Can you believe it’s been nearly 10 YEARS since Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans? Even after nearly a decade, the show’s emotional storyline and iconic demon-inspired mobile suits continue to capture fans’ hearts. Chennerbot takes a closer look at one of the show’s most recent Gunpla: the 2023-vintage MGSD (that’s MG for Master Grade) Gundam Barbatos.
First Impressions
This kit was all over my local store’s shelves when I picked up Gunpla building as a hobby again in the middle of 2024. At first, I completely disregarded it as “just another SD,” but decided to pick it up anyway out of boredom. I was way off on my initial take—the MGSD Gundam Barbatos packs a ton of action into a small frame and was an absolute delight to put together.
Color and Design
The main draw of the MGSD line is Master Grade articulation and improved part complexity in the compact frame of an SD figure. While the SD line generally uses stickers to create the visual effect of part separation, the MGSD line does it the hard way with differently colored parts—and you can really see the difference. Many of the gimmicks from the MG Gundam Barbatos carry over: hydraulic pistons in the neck/elbows/waist, the partially exposed inner frame, the fully-featured backpack, and a ton of articulation (more on that later).
Colorwise, this unit carries the iconic Gundam theming of white, blue, yellow, and red. Just like the MG version, there are clear pink “power symbol” pieces in the shoulders and knees; unlike the MG version, these pieces were injected with tiny air bubbles to give the parts some additional depth and visual oomph.
For this build, I opted to use black and brown Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color to break up the single-color sections a little bit more and add some depth to the parts. I used black on the white, red, and blue parts and brown on the yellow.
One thing that really stood out to me is the amount of detail put into the eyes and face. My phone camera doesn’t do a good job of capturing this but the Bandai promotional site does. The eyes are separate clear green pieces, and if you catch the right angle of light, you can see how much depth there is behind them.
Articulation
It may be short and stubby (like a corgi), but this thing can do a lot. The head can articulate forward, up, side to side, and down. The shoulders can roll forward and back. Despite the large shoulder pauldrons, the arms have great range of movement in most directions—however, a lateral raise is a little limited as the shoulders butt into the oversized head.
Speaking of the shoulder armor: on this kit, the pauldrons actually mount on a separate peg on top of where the arms go in. It’s a nice touch because it means you can rotate them separately forward and back. The MG Gundam Barbatos mounts this piece via a C-clip whereas on the MGSD Gundam Barbatos, it is mounted via a hole-and-peg. That makes it much more sturdy and holds up to extreme movement at the shoulder much better.
You get one set of hands with the kit, and with articulation at the base of the knuckles—a big improvement on the fixed MG Gundam Barbatos’ hands.
This kit’s hip joint movement is excellent: you can take the kit into a full split or a deep crouch. Its thighs can rotate completely. The ankles can rotate in or out, and the foot can turn in any direction. The toes and midsole both can flex independent of the rest of the foot.
Extras
In my opinion, this is where the MGSD Gundam Barbatos improves the most upon the MG Gundam Barbatos.
MGSD Gundam Barbatos comes equipped with the same weapons loadout as the MG version: smoothbore rifle, giant mace, and katana. Just like its big brother, its unused weapons can be stored on the backpack. However, while the larger unit utilizes sliding panels to engage the weapons for storage, the weapons on the MGSD Gundam Barbatos pop in via peg-and-hole attachment. I found the solution to be much more stable.
I opted to color the edge-side of the katana with a Stedi chrome marker to give it a little extra pop.
The smoothbore rifle opens and extends just like the MG version, but I’d say this one is a lot more sturdy and well-designed than its big brother. I gave the muzzle the same Stedi marker treatment that I did the katana for a bit of additional interest.
The mace actually has a neat gimmick: by lightly pulling down on the top of the hilt (just under the blades), the blades actually pop out from the rest of the staff.
To round out the experience, the kit also comes with a set of stickers. For my build, I opted to go with third-party Delpi waterslides, as I find waterslides are a lot easier to work with and “disappear” a little better under clear coat. When paired with Mr Mark Softer and Mr Mark Setter plus a waterslide tray, decal application is pretty painless.
See also: Applying Waterslide Decals with a Modeling Tray
Closing Remarks
This was a short, but incredibly fun build for me. I’d say build time on this was approximately 8 hours or so. I had the kit complete within two sittings and needed a third for the decal application. I’ll wrap up with some matte topcoat, jam it onto an action base and stick it on the shelf with the rest of the crew.
The MGSD line changed my opinion on what an SD could be. I’ll definitely be building the MGSD Wing Zero Custom when it comes out.
Additional Tools For This Build
Sprue organization: GEARWRENCH Adjustable Plier rack
Panel line cleanup: Zippo lighter fluid
First cut: RUITOOL Model Nippers
Final cut: Godhand Ultimate Nipper 5.0
Sanding: DSPIAE Reciprocating Sander (nub removal)
Sanding (final touch): Godhand sanding sponge
Clear coat: Mr Hobby Premium Topcoat (matte)
About the contributor: Creeping towards a midlife crisis, chennerbot is supplanting the urge to buy a convertible Corvette by building plastic robots.
