HGCode Geass: Lelouch of the RebellionP-Bandai

Gawain (Code Geass)

Zero's oversized personal flagship, a prototype twice the mass of an ordinary Knightmare, tooled fresh for the modern 1/35 line.

MechaGrade Score

3.6/5

Gawain · 1/35 · 2024

GradeHG

Scale1/35

Released2024

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a genuinely well chosen kit to add to Bandai's modern 1/35 Code Geass HG line, a suit with real story weight rather than a background grunt unit.

I like that Bandai gave it brand new tooling instead of stretching an existing mold to fit, since the Gawain's whole identity is being oversized and unusual next to a normal Knightmare. The catch is entirely about how you get one, not what it is once you have it.

Best for: Code Geass collectors building out Zero and C.C.'s side of the shelf who don't mind ordering through Premium Bandai or an import reseller

The full review

What it is

The Gawain is the privately developed prototype Knightmare Frame that becomes Zero's personal transport and flagship for most of the first series, a double-seater machine roughly half again as tall and more than twice as heavy as a standard-issue Knightmare. That size difference is the whole point of the design, and it is why a dedicated new-tool kit makes more sense here than trying to reuse parts from a Lancelot or Guren mold. Bandai released this as a 2024 HG in the same 1/35 scale as the rest of the modern Code Geass line, meaning it can sit on the same shelf as Lancelot Albion and actually read as the bigger machine the anime intends it to be.

The catch

The obvious one is that this never had a normal retail release. It was sold through Premium Bandai as a limited run, so getting one means either catching the order window or buying secondhand later. The other honest caveat is that because it is a newer, low-volume exclusive, there is not much public build commentary out there yet to check specific engineering questions against before you commit. And because the Gawain is genuinely oversized relative to the rest of the line by design, it needs more shelf real estate than a typical 1/35 Knightmare kit.

Who it's for

Get this if you are already collecting the modern 1/35 Code Geass HG kits and want Zero's flagship machine to anchor the display, or if the double-seater, oversized-prototype concept is enough of a draw on its own. Skip it if you are only casually curious about the license, since the exclusivity premium and the ordering hassle are a lot to take on for a suit you are not sure you want long term. If you just want an entry point into this kit line, Lancelot Albion is the easier, cheaper, plain-retail way in.

The build story

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

What's verifiable going in: this is new tooling, not a retool of an older Code Geass kit, and Bandai packaged it to the same standard as the rest of the modern 1/35 HG line rather than treating it as a cheap accessory release. The standard loadout on the actual mobile suit includes ten finger-mounted Slash Harkens and two shoulder-mounted Hadron Cannons, so the kit has a genuinely different armament profile to work with than the sword-and-rifle Lancelot kits in the same scale.

Because this is a recent, low-print-run exclusive, I don't have a stack of independent build logs to draw specific engineering complaints or praise from, and I'd rather say that plainly than invent detail I can't back up. What I can say with confidence is that the size and armament are true to the source material, which for a suit whose entire identity is being oversized and heavily armed is most of the job.

Lore & trivia

01Gawain is roughly 50% taller and more than twice as heavy as most other Knightmare Frames, reflecting its origin as a privately developed prototype rather than a mass-production unit.
02Standard equipment includes ten finger-mounted Slash Harkens and two shoulder-mounted Hadron Cannons.
03Both Zero (Lelouch) and C.C. are listed as known pilots, and the Gawain's design later informed Britannia's own Knightmares, including the Gareth and Galahad.
04The 2024 HG release uses entirely new tooling rather than reusing parts from an earlier Code Geass kit.