HGPost Disaster

Mobile Suit Option Set 1 & CGS Mobile Worker

A weapons locker and a tiny worker mech in one cheap, honest little box.

MechaGrade Score

3.3/5

Mobile Suit Option Set 1 & CGS Mobile Worker · 1/144 · 2015

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2015

Runnersn/a

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

This one is a value add-on, not a centerpiece, and I think it works exactly as intended.

You get a smoothbore rifle built for Barbatos, a lance and shield sized for Schwalbe Graze, and a genuinely charming little CGS Mobile Worker, all for accessory-kit money. I would not buy this as a first kit or a shelf-piece on its own, but if you already own the suits it arms, it earns its spot in the pile fast.

Best for: Iron-Blooded Orphans builders who already own Barbatos or a Graze and want more gear and dioramas on the cheap

The full review

What it is

This is a support kit built around Tekkadan's world rather than one mobile suit. You get a smoothbore gun sized for Gundam Barbatos, a lance and short-barreled rifle plus shield cut for a Schwalbe Graze, and a standalone TK-53 CGS Mobile Worker, the stubby wheeled labor unit that shows up all over the CGS side of the anime. Building the worker is the fun part. It is small, it has a peg-and-socket joint on its wheel section so the guns can rotate, and its weapon folds into a flatbed storage mode just like it does on screen. For the price, having three accessory sets and a second mini kit in one box is a real deal.

The catch

The whole kit comes molded in one solid dark grey, so nothing here is color accurate out of the box. If you want the Mobile Worker or the weapons to look like their anime colors you are reaching for Gundam Markers or paint, and the couple of stickers included for the rifle do not really fix that. The Mobile Worker is also tiny, closer to an accessory than a display figure, so do not expect MG-level presence. And because this is a parts pack, there is no full mobile suit here, so it only pays off if you already have Barbatos or a Graze on your shelf to arm.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already build Iron-Blooded Orphans HGs and want more loadout options for Barbatos and Graze, or you like the idea of a cheap little Mobile Worker for a CGS diorama. Skip it if you are new to Gunpla and want a single suit to finish and display, or if you are not willing to break out paint or markers to make the grey plastic look right. As an add-on for an existing IBO shelf it is an easy yes. As a standalone first purchase it is not what you want.

The build story

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

There is not much of a build here in the MG sense, this is closer to snapping together a handful of small sprues. The Mobile Worker goes together fast and the parts fit is clean, no looseness reported. Gate placement on the weapon sprues is typical HG, easy nub cleanup, nothing fiddly.

The standout engineering is on the Mobile Worker's wheel unit, which rotates on a peg-and-socket joint so its mounted gun can aim, and the weapon itself converts into a flatbed storage mode that mirrors how it is shown parked in the anime. The Barbatos smoothbore gun and Graze lance and shield are simple but functional, and they genuinely expand what your existing suits can be posed holding.

Lore & trivia

01The set arms two different Iron-Blooded Orphans suits at once: a smoothbore gun sized for Gundam Barbatos and a lance, short-barreled rifle, and shield sized for a Schwalbe Graze, the custom Graze type piloted by McGillis Fareed.
02The CGS Mobile Worker (TK-53) belongs to Chryse Guard Security, the private military contractor whose Third Group, made up of orphaned child soldiers, becomes Tekkadan over the course of the series.
03In the show, Mobile Workers run on hydrogen engines rather than the reactors used in true mobile suits, which is why groups like CGS are legally allowed to operate them despite mobile suits being tightly restricted.
04When not in combat, the Mobile Worker's arm-mounted weapon can be swapped out or folded into a flatbed rig so the unit can haul people and cargo, a feature this kit reproduces with its storage-mode conversion.