HGUniversal Century

Me02R-M01 Messer Type-M01 (Gawman Use)

A guerrilla grunt suit with all new tooling and one deliberately unpainted shoulder that tells its own story.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

Messer Type-M01 (Gawman Use) · 1/144 · 2026

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2026

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a genuinely fresh HG built on a familiar Messer skeleton, and I like it a lot more than I expected to.

Bandai didn't just recolor the Type-F here, they cut new molds for the armor, chest unit, and limbs, and it shows in how different the silhouette reads on the shelf. The unpainted left shoulder piece is the detail that sold me, it turns a background mook into a character with a backstory before you've read a word of the show.

Best for: HG collectors who want a Universal Century grunt suit with real personality and don't mind a small, understated weapons loadout

The full review

What it is

This kit depicts Gawman's personal Messer, thrown together from a separate factory line to hide its origins during guerrilla operations against the Sleeves and Earth Federation remnants. The new tooling gives it a boxier, more utilitarian look than the Type-F, and Bandai leaned into that with a left shoulder armor piece molded in bare grey plastic, standing in for the paint job Gawman never had time to finish. It's a small gimmick but it works, the asymmetry catches your eye immediately when the suit is standing next to any other Messer or Zaku variant on the shelf.

The catch

The shield is noticeably smaller than the Type-F's, which fixed some of the older kit's floppiness but also strips out the weapons bay function, so you're down to vulcans and whatever you hand it, no rifle-in-shield storage trick here. It's a Skill Level 2 HG, so you're still cutting gates and cleaning nubs by hand, and the sticker sheet is doing a lot of the marking work rather than molded color, which is standard for the grade but worth knowing going in if you dislike stickers. Nothing about the build is fussy or frustrating, it's just an HG with HG limitations.

Who it's for

If you're building out a Universal Century guerrilla or Sleeves-adjacent display and want something that isn't another straight recolor, this earns its spot. The redesigned skirt joints make it a legitimately fun poser for the price, and the new sculpt gives you something to talk about that a Type-F recolor wouldn't. Skip it if you specifically want the Type-F's larger shield and its weapons-bay utility, or if you're chasing a heavily armed suit rather than a lean guerrilla fighter. As a shelf piece with a story built into the plastic, it's an easy recommend.

What works

All new tooling for the armor and chest unit gives it a distinct silhouette instead of feeling like a Type-F recolor
Redesigned front and rear skirt joints hold up through wide, dynamic poses without the armor panels popping off
The unpainted left shoulder piece is a clever, low effort detail that adds real character straight out of the box

Worth knowing

Smaller shield trades away the Type-F's weapons bay storage for maneuverability, so accessory options are leaner
Sticker sheet handles most of the marking detail rather than molded color separation, typical for the grade but a letdown if you skip stickers
Only three head vulcans and no rifle-in-shield trick means the loadout out of the box is on the light side

Sold? Grab it.

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The build story

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

This is a Skill Level 2 HG, so expect the usual gate cutting and nub cleanup by hand rather than snap fit simplicity. Builders report the new armor parts fit cleanly onto the shared Messer inner frame, and the assembly sequence doesn't throw any surprises at you even with all the new tooling.

The standout engineering is in the skirt armor. Both the front and rear skirts use a redesigned joint system built specifically to survive dynamic leg poses without the panels detaching, which was a known annoyance on earlier Messer variants. Elbows and knees have generous range for an HG, and the smaller forearm mounted shield actually helps close combat poses read cleaner even though it costs you storage utility.

Lore & trivia

01The Type-M01 shares the same internal frame and base specifications as Hathaway's Type-F Messer, but uses a separate factory line and a visually distinct exterior to help hide its manufacturing origin during guerrilla operations.
02Gawman took this unit as a direct replacement for the Type-F Messer he lost during the attack at Davao.
03The unpainted left shoulder armor represents an in-universe detail: Gawman's unit was rushed into service before its paint job could be finished.
04The Type-M carries three shell firing vulcan guns built into the left side of its head, and its forearm mounted shield is deliberately smaller than the Type-F's, sacrificing weapons bay function for better close combat maneuverability.