HGGundam Build Fighters Try

Hi-Mock

The cheap grey training dummy that turns into whatever you want it to be.

MechaGrade Score

3.4/5

Hi-Mock · 1/144 · 2015

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2015

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is not a kit you buy for the Hi-Mock itself, it's a kit you buy for what the Hi-Mock lets you become.

Straight out of the box it's a blank, faceless training drone with a plain grey and dark grey color scheme, and there is no pretending otherwise. But the moment I started poking around the frame I understood why builders keep coming back to it. It is one of the best cheap customization canvases in the HG lineup, and I respect a kit that knows exactly what job it is doing.

Best for: kitbashers and customizers who want a cheap, hardpoint-loaded base rather than a finished-looking hero suit

The full review

What it is

The Hi-Mock is the AI training opponent from Gundam Build Fighters Try, the anonymous grey mook mobile suit players spar against inside the in-universe Gunpla Battle simulator, and Bandai built the kit around that identity on purpose. It shipped cheap in the HGBF line at 800 yen, and the plastic reflects that price, molded in flat grey and dark grey with a sticker sheet for the few accent colors. Building it straight is a quick, uneventful afternoon. What got me was the body, which is covered in hardpoint sockets meant for swapping in weapons and parts from other HG kits, plus an adapter that lets you mount 1/100 scale hands on this 1/144 frame. That single detail turns a throwaway mook into a real workbench tool.

The catch

Built stock, there just isn't much here. The proportions are simple, the detailing is sparse compared to any suit with actual pilot-hero status, and the sticker reliance for color accents means out of the box it looks exactly like what it is, a placeholder enemy unit. Articulation is standard early-2015 HG, functional but nothing that will impress anyone chasing dynamic poses. If you buy one expecting a display centerpiece you will be disappointed. The whole value proposition depends on you being willing to cut, drill, or graft parts onto it, because the stock look reads as unfinished on a shelf next to almost any other kit in this scale.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already have a parts bin and want a clean, hardpoint-ready base to build a custom mobile suit around, or if you want a squad of faceless enemy units for a diorama and don't want to pay hero-suit prices to get them. The low price makes it easy to grab two or three for an army set look. Skip it if you want something that looks complete and satisfying right out of the box with no extra work, because that is exactly what this kit is not trying to be. This is a foundation, not a finished statement.

The build story

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

The build itself is short and low-friction. Runners are simple, gates are easy to clean, and there is no glue required anywhere in the process, so this is a fast build even for someone new to the hobby. The sticker sheet handles the few color callouts the plain grey and dark grey plastic doesn't cover, and that is really the only finishing step if you build it stock.

The real engineering story is the hardpoint layout across the torso, arms, and legs, clearly designed so builders can graft on weapons, armor, and greebles from other kits without fighting the frame. Combined with the 1/100 hand adapter, it functions less like a normal HG and more like a modular chassis, which is why customizers have built everything from anti-aircraft sniper variants to high-mobility scout conversions out of the same base kit.

Lore & trivia

01The Hi-Mock is the AI-controlled training opponent used inside the in-universe Gunpla Battle simulator in Gundam Build Fighters Try, an upgraded version of the earlier Mock unit.
02It released as HGBF number 27 in January 2015 at a budget price point of 800 yen, well below most named-character HG kits.
03Bandai also released a companion Mock Army Set the same month, letting builders field a whole squad of the cheaper predecessor unit alongside the Hi-Mock.