HGBuild Fighters

NK-13 Cathedral Gundam

A gothic close-combat frame with a bow made out of its own backpack, and a real story behind why it looks unfinished on purpose.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Cathedral Gundam · 1/144 · 2015

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2015

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit more for what it represents than for raw engineering, and I think that is exactly the right way to judge it.

Cathedral Gundam is a small, oddly moving HG built around a piece of Build Fighters lore, and Bandai backed that story with genuinely good color separation and a transforming backpack weapon that earns its name. It is not the most advanced HG skeleton out there, but it is a satisfying, quick build with a design nobody else is doing.

Best for: Build Fighters fans who want the Cathedral/Denial storyline on a shelf and don't mind hunting down a P-Bandai exclusive

The full review

What it is

This is the HG rendition of the last Gunpla built by the second Meijin Kawaguchi, a gothic, cathedral-inspired close-combat frame with dark armor and a distinctive wing-and-backpack unit. Because it's a P-Bandai exclusive parts and color variant of the HGBF Denial Gundam frame, it shares that kit's newly molded head, arms, front armor, and knee sections, which means the engineering underneath is a genuinely modern HG skeleton rather than a reskin of something older. The build itself moves fast, the runners are logically laid out, and holding the finished kit next to its source material clicks in a way plenty of original-design HGs don't.

The catch

The shared Denial Gundam frame comes with real limitations. The chest design blocks a proper cross-arm pose, the front skirt gets in the way of kneeling, and ankle articulation is a single ball joint rather than a more forgiving setup, so dynamic ground poses take some coaxing. Builders on the Denial side also flag that the shin polycaps can pop loose during posing, and the blue and light blue parts have large gate connections that need careful trimming to avoid visible scarring on light-colored plastic. Being a Premium Bandai exclusive also means pricing and availability run higher than a standard retail HG.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already care about the Cathedral and Denial Gundam story from Build Fighters Try and Build Fighters A, or if the gothic cathedral aesthetic and the bow-forming backpack gimmick appeal to you on looks alone. It's also a reasonable pickup for someone who wants a fast, satisfying HG build without a huge time investment. Skip it if you need top-tier HG articulation for dynamic action poses, since the ankle and torso limits will frustrate you, or if you're not willing to pay P-Bandai exclusive prices for a kit this size.

What works

Color separation is notably good straight off the runners, especially on the chest, so painting is genuinely optional
The transforming Cathedral Booster backpack, which reconfigures into the Crescent Moonbow weapon, is a real functional gimmick and not just a static add-on
Comes with a full weapons loadout (Beam Buster Rifle, Beam Long Dagger, shield) plus a stand, so it doesn't feel thin for an HG

Worth knowing

Ankle articulation is limited to a single ball joint, which caps how far you can push wide or dynamic ground poses
Chest and front skirt design block a proper cross-arm pose and kneeling
Shin polycap joints can work loose during posing, and light-colored parts have large gates that need careful cleanup

Sold? Grab it.

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The build story

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

Assembly moves quickly for an HG, with parts that snap together cleanly and a runner layout that keeps the newly molded head, arm, front armor, and knee pieces easy to find. The main thing to watch is gate placement on the blue and light blue armor, where larger nubs can leave visible marks if you rush the cleanup, so a slower hand with a knife or side cutters pays off here.

The standout engineering is the backpack, which combines with the wing parts and weapons to form the Cathedral Booster and then folds further into the Crescent Moonbow, a genuinely clever bit of part-play rather than a gimmick tacked on for the box art. Articulation is standard modern HG (double-jointed knees, universal hip joints) but capped by the chest and skirt design, and the ankle's single ball joint is the one spot where the frame feels a step behind current HG norms.

Lore & trivia

01Cathedral Gundam is depicted as the final Gunpla built by the second Meijin Kawaguchi, tying the kit directly to one of Build Fighters' more somber storylines.
02This HG release is officially described as a Premium Bandai exclusive parts and color variant of HGBF-037, the Denial Gundam, which is the completed and repiloted version of the same unfinished frame in the story.
03The kit's backpack transforms into the 'Cathedral Booster' and further into the bow-shaped 'Crescent Moonbow,' a weapon that plays directly into the suit's gothic cathedral design theme.
04The 'NK' in the NK-13 model number is an out-of-universe reference to the suit's designer, credited as NAOKI.