HGUniversal Century

MS-15Kg Gyan Krieger

A P-Bandai reward kit for Gyan fans, all the knight-errant flair of the original with a beam lance and a shield full of surprises.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

Gyan Krieger · 1/144 · 2018

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2018

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This kit is a genuine treat if you already have a soft spot for the YMS-15 Gyan, and a much weaker case if you don't.

It takes the REVIVE-era HGUC Gyan frame, already one of the more underrated mid-2000s HG updates, and dresses it up with fresh jet-fighter armor panels and a serious weapons loadout. I came away liking it more than I expected to, but the P-Bandai exclusivity is a real tax on the experience.

Best for: Gyan loyalists and Gihren's Greed fans who want a knight-styled Zeon suit with real melee presence on the shelf

The full review

What it is

The Gyan Krieger takes the REVIVE HGUC Gyan, already a solid double-jointed elbow and knee frame, and bolts on new fighter-jet style armor across the shoulders, shins, and backpack. Building it feels like getting a familiar kit's fun parts twice over: the base Gyan engineering is proven, and the new Krieger-specific armor plates add just enough novelty that it never feels like a straight repaint. The beam lance is the star, a chunky clear-molded weapon around 190mm long that immediately makes the kit feel more dangerous than a standard HG loadout. Assembling the launcher shield with its hidden twin beam gun and four-tube grenade launcher was the moment the kit won me over. It is a small suit that reads like a bigger one.

The catch

This was a Bandai Hobby Online Shop exclusive, and that P-Bandai status shows up in the build in an annoying way: most of the runners in the box are exclusive to this release, so there is little cross-kit part compatibility and no easy way to source spares if you snap something small during cleanup. Builders doing custom paint jobs (lavender and gunmetal schemes show up a lot online in place of the box art's silver) report needing real masking effort around the shoulder vents to keep the gray and red separated, since the molded color split does not do all the work for you. It also carries the usual P-Bandai premium over a mainline HG, so the price to part count ratio is softer than a retail release.

Who it's for

If you already like the Gyan silhouette, or you have played Gihren's Greed and want the Krieger variant on your shelf, this kit rewards you directly. The double-jointed elbows and knees plus the mobile wrist carried over from REVIVE HGUC Gyan give it a genuinely wide pose range for an HG, including believable lance thrusts and shield-guard stances. If you have never heard of the Gyan and just want a good general-purpose HG, buy the standard HGUC Gyan or Gyan REVIVE instead and save the hunt for secondhand Krieger listings for later. This is a suit-specific pickup, not a first kit or a default recommendation.

What works

Beam lance and launcher shield with hidden twin beam gun and 4-tube grenade launcher give the loadout real presence for an HG
Double-jointed elbows and knees plus a mobile wrist carried over from REVIVE HGUC Gyan produce a genuinely wide, sturdy pose range
New fighter-jet style armor on the shoulders, shins, and backpack makes the kit feel distinct rather than a simple recolor

Worth knowing

P-Bandai exclusive runners mean little to no part interchangeability with other kits and no easy replacement source if a piece breaks
Molded color split needs real masking work around the shoulder vents if you want clean gray/red separation without paint
Secondary market only at this point, so price and availability are inconsistent

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The build story

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

The build leans on the proven REVIVE HGUC Gyan frame, so gate placement and part fit inherit that kit's generally clean reputation, with the new Krieger armor panels clipping over the existing shell rather than replacing the whole suit's engineering. The lance and shield are the most involved subassemblies, and the shield rewards care since it hides a twin beam gun and a 4-tube grenade launcher under its face.

Articulation is the highlight: double-jointed elbows and knees plus the mobile wrist from the REVIVE base let it hold thrust-attack poses and shield-guard stances that a lot of same-era HGs can't manage. Color separation out of the box is decent but not complete, builders doing display-quality finishes report masking the shoulder vent grays and reds and picking out the backpack sensor lenses by hand rather than relying on stock plastic color alone.

Lore & trivia

01The Gyan Krieger originates from the Mobile Suit Gundam: Gihren's Greed strategy game series, not from a TV or film continuity, as the final upgrade path for the Gyan line.
02In Gihren's Greed, the Gyan Krieger is the counterpart to the MS-14JG Gelgoog Jager, open uped instead of it if the player commits to mass-producing the Gyan rather than the Gelgoog.
03The kit was released in January 2018 as a Bandai Hobby Online Shop (P-Bandai) exclusive, built on the REVIVE version of HGUC Gyan with added armor detailing from head to toe.
04The beam lance included in the kit measures roughly 190mm, molded in clear parts for the beam effect, making it one of the larger melee weapons in the HGUC Gyan family.