HGAfter Colony

OZ-19MASX GUNDAM GRIEPE

A forgotten manga mech gets a genuinely modern kit, wings and all.

MechaGrade Score

4.0/5

GUNDAM GRIEPE · 1/144 · 2025

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2025

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a Premium Bandai reissue done right, a 2025 ground-up remold of a suit that most fans only knew from a rough early 2000s kit or the manga pages themselves.

I came away impressed that Bandai gave a niche G-Unit mech this much engineering care. The three-mode transformation actually works on the shelf, not just on paper, and the price feels fair for what you get.

Best for: Gundam Wing completionists and G-Unit collectors who want the Griepe done properly, plus HG builders who like a transformation gimmick to fuss with

The full review

What it is

The Griepe is the top-tier G-Unit suit from the Gundam Wing Dual Story manga, and this HGAC release is a total remold, not a recolor of the old 2000s kit. What struck me first is how committed the design is to its identity, those huge shield-binders on the back genuinely fold down into a stealth-bomber silhouette for Mobile Armor mode, and there is a third Gerwalk-style Assault Mode as well. Building it feels like assembling three different toys that share a skeleton. The included Action Base 7 is a nice touch Bandai should do more often on kits with this much transformation ambition, and it tells you they expect you to actually pose this thing in more than one shape.

The catch

The modern G-Unit line leans on c-clip joint connections instead of the polycap ball joints most HG builders are used to, and that is genuinely a love-it-or-hate-it choice. C-clips look cleaner but they are less forgiving to swap or repair if you strip one during assembly, and a couple of the alternate torso pieces require real parts-swapping between modes rather than a single clean gimmick, so the transformation takes patience the first time through. This being a Premium Bandai exclusive also means it never sat on retail shelves, so you are paying import or secondary-market prices and dealing with the usual PB shipping wait rather than picking it up at a hobby shop.

Who it's for

If you have any history with Gundam Wing or just want the definitive version of a suit that used to be an afterthought kit, this is worth tracking down. It rewards people who like fiddling with a transformation gimmick and who do not mind c-clip joints in exchange for a tidier look. If your priority is fast weeknight builds or you specifically want polycap joints you can repair with a spare part from your bits box, this is not that kit, and if Premium Bandai pricing and shipping is a dealbreaker for you generally, it will be here too.

The build story

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

This is a runner-and-gate build like any HG, but the transformation hardware adds extra steps most 1/144 kits skip, you are assembling hinge points and folding binders in addition to the usual limbs and torso. The c-clip joints go together cleanly once you get the hang of the connection angle, though they do not have the same forgiving snap-and-adjust feel as polycap balls, so take your time on the shoulders and hips the first time.

The engineering payoff is the transformation itself, the wing binders swing down and lock for Mobile Armor mode and the legs fold back for the Gerwalk-style Assault Mode, and both hold their shape without feeling like you are forcing brittle plastic. Weapon loadout is generous for an HG, the Beam Lancer stored in its shield, a Shield Spike, and the Hyper Mega Particle Launcher all included, plus the Action Base 7 stand so you can display more than one mode without buying a separate stand.

Lore & trivia

01The Griepe first appeared in the manga New Mobile Report Gundam Wing Dual Story: G-Unit, not the TV anime, and is considered the top-tier suit of the G-Unit lineup
02It is piloted by Odin Bernett and uses the PX System, which boosts performance off the pilot's adrenaline, with an Overdrive mode that pushes past safe limits at real risk to the pilot
03This HGAC release launched via Premium Bandai in December 2025 as part of Gundam Wing's 30th anniversary wave, replacing a much older early-2000s kit of the same suit
04The suit is built to combine and share scenes with other G-Unit kits like the Geminass 01 and L.O. Booster, letting builders recreate specific manga panels on the shelf