HGPost Disaster

ASW-G-56 Gundam Gremory

A grim reaper silhouette with a broken anchor and a stiff back.

MechaGrade Score

3.4/5

Gundam Gremory · 1/144 · 2021

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2021

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit for what it looks like on the shelf more than what it feels like in my hands.

The hooded head, the tattered cloak wings, and that half destroyed Battle Anchor give the Gremory a genuinely unique presence in a lineup full of similar IBO frames. The catch is that the same wings and shoulder armor that make it look so good clamp down on the arms the moment you try to pose it. I finished mine happy with how it stands, less happy with how little it moves.

Best for: IBO frame collectors who want a moody display piece and don't mind sacrificing pose range for silhouette

The full review

What it is

This is another entry in Bandai's HGIBO Gundam Frame line, built on the same inner frame as Barbatos and its many siblings, but dressed in new armor that goes for a demonic, hooded look instead of the usual knight aesthetic. The dark blue and grey main color with pink highlight accents reads well straight off the runners, and the Battle Anchor, a symmetrical hooked blade with one half snapped off and left unrepaired, is the piece that sold me on the whole kit. Snapping it together was easy and calm the way most HG IBO kits are, with clean sprue gates and nothing that fought me.

The catch

The articulation is the real letdown here. The oversized shoulder pauldrons and the cloak-like back wings look fantastic standing still but box in the arms as soon as you try anything dynamic, and getting the Battle Anchor into a two-handed grip behind the body is genuinely awkward. The back wings only swivel, they don't extend or fold out of the way. Builders also flag the waist and hip joints as the tightest part of assembly, along with a snug backpack fit, which is consistent across most kits in this frame family. Stickers are there for the finer color details but you can skip the bigger ones without losing much.

Who it's for

Buy this one if you're building out the IBO Gundam Frame family and want a suit that stands apart visually, or if you're drawn to that Calamity War relic, ancient-armor design language and don't mind a kit that poses better standing at attention than mid-swing. Skip it if articulation and dynamic posing are what you build for, since the wings and shoulders will fight you the whole way. At an HG price point it's a low-risk pickup either way, and the accessory alone makes it worth a spot on the shelf.

The build story

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

Assembly follows the familiar HG IBO frame rhythm, clean snap-fit and well placed gates, with the waist and hip sections being the tightest spots and the backpack needing a firm but careful push to seat. Nothing here fights you the way some MG kits do, it's more a matter of patience in a couple of spots than genuine difficulty.

The frame underneath is shared with the rest of the IBO Gundam Frame lineup, so articulation potential is there in the joints, it's the outer armor that gets in the way. The head's hood, the layered hip skirt, and the broken Battle Anchor are the design highlights, and the two included hand pairs (open palm and weapon grip) cover the basics without extras like a beam rifle or shield.

Lore & trivia

01The ASW-G-56 Gundam Gremory first appeared in the Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Gekko manga and is piloted by Deira Nadira of the Nadira family, one of the Seven Stars houses tied to Gjallarhorn.
02Its upper body and head hood are armored in Nanolaminate Coat, a material stronger than standard Nanolaminate Armor, giving the Gremory the highest defensive rating of any suit built to survive the Calamity War roughly 300 years before the series.
03The Battle Anchor was originally a symmetrical twin bladed weapon, but one blade was destroyed during the Calamity War and never repaired, and the kit molds that damage in permanently rather than offering a complete version.
04The kit released in October 2021 as HGIBO number 042, priced around 23 USD with roughly 135 parts.