HGAfter Colony

OZ-06MS［MPD］ Leo NPD

The grunt suit gets a parts bin and four faces to prove it never really was just a grunt.

MechaGrade Score

3.6/5

［MPD］ Leo NPD · 1/144 · 2018

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2018

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the HGAC Leo mold reworked into a build-your-own-mook kit, and I think that reframe is the whole reason to buy it.

You get four head sculpts and three shoulder armor variants in the box, so no two Leo NPDs on your shelf have to look the same. It will not blow you away as an engineering showcase, some of the joints run loose out of the gate, but as a cheap, characterful army-builder it earns its spot.

Best for: Gundam Build Divers fans and army-builders who want to field a squad of NPC Leos that don't all look identical

The full review

What it is

The Leo NPD takes the same core frame Bandai used for the plain HGAC Leo and dresses it up as the AI-piloted background suit from Gundam Build Divers, the ones GBN throws at you by the dozen as disposable Non-Player Diver mobs. What makes it worth a second look is the parts variety: four different head units and three different shoulder armor styles are molded into the eight runners, so you're not just building a suit, you're picking a loadout. I built mine with a mismatched head and shoulder combo just to see if it would still read as a coherent design, and it does. The mottled brown, dull purple, blue gray, and dark gray plastic gives it a scrappier, more military look than the standard OZ colorway ever managed.

The catch

The frame underneath is the same GEP clip-joint system from the original Leo, and it shows its age here. Builders report the joints can run loose, especially at the torso ball joint and hips, and a few describe the overall build as flimsy rather than solid once it's fully posed. Color separation is decent for an HG but leans on the single sticker sheet for details the molded plastic doesn't cover, so don't expect the sticker-free finish the vanilla HGAC Leo pulled off. It's also still fundamentally a simple, low-part-count HG, if you want a showcase-grade single centerpiece kit, this isn't engineered to be one.

Who it's for

Buy this if you're building out a Gundam Build Divers display and want a squad of NPC mooks that each look a little different, or if you're a Wing-era completionist chasing every Leo variant Bandai has put out. The customization angle (four heads, three shoulders) makes it genuinely fun to buy two or three and mix parts between them. Skip it if you want one impressive centerpiece suit for a shelf, the looser joints and simple frame won't hold a dynamic pose as confidently as an RG or MG, and there are sturdier HG kits at the same price point if posability alone is your priority.

The build story

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

The build itself is quick and low-friction, this is an eight-runner HG with a simple part count, so it's a good weekend kit rather than a multi-night project. The GEP clip-joint elbows and knees snap together without polycaps, which keeps assembly fast, but that same system is where the looseness complaints come from once the suit's had a few pose changes.

The real engineering interest is in the option parts: four head units and three shoulder armor styles are all molded in, so you get real build-your-own variety rather than a single fixed loadout. The gun, shield, and twin beam sabers round out a complete weapons set for the price, and the shield's ball-jointed shoulder mount is worth using since it's one of the sturdier connection points on the kit.

Lore & trivia

01The Leo NPD is Bandai's take on the Non-Player Diver Leos that swarm players as disposable AI-controlled mobs inside GBN, the in-universe Gunpla battle simulator of Gundam Build Divers.
02It reuses the frame and core parts of the earlier HGAC OZ-06MS Leo, itself a Gunpla Evolution Project kit that introduced Bandai's newer GEP clip-joint system in place of traditional polycaps.
03The kit includes four interchangeable head units and three shoulder armor styles molded across its runners, letting builders assemble multiple visually distinct Leos from repeat purchases.
04It ships in four mottled mold colors, brown, dull purple, blue gray, and dark gray, a deliberate departure from the OZ faction's standard Leo colorway to sell the mob-unit, battlefield-fodder identity.