling pose comes out quite naturally. (2/4)

Contrary to how it looks, the kneeling pose comes out quite naturally.

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - Hind-Kind's signature fingertip attack pose... (a.k.a. the Sieg Heil pose) (1/3)

Hind-Kind's signature fingertip attack pose... (a.k.a. the Sieg Heil pose)

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - Attack pose using the extension parts. (1/4)

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - Attack pose using the extension parts. (2/4)

Attack pose using the extension parts.

Both arms extended!

Linebarrel Hind-Kind - You can stack both extension parts onto a single arm too. Though the shoulder joint can't hold up unde

You can stack both extension parts onto a single arm too.
Though the shoulder joint can't hold up under all that length and weight...

With the extension gimmick, you can even pull off a gymnastics pose like this... ^^;

Together with Linebarrel.
Quite a size difference...

The JUDA mecha trio.

All Linebarrel kits assembled!

The Linebarrel lineup keeps on coming — this time it's the chubby Hind-Kind. Since it's just on a whole different scale from your average mech, the box is incredibly thick too. Overall, the color separation is quite well done, as you'd expect from Kotobukiya, and there aren't many areas that need hand painting. Yellow can look really cheap and washed-out if molded poorly, but thankfully it came out deep and rich here. Kotobukiya's molded colors are getting better and better day by day. ^^

The overall proportions are voluminous enough to capture the feel of the source material nicely, and the joint strength — which tends to be the biggest concern with chunky kits like this — is more than adequate. That said, given the nature of the arm extension gimmick, when both extension parts are attached, the shoulder joints do struggle to hold the weight. (Though it'd be weirder if they could...)

Hind-Kind's signature arm extension gimmick is recreated as a swap-out system, and the Reflector Core at the wrist can also be set up for action scenes using the included stand and extra parts. The Linebarrel series' signature heel gimmick is also done as a detachable swap, though when the heel is raised it tends to be a bit loose, so you'll want to be careful not to lose it. Honestly, it's probably easier to just leave it folded and display it on the stand.

At first glance the articulation might seem just average with only about 90 degrees of bend, but the large volume and long arms actually make action poses surprisingly dynamic. The fingertip attack pose in particular really nails the feel of the character. And despite those intimidatingly thick leg sections, the kneeling pose works out pretty well too.

The Linebarrel series is (relatively speaking) the most consistently solid lineup in Kotobukiya's catalog — though there's still that distinctly Kotobukiya roughness compared to Bandai kits, it's a solid, no-nonsense kit overall. The price is a bit steep given the volume of parts, but the unique character of the kit makes it worth it. :-)

Linebarrel Hind-Kind | 2008. 1 | ¥4,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.