HGPost Disaster

ASW-G-66 Gundam Kimaris

A purple-armored jouster with real presence, held back by an incomplete loadout and a floppy spine.

MechaGrade Score

3.5/5

Gundam Kimaris · 1/144 · 2016

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2016

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a good kit wearing an unfinished suit of armor.

The frame is the same reliable HG IBO internal skeleton that's carried a dozen other releases, the proportions are chunky and knightly in a way that photographs well, and the color separation is better than IBO kits usually manage. What holds it back is that Bandai shipped the base Kimaris without the booster pack and without anywhere to store the lance, so you're paying for a knight who can't carry his own equipment.

Best for: IBO fans who want the Kimaris silhouette and don't mind supplementing it later with the booster or Vidar/Trooper kits

The full review

What it is

Gundam Kimaris is built on the same HG IBO internal frame you'll recognize from Barbatos and its siblings, so if you've built one of those, your hands already know this kit. The purple frame color is a nice callback to older HGUC Zeta-era releases, and it gives the suit a distinct identity on the shelf instead of the usual gray. The Gungnir lance is the reason to own this kit. It's oversized, it reads as a jousting weapon, and it makes the whole silhouette feel like a mounted knight rather than a generic mobile suit. Assembly itself is straightforward and familiar if you've done other IBO kits before.

The catch

The honest complaint from builders is that the spine piece connecting the upper torso to the waist is loose and pops out with any rough handling, which makes the top half feel floppy compared to the rest of the frame. The purple parts carry noticeably large nubs that need real cleanup work to hide, and the elbow color is handled with big stickers rather than molded plastic, which is the kind of shortcut that shows up fast under any lighting. On top of that, the kit ships incomplete. The booster pack that completes the intended Kimaris loadout is sold separately, and there's no storage spot on the kit for the lance when you're not holding it.

Who it's for

I'd point this kit at IBO fans who specifically want the Gundam Kimaris on their shelf and don't mind that the full package requires a second purchase down the line. It's not a bad first HG grade kit either, since the frame is forgiving and the sculpt is satisfying to pose even with the spine quirk. Where I'd pump the brakes is if you want a complete, self-sufficient kit out of one box with no stickers on visible joints. If that's you, look at the later Kimaris Vidar or Kimaris Trooper releases instead, which use the same excellent bones but round out the accessories and color separation better.

The build story

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

If you've built another HG IBO kit, this one will feel immediately familiar. Bandai cut the parts precisely, so fit is clean and nothing fights you during assembly. Where it gets tedious is nub cleanup on the purple runners, since the gates are larger than average and leave visible marks if you don't nip and sand carefully, and the elbow stickers are the one spot where you'll wish for molded plastic instead.

Articulation is the strong point: a double ball-jointed neck, shoulders that raise up before the arm swivels, elbows that bend to roughly 120 degrees, a 360-degree waist, and double-jointed knees with a ball-socket ankle all add up to a kit that holds a jousting charge pose convincingly. Color separation is genuinely better than the IBO norm, with yellow trim pieces molded rather than stickered in several spots, even though the elbows and skirt still lean on stickers.

Lore & trivia

01Gundam Kimaris is piloted by Gaelio Bauduin in Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.
02Its signature weapon, the Gungnir, is a large lance modeled directly on medieval jousting weapons, matching the suit's mounted-knight design theme.
03The kit's purple frame color is a deliberate nod to older HGUC kits from the Zeta Gundam era.
04Later releases of the same base kit, Kimaris Vidar and Kimaris Trooper, reuse the core frame while improving accessory completeness and color separation.