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Mobile Suit Option Set 6 & HD Mobile Worker

A pocket-change parts bin that quietly makes your whole IBO shelf better.

MechaGrade Score

3.4/5

Mobile Suit Option Set 6 & HD Mobile Worker · 1/144 · 2016

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2016

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit for what it actually is, a cheap accessory box, not a mecha.

You are not buying a mobile suit here, you are buying a small mobile worker figure plus a handful of weapon and head swaps for other HGIBO kits, and on that basis it delivers real value for around 600 to 650 yen. The mobile worker itself is a simple, almost toylike build, but the option parts (arm cannons for Barbatos Lupus, a swap head for Shiden, a blade, a grenade launcher) are the actual draw and they fit cleanly onto the kits they are designed for.

Best for: Iron-Blooded Orphans builders who already own Barbatos Lupus or Shiden and want extra weapon and head variety on the cheap

The full review

What it is

This is one of Bandai's HGIBO option sets, a small parts pack built around a simple HD Mobile Worker figure plus a runner of interchangeable weapons and heads meant for other kits in the line. The mobile worker is a background mook from the Iron-Blooded Orphans second season, used by the Dawn Horizon Corps space pirates, and it goes together in a few minutes with basic swivel joints rather than a full inner frame. The real reason to grab this set is the extra gear, an alternate head for Shiden, arm cannons that plug straight onto Barbatos Lupus, plus a blade and a grenade launcher. I like having it around as a bin of extra options rather than as a display piece on its own.

The catch

Do not go in expecting a proper mobile suit kit. The HD Mobile Worker has limited articulation, no inner frame, and it reads more like a simple background figure than a posable mech, so if you buy this hoping for a real MS to build you will be let down. The rest of the value depends entirely on whether you own the specific kits these parts are designed to plug into (Barbatos Lupus, Shiden), if you do not, a chunk of the runner is dead weight. Color separation on the mobile worker itself is basic and there is nothing here in the way of stickers to fuss over since the part count is so low, but that also means detail is minimal.

Who it's for

Grab this one if you are actively building out the Iron-Blooded Orphans lineup and want more weapon and head variety for the kits you already own, it is a cheap way to add visual variety to a shelf of Tekkadan and Gjallarhorn suits without buying another full kit. Skip it if you are new to the line or do not own Barbatos Lupus or Shiden, since half the appeal disappears without those host kits on hand. I would also skip it if you are looking for a satisfying standalone build, the mobile worker alone will not scratch that itch.

The build story

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

The mobile worker goes together fast, a handful of parts with simple peg joints, no gate placement headaches, no stickers to line up. It is closer to snapping together a toy accessory than working through an HG mobile suit, which is fine given what it is trying to be.

The stronger engineering is in how cleanly the bonus weapon parts integrate with their target kits, the arm cannons seat onto Barbatos Lupus with proper peg fit rather than a loose friction hold, and the Shiden head swap is a straightforward pop-off, pop-on change. For the price, getting a usable extra head, a blade, arm cannons, and a grenade launcher on one runner is solid part-count value if you already own the host kits.

Lore & trivia

01The HD-21 HD Mobile Worker is used by the Dawn Horizon Corps space pirates in the second season of Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans, and like the Gjallarhorn NK-17 Mobile Worker it carries a pair of weapon binders with the cockpit set low in the carriage.
02Bandai released nine separate HGIBO MS Option Sets across the show's run, each pairing bonus weapon or head parts with a different simple mobile worker figure, this is Set 6.
03The set released in November 2016 at a retail price of roughly 600 to 650 yen, positioning it as an impulse add-on next to the full HGIBO mobile suit kits rather than a standalone purchase.