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Mobile Suit Option Set 3 & Gjallarhorn Mobile Worker

A weapons rack and a tiny CGS-raid extra that punches way above its price.

MechaGrade Score

3.9/5

Mobile Suit Option Set 3 & Gjallarhorn Mobile Worker · 1/144 · 2016

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2016

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the option set I point people to when they doubt these little add-on boxes are worth buying.

It gives you a genuinely fun mobile worker diorama piece and three melee weapons that actually fit the hands of the Gusion kits they're built for. It is not a mobile suit, so judge it as an accessory box, and on that basis it delivers more than its size suggests. The only real question is whether you own the kits it was designed to serve.

Best for: IBO builders who already have Gundam Gusion or Gusion Rebake and want display-ready melee weapons plus a cheap diorama extra

The full review

What it is

This is the third of Bandai's IBO option sets, and it pairs two things: a small Gjallarhorn mobile worker, the mining-pod-style machine seen getting torn apart in the CGS raid in episode 1, and a trio of melee weapons built for the Gundam Gusion line. You get the Gusion Chopper, the Gusion Axe with its spiked morning star head, and the Gusion Rebake Halberd, which can be built extended or collapsed by swapping a couple of parts. Building it takes maybe twenty minutes, and what you come away with is a shelf of tiny hand props that make the Gusion kits look properly armed instead of empty-handed.

The catch

The obvious catch is that this set does nothing on its own. If you do not own Gundam Gusion or Gusion Rebake, the weapons have nowhere to go, and the mobile worker, while a fun little sculpt, is a background prop rather than a display centerpiece. The mobile worker itself is simple, snap-together, no articulation to speak of, and closer to a toy than a posable kit. Because it is priced and packaged like a weapons expansion, some buyers go in expecting a full suit and come away surprised at how small the box actually is.

Who it's for

Buy this if you are building through the Iron-Blooded Orphans HG line and already have Gusion or Gusion Rebake sitting bare-handed on your shelf, or if you want a quick, cheap way to recreate the CGS raid from episode 1 without hunting down a full mobile worker kit. Skip it if you do not own the Gusion kits and are looking for a standalone suit to build, since the weapons will just sit in a parts box. For the price and the fifteen minutes it takes, it is an easy add for anyone already invested in the show.

The build story

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

There is barely a build here in the traditional sense. Nub cleanup is minimal, gates are placed where they will not show, and the mobile worker snaps together in a handful of steps with no polycap joints to fuss over. The weapons take a little more care because of the small parts, especially the chain links on the morning star, but nothing here will challenge anyone who has finished an HG before.

The real payoff is in the details Bandai chose to include. The halberd's swap-in parts for the extended and stored blade states is a smart bit of engineering for an accessory this size, and the chain on the morning star actually swings rather than being a solid molded loop. Between the three weapons and the mobile worker, you get a good amount of shelf variety for a set this small, and it is the rare option set where reviewers genuinely have nothing to complain about.

Lore & trivia

01The Gjallarhorn Mobile Worker recreates the mining-pod-style unit seen attacking CGS headquarters in episode 1 of Iron-Blooded Orphans, the fight that forces Mikazuki to pilot the half-repaired Gundam Barbatos for the first time.
02The set was released in January 2016 as part of Bandai's ongoing run of HG IBO option sets, each one built around a specific mobile worker and a matching batch of melee weapons for a named Gusion-family suit.
03The Gusion Rebake Halberd uses a part-swap system so builders can display it in either its extended combat length or its shorter stored configuration, rather than being locked into one pose.