Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack (CS frame)

SD Gundam Calibarn - Gundam Calibarn on CS frame (1/4)

SD Gundam Calibarn - Gundam Calibarn on CS frame (2/4)

Gundam Calibarn on CS frame

SD Gundam Calibarn - SD frame-based (left) and CS frame-based (right) parts. Only the arm frame is swapped out from the exist

SD frame-based (left) and CS frame-based (right) parts.
Only the arm frame is swapped out from the existing frame lineup.

For the legs, you have to swap out the leg armor itself rather than the frame.

You can disassemble the head, rotate it 180° to switch between 2 different eye types, and reassemble.

Gundam Calibarn on SD frame

Composite comparison shot: SD frame vs. CS frame

Weapons loadout

Variable Load Rifle's articulation gimmick

Shield interior view

The shield can be broken down into 11 individual Gunbits.

All Gunbits attached to the body

Two types of hands are included — though you can see some sink marks on them.

SD Gundam Calibarn - Two types of seals are included: Permet Score 5 and Permet Score Over 8 — you pick one or the other. Sin

Two types of seals are included: Permet Score 5 and Permet Score Over 8 — you pick one or the other.
Since this review uses the Permet Score Over 8 seals, the leftover seals shown in the photo above are the Permet Score 5 ones.

A good number of frame parts end up as leftover parts.

Articulation difference between SD frame and CS frame

SD Gundam Calibarn - SD frame poses (1/4)

SD Gundam Calibarn - SD frame poses (2/4)

SD frame poses

SD Gundam Calibarn - CS frame poses (1/5)

SD Gundam Calibarn - CS frame poses (2/5)

SD Gundam Calibarn - CS frame poses (3/5)

CS frame poses

SD Gundam Calibarn - A pose with all 11 Gunbits deployed, using two separately sold The Witch from Mercury Weapon Display Bas

Using two separately sold The Witch from Mercury Weapon Display Base sets,
a pose with all 11 Gunbits deployed.

SD Gundam Calibarn - Truth be told, 2 of the Gunbits don't connect well with the display base's joint parts. In my case, rath

Truth be told, 2 of the Gunbits don't connect well with the display base's joint parts.
In my case, rather than actually securing them, I just balanced them lightly on top of the stand to get the shot.

A pose with all 11 Gunbits attached to the CS frame body

Together with the Gundam Aerial released as an SD EX-Standard.

Together with the HG Gundam Calibarn.

This kit is the SDCS Gundam Calibarn, released as part of the SD Cross Silhouette series. It comes with both an SD frame and a CS frame runner right out of the box — though one notable thing is that a fair number of frame parts end up as leftover parts.

Overall, the parts layout, detail, and build quality are on par with previous SDCS kits. Unlike earlier releases where you'd swap out the entire frame to change the proportions, this one only swaps the arm frame. The body is shared between SD and CS with no swap needed, and the legs don't actually have a frame structure at all — instead, you swap out the leg parts themselves wholesale to switch between SD and CS proportions.

Even with this different approach, the core concept of changing the arm and leg lengths to achieve CS proportions is still there. In CS frame mode, both the elbows and knees are articulated, which does allow for more dynamic poses compared to SD proportions. That said, the hip joint articulation feels pretty restricted due to the design, so leg-based poses are fairly limited. And since elbow articulation is pretty much essential when holding the large Variable Load Rifle, natural-looking poses really only work in CS proportions.

Beyond that, the shield's Gunbit separation and body-mounting gimmick is well-reproduced at an HG-level of quality. Using two separately sold The Witch from Mercury Weapon Display Bases, you can even recreate a deployment scene. That said, since the accessory is optimized for HG kits, 2 of the 11 Gunbits on this kit don't connect properly with the display base's joint parts. In other words, it wasn't designed with SDCS in mind, so for some of the Gunbits I ended up just barely balancing them on top of the base to get the photos.

Being an SDCS — which sits at the higher end of the SD lineup — it does come out looking much better than the budget-tier SD EX-Standard Gundam Aerial. That said, it's a little disappointing that the frame-swapping gimmick has been scaled back so significantly, especially for something called the Cross Silhouette series. Still, if you're a fan of The Witch from Mercury and enjoy SD kits, this looks like a fun one to build. :-)

SD Gundam Calibarn | 2023.6 | ¥1,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.