HGAnno Domini

GN-0000DVR/S/HWS Gundam 00 Sky HWS‎‎ (Trans-Am Infinity Mode)

A back-heavy, wing-heavy monster of a HG that turns a simple 00 Sky frame into a full weapons rack.

MechaGrade Score

3.6/5

Gundam 00 Sky HWS‎‎ (Trans-Am Infinity Mode) · 1/144 · 2018

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2018

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is one of the more ambitious HG-scale loadouts Bandai has put out, and for the most part it earns the extra plastic.

You get the base 00 Sky plus an entire HWS backpack of thrusters, missile pods, and a sword all crammed onto a 1/144 frame, and the sheer amount of gear on display is the whole appeal. The catch is that all that hardware has weight, and the kit fights you on balance more than it should.

Best for: HG builders who want a loaded-out display piece and don't mind fighting a display stand for balance

The full review

What it is

This kit takes the 00 Sky, the Gundam Riku Mikami pilots in Gundam Build Divers, and stacks a full Heavy Weapons System on top of it in the Trans-Am Infinity colorway, all that saturated red and gold over the usual white and blue. Snapping the base suit together is straightforward HG work, then the HWS backpack goes on with its Sky Drive wing units, lancer missile pods, and a beam sword, and suddenly a plain 1/144 kit looks like it's carrying half an arsenal. Building it is genuinely fun because every step adds visible bulk, and the moment the wings unfold behind the shoulders is the payoff the whole kit is building toward.

The catch

The HWS backpack is heavy, and on a 1/144 frame that means the kit tips backward the instant you try anything dynamic. Bandai ships a display stand for exactly this reason, and you will use it, or you'll spend time balancing the lancer missile pods directly over the shoulders just to get it to stand unsupported. Color separation on some of the smaller HWS pieces leans on stickers rather than molded plastic, which is normal for the price point but does mean the finished look depends on how carefully you apply them. It is also a fairly involved build for an HG, with more parts and more assembly steps than most kits at this scale and price.

Who it's for

If you like HG kits with a big statement piece over your shelf and don't mind propping it up, this is a rewarding build. The articulation underneath all that extra hardware is still solid HG range, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees, and ankles all move well, so once it's assembled it holds a decent pose as long as gravity cooperates. Skip it if you want a kit you can pick up and pose freely without a stand, or if backpack-heavy HGs have frustrated you before, the balance issue here is real and not a one-off complaint. For anyone who wants the flagship Build Divers loadout kit, though, it delivers.

The build story

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

The base 00 Sky goes together the way most HGs do, clean snap-fit assembly with gates placed where cleanup is easy and no surprises in fit. The HWS backpack is where the build gets interesting, it's a genuine sub-assembly of its own with the Sky Drive wing units, lancer missile pods, and sword mount all built separately before they attach to the main frame. It takes longer than a standard HG but never gets fiddly, just bigger.

The payoff is in the silhouette. Once the HWS backpack and wings are on, this stops looking like a plain 1/144 and starts looking like a suit carrying its own arsenal. Articulation holds up well for the scale, hips and ankles in particular give it a usable stance, though the added weight up top means poses lean toward standing and static rather than mid-action. The included stand isn't an afterthought, it's effectively part of the design.

Lore & trivia

01The 00 Sky HWS belongs to Riku Mikami in Gundam Build Divers, where it appears during the assault on Team Avalon's Force Nest in Trans-Am Infinity Mode.
02Trans-Am Infinity combines the original 00 Gundam's Trans-Am System with a wing-based particle release system inspired by Destiny Gundam's Wings of Light, pushing GN Particle output past a normal Trans-Am boost.
03The kit was released under Bandai's HGBD (High Grade Build Divers) line in November 2018, and its weapon packs are designed to be compatible with other HG 00-series kits.