HGPost Disaster

ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos 6th Form

The final upgrade in the Barbatos line, and the one that finally asks you to sand something.

MechaGrade Score

3.2/5

Barbatos · 1/144 · 2016

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2016

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the Barbatos kit for people who already love the line and want to see it through to the end, not the one I would hand a newcomer as their first HGIBO purchase.

The Wrench Mace is a genuinely fun accessory and the shoulder and chest swap gimmick back to Form 5 is clever, but the 6th Form's own armor proportions are the weakest of the whole run. I like owning it as the capstone to a Barbatos shelf, I would not call it the best kit in that shelf.

Best for: Iron-Blooded Orphans completionists building out the full Barbatos progression, not a first-time buyer looking for HGIBO's best single kit

The full review

What it is

This is the sixth and final armor stage Mikazuki's Barbatos wears in Iron-Blooded Orphans, and Bandai gave it a full standalone HG kit instead of just bagging extra armor with an existing release. That is the right call, because it comes packed with the parts to also rebuild Form 5, so you are genuinely getting two silhouettes out of one box, plus the new Wrench Mace with its opening chainsaw jaw. Snapping the shoulders and chest between configurations is satisfying in a way that a lot of HG kits do not even attempt, and building the mace itself is a fun little side project inside the kit.

The catch

The 6th Form's own armor is the least flattering shape in the whole Barbatos family. The shoulder and chest pieces are bulky in a way that reads more like blocky crates than armor plating, the forearms are chunky, and the high-heeled foot sculpt is the roughest version of that recurring Barbatos foot design. There is real hollowness in the bigger armor panels once you get it under a light, and Bandai leans on a decent stack of stickers rather than molded color for some of the detailing, so colorwork is part of getting this one to look sharp.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already have earlier Barbatos forms and want the line finished, or if the modular swap-parts gimmick and the Wrench Mace specifically appeal to you. Skip it if you want a single best-looking HGIBO Gundam kit for a shelf, there are cleaner sculpts elsewhere in the line including Barbatos's own earlier forms. Builders comfortable with light detail painting or panel lining will get the most out of it, since the design needs a bit of extra work to read well up close.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

It is a skill level 2 HG, so expect the usual nippers-and-file cleanup rather than anything fussy. Runner count and part count are modest for the price band, and nothing about the assembly itself is fiddly, the challenge here is cosmetic rather than mechanical. The swap parts between 5th and 6th Form snap on and off cleanly without wearing out their tabs on the first few tries, which matters since the whole appeal of the kit is trying both configurations.

The Wrench Mace is the standout piece of engineering in the box, the front jaw opens and the internal chainsaw detail actually reads as a weapon rather than a lump of plastic. Articulation follows standard HGIBO Barbatos range, which is solid at the hips and shoulders, and the frame underneath still holds a pose despite the bulkier 6th Form shell layered over it. Where the kit loses value is in paint and panel lining being close to mandatory if you want the final look to match the anime armor rather than looking like unfinished blocks.

Lore & trivia

01The Wrench Mace was built as an in-universe replacement after Barbatos's original Mace was lost during the Battle of Edmonton's atmospheric entry fighting, and its bulbous head hides a chainsaw that can cut into an enemy unit once the jaw clamps shut.
02Mikazuki Augus kept using the mace as his primary weapon even after gaining access to a sword, treating the blade as a lighter backup rather than his main tool.
03In the show's continuity, Gundam Barbatos is one of 72 original Gundam-type mobile suit frames built roughly 300 years earlier during the Calamity War.
04This HG kit includes the extra parts needed to rebuild the prior 5th Form armor configuration, making it effectively two kits worth of Barbatos in one box.