Kit Review

Straight build + panel lining + decals

Size comparison with the universal standard — a cigarette pack. It's freaking huge. About 25cm tall.

Even with the somewhat large backpack, it can still stand upright just fine.

Upper body front shot. Look at that shine.

The gloss just pours right off it...

The underwater-use Aqua backpack.

Bottom view of the Aqua pack.

MG Griffon Aqua Type - The head has that demonic charisma similar to Master Gundam. The clear parts for the eyes are molded i

The head has that demonic charisma similar to Master Gundam.
The clear parts for the eyes are molded in clear red. No painting needed.

MG Griffon Aqua Type - And the same clear parts as on the Ingram are properly molded in clear orange here. With the Ingram, t

And the same clear parts as on the Ingram are properly molded in clear orange here.
With the Ingram, they were all plain clear, so painting was required — makes you wonder why they didn't just do it like this from the start..

MG Griffon Aqua Type - The unique cockpit hatch open feature — the neck tilts back and rises up. You can also remove the fron

The unique cockpit hatch open feature — the neck tilts back and rises up.
You can also remove the front chest armor to reveal the cockpit.

Looking down from above, you can see pilot Bud inside.

The cockpit section.

The pilot, Badrinath. His sitting pose looks a bit awkward;;

There are 5 hands included in total. All are fixed-type.

Removing the outer body armor.

Disassembling the Aqua pack armor.

The inner frame. It feels more like a 'skeleton' than detailed mechanical internals.

The torso frame. The detail is nothing to write home about...

Interior view of the cockpit.

The arm section. Again, more of a 'skeleton' feel rather than mechanical detail.

The leg frame. Has a nice slender look.

The lower leg section is probably the most convincingly mechanical-looking frame of the bunch.

There's a gimmick where the ankle can extend about 1cm.

In practice, the ankle can extend and retract like this.

Every time you bend the ankle forward or backward, the cylinder in the back follows along.

The molding on the inside of the outer armor panels.

The range of motion on the front of the foot in frame-only state is pretty ridiculous;;

The Aqua pack's mechanical frame can be easily exposed just by removing the cover like that.

The Aqua pack's mechanical frame. Looks pretty nice.

The mechanical frame at the center of the backpack.

The inner mold of the Aqua pack armor.

The articulation in frame state is quite good — that squatting pose comes together naturally..

A deep bow pose. That foot articulation is just absurd...

Frame action.

Basic articulation is better than the Ingram.

MG Griffon Aqua Type - The arms can fully bend at the frame level, but just like the Ingram, the rubber elbow covers get in t

The arms can fully bend at the frame level, but...
Just like the Ingram, the rubber elbow covers get in the way T_T
The rubber has such good elasticity that even if you fold the arm, it springs right back open the moment you let go..

The Aqua pack also has a bit of articulation.

Action pose

The famous "I am the king~" pose.

Since there are no weapons at all, action poses are done purely through body gestures..

MG Griffon Aqua Type - Just like the Ingram, the waist joint is a bit flimsy. If you pick it up by the upper body, the lower

Just like the Ingram, the waist joint is a bit flimsy.
If you pick it up by the upper body, the lower half can suddenly drop off, so be careful when moving it.. Or just glue it..

MG Griffon Aqua Type - The most problematic part is the shoulder joint. The ball-shaped shoulder has multiple joint pieces st

The most problematic part is the shoulder joint.
The ball-shaped shoulder has multiple joint pieces stacked together, and the combination isn't great —
The shoulder pops off constantly during posing.
Either glue it, or just don't move the shoulders..;;

The included 1/35 Utsumi figure.

MG Griffon Aqua Type - Size comparison with the Ingram. The Ingram is already on the large side, but the Griffon is even more

Size comparison with the Ingram. The Ingram is already on the large side, but the Griffon is even more ridiculously huge;

MG Griffon Aqua Type - Size comparison with standard MGs. Comparing it to the MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079 as a baseline and th

Size comparison with standard MGs. Comparing it to the MG Gundam Ver. O.Y.W. 0079 as a baseline and the smaller Crossbone,
you can really see just how massive the Griffon is..

Body size is on par with the MG Sazabi!

MG Griffon Aqua Type - The Griffon mimicking Utsumi's "I am the king~" pose. The quality in a straight build alone is unmatch

The Griffon mimicking Utsumi's "I am the king~" pose.
The quality in a straight build alone is unmatched.

