HGBuild Fighters

最強機動 Gundam Tryon 3 Special Plated Ver.

A chrome-plated three-in-one gimmick kit that looks incredible on the shelf and fights you the whole way there.

MechaGrade Score

3.3/5

最強機動 Gundam Tryon 3 Special Plated Ver. · 1/144 · 2015

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2015

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a kit I respect more than I enjoyed building.

The Special Plated Ver. takes an already gaudy, glorious design and dips it in chrome, and the result is one of the best-looking HG Build Fighters kits I have put together. But the combine-and-split gimmick that defines Tryon 3 is genuinely fiddly, the frame underneath is an older remold, and getting it to hold a pose with its own sword is a real fight.

Best for: Build Fighters fans and gimmick collectors who want the flashiest version of Tryon 3 on display, not posed in combat

The full review

What it is

Gundam Tryon 3 is three separate animal-themed mecha, Riku Tryon, Umi Tryon, and Sora Tryon, that combine into one towering Gundam, and this Special Plated Ver. was a limited campaign kit that swaps large chunks of the standard color scheme for genuine chrome plating. Popping the runners loose and seeing the plated gold and silver parts catch light is a real moment, this thing photographs like a much more expensive kit. Building the three separate units first, then converting them into the combined form, gives the build a puzzle-like rhythm that regular HG kits do not have, and the oversized Hyper Minovsky Chohoken sword that comes with it is a fun, ridiculous accessory.

The catch

The frame is a remold of the 2010 HGUC ZZ Gundam, and it shows. Nub placement is rough in a few spots, poseability is limited, and the side skirts get in the way of hip movement. The bigger issue is structural, the partsforming between the three separate units and the combined Tryon 3 is finicky, and the combined mode has a reputation for falling apart mid-pose, especially when you try to get it to actually hold that giant sword up. It is also proportionally a little off from its anime design, since the kit engineering had to compromise for the transformation gimmick.

Who it's for

Buy this if you are a Build Fighters Try fan chasing the flashiest version of Tryon 3, or if you like kits with a genuine transformation gimmick and do not mind babying the joints during play. Skip it if you want a kit you can pose aggressively and trust to hold together, or if you are new to Gunpla and want a first build that goes together cleanly. This is a display piece and a conversation piece more than it is a poseable action figure, and I think it earns its place on a shelf for that reason alone.

The build story

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

Building the three individual Tryon units first is straightforward enough, standard HG snap-fit with a few rough nub locations reviewers have flagged over the years. The trouble starts at the conversion step, swapping parts between separate mode and combined Tryon 3 mode takes patience, and the connection points are not as secure as I would like on a kit this size. Cleanup is manageable, but this is not a relaxing weekend build the way a lot of HG kits are, it demands attention.

The color separation is the highlight even before you factor in the plating, this design is a loud mix of blues, golds, and whites and the molded plastic nails most of it without heavy sticker reliance. The plating itself is the reason to seek out this specific version, it reads as genuinely premium under light. Articulation is where it falls down, the combined mode is back heavy and the side skirts restrict the hips, so dynamic poses with the giant sword take real effort and do not always hold.

Lore & trivia

01Gundam Tryon 3 first appeared in Gundam Build Fighters Try, formed from three separate Try Fighters unit designs, Riku Tryon, Umi Tryon, and Sora Tryon, piloted by Sekai Kamiki, Fumina Hoshino, and Yuuma Kousaka.
02The kit's frame is a remold of the 2010 HGUC MSZ-010 ZZ Gundam, which is why its proportions differ somewhat from its more exaggerated anime appearance.
03The Special Plated Ver. was released in 2015 as a limited campaign prize kit, produced in a run of 490, with major parts finished in genuine chrome plating instead of the standard kit's molded colors.
04The kit includes a small bonus build for the Core Fighter, a nod to the ZZ Gundam mold it is built from, tucked into a separate section of the instructions.