HGFuture Century

GF13-044NNP MANDOR GUNDAM

A floating temple bell with a beam saber staff, built to be a diorama, not a fighter.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

MANDOR GUNDAM · 1/144 · 2025

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2025

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I went into this one expecting a novelty and came out with one of the stranger, more rewarding builds I have put together this year.

The Mandor Gundam is not trying to be an articulate brawler, it is trying to be a scene, and once you accept that, the kit delivers on exactly what it promises. This is a display piece first, and it succeeds because Bandai leaned all the way into the gimmick instead of half committing to it.

Best for: G Gundam fans and diorama builders who want a genuinely different kit, not another poseable fighter

The full review

What it is

The Mandor Gundam represents Neo Nepal in the Gundam Fight, and its whole identity is the tsurigane, the Japanese temple bell, that its torso retracts into for Defense Mode. That bell-shaped float base is the star of the kit. Building it feels less like assembling a robot and more like assembling a shrine, with bead-like segmented arms and waist that click together in a way I had not felt on any other HG. The staff hides both a beam saber and a flamethrower, and popping the torso down into the bell for the first time genuinely got a laugh out of me. It is a kit that rewards patience over speed.

The catch

This kit has no real legs, so it leans hard on its included display stand, and if you skip that stand you basically cannot pose it standing on its own. The eight Mini Mandala Gundam figures that eject from the base are molded in the same plain color as the bell, so the gimmick only really pays off if you are willing to paint them, out of the box they read as blank gray nubs tucked in a compartment. Articulation is minimal by design, this is not a kit for dynamic action poses, and if you go in expecting HG-standard poseability you will be disappointed.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already love G Gundam and want a kit that captures a fighter most other manufacturers would never bother making, or if you are a diorama and display builder who wants a genuinely unusual centerpiece. Skip it if you want a kit you can pose and fight with, or if you are not willing to break out paint for the mini Mandala figures, since leaving them unpainted wastes the best gimmick in the box. This is a shelf piece and a conversation starter, not a battle-ready HG.

The build story

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

Assembly leans unusual from the first runner. The bead-segmented arms and waist go together in short, repeatable clusters rather than the usual limb-by-limb HG flow, and the bell-shaped float base takes real care to line up so the torso slides in and locks for Defense Mode without binding. Gate placement on the segmented pieces is tight enough that cleanup matters more than on a typical HG, since visible seams on curved beads stand out.

The best engineering here is the retraction mechanism itself, torso folding down into the bell is the single most memorable interaction in the kit and it holds together well once assembled. Weapon loadout is generous for an HG price point: a full staff with a hidden beam saber and flamethrower, extensive beam effect parts, an Action Base 5, and eight bonus Mini Mandala figures push the part count and accessory value well past what you would expect from a standard HG.

Lore & trivia

01The Mandor Gundam (also called Mandala Gundam) represents Neo Nepal and is piloted by Kyral Mekirel in Mobile Fighter G Gundam.
02Its design is based on a tsurigane, a Japanese temple bell, which is why the mobile fighter's Defense Mode is its torso retracting fully into the bell-shaped base.
03The kit's Mini Mandala Gundam eject gimmick, releasing eight small figures like bit weapons from the base, was added at series director Yasuhiro Imagawa's suggestion specifically for this plastic model.
04This HGFC release arrived as a Premium Bandai exclusive commemorating the 30th anniversary of Mobile Fighter G Gundam, giving the fighter its first true Gunpla kit after decades of demand.