HGGundam Build Fighters Battlogue

Galaxy Booster

A backpack kit that turns into twelve poseable wings and makes every other HG in your case look better wearing it.

MechaGrade Score

3.6/5

Galaxy Booster · 1/144 · 2018

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2018

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I did not expect an option-parts backpack to be one of the more fun twenty minutes I have spent at the workbench.

Every one of the twelve wing blades is its own independently articulated part, so instead of a static booster you get a fan of blades you can splay, sweep back, or curl into that starburst silhouette from the Battlogue episode. It is not a suit, so I am not scoring it on articulation of a body, I am scoring it on how well it does the one job it has, and it does that job with real craft.

Best for: Build Fighters fans and anyone who wants a striker-pack backpack that actually sells the 'Cosmos' fantasy instead of a stiff plastic wedge

The full review

What it is

This is the HGBC Galaxy Booster, the separately sold backpack from the Build Strike Galaxy Cosmos as seen in Gundam Build Fighters Battlogue episode 5. It comes on three runners plus a foil sticker sheet and a small display stand, and the pitch is simple: twelve wing blades, each one its own hinge, plus a Striker Pack System peg so it plugs onto other compatible HG Build Fighters kits. Clicking the wings open for the first time is the moment this kit earns its keep. It fans out wide and even, and you can walk it from folded-flat glider mode to a full radial burst without anything binding.

The catch

This is accessory scale, so do not expect MG-level part count or a long build session, most builders are done in under half an hour and there is no inner frame to speak of. The foil stickers are the only color separation on some of the smaller wing segments, so if you want it fully molded-color clean you are touching those up yourself. A few owners have flagged that the wing hinges loosen slightly with repeated repositioning over time, though it is an easy friction fix with a dab of joint sauce rather than a design failure. And on its own, without a suit to peg it into, it is a display piece, not something you pose through combat.

Who it's for

Grab this if you already own or plan to own a Striker Pack compatible HG and want the backpack that made the Galaxy Cosmos look the way it did on screen, or if you just like fiddly multi-part accessory kits for the shelf. Skip it if you want a standalone mobile suit for the money, this is a booster, not a Gunpla in the usual sense, and it only really sings once it is mounted on something. For the price band it sits in, it delivers more engineering per dollar than most backpacks Bandai has put out.

The build story

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

Three runners, no glue needed, and the parts snap together clean with almost no gate marks to fight. The wing blades are the whole build, each one gets its own small hinge assembly, and doing all twelve in a row is repetitive in a good way, like the kit is teaching you its trick one blade at a time.

The engineering payoff is the range of motion. Each blade swings independently through close to a full arc, so you can recreate the tight folded booster look or the full radial fan from the show, and everything in between. The Striker Pack System peg on the underside is the real value add, since it means this backpack is not locked to one kit, it will mount on other compatible HG Build Fighters bodies. The included display stand is a nice touch for posing it solo before or after it goes on a suit.

Lore & trivia

01The Galaxy Booster is the backpack unit of the Build Strike Galaxy Cosmos, a Gunpla built and piloted by Sei Iori in Gundam Build Fighters Battlogue episode 5.
02In the show, when the RG System and Star System activate together, the booster's twelve wings deploy fully and act as particle-controlling antennae.
03It was released by Bandai on February 24, 2018 as a High Grade Build Custom (HGBC) kit, sold separately from the full Build Strike Galaxy Cosmos kit.
04The kit uses Bandai's Striker Pack System, letting it mount on other compatible HG Gundam Build Fighters kits beyond the suit it originally shipped with.