Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining + Seals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.

Various angles

Detail shots

Outer armor removed

MG Gundam Vidar - Inner frame. Overall very similar to the MG Gundam Barbatos, except for the feet. (1/2)

MG Gundam Vidar - Inner frame. Overall very similar to the MG Gundam Barbatos, except for the feet. (2/2)

Internal Frame.
Overall very similar to the MG Gundam Barbatos, except for the feet.

MG Gundam Vidar - Frame detail shots. (1/4)

MG Gundam Vidar - Frame detail shots. (2/4)

Frame detail shots.

The backpack has a frame too.

Frame articulation

Cockpit hatch open

Weapons include a 110mm rifle, handgun, and burst saber.

The handgun has a moving gimmick too.

The handgun is stored inside the front skirt, but the space is tight so it's not easy to put in or take out.

There are 3 holes on the side of the side binders for mounting the rifle.

MG Gundam Vidar - The 100mm rifle plugged into each of the 3 holes. They all look pretty much the same.. (1/3)

The 100mm rifle plugged into each of the 3 holes.
They all look pretty much the same..

The burst sabers are stored in the side binders.

In addition to the 3 blades stored in each side binder, purged blades are also included separately.

Side binder deployment.

4 types of interchangeable fingers are included.

Each finger connects securely with the weapons.

Hunter's Edge deployment on the feet

MG Gundam Vidar - The cockpit seat can be assembled in either the standard form or the Alaya-Vijnana System Type E activated

The cockpit seat can be assembled in either the standard form or the Alaya-Vijnana System Type E activated form (right).

MG Gundam Vidar - The stand joint parts that attach to the crotch area. They lock in with a horizontal slide mechanism, givin

The stand joint parts that attach to the crotch area.
They lock in with a horizontal slide mechanism, giving a solid hold.

1/100 Vidar figure

Leftover parts

MG Gundam Vidar - Limb articulation. Left is the default, right is with the handgun removed from the front skirt. Storing the

Limb articulation.
Left is the default, right is with the handgun removed from the front skirt.
Storing the handgun gets in the way and restricts leg articulation.

Flexible shoulder articulation

MG Gundam Vidar - There's a gimmick that moves the crotch area up and down individually, but because of this the legs keep sp

There's a gimmick that moves the crotch area up and down individually,
but because of this the legs keep spreading out into a wide stance.

Waist articulation

The backpack binders move on ball joints, so they're surprisingly flexible.

MG Gundam Vidar - 100mm rifle firing poses (1/3)

100mm rifle firing poses

MG Gundam Vidar - Handgun firing poses (1/5)

MG Gundam Vidar - Handgun firing poses (2/5)

MG Gundam Vidar - Handgun firing poses (3/5)

Handgun firing poses

MG Gundam Vidar - Burst saber thrust poses (1/3)

Burst saber thrust poses

MG Gundam Vidar - Hunter's Edge attack poses (1/3)

Hunter's Edge attack poses

Together with the MG Gundam Barbatos.

MG Gundam Vidar - Together with the Full Mechanics Gundam Vidar released in 2016. I thought the Full Mechanics was pretty wel

Together with the Full Mechanics Gundam Vidar released in 2016.
I thought the Full Mechanics was pretty well done at the time, but standing it next to the MG really shows how much it falls short.

Straight build

Gundam Vidar from Iron-Blooded Orphans has been released as an MG. It basically MG Gundam Barbatosreuses the skeleton, but some frame parts and all the outer armor feature new sculpts. The frame material has been changed, giving it a slightly higher quality feel overall.

First of all, the 1/100 Full Mechanics Gundam Vidarreleased back in 2016 already looked pretty good externally, so I honestly didn't expect an MG release. But MG is MG — it came out with incomparably upgraded detail. The added surface detail is so fine it almost feels like overkill, clearly setting it apart from the standard 1/100. In particular, joint durability is much improved over the 1/100, and the full frame worthy of an MG is realized in high quality.

In particular, compared to the MG Gundam Barbatos — which had good joint durability but felt a bit stiff — the frame material has been changed to something slightly softer, improving the feel of articulation. It feels like an upgrade to an ideal polycap-less joint that's smooth yet holds its position well. The one slightly disappointing part is the hip joint up/down movement gimmick — it's not loose, but structurally the legs tend to keep spreading out into a wide stance when standing upright. Since the legs are also thicker and heavier than those on the similarly-framed MG Gundam Barbatos, I do wish the hip joints were just a bit sturdier.

As befitting an MG, the weapons are faithfully reproduced, and the connection with the interchangeable fingers is solid so there are zero grip issues. The overall durability of the kit is also quite good, holding poses well no matter what you put it in. The horizontal slide-lock joint parts from the MG Gundam Barbatos are carried over here too, so stable posing on a stand is no problem. That said, due to the polycap-less design, the joints do have a slight looseness to them overall, so it doesn't have that tight, snug feel when posing.

One area that falls short compared to the MG Gundam Barbatos is the hip joint articulation — when the handgun is stored in the front skirt, the limited space restricts the range of motion. This gets noticeably in the way when lifting the thigh to pose, but it seems to be an unavoidable design issue.

As an extra special option, the cockpit seat can be assembled in either the standard form or the Alaya-Vijnana System Type E activated form — a nice touch. It's not really visible from the outside so it doesn't make a huge difference, but it's the kind of fine detail you'd expect from an MG.

All in all, this is an MG kit that impresses with its excellent stability and precise molding relative to its complex design, and it feels like a slight step up in quality over the MG Gundam Barbatos. It's not the kind of rock-solid tightness you might want, but given the complexity of the structure, the durability is more than acceptable. Either way, if you're a fan of the Iron-Blooded Orphans series or the design appeals to you, this is definitely a latest MG kit worth picking up. :-)

MG ASW-G-XX Gundam Vidar
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	Cleverly concealed everything except the beam rifle
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★★	Well done as expected of an MG. The blue molded color in particular looks great.
Proportions	★★★★★	The complex design is pulled off cleanly and smoothly
Articulation	★★★★★	Excellent, but slightly below Barbatos due to the more complex weapons
Joint Strength	★★★★★★	Sturdy yet smoother articulation feel compared to Barbatos
Internal Frame	★★★★★★★	Frame is great, as you'd expect from an Iron-Blooded Orphans kit
Detail	★★★★★★★	A massive upgrade over the Full Mechanics. Top-notch precision.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★★	Faithful to the standard weapons and gimmicks. Excellent functionality.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★★	419 parts total. 69.8 parts per ¥1,000. Reasonable price point.
Uniqueness	★★★★★★★	A flashier, smoother upgrade of Barbatos
Dalong's Point : 116 pts.

* The scoring system used only for MG has been carried over from First 1.0 twenty years ago,
so applying it uniformly even to the latest kits — whose quality has leveled up across the board — is honestly a bit ambiguous.
Since it's just my personal take and can't clearly capture the differences in kit quality over the years,
please don't read too much into it and just use it as a loose reference.
(For kits scoring above 100, take it to mean the quality is much better than kits of the past.)

MG Gundam Vidar | 2025.3 | ¥6,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.