HGMobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt

Gundam Hajiroboshi

A crab-clawed IBO original that spends its whole budget on one incredible shield.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Gundam Hajiroboshi · 1/144 · 2020

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2020

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This kit earns its spot on the shelf almost entirely on the strength of one accessory.

The Hajiroboshi's shield opens into a pair of hinged claws with a spring-loaded needle that punches out from the center, and it is genuinely one of the more inventive gimmicks I have built into a 2020 HG. Everything else, the frame, the articulation, the twin thrusters, is solid IBO-line work rather than a showstopper. I like this kit a lot, I just want people to know exactly why.

Best for: IBO-line collectors and anyone who wants a weird, mechanically clever shield gimmick in a small, affordable kit

The full review

What it is

Hajiroboshi is Wistario Afam's suit from the Urdr Hunt mobile game side story, and Bandai built it on the same reliable HGI-BO chassis that made kits like Barbatos and Gusion so much fun for the price. The body swaps out the usual IBO blue for a pale lavender-purple that photographs better than I expected, with red knee sections and yellow vents molded in color rather than stuck on. The neck is a double ball joint, the waist spins a full 360 degrees, and the elbows fold past 120 degrees, so posing it never feels like fighting the plastic. The two oversized shoulder thrusters swing independently, which sells the sense that this suit is built around mobility.

The catch

Some of the smaller color callouts still rely on stickers rather than molded plastic, and if you skip topcoat they will scuff over time like any HG stickers do. The frame parts that give the kit its snap and hold can loosen with repeated posing, and more than one builder has flagged that de-nubbing every hidden joint too aggressively speeds that up, so leaving a bit of friction on those pegs actually helps longevity. It is also a kit whose identity rides almost entirely on the shield, if you are not into the claw-and-needle gimmick, the rest of the suit is a competent but unremarkable IBO frame.

Who it's for

I would point this at anyone already collecting the HGI-BO line, or a builder who wants a change of pace from a straightforward humanoid Gundam and likes gimmicky accessories more than raw part count. It is not a gateway kit for someone with zero Gunpla experience, the shield mechanism has enough small pieces that a first-timer might find it fiddly, but it is not MG-complex either. Skip it if you specifically want a screen-accurate suit from the original IBO TV series, since Hajiroboshi is a spinoff-game original and won't fit a Barbatos-era Iron-Blooded Orphans display the same way.

The build story

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

The build moves at a normal HG pace, nothing here demands panel-line experience or aftermarket tools. Gate placement on the shield claws is the one spot worth slowing down for, since the hinge points are small and you want clean cuts so the claws swing freely instead of catching. The independently swinging shoulder thrusters go together easily and immediately add presence once they're mounted, they're bigger than you expect from the runner layout.

Articulation is the strongest part of the engineering here: the double-jointed neck, full waist spin, and deep elbow bend let you push into dynamic action poses without the plastic fighting back. The included rifle is a fine but unremarkable extra, the shield is doing all the heavy lifting on accessories. For an HG at this price point, getting molded color separation on the knees and vents instead of pure stickers is a small but appreciated touch.

Lore & trivia

01Hajiroboshi is piloted by Wistario Afam in Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt, a mobile game spinoff rather than the original IBO television series.
02The kit was released in August 2020 as HGI-BO #041, part of Bandai's ongoing High Grade Iron-Blooded Orphans line.
03Its shield is built around a pair of hinged claws that open to either side along with a needle that launches from the center, one of the more mechanically distinct shield gimmicks in the HGI-BO catalog.
04The suit departs from IBO's signature blue Gundam color scheme in favor of a light purple main armor.