Following the Ingram, its rival unit the Griffon was naturally released next. In the original work there are two backpack configurations — the Aqua pack and the Flight pack — and the underwater Aqua pack version came out first. The optional Aqua pack has great color separation on the verniers, and the inner frame is faithfully and solidly done.

To cut straight to the point — when you first build the MG Griffon Aqua Type, you'll be caught off guard by its sheer size. Of course, in-universe it's actually much smaller than a Gundam, but the 1/35 scale makes the kit surprisingly large. At around 25cm tall, it goes toe-to-toe with the Sazabi, which is one of the biggest MGs out there. As you can see in the comparison photos above, most regular MGs look like children standing next to an adult.

The second thing that'll catch you off guard is the glossy finish on the outer armor — it's no ordinary shine, like a pair of patent leather dress shoes. The indoor lighting in the photos above doesn't quite do it justice, but in person the gloss is absolutely stunning. It's what's known as gloss injection — a special treatment applied to the mold itself to produce an ultra-smooth surface finish. Either way, the surface is incredibly smooth and reflects light brilliantly. The MG Qubeley Mk-II later used the same technique, but the Griffon got there first. Even without painting, just cleaning up the gate marks gives you a color quality that's anything but ordinary. A little compound polishing and you'd get a mirror finish like a car model!!

On top of that, the Griffon goes beyond the MG Ingram in terms of detail. As you can see in the photos, opening the lid of the Aqua backpack reveals a beautifully detailed and voluminous mechanical interior. The inner frame and cylinders in the legs are great, and the cockpit interior detail is impressive too — somehow it feels like more care went into this than the Ingram. In particular, unlike the Ingram's clear parts which came in plain clear and required painting, every clear part on the Griffon is molded in the correct color (red and orange) clear plastic, so no painting is needed. Wish they'd done the same with the Ingram from the start..

The articulation also surpasses the Ingram. The joints offer a high level of mobility — the arms can fully fold at the structural level, and the legs bend to around 120 degrees — making fairly dynamic poses possible. The ankles are more flexible too, and the extension gimmick gives a big boost to ground contact stability. However, just like the Ingram, the excellent articulation in frame state gets reduced once the armor is on, due to the rubber joint covers.. The rubber is just way too springy;; T_T

Also, just like the Ingram, the joints rely on the stiffness of ABS rather than polycaps, so the whole thing is incredibly stiff throughout. Every movement comes with creaking and grinding sounds — on the bright side there's no looseness anywhere, but it does feel a bit nerve-wracking every time you try to pose it.. ;;

The proportions are excellent, as you'd expect from the MG Patlabor series. For starters, at around 25cm it's a large kit on par with the Sazabi, so the sheer size commands attention right away. Then the gloss injection finish adds another layer of wow factor, and the slender, elegant silhouette tops it all off. There are no weapons whatsoever, so action poses are done purely through body language — but the design itself is so striking that even a simple stance gives off a seriously menacing vibe.

The MG Ingram had an issue with joints popping off during posing, and the Griffon has the same problem.. The waist joint pops off just as easily (-_-), and the shoulder joints in particular have a real tendency to come apart during posing. The shoulders are genuinely frustrating. And the included manipulators (hands) come in 5 types, but oddly enough, the wrists are actually hard to remove. So when you try to swap hands by pulling, the hand won't come off — the shoulder pops off instead. (Oh no)

This is the chronic weakness of the MG Patlabor series, which otherwise tops the charts in proportions, detail, and design accuracy. One more thing — there are almost no decals to apply on the Griffon. It's hard to call it a flaw exactly, but it would've been nice if they'd included a few more things to stick on..

Overall, the kit really captures the powerful, sinister charisma of the original. The excellent detail, full-body frame, improved articulation, and the proportions of that massive, jet-black glossy bulk — it's a kit that gives you goosebumps as you build it. For Patlabor fans, I'd actually recommend the Griffon over the Ingram. It's a step above the Ingram in terms of molding, articulation, inner detail, and overall presence — and somehow it's also a bit easier to build.

In particular, the premium gloss finish, the molded colors, and the fact that all the clear parts are molded in their correct design colors make this kit extremely appealing for those who enjoy straight builds. It's hard to believe the quality is just a straight build.. The price is ¥3,500, which is on the pricier side, but the volume you get is more than worth it. Either way, once you build it, you'll be stunned by the enormous size, dazzled by the gloss, and won over by the charisma — it's a fantastic kit. ^_^

MG Griffon Aqua Type | 2002.3 | ¥3,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